Congratulations to Simon Anderson on the publication of his debut historical novel The Claimant which has just been released by MadeGlobal Publishing on Kindle and as a paperback.
I read an advance review copy – one of the perks of being married to the publisher! – and I was hooked from the outset. What I really enjoyed about the novel was the way that Simon’s writing allows the reader to connect with all of the characters. It’s a good writer who can make you empathise with the character you thought was a baddie at the outset. If you have enjoyed Conn Iggulden’s Wars of the Roses books then this one is one to add to your “to read” list.
Here is the blurb…
October, 1459.
The harvest is gathered and the country wears its autumn livery. Four years after the first battle of The Cousins’ Wars, later known as The Wars of the Roses, the simmering political tensions between the Royal Houses of Lancaster and York have once again boiled over into armed confrontation.
Nobles must decide which faction to support in the bitter struggle for power. The stakes are high and those who choose unwisely have everything to lose. Sir Geoffrey Wardlow follows the Duke of York while others rally to King Henry’s cause, but one in particular company under the Royal banner is not all it seems, its leader bent on extracting a terrible revenge that will shatter the lives of the Wardlow family.
Edmund of Calais has a private score to settle and is prepared to risk everything to satisfy his thirst for revenge. Riding the mounting wave of political upheaval, he willingly throws himself time and again into the lethal mayhem of a medieval battle as he strives to achieve his aim. One man is out to stop him: his half-brother, Richard.
Born of the same father but of very different minds the two young men find themselves on opposite sides during the violence that erupts as political tensions finally reach breaking point. Each has sworn to kill the other should they meet on the field of battle. As they play their cat-and-mouse game in the hope of forcing a decisive confrontation, their loved ones are drawn inexorably into the fray, forcing the protagonists to question the true cost of victory…
Paperback: 354 pages
Kindle file size: 2070 KB
Publisher: MadeGlobal Publishing (December 2014)
Language: English
ASIN: B00QIM8BGO
ISBN-10: 8493746495
ISBN-13: 978-8493746490
Available on Kindle from Amazon.com, Amazon UK and the Amazon international stores. Available as a paperback from Amazon.com, Amazon UK and your usual bookstore.
Sounds a good read, an illegitimate claimant on one side, another on the other, a feud of family and cousins at war. On the subject of family secrets and feuds, which Beaufort and other royal ladies have been playing away.
I picked up this book browsing on my Amazon Kindle reader for some evening reading yesterday (thru my Amazon Unlimited subscription). What a mistake! I couldn’t put it down! I had to know what happened next! Fell asleep while reading it… Haven’t finished it yet but not for lack of trying! If the end is as good as the start, it will be a good read.
It’s gripping isn’t it? I couldn’t put it down either and I’m hoping he gets on with writing the next one.