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Conquest #3
Knights of the Hawk
The third novel in the compelling Conquest series (1066: The Bloody Aftermath) from the author of Sworn Sword. Perfect for fans of Ben Kane.
AUTUMN, 1071. The struggle for England has been long and brutal. Now, however, five years after the fateful Battle of Hastings, only a determined band of rebels in the Fens stand between King William and absolute conquest.
Tancred, a proud and ambitious knight, is among the Normans marching to crush them. Once lauded for his exploits, his fame is now fading. Embittered by his dwindling fortunes and by the oath shackling him to his lord, he yearns for the chance to win back his reputation through spilling enemy blood.
But as the Normans' attempts to assault the rebels' island stronghold meet with failure, the King grows increasingly desperate. With morale in camp failing, and the prospect of victory seeming ever more distant, Tancred's loyalty is put to the test as never before.
AUTUMN, 1071. The struggle for England has been long and brutal. Now, however, five years after the fateful Battle of Hastings, only a determined band of rebels in the Fens stand between King William and absolute conquest.
Tancred, a proud and ambitious knight, is among the Normans marching to crush them. Once lauded for his exploits, his fame is now fading. Embittered by his dwindling fortunes and by the oath shackling him to his lord, he yearns for the chance to win back his reputation through spilling enemy blood.
But as the Normans' attempts to assault the rebels' island stronghold meet with failure, the King grows increasingly desperate. With morale in camp failing, and the prospect of victory seeming ever more distant, Tancred's loyalty is put to the test as never before.
448 pages, Unknown Binding
First published October 24, 2013
29 people are currently reading
480 people want to read
About the author
James Aitcheson
8 books144 followersJames Aitcheson was born in Wiltshire in 1985 and studied History at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he developed an interest in the Middle Ages, and in Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest in particular.
His debut novel, Sworn Sword, featuring the knight Tancred and set in the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings, was published in 2011. The first volume in the Conquest Series, it has since been followed by two sequels: The Splintered Kingdom and Knights of the Hawk.
The Harrowing, James’s fourth novel, was published by Quercus in July 2016 and named by The Times as a Book of the Month.
www.jamesaitcheson.com
His debut novel, Sworn Sword, featuring the knight Tancred and set in the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings, was published in 2011. The first volume in the Conquest Series, it has since been followed by two sequels: The Splintered Kingdom and Knights of the Hawk.
The Harrowing, James’s fourth novel, was published by Quercus in July 2016 and named by The Times as a Book of the Month.
www.jamesaitcheson.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
October 21, 2013
Being English, I see Hastings from the English side. We were invaded. They came from Normandy. They won, we lost. Later, we fought back. And lost again. I 'know' of course, about how badly 'we' were later treated by 'them.' Think Robin Hood. It's taken for granted that the Normans are the bad guys. One-dimensional bad guys at that. Until I read James Aitcheson's 'Sworn Sword', I hadn't actually considered that there might actually be a Norman side to 1066 and all that. Which was why, to me at least, 'Sworn Sword' came as such a fresh, wonderful, confusing surprise. Suddenly here was I, an Englishman, rooting for Tancred á Dinant, one of 'them.' A horrid Norman.
After reading 'Knights of the Hawk', over a couple of days, though at more or less one sitting, I can safely say that the freshness, the surprise and the satisfaction, are all still there. And then some. Expertly written, with passion and verve, 'Knights of the Hawk' is by far the best book I will read all year. Five of Goodreads' finest stars. Straight out. No doubt. No other conclusion possible.
Expertly weaving his way in and out of what (little) we know of the history of this period (as Tancred says; "...the seasons turn and the years and the decades pass, the stories grow ever wilder, and the myths grow more powerful than the truth") James Aitcheson has created a novel - a series of novels now - brim-filled with the energy, with the sights and sounds and not least the smells, of daily life - and death - on and away from the battlefields of the new Norman Britain. Compelling and gripping and packed with nerve-tingling, nail-biting action, 'Knights of the Hawk' is a story that really could have happened, but one I now think only James could have written.
