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casual_henk's review against another edition
4.0
It was nice to follow the story of the dogs and what happened during the Crécy campaign. It's fun to see historical events being brought to life through the eyes of the dogs.
I enjoyed most of the characters; however, there was not much evolution in them besides that of Romford. I was also a bit disappointed that we did not learn what happened to Loveday and the Scotsman during the big battle at the end. But I was still a great battle scene. The book was gritty and had a good atmosphere. I am looking forward to reading the next one.
I enjoyed most of the characters; however, there was not much evolution in them besides that of Romford. I was also a bit disappointed that we did not learn what happened to Loveday and the Scotsman during the big battle at the end. But I was still a great battle scene. The book was gritty and had a good atmosphere. I am looking forward to reading the next one.
ismemestar's review
4.0
Well written and deeply researched, though fictionalized. I read a lot of history books and historical fiction, but not a lot of military fiction, and someone who enjoys that genre more than me would likely enjoy this book more than I did. I feel complicated about all of the characters, and I think I felt unrooted and unable to empathize with any particular decision, though the brotherhood of the Essex Dogs is compelling enough to see me through to the sequel. Be prepared for atrocities, and for major characters to be committing those atrocities with varying levels of compunction. The swearing is excellent — a strange thing to be pleased with in a book, but it threads the needle of being crude enough to match the characters and the setting without seeming too modern and medieval enough (church based, think "God's Wounds!" and the like) without seeming too quaint or Shakespearean.
type1padawan's review
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Really enjoyed this as my first Dan Jones book. The opening chapter is insanely catchy for a story. It losses a little focus throughout but overall the story was extremely good.
anegreth's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
inkyblott's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
thug's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was a decent read, nothing too amazing but it wasn't bad
the_cats_pyjamas's review
It just wasn’t grabbing me and i don’t want to stick with books that don’t compel me to read them however i am interested in revisiting it at some point
davechua's review against another edition
4.0
Dan Jones is better known for his non-fiction, but his novel, about a group of English mercenaries during the Hundred Years' War, is an excellent read. As expected, there's a lot of great historical detail and he also captures the surreal nature of war. Hope there's more in the series.
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 makingRomford 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.
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
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pandemic/Epidemic