Loyalty Bound

by Alex Brondarbit

Thrust into kingship in order to protect family and country, Richard Plantagenet finds himself locked in a constant struggle to keep the English crown from forces bent on usurping the kingdom.

The tenuous peace of 1483 England is threatened with the sudden death of King Edward IV. The king’s successor, a mere child, is to take the throne under the care of his uncle, Richard.

A pious man bound by duty, Richard obeys his brother’s commands to become Lord Protector despite the strains the title brings to his honor and family. Aided by childhood friends and the ambitious Duke of Buckingham, Richard faces threats from cunning rivals and treacherous allies as sleeping rivalries stir once more. The situation deteriorates further when an old secret is revealed: King Edward’s sons are illegitimate.

Left no choice but to take the crown, Richard strives to rule with justice in a world that views mercy as weakness. Despite his desire for a prosperous and peaceful reign, Richard’s life begins to deteriorate amidst growing opposition to his rule. An opposition that is flocking to the banner of a previously unknown Welsh exile—Henry Tudor. With the security of his realm at stake, Richard must take up arms as the Houses of York and Lancaster meet upon the fields near Market Bosworth to once more decide which dynasty will rule England.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Medieval, Historical

Kindle Edition

First published November 17, 2011

About the author

Alex Brondarbit has worked as a contributor and editor for The Los Angeles Times and London Student. He has also published a number of poems in literary journals in the U.S. and U.K. After completing his M.A. in Medieval Studies at the University of London: King's College in 2011, he currently writes video game content for a small entertainment company in Southern California.

Reviews

[Marquise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reactions to this novel will likely be informed by timing: if you've not read that many Richard III or Wars of the Roses books, then this is overall a decent one to begin with; if you're a veteran Wars of the Roses reader, then probably not.

I'm in the second group, and by now have a good number of Ricardian (and anti-Ricardian) novels read to want more originality if I'm going to read yet another novel with the same theme. And so it's the fact that there's nothing new brought to the table what I found so disappointing in Loyalty Bound, because:

a. There's nothing new about the manner Richard III took the throne. (Stillington told him about Eleanor Butler and the Princes' illegitimacy. Many novels have done that.)
b. There's nothing new about the mystery of the Princes in the Tower. (They were killed by Harry Buckingham. It's been done many times.)
c. The "villains" of the tale aren't new either. (The Wydevilles, as usual.)
d. There's nothing new about anything else that's a key plot point in any story set during Yorkist rule: nothing new about Anne Neville (she's the perfect submissive wifey and very in love), nothing new about Hastings' execution (traitor!), nothing new about Richard as a ruler (he's Good King Dickon), and definitely nothing new about Henry Tudor (he's the cowardly pretender who can't win if not by backstabbing and Uncle Jasper saving his sorry hide).

In short, it's same old, same old for most of the book. But the novel had much potential, because the author has a talent for writing and if he polishes his beginner's rough edges, he should become a writer to follow. I liked how he handled the final months of Richard's reign, especially the Bosworth arc, and I appreciate that whilst he doesn't deviate from mainstream Ricardian narrative, he's willing to give Richard some darker traits. He's no Saint Dickon of Gloucester here; on the contrary, the book opens with a murder that I suspect will raise Ricardian eyebrows.

It wasn't a bad idea to limit the time scope to just Richard's reign either, going from right before Ned croaks until Richard falls in battle, but this limited scope doesn't make it all quite appropriate for an introduction to the period, and it's newcomers to the period who'd probably enjoy it more than old hands. And besides that, the editing needs more attention, too.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Those who are familiar with my reviews will already know that I do not often give out a 5-star rating. This is one of those cases where I really wish I could give half stars, but since that isn't an option I decided to bump this one up. Normally, I am more likely to give 1-star to a popular, million dollar novel that is a historical train wreck, so I should explain my deviance in the opposite direction on this little-known novel.

Brondarbit's Richard is realistic. He is not perfect, romantic, or enviable. He is also not a villain. Maybe it's not what readers are looking for, but he is written in this novel just as I could truly imagine him to have been. He is pious, intelligent, and, of course, loyal to a fault. The same traits that make him an able governor and the kind of guy you want on your side in a fight also make him easily manipulated, as he expects the same high standards of morality and loyalty from those around him that he holds himself to. Though he has governed the North of England with considerable skill before his brother's death, when he is thrown into the politics of London, he finds himself in over his head and unable to see the true motives of those who are pressing to be close to him. Sadly, he does not have long to determine the truth and by the time he is hardened into a more skeptical politician, he finds himself at Bosworth field.

I enjoyed the historical detail in this book. It is very focused on Richard's immediate concerns and his guilt and internal dilemmas over taking the crown and how best to hold it. Little is said of Elizabeth Woodville and her daughters in sanctuary, which was a nice change from other novels as I doubt Richard really did spend a lot of time worrying about them. There was just enough romance between him and Anne, just enough innocence and gullibility, just enough growth in his character as he came to the realization that others looked out for themselves far more than he did. The personifications of characters was well done from the sugar-tongued Buckingham to the manipulating Henry Tudor. (OK, maybe Tudor was a little over-the-top evil and dislikable, but does anyone really believe he was the savior of England?)

This book made me feel as though I was transported back to 1483-85. Despite the fact that I already knew everything that was going to happen, it made me picture Richard, not as a name from the past, but as a man that I could imagine standing in front of me right now, and I wanted to save him from his fate.

As other reviewers have pointed out, this Kindle novel does have more typos than I would normally find acceptable. Given that this is an independent author novel and the writing was superb besides these errors, I have been forgiving in my rating regarding this.

I have read many Richard III novels and biographies with personifications of him ranging from those that create modern day Brides of Gloucester to the hilariously evil Shakespearean Richard. Brondarbit's Richard is neither, but I believe he just may be the closest to who Richard really was.

[Tricia Chesnowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was well researched and I really enjoyed it. I read the kindle edition and there were quite a few typos and grammatical errors.

[Barbara · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not finish this book.