It is five years since the slaughter at Hastings and the English resistance still hasn't been extinguished. The Norman invasion of Britain is bogged down, literally, in and around the English rebels' stronghold at Ely. Something needs to be done to rescue the conquest and someone needs to do it. Now. Step forward Tancred á Dinant. A Norman knight who came over with William, who fought at Hastings and who ruled lands in the west of England as vassal to his sworn lord, Robert Malet. But who has, despite saving the day on frequent occasions in the years since Hastings, fallen somewhat in the esteem and pecking order amongst his fellow Normans. He can't understand why he is 'reduced to this escort duty', guarding supply wagons, instead of being richly rewarded for his efforts in securing the England for King William. Wealth and fame, battle honours and leadership, look to be passing him by. While he could be forgiven for giving up and going home, he's still the only one who actually delivers the goods and gets the Normans into Ely.
Then, when they've achieved what they set out to do, reached a point where they might have expected to be able to sit back and enjoy the fruits of all their labours, it starts to unravel for Tancred. He has go against his sworn lord and he suddenly finds enemies where he thought he had friends. Hell, as a Norman, you must realise you're in trouble when you realise you identify with the English leader who stood between you and all you thought you ever wanted. Hereward. "He and I were more similar than I'd realised. We both strove for recognition for our deeds, and struggled against the weighty oaths that bound us. Both of us had at one time led whole armies into the field, yet now found ourselves in somewhat humbler circumstances, lacking the respect we craved and which for a while at least we had commanded." However, as we find out later, by removing Hereward for the Normans, Tancred has in fact removed the obstacle stopping him from getting on with living his own life.
That's just the first part of the story, as the book can be said to divide itself into two parts. The first, is in line with what we know of the early years of the conquest. The character of Tancred is James' invention, but the events the books have described and the five years it took before William had anything that passed for total control over his newly conquered kingdom, the treachery, the back-stabbing, the rebellions at Ely led by Hereward, all happened. Exactly what happened, we don't know. But I'll go for James' version if it comes to a vote.
The second half of the book moves away from inserting Tancred into known events, and we sail (literally) off into the unknown. Into Tancred's own, self-determined future. He has to leave, to find himself. He has lost his faith in the Norman system, so he must find someone from his past, who can give him a future he can believe in. He has been a part of the Norman war machine, he must now go in search of who he, Tancred, really is. "The Breton had become a Norman, had become bound to England." By freeing himself, Tancred realises it can be he who decides who he is and what path his own future should take.
It is of course, the character of Tancred that carries the book. We've a reasonable idea of his character from previous novels, but through the course of 'Knights of the Hawk', he fills out. He's always been adaptable, resourceful and believable, now he's a much more nuanced and fully-rounded character. Actually, he's got the decency you normally associate with being English! But Tancred is sometimes too decent, not devious enough, too trusting to imagine for instance, someone might be laying a trap for him. 'Friend' or foe. As the book progresses, Tancred adapts. I won't say he 'learns', but he becomes more aware of other possibilities than the one he has rushed headlong into. He is a Knight, an honourable one at that, but this belief in his own honour and trustworthiness, as proved time and time again in the most desperate of circumstances, sometimes blinds him. That his fellow Normans might see his honourable actions in a different way, in a maybe more cynical way and use his trustworthiness against him, that's what he doesn't see at first. And it causes frustration, which leads to rashness which leads to murder and exile. Not just from a land and friends - also an ideal. Of honour. Leaving all he knew behind and seemingly having his options reduced, as it were, actually helps him become a more complex character.
'Knights of the Hawk' begins stealthily, but like a hunting party in the midst of the mists and marshes of Ely, it creeps up and ambushes you. Rich with compelling dialogue and vigorously peppered with heart-stopping action, desperate feats of derring-do, incident and intrigue, this is a book that keeps you on your toes at all times. Not least with the unexpected alliances that pop up. Unexpectedly. The tension, the suspense and the don't dare breathe even though you're just reading the book, in case you give Tancred away - those sequences are astoundingly well-handled. There are highs and lows and heartbreaks, great tragedy and blinking away the tears optimism. There is so much to remember this book for, but (for now) the way James draws out a scene, twisting the tension level up and up and leading to the final delivery of the outcome - while you're trying not to break the tension and flick a look at the last lines to see how the paragraph ends - is what I will perhaps remember perhaps the most from this novel. If you're going to say you 'devour' a book, then this is delicious. Oh, and an ending that is…well, you'll have to read it, wipe your eyes and trust that Tancred is back soon.
