Scan barcode
A review by nicohvi
Trinity by Conn Iggulden
4.0
The Duke of York did nothing wrong.
Well, there was that one time he tortured William de la Pole, and subsequently had him shanghaied and decapitated by pirates, but other than that I mean.
This second installment in Conn Iggulden's excellent series begins with Richard Plantagenet on the throne in all but name after Henry VI's collapse, and by all accounts he's doing a damn good job. There are no riots, no famines, no wars with France (other than the usual raiding along the coast). Quite frankly, Richard seems to be the man for the job - much more than his incapacitated king, whom spent most of his time praying prior to his comatose state.
It was hard to watch the protagonists of the first book essentially become the villains of the second, which I think is a great homage to Iggulden's chops as a writer. 'Villain' is probably not the right word, this is essentially a story without true villains (perhaps with the exception of Baron Clifford and the eldest Lord Percy, the latter had a certain waft of Walder Frey about him), but I found their cause to be misinformed at best and malicious at worst.
Yes the Duke of York could be a bit of a prick, but he was running the country well and even ensured Margaret's children would inherit the throne. Imagine performing your job above all expectations, and then you're suddenly fired because the boss's wife told him to. Now replace being fired with beheaded.
Quite frankly I was cheering for Salisbury and Yorke throughout the book, and the ending gutted me more than I'd imagined (certainly after reading Stormbird, where York was at times portrayed as a cold-blooded pragmatist akin to Tywin Lannister).
Here's hoping Warwick and Edward set the record straight - team York 4ever!
Well, there was that one time he tortured William de la Pole, and subsequently had him shanghaied and decapitated by pirates, but other than that I mean.
This second installment in Conn Iggulden's excellent series begins with Richard Plantagenet on the throne in all but name after Henry VI's collapse, and by all accounts he's doing a damn good job. There are no riots, no famines, no wars with France (other than the usual raiding along the coast). Quite frankly, Richard seems to be the man for the job - much more than his incapacitated king, whom spent most of his time praying prior to his comatose state.
It was hard to watch the protagonists of the first book essentially become the villains of the second, which I think is a great homage to Iggulden's chops as a writer. 'Villain' is probably not the right word, this is essentially a story without true villains (perhaps with the exception of Baron Clifford and the eldest Lord Percy, the latter had a certain waft of Walder Frey about him), but I found their cause to be misinformed at best and malicious at worst.
Yes the Duke of York could be a bit of a prick, but he was running the country well and even ensured Margaret's children would inherit the throne. Imagine performing your job above all expectations, and then you're suddenly fired because the boss's wife told him to. Now replace being fired with beheaded.
Quite frankly I was cheering for Salisbury and Yorke throughout the book, and the ending gutted me more than I'd imagined (certainly after reading Stormbird, where York was at times portrayed as a cold-blooded pragmatist akin to Tywin Lannister).
Here's hoping Warwick and Edward set the record straight - team York 4ever!