Goodreads: Masters of War

Author: David Gilman

Published: 1st August 2013 (Head of Zeus)

Source: Audiobooks

Rating: 3/5 (Liked it)

Official Summary: “England, 1346: For Thomas Blackstone the choice is easy – dance on the end of a rope for a murder he did not commit, or take up his war bow and join the king’s invasion of France.

As he fights his way across northern France, Blackstone will learn the brutal lessons of war – from the terror and confusion of his first taste of combat, to the savage realities of siege warfare.

Vastly outnumbered, Edward III’s army will finally confront the armoured might of the French nobility on the field of Crécy. It is a battle that will change the history of warfare, a battle that will change the course of Blackstone’s life, a battle that is just the first chapter in a book of legend – Blackstone: Master of War.” – Goodreads

Review: I forgot how much action can be in a historical fiction novel. I started the book and after like the second round of action/fighting I was like wow so much. Oh, I am only like 1/3 of the way through the book, how much more can the Author throw at me. It was good. The fighting was on point and well told, you felt like you were in the thick of it. He wasn’t superhuman about it either, he was just a man fighting for what he believed was right. He got injured.

The last fight scene did feel a little out of place like his men were everything to him and he blindly led some of them to their death. Just so he could kill one man. It didn’t quite feel like the character, it was a very unlike him.

The romance side of things was very well done too. It didn’t feel forced, it flowed naturally and didn’t take away from the story. It added more to it and felt like a great layer to the story as a whole. Also, the relationship between him and his brother was well told, especially in a time where anyone who mute or deaf would have been killed at birth.