This novel has really showcased what a really fine new, young writer we have on the Historical Fiction (battle) field, in James Aitcheson. It surely won't be long before we're comparing people like Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden, to James. There is a maturity and confidence to his writing, that if you'd said this was James 20th book, you'd believe it. The surprising thing is, 'Knights of the Hawk' is just James' third outing - we really are spoiled to still have so much to look forward to from him.
And we learned that 11th Century Welshmen liked cleaning their teeth. A lot.
After reading 'Knights of the Hawk', over a couple of days, though at more or less one sitting, I can safely say that the freshness, the surprise and the satisfaction, are all still there. And then some. Expertly written, with passion and verve, 'Knights of the Hawk' is by far the best book I will read all year. Five of Goodreads' finest stars. Straight out. No doubt. No other conclusion possible.
Expertly weaving his way in and out of what (little) we know of the history of this period (as Tancred says; "...the seasons turn and the years and the decades pass, the stories grow ever wilder, and the myths grow more powerful than the truth") James Aitcheson has created a novel - a series of novels now - brim-filled with the energy, with the sights and sounds and not least the smells, of daily life - and death - on and away from the battlefields of the new Norman Britain. Compelling and gripping and packed with nerve-tingling, nail-biting action, 'Knights of the Hawk' is a story that really could have happened, but one I now think only James could have written.
It is five years since the slaughter at Hastings and the English resistance still hasn't been extinguished. The Norman invasion of Britain is bogged down, literally, in and around the English rebels' stronghold at Ely. Something needs to be done to rescue the conquest and someone needs to do it. Now. Step forward Tancred á Dinant. A Norman knight who came over with William, who fought at Hastings and who ruled lands in the west of England as vassal to his sworn lord, Robert Malet. But who has, despite saving the day on frequent occasions in the years since Hastings, fallen somewhat in the esteem and pecking order amongst his fellow Normans. He can't understand why he is 'reduced to this escort duty', guarding supply wagons, instead of being richly rewarded for his efforts in securing the England for King William. Wealth and fame, battle honours and leadership, look to be passing him by. While he could be forgiven for giving up and going home, he's still the only one who actually delivers the goods and gets the Normans into Ely.
Then, when they've achieved what they set out to do, reached a point where they might have expected to be able to sit back and enjoy the fruits of all their labours, it starts to unravel for Tancred. He has go against his sworn lord and he suddenly finds enemies where he thought he had friends. Hell, as a Norman, you must realise you're in trouble when you realise you identify with the English leader who stood between you and all you thought you ever wanted. Hereward. "He and I were more similar than I'd realised. We both strove for recognition for our deeds, and struggled against the weighty oaths that bound us. Both of us had at one time led whole armies into the field, yet now found ourselves in somewhat humbler circumstances, lacking the respect we craved and which for a while at least we had commanded." However, as we find out later, by removing Hereward for the Normans, Tancred has in fact removed the obstacle stopping him from getting on with living his own life.
That's just the first part of the story, as the book can be said to divide itself into two parts. The first, is in line with what we know of the early years of the conquest. The character of Tancred is James' invention, but the events the books have described and the five years it took before William had anything that passed for total control over his newly conquered kingdom, the treachery, the back-stabbing, the rebellions at Ely led by Hereward, all happened. Exactly what happened, we don't know. But I'll go for James' version if it comes to a vote.
