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deathbyscotch's review against another edition
5.0
This was a great payoff that was cooking for the past two books. While both [b:Stormbird|17830079|Stormbird (Wars of the Roses, #1)|Conn Iggulden|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1385271736s/17830079.jpg|24944890] & [b:Margaret of Anjou|22549626|Margaret of Anjou (War of the Roses, #2)|Conn Iggulden|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1429248731s/22549626.jpg|41908196] were good and I enjoyed them, Bloodline is no doubt what they were really building to.
I think Conn Iggulden really shines when he is writing dialogue. He spent the first two books building up these characters to the point where you're hanging on every word they say. I found myself sympathizing with characters on both sides of the conflict, which I really thought was something special and which requires talented writing.
Although the Wars won't be over until [b:Ravenspur: Rise of the Tudors|28820403|Ravenspur Rise of the Tudors (The Wars of the Roses, #4)|Conn Iggulden|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1460645293s/28820403.jpg|49038074], all of the characters and plot threads converged at this point for a riveting story dedicated solely to the rising action.
I think Conn Iggulden really shines when he is writing dialogue. He spent the first two books building up these characters to the point where you're hanging on every word they say. I found myself sympathizing with characters on both sides of the conflict, which I really thought was something special and which requires talented writing.
Although the Wars won't be over until [b:Ravenspur: Rise of the Tudors|28820403|Ravenspur Rise of the Tudors (The Wars of the Roses, #4)|Conn Iggulden|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1460645293s/28820403.jpg|49038074], all of the characters and plot threads converged at this point for a riveting story dedicated solely to the rising action.
spectacledbear's review against another edition
4.0
I think I've had enough of the WofR for the moment. By the time I got to the last few chapters, I was quite ready for this book to be over, and I'm taking a break before the next one.
Having read other books about this period, I never thought I'd see the day that I sympathised with Warwick and George of Clarence, and yet...
But really, it got to the point that I just didn't like anyone in the book very much.
That being said, it's still a rollicking good yarn, and the audiobook is extremely well read and a pleasure to listen to. I just feel the need for a bit of a break. Something with aliens, maybe...
Having read other books about this period, I never thought I'd see the day that I sympathised with Warwick and George of Clarence, and yet...
But really, it got to the point that I just didn't like anyone in the book very much.
That being said, it's still a rollicking good yarn, and the audiobook is extremely well read and a pleasure to listen to. I just feel the need for a bit of a break. Something with aliens, maybe...
severuspls's review against another edition
4.0
This book is where the events of the Wars of the Roses really pick up. There were less long battle scenes in this book which I appreciated because I've found them to be far too long and detailed for what happens. The dialogue between characters and court scenes are genuinely quite funny. My favourite thing about this book is that the portrayal of these events are sympathetic to Warwick and, having studied the Wars of the Roses, I agree with the way Iggulden characterises these events.
However, this book had made me realise that I never want to experience historical fiction about the Wars of the Roses ever again, it's not the book, I'm just too close to the narrative (as a history student) and I get enraged by certain things that happen. After the final book in this series (Ravenspur) I shall avoid similar books in future.
However, this book had made me realise that I never want to experience historical fiction about the Wars of the Roses ever again, it's not the book, I'm just too close to the narrative (as a history student) and I get enraged by certain things that happen. After the final book in this series (Ravenspur) I shall avoid similar books in future.
deathbyscotch's review against another edition
5.0
This was a great payoff that was cooking for the past two books. While both [b:Stormbird|17830079|Stormbird (Wars of the Roses, #1)|Conn Iggulden|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1385271736s/17830079.jpg|24944890] & [b:Margaret of Anjou|22549626|Margaret of Anjou (War of the Roses, #2)|Conn Iggulden|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1429248731s/22549626.jpg|41908196] were good and I enjoyed them, Bloodline is no doubt what they were really building to.
I think Conn Iggulden really shines when he is writing dialogue. He spent the first two books building up these characters to the point where you're hanging on every word they say. I found myself sympathizing with characters on both sides of the conflict, which I really thought was something special and which requires talented writing.
