The Path of the Hero King

Robert the Bruce #2

by Nigel Tranter

Robert the Bruce- his rise from the ashes of defeatto the glowing triumph of BannockburnAt the opening of this stirring novel, the reader meets Bruce as a man broken in every way except in spirit. He has been excommunicated and is a fugitive from the English. With the exception of his wife, nobody has any faith in him and his vision of freedom. Indeed, the war-weary Scots seem long past caring.But from this desperate situation and in the face of apparently unbearable setbacks where he loses all but his life, Robert the Bruce rises and finally faces the English at the memorable battle of Bannockburn."Nigel Tranter is no dry-as-dust historian, but his wide-ranging tremendous story is not all blood and fire. It has humour, colour and beauty and unexpected tenderness. It is a novel to remember"MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS"It's all stirring stuff"Glasgow evening times"... this is historical novel writing at its best... a book of consistently high standard of literary artistry . .. a very fine work indeed" cork examiner

Genres: Historical Fiction, Scotland, Historical, Medieval, Fiction, British Literature

Paperback

First published June 1, 1970

About the author

Nigel Tranter OBE was a Scottish historian and writer. He was the author of a wide range of books on Scottish castles, particularly on themes of architecture and history. He also specialised in deeply researched historical novels that cover centuries of Scottish history.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I were rating just on my enjoyment of a novel, I would probably rate this two stars. I dislike novels filled with battles, wars, skirmishes, etc. Once you've read a few battle scenes, you've pretty much read them all, and this book was nothing but battle scenes. However, that's more of a personal preference than it is a real issue with the book. That's what Robert Bruce's life was like at this time. His life was mostly just battle after battle. But it did slow down the book quite a lot (easily could have cut out several battles and just related them in dialogue or small synopses). I do plan to read the final book in the series though as I still really like the way these books are written and there simply isn't enough fiction on Robert Bruce for me to not finish this trilogy.

[Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic book very insightful to " The Bruce" and the struggles of the Scotts people.

[Caleb Best · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite Characters - Robert, James, Thomas, Gibbie, Lamberton, Angus, Hugh, Edward Bruce

Favorite Scenes - The Knighting in the Ille's, The highlanders requiem, parliament giving out roles, Robert deciding what to do with the MacDougall's request, Robert vs. Henry Bohun

This book was fantastic. Tranter does a great job at really making you feel as if you are alongside our beaten down Scottish army. From the characters bonds, to the environment, and even the dynamics between each clansmen and earls, every single detail in this book added to the experience. This one was very much a historical fiction book leaning more towards the historical. This definitley made me like the first book more because I feel there was a bit more dialogue between the characters, while this book gave me more of the historical facts and statistics around the Scottish wars for independence. Its really amazing when comparing the two entry's in this series, you get to see just how different historical fiction can look. I would be sad if i dient bring up the amazing side characters in this book. Seeing all of the characters from the first book grow into themselves and form their own personalities was so fun! Bruce having to deal with so many clashing personalities really lead to a believable cast.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spanning the years between 1305 and 1314 the second book in “The Bruce Trilogy” continues the story of one of Scotlands most famous kings.

Whereas, in the first book Bruce spends most of his time dancing between the Scots and English camps, this book shows us the Scottish monarch in an entirely different light.

Although crowned as King of Scots he spends most of his time conducting guerrilla warfare in the glens and lochs, very similar to those in Tranter’s “Wallace”.

The story takes us from the highlands of the north, the western islands and raiding into Durham as Bruce wins back his country piece by piece, as usual fighting fellow Scots as much as the English.

[Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book that is well worth a read, but be aware the speech is in an old fashioned style and whilst this no doubt gives a feel for the time, it can stretch the dialogue a little bit. Some of the early story feels a bit extended, but then it is important to understand the journey of Robert the Bruce's life and like everyones lives there are less exciting bits - luckilly for us reading it he had quite a bit of excitement (for the onlooker anyway).

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The passage of time was not always clearly conveyed. All of a sudden you'd find several years gone by when it felt like it was being described as it went along.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing resilience and dedication. It is a wonder Scotland survived.

[Callum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top class. Excited for the last of the trilogy!

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amazing trilogy. Can't wait to finish the third book!

[Dave Spence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now your talking my language!

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, fast read. Parts of it are probably true. Not caring what parts made it all the more fun.

[bluetyson]

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