The second half of the book moves away from inserting Tancred into known events, and we sail (literally) off into the unknown. Into Tancred's own, self-determined future. He has to leave, to find himself. He has lost his faith in the Norman system, so he must find someone from his past, who can give him a future he can believe in. He has been a part of the Norman war machine, he must now go in search of who he, Tancred, really is. "The Breton had become a Norman, had become bound to England." By freeing himself, Tancred realises it can be he who decides who he is and what path his own future should take.
It is of course, the character of Tancred that carries the book. We've a reasonable idea of his character from previous novels, but through the course of 'Knights of the Hawk', he fills out. He's always been adaptable, resourceful and believable, now he's a much more nuanced and fully-rounded character. Actually, he's got the decency you normally associate with being English! But Tancred is sometimes too decent, not devious enough, too trusting to imagine for instance, someone might be laying a trap for him. 'Friend' or foe. As the book progresses, Tancred adapts. I won't say he 'learns', but he becomes more aware of other possibilities than the one he has rushed headlong into. He is a Knight, an honourable one at that, but this belief in his own honour and trustworthiness, as proved time and time again in the most desperate of circumstances, sometimes blinds him. That his fellow Normans might see his honourable actions in a different way, in a maybe more cynical way and use his trustworthiness against him, that's what he doesn't see at first. And it causes frustration, which leads to rashness which leads to murder and exile. Not just from a land and friends - also an ideal. Of honour. Leaving all he knew behind and seemingly having his options reduced, as it were, actually helps him become a more complex character.
'Knights of the Hawk' begins stealthily, but like a hunting party in the midst of the mists and marshes of Ely, it creeps up and ambushes you. Rich with compelling dialogue and vigorously peppered with heart-stopping action, desperate feats of derring-do, incident and intrigue, this is a book that keeps you on your toes at all times. Not least with the unexpected alliances that pop up. Unexpectedly. The tension, the suspense and the don't dare breathe even though you're just reading the book, in case you give Tancred away - those sequences are astoundingly well-handled. There are highs and lows and heartbreaks, great tragedy and blinking away the tears optimism. There is so much to remember this book for, but (for now) the way James draws out a scene, twisting the tension level up and up and leading to the final delivery of the outcome - while you're trying not to break the tension and flick a look at the last lines to see how the paragraph ends - is what I will perhaps remember perhaps the most from this novel. If you're going to say you 'devour' a book, then this is delicious. Oh, and an ending that is…well, you'll have to read it, wipe your eyes and trust that Tancred is back soon.
This novel has really showcased what a really fine new, young writer we have on the Historical Fiction (battle) field, in James Aitcheson. It surely won't be long before we're comparing people like Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden, to James. There is a maturity and confidence to his writing, that if you'd said this was James 20th book, you'd believe it. The surprising thing is, 'Knights of the Hawk' is just James' third outing - we really are spoiled to still have so much to look forward to from him.
And we learned that 11th Century Welshmen liked cleaning their teeth. A lot.
March 19, 2019
Knights of The Hawk is the third book following the adventures of the Norman Knight Tancred. I keep wanting to like this more on its own merit, but I can not help but compare him to Uthred from the Cornwall Saxon Tales. Same issues with lords, same doing stupid shit to get in trouble with the aforementioned lords and then some wild adventure concerning some promise to a random girl. Sounds familiar? It will to any Saxon tales fan. Still, originality aside, this is a fun read since it has the settings and some of the incidents fairly accurate. The story is actually two parts.
In the first we have Tancred and his conroi of knights duel it out with an uprising. There are some interesting historical figures involved including the Morcar and the famous insurgent leader-Hereward. Hereward fought a great counter-campaign during the time of William the Conqueror's "Harrowing" of the North to subdue it. The Harrowing is very similar to the later (1300's and on) concept of chevauchée, wherein crops and villages were destroyed to gain submission via breaking the enemies will. This parts ends with the Battle to capture the city of Ely.
Then Tancred pisses of some lords, stabs someone and is unjustly (IMHO) exiled. He then goes on a mission to rescue Osywn, his lost love. She isn't dead but has been taken by a Viking warlord/pirate known as Haakon. He's in the Hebrides isles, north of Ireland. During this caper he runs into Magnus, a son of Harold former King of England.