Although the Wars won't be over until [b:Ravenspur: Rise of the Tudors|28820403|Ravenspur Rise of the Tudors (The Wars of the Roses, #4)|Conn Iggulden|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1460645293s/28820403.jpg|49038074], all of the characters and plot threads converged at this point for a riveting story dedicated solely to the rising action.
I think Conn Iggulden really shines when he is writing dialogue. He spent the first two books building up these characters to the point where you're hanging on every word they say. I found myself sympathizing with characters on both sides of the conflict, which I really thought was something special and which requires talented writing.
Although the Wars won't be over until [b:Ravenspur: Rise of the Tudors|28820403|Ravenspur Rise of the Tudors (The Wars of the Roses, #4)|Conn Iggulden|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1460645293s/28820403.jpg|49038074], all of the characters and plot threads converged at this point for a riveting story dedicated solely to the rising action.
ohmy_m's review against another edition
3.0
I'm quickly finding that I don't really have an affinity for constant battle scenes. I know this was the time, but I had to keep doubling back to re-read some scenes, just so I knew what was going on because my brain just wasn't retaining the information. Great for those that love the battles, though. I'm much more into the intrigue myself.
Not sure if Elizabeth Woodville was really this awful, but if so, I'm a Warwick fan now.
Not sure if Elizabeth Woodville was really this awful, but if so, I'm a Warwick fan now.
covertocovergirl's review against another edition
5.0
Iggulden once again writes a grand slam. He is a master storyteller. This series is a MUST READ, especially for historical fiction readers. Each book is better than the last! Sadly I'll be starting the final book in the series... so wish there were more... ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ of 5
craftmomma55's review against another edition
This was very good, I've been reading books about the wars of the roses since high school--this series has finally helped me make sense of it. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series.
kasbeth's review against another edition
5.0
Another fantastic read continuing the story, makes you want to move on to the final read.
girlwithherheadinabook's review against another edition
3.0
For my full review: http://girlwithherheadinabook.co.uk/2015/12/review-wars-of-the-roses-bloodline-conn-iggulden.html
I have reluctantly trudged my way through the first two books of this trilogy so despite misgivings, when I saw the third part on Netgalley, I capitulated. Conn Iggulden is a well thought of historical novelist and his battle scenes are always choreographed with remarkable attention to detail, but he often lacks the human touch or indeed subtlety which has made Livi Michael's series so enjoyable. There is an early sign however that this novel will be slightly different however, when Iggulden acknowledges in his preface that he had found this novel difficult having recently lost his own father. Given that several of his main protagonists are also recently bereaved - the Earl of Warwick of his father and the future Edward IV of his father Duke of York - there is a greater depth of feeling in this volume to its predecessors and I found myself drawn in as I had not been before. This is not destined to be classic historical fiction, I will not be re-reading, but I did feel that the trilogy concluded on a far stronger note and left me wondering what he would have had befall his characters next.
Bloodline launches into the action directly after the deaths which came at the end of Trinity, with the Duke of York's head being placed on a spike. Iggulden has always had an eye for the gruesome, with the soldier observing that the Duke's cold chin had grown bristles after death. Flashing between the Lancastrian and Yorkist camps, Iggulden never quite seems to take a side, with both being shown to be fallible. For me, the weakest point of the series has always been Derry Brewer, plain-spoken advisor to Margaret of Anjou. He is an author proxy, speaking the 'truth' and being border-line omnipotent - he is essentially Ray Winstone. Iggulden apparently created him with the thought that there must have been a driving force in the Lancastrian camp and that none of the known existing players appeared to fit the bill, so he created a jumped-up peasant who was of course lost to history and therefore a plausible creation. But he just isn't. He wriggles free of every calamity with Houdini-like skill, he has a superb network of spies and agents and yet he still can't keep Henry VI's behind on the throne. Derry's all-knowing wisdom and earthy ways really wore thin for me - he was the Jar-Jar Binks of the franchise.
