Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Essex Dogs

Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

spookfish's review

dark slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Profoundly disappointing. I only pushed myself to finish it so I felt I could review it fairly, my opinion has barely changed since the beginning though. The entire time slogging through this I was BEGGING that this had been drafted and edited way more. The quality of the writing moves from sloppy, to tolerably middle-of-the-road, either that or I simply got used to it as I got near the end. The rough language was overused and became grating, the problem with writing down swearing how it may be spoken, is that it makes it sound incredibly childish. Jones did not balance this well.
The characters, if you can even call them that, are hollow. Nothing more than stereotypes and a loose role to play. I cannot describe some characters beyond their name, because they have no character, they are simple 'Scotsman' etc. I did not care when any one of the supposed main characters died, I was not given a reason to care. There were moments where I wasn't sure if Jones was dancing with making

Romford

gay, which was perhaps the only thing that kept me intrigued. I'm still unsure if it was intended to come across this way, considering the fact that the environment in the novel is intensely homophobic (I cannot speak for any historical accuracy on this behaviour).
Something I gave the benefit of the doubt to early on but quickly lost hope for was the way Jones writes about his fat characters (namely Sir Robert). Argument could be made for historical attitudes towards them, and it being in character, however the prose which is disconnected from a voice also describes the fat characters as something grotesque, to recoil at. As the Essex Dogs are removed from Sir Robert's company, these descriptions lessen as the character is put in the background, but they are still there.
I will not be reading the rest of the series.

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andrewgeha's review

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Essex Dogs is a bold step into historical fiction for Dan Jones. At its best, the book was raw and visceral, offering a gritty look into the Hundred Years War through the eyes of common soldiers. The stakes felt real and the costs of war felt tangible for the central heroes. The Essex Dogs didn't read as superheroes, which I appreciated. They were an ordinary band of soldiers seeking to survive the horrors of a brutal campaign. The final act in particular felt vividly consequential.

However, I felt Jones's strengths as a history writer didn't wholely translate over to writing a flushed out fictional story. Aside from Loveday and Romford, the rest of the cast felt one-dimensional and shallow.

I thought this might change after some of the Dogs died as the story went along and the squad thinned, but even thereafter the remaining band didn't feel entirely compelling.

The pacing of the book was clunky at times, and the story didn't feel consistent. Sometimes I was drawn in, other times I felt disinterested.

With that said, I will definitely be reading the rest of the trilogy to see how the story progresses. Hopefully Jones will continue to play to his strengths and refine his weaknesses after stepping into the fictional world.

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