I've enjoyed the setting of Norman England during the invasion. While the story and writing are good, they don't compare to Cornwell's story. The similarities between Uthred and Tancred are hard to ignore and I found myself comparing the two..and Tancred came off the worse for it. Still, characters aside, this is a good read and a fun way to be introduced to the England of the post-invasion Norman rule. So a fun historical fiction read, just nothing amazing in the storytelling.
In the first we have Tancred and his conroi of knights duel it out with an uprising. There are some interesting historical figures involved including the Morcar and the famous insurgent leader-Hereward. Hereward fought a great counter-campaign during the time of William the Conqueror's "Harrowing" of the North to subdue it. The Harrowing is very similar to the later (1300's and on) concept of chevauchée, wherein crops and villages were destroyed to gain submission via breaking the enemies will. This parts ends with the Battle to capture the city of Ely.
Then Tancred pisses of some lords, stabs someone and is unjustly (IMHO) exiled. He then goes on a mission to rescue Osywn, his lost love. She isn't dead but has been taken by a Viking warlord/pirate known as Haakon. He's in the Hebrides isles, north of Ireland. During this caper he runs into Magnus, a son of Harold former King of England.
I've enjoyed the setting of Norman England during the invasion. While the story and writing are good, they don't compare to Cornwell's story. The similarities between Uthred and Tancred are hard to ignore and I found myself comparing the two..and Tancred came off the worse for it. Still, characters aside, this is a good read and a fun way to be introduced to the England of the post-invasion Norman rule. So a fun historical fiction read, just nothing amazing in the storytelling.
November 4, 2013
The first two books showed a lot of promise, but they had their bugs. However, even there it was obvious that the trend was aiming towards something memorable. I am glad to say that it happened here. This book can finally be compared to stories told by Bernard Cornwell. Cannot wait for the next book in the series!
February 20, 2020
3.5*. It is difficult to read a very well written story when you dislike the MC.
August 4, 2020
More Tancred...please!
December 3, 2013
Battle books comes in all shapes and sizes - there are the shooty-stabby (thank you to outstanding ECW author, Mike Arnold, for that phrase) books of the civil war and on, of which Robert Wilton's Treason's Tide is one of the most outstanding, and then there are the FFF (fighting, fornicating and passing wind, in the censored version) Roman/dark age books that pit Boy's Own heroes against impossible odds and they sweep the bad guys' heads off with a single twitch of a blade six inches long, proving that it's not what size it is, it's what you do with it (in your dreams) that counts.
And then there are the good, solid, well-researched, battle-fests with solidly rounded characters and a strong narrative drive: think Ben Kane, Tony Riches, Harry Sidebottom, Simon Scarrow… and James Aitcheson, who's latest book, 'KNIGHTS OF THE HAWK, has recently launched. Set in 1071, this continues the story of Tancred a Dinant, a Breton knight of the invading, occupying Norman force that is slowly trying to bring England to heel. Tancred is increasingly his own man, setting himself at odds with the king and his lord - and against the rebel Hereward, whose death forms one of the by-plots in a novel that sees Tancred breaking free of his political bonds and following his heart to its logical (and tragic) destination.
Nobody else is even endeavouring to explore this era: James Aitcheson has it all to himself and he's taken the bad guys - the enemy, the people we all fought against in our inner imaginings of Hastings and beyond - and has made them the good guys. Well, some of them are good. Some of the time.
It's a great achievement when we can root for people we've loathed since childhood - and we do. What higher praise can there be? Well written, brilliantly researched (it does help to be a proper historian: not all historians can write fiction, but when they can, it's fantastic), and fast-furious-blood-filled-manic. Perfect. And I love the cover.
And then there are the good, solid, well-researched, battle-fests with solidly rounded characters and a strong narrative drive: think Ben Kane, Tony Riches, Harry Sidebottom, Simon Scarrow… and James Aitcheson, who's latest book, 'KNIGHTS OF THE HAWK, has recently launched. Set in 1071, this continues the story of Tancred a Dinant, a Breton knight of the invading, occupying Norman force that is slowly trying to bring England to heel. Tancred is increasingly his own man, setting himself at odds with the king and his lord - and against the rebel Hereward, whose death forms one of the by-plots in a novel that sees Tancred breaking free of his political bonds and following his heart to its logical (and tragic) destination.