The strength of Iggulden's writing comes from his depictions of the relationships between men. Warwick and Edward IV's uneasy alliance crumbles into distrust but we can see their clashes in context and how their warring griefs create dissension of their own. Iggulden's Elizabeth Woodville is a scheming temptress, purring her poison into Edward's ear - in short, a one-dimensional character - but the bonds of battle-forged brotherhood are far more fleshed-out. Margaret of Anjou fares little better, as Derry Brewer's character tends to muscle out any chances for her autonomy within the story. There is less of a focus on battle scenes in Bloodline but this is still a world away from the frothy efforts of Gillipa Phregory. Oddly, the series does not end with the final death of Henry VI, but rather with Warwick's final betrayal. It is a cliffhanger ending and seems slightly out of place; it would have been interesting to see the ultimate downfall of Derry Brewer but it seems that Iggulden could not bear to dispose of him.
I will not miss this series, I will not seek out Iggulden's other works but I was glad to see some of the glimpsed potential of Stormbird come to fruition. The Wars of the Roses has been recounted and retold and reinvented in so very many different ways and this is by no means the most creative but finally with Bloodline, Iggulden brought something fresh - his own grief, which led him to a far greater understanding of his characters who, before anything else, were young men who loved and lost their fathers and whose rage changed the fate of Britain.
I have reluctantly trudged my way through the first two books of this trilogy so despite misgivings, when I saw the third part on Netgalley, I capitulated. Conn Iggulden is a well thought of historical novelist and his battle scenes are always choreographed with remarkable attention to detail, but he often lacks the human touch or indeed subtlety which has made Livi Michael's series so enjoyable. There is an early sign however that this novel will be slightly different however, when Iggulden acknowledges in his preface that he had found this novel difficult having recently lost his own father. Given that several of his main protagonists are also recently bereaved - the Earl of Warwick of his father and the future Edward IV of his father Duke of York - there is a greater depth of feeling in this volume to its predecessors and I found myself drawn in as I had not been before. This is not destined to be classic historical fiction, I will not be re-reading, but I did feel that the trilogy concluded on a far stronger note and left me wondering what he would have had befall his characters next.
Bloodline launches into the action directly after the deaths which came at the end of Trinity, with the Duke of York's head being placed on a spike. Iggulden has always had an eye for the gruesome, with the soldier observing that the Duke's cold chin had grown bristles after death. Flashing between the Lancastrian and Yorkist camps, Iggulden never quite seems to take a side, with both being shown to be fallible. For me, the weakest point of the series has always been Derry Brewer, plain-spoken advisor to Margaret of Anjou. He is an author proxy, speaking the 'truth' and being border-line omnipotent - he is essentially Ray Winstone. Iggulden apparently created him with the thought that there must have been a driving force in the Lancastrian camp and that none of the known existing players appeared to fit the bill, so he created a jumped-up peasant who was of course lost to history and therefore a plausible creation. But he just isn't. He wriggles free of every calamity with Houdini-like skill, he has a superb network of spies and agents and yet he still can't keep Henry VI's behind on the throne. Derry's all-knowing wisdom and earthy ways really wore thin for me - he was the Jar-Jar Binks of the franchise.
The strength of Iggulden's writing comes from his depictions of the relationships between men. Warwick and Edward IV's uneasy alliance crumbles into distrust but we can see their clashes in context and how their warring griefs create dissension of their own. Iggulden's Elizabeth Woodville is a scheming temptress, purring her poison into Edward's ear - in short, a one-dimensional character - but the bonds of battle-forged brotherhood are far more fleshed-out. Margaret of Anjou fares little better, as Derry Brewer's character tends to muscle out any chances for her autonomy within the story. There is less of a focus on battle scenes in Bloodline but this is still a world away from the frothy efforts of Gillipa Phregory. Oddly, the series does not end with the final death of Henry VI, but rather with Warwick's final betrayal. It is a cliffhanger ending and seems slightly out of place; it would have been interesting to see the ultimate downfall of Derry Brewer but it seems that Iggulden could not bear to dispose of him.
I will not miss this series, I will not seek out Iggulden's other works but I was glad to see some of the glimpsed potential of Stormbird come to fruition. The Wars of the Roses has been recounted and retold and reinvented in so very many different ways and this is by no means the most creative but finally with Bloodline, Iggulden brought something fresh - his own grief, which led him to a far greater understanding of his characters who, before anything else, were young men who loved and lost their fathers and whose rage changed the fate of Britain.
bilinski68's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent historical fiction!! Brings the history of the War of the Roses alive. Can't wait to read the next book in the series!!