Reviews

The King Without a Kingdom by Maurice Druon

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claranina's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging informative slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

alquemist's review against another edition

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This book is absolutely nothing like the previous 6 of this saga, to change the style of writting and narration for the last one was the worst decision ever.

leondurum's review against another edition

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adventurous informative medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

geovis_reyes's review against another edition

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3.0

I felt the others were better

alternbruno's review against another edition

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3.0

Este libro rompe con los 6 anteriores porque hay un cambio importante de narrador, pasa de ser uno omnisciente a uno en primera persona. Además de ello, adquiere un ritmo distinto y está mucho más caracterizado por diálogos que se tornan monólogos o soliloquios. Por último, hay un brinco importante del libro sexto porque pasamos de la deposición de Eduardo II de Inglaterra por su esposa Isabel y Mortimer el eventual reclamo de Eduardo III con Felipe VI en sus tensiones que desencadenan la guerra de 100 años.

En este libro el obispo de Périgord va a ser el que viaje relatando a lo largo del camino lo acontecido hasta que el rey Juan II caiga preso en la batalla de Poitiers. Nos va a contar qué ocurrió desde que cayó el rey Felipe VI y el ascenso de su hijo con las tensiones, enemistades y agonías. De toda la saga de novelas cierra y se siente más como un epílogo porque ya para este punto la descendencia de Felipe el hermoso ha sido desplazada, sólo Isabel sigue viva y ya es más un personaje incidental y es sólo su nieto, Eduardo III, quien arroja los hilos en toda Europa.

En resumen: lo leí para culminar la saga, como quien termina ya algo empezado. En estricto sentido no es necesario acometerse ante él, a menos que uno tenga el deseo marcado por saber qué ocurre en el mapa occidental con Francia o una ampliación de breviario histórico.

srash's review

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informative slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is an odd duck in the series, set years after the rest of the action, largely focused on the children and descendants of the protagonists from the original stories, and written as a one-sided first person conversation versus omniscient third-person focusing on numerous characters. Once I got into it, I did find it entertaining, and it continues the themes of the original series about inept rulers and power. But I do think it suffers from the absence of the compelling, larger-than-life characters that propelled the action forward in the first 6 books. I enjoyed it well enough but am not sure I'll ever revisit it. The main series, though, I am already battling the urge to reread.