Nobody else is even endeavouring to explore this era: James Aitcheson has it all to himself and he's taken the bad guys - the enemy, the people we all fought against in our inner imaginings of Hastings and beyond - and has made them the good guys. Well, some of them are good. Some of the time.
It's a great achievement when we can root for people we've loathed since childhood - and we do. What higher praise can there be? Well written, brilliantly researched (it does help to be a proper historian: not all historians can write fiction, but when they can, it's fantastic), and fast-furious-blood-filled-manic. Perfect. And I love the cover.
February 17, 2018
Great story, and I enjoyed it quite a bit, as I did the first two books of the series. This one had a bit more grit to it, and was a bit more intense I felt than the first two books. Tancred is a very believable and likable character, as are the other supporting characters of the story. Altogether, James Aitcheson has crafted a very interesting story full of excitement, adventure, victory, and loss, and painted a detailed picture of what life on the "sword path" was like in that time.
October 9, 2015
It’s fascinating, sometimes, to step behind a story and into the intentions of the writer. Now, James Aitcheson is a skilled writer and this is an excellent book – it fully deserves the glowing reviews it has received on Amazon and Good Reads and elsewhere. So let’s just take those reviews as read, and move into the swampy mire that is the mind of the writer at work.
Now, I thought I had this book worked out. Laconic hero – from the Norman side although a Breton so, I suppose, a double enemy of the Anglo-Saxons – faces English folk hero in Hereward, who proves to be as ruthless and determined a killer as, well, William. Nice set up of Hereward as the adversary, the assault on the Isle of Ely, Hereward’s escape around the half way point of the book, and I’m expecting it all to continue through further encounters and skirmishes until a final denouement 150 pages later.
Only, it doesn't. James does a story swerve on the reader, and completely dumps his expectations in the fen fastness into which Hereward's legend disappears.
That's when I started thinking about what James is doing here and in the previous books about Tancred, and I kept on thinking, following trails and suggestions, through to the end of the book. There's a clue, I think, in the title of the first: Sworn Sword. Many of the warrior societies of the early and high Middle Ages were held together by oaths, by the pledging of service and loyalty and arms through the giving of word upon the sacred. With limited recourse to law or recompense from human society, a surer, although post-mortem sanction was required to hold men in check, and the giving of oaths before and to God provided that, for failure to uphold an oath meant sure and eternal punishment in the afterlife. Or did it?
That is what James Aitcheson is doing in these novels, I think. He is working through the implications and understandings of an oath-bound society, using his hero to investigate the consequences of this within an imaginative recreation of a historical society. And it's quite, quite fascinating.
Knights of the Hawk ends with Tancred largely cut free from his previous oaths and obligations, to kings and lords and even the woman he had loved. Now, it will be fascinating to see where James takes the story, for both literally and metaphorically, Tancred ends the story at sea - and the sea can take you anywhere.
Now, I thought I had this book worked out. Laconic hero – from the Norman side although a Breton so, I suppose, a double enemy of the Anglo-Saxons – faces English folk hero in Hereward, who proves to be as ruthless and determined a killer as, well, William. Nice set up of Hereward as the adversary, the assault on the Isle of Ely, Hereward’s escape around the half way point of the book, and I’m expecting it all to continue through further encounters and skirmishes until a final denouement 150 pages later.
Only, it doesn't. James does a story swerve on the reader, and completely dumps his expectations in the fen fastness into which Hereward's legend disappears.
That's when I started thinking about what James is doing here and in the previous books about Tancred, and I kept on thinking, following trails and suggestions, through to the end of the book. There's a clue, I think, in the title of the first: Sworn Sword. Many of the warrior societies of the early and high Middle Ages were held together by oaths, by the pledging of service and loyalty and arms through the giving of word upon the sacred. With limited recourse to law or recompense from human society, a surer, although post-mortem sanction was required to hold men in check, and the giving of oaths before and to God provided that, for failure to uphold an oath meant sure and eternal punishment in the afterlife. Or did it?
That is what James Aitcheson is doing in these novels, I think. He is working through the implications and understandings of an oath-bound society, using his hero to investigate the consequences of this within an imaginative recreation of a historical society. And it's quite, quite fascinating.
Knights of the Hawk ends with Tancred largely cut free from his previous oaths and obligations, to kings and lords and even the woman he had loved. Now, it will be fascinating to see where James takes the story, for both literally and metaphorically, Tancred ends the story at sea - and the sea can take you anywhere.
June 25, 2018
James Aitcheson has now written several successful books about the Norman Conquest. This one about Hereward the Wake makes a useful contrast to James Wild's novel, Hereward. Wild told his story from the point of view of Hereward. Aitcheson tells the story from the point of view of the fictional Tancred of Earnford an equally fictional village in Shropshire. Tancred is a Breton who came across the channel as one of William the Conqueror's knights.
The campaign against Hereward and the other rebels at Ely is explained quite well. Some is speculative; all shows sign that he has researched the topic including visiting Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire to work out how the story would have played out.
However, this part of the novel is completed well within the firat half of the novel leaving room for Aitcheson to develop themes introduced in earlier novels in this series, namely the rescue of Tancred's lover Oswynn and the avenging of the death at Dunholm of Tancred's feudal lord, Robert de Commines by Haakon Thorolfsson. Fortunately Haakon is responsible for both the death of Robert and the abduction of Oswynn, so it is just a matter of finding Haakon.
Much of the events in the novel are totally fiction. Within the historical record, Tancred plays the role we see so often in historical fiction, the unsung hero who helps the king plan his strategy, who is there at the crucial moments ensuring that history is fulfilled. It is Tancred who plans and carries out the plotting with Morcar, for Morcar to turn from supporting Hereward and throw in his lot with William.
The novel appears to be historically accurate, including the fact that Dublin at that time was a major centre for the slave trade but did slavers also deal in African slaves at that time?
I particularly liked Aitcheson's prose style. There was no concession to the weaker reader with short words and even shorter sentences. His descriptions of the landscape and the hurly burly of battle were both compelling reading, particularly the parallel phrasing:
"And so we sat cross-legged, huddled in our cloaks beneath the stars, and watched our cooking fires dwindle, while we recounted stories of battles past, of women we had known, of the marvels we had seen on our travels, of things that had happened when we were young and still in training, of fine weapons and horses, of sword brothers long since fallen, of the various dreams and desires to which we all still clung, and we revelled as much in the listening as in the telling."
Tancred tells the story in the first person which goes some way to making him a sympathetic character. We share in his uncertainties in his moments of doubt and fear so he seems quite human and for all that he is a professional soldier a likeable person.
The title is a bit of a poser as it is not clear why Tancred and his two knights along with his two friends are the Knights of the Hawk. It is not their standard so perhaps it is to describe their behaviour as raptors preying on the English churls? Yet Tancred sees himself as a knight bound by the rules of chivalry and his oaths of loyalty to his lord and to the king. He is not a nasty brutish bully saving his use of force for his opponents in a fair fight. I can only assume the title is there as a marketing device.
Aitcheson is a capable writer. I would willingly read his other novels about the Norman Conquest and its aftermath.
The campaign against Hereward and the other rebels at Ely is explained quite well. Some is speculative; all shows sign that he has researched the topic including visiting Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire to work out how the story would have played out.
However, this part of the novel is completed well within the firat half of the novel leaving room for Aitcheson to develop themes introduced in earlier novels in this series, namely the rescue of Tancred's lover Oswynn and the avenging of the death at Dunholm of Tancred's feudal lord, Robert de Commines by Haakon Thorolfsson. Fortunately Haakon is responsible for both the death of Robert and the abduction of Oswynn, so it is just a matter of finding Haakon.
Much of the events in the novel are totally fiction. Within the historical record, Tancred plays the role we see so often in historical fiction, the unsung hero who helps the king plan his strategy, who is there at the crucial moments ensuring that history is fulfilled. It is Tancred who plans and carries out the plotting with Morcar, for Morcar to turn from supporting Hereward and throw in his lot with William.
The novel appears to be historically accurate, including the fact that Dublin at that time was a major centre for the slave trade but did slavers also deal in African slaves at that time?
I particularly liked Aitcheson's prose style. There was no concession to the weaker reader with short words and even shorter sentences. His descriptions of the landscape and the hurly burly of battle were both compelling reading, particularly the parallel phrasing:
"And so we sat cross-legged, huddled in our cloaks beneath the stars, and watched our cooking fires dwindle, while we recounted stories of battles past, of women we had known, of the marvels we had seen on our travels, of things that had happened when we were young and still in training, of fine weapons and horses, of sword brothers long since fallen, of the various dreams and desires to which we all still clung, and we revelled as much in the listening as in the telling."
Tancred tells the story in the first person which goes some way to making him a sympathetic character. We share in his uncertainties in his moments of doubt and fear so he seems quite human and for all that he is a professional soldier a likeable person.
The title is a bit of a poser as it is not clear why Tancred and his two knights along with his two friends are the Knights of the Hawk. It is not their standard so perhaps it is to describe their behaviour as raptors preying on the English churls? Yet Tancred sees himself as a knight bound by the rules of chivalry and his oaths of loyalty to his lord and to the king. He is not a nasty brutish bully saving his use of force for his opponents in a fair fight. I can only assume the title is there as a marketing device.
Aitcheson is a capable writer. I would willingly read his other novels about the Norman Conquest and its aftermath.
September 19, 2017
I really enjoyed the three books (so far) in this series. I hesitate to put too much faith in historical fiction, but I think I have a better understanding of the social structure that existed during this time period (1066 AD in England/Ireland). The main character Tangred is almost a bit too virtuous at some points but that is the only slight issue I have with the books.
I read these books out of order and they were OK that way, but it would definitely be preferable to start with Sword Sword and finish with this book for better overall flow.
I read these books out of order and they were OK that way, but it would definitely be preferable to start with Sword Sword and finish with this book for better overall flow.
May 8, 2017
Good read, I had fun following Tancred and his crew on this freeing journey.
I enjoyed the story. Tancred is faced with loss many times in his life, but he does not faulter, he keeps continuing on the sword path, always with faith that he will find what he is looking for. The author does a great job making the journey feel real with his rich details that his history education and fertile imagination affords him, and I as the reader was thankful to come along for the ride.
I enjoyed the story. Tancred is faced with loss many times in his life, but he does not faulter, he keeps continuing on the sword path, always with faith that he will find what he is looking for. The author does a great job making the journey feel real with his rich details that his history education and fertile imagination affords him, and I as the reader was thankful to come along for the ride.
September 16, 2018
Have now read all three of the Tancred series. Interested to know what is in store for him and his loyal band of warriors. Very well written and although was a bit slow in development, the overall result was an interesting and somewhat surprising resolution. But, should not be too surprising as tension, passion and the search for vengeance takes it hold on individuals.
February 19, 2018
Tancred again is on the cusp of gaining everything he wants and losing it all in this continuing reversal of fortunes saga. Good story involving 11th century Dublin and the northwest isles of Britain.
April 24, 2020
It is a bit of a let down, because the story is unfinished and it is the final book to date. Tancred isn't exactly a hero, he is impulsive and hot headed. Still I would have liked to see him settled in a future.
September 13, 2022
Tancred
I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. Almost every page something happened. I knew a lot of the History of the Normans in England & English medieval history but I loved following Tancred. The ending of this story was left open. Another book please.
I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. Almost every page something happened. I knew a lot of the History of the Normans in England & English medieval history but I loved following Tancred. The ending of this story was left open. Another book please.
August 23, 2018
This is Tancred. Tancred makes bad decisions which may or may not be plot devices.
January 27, 2021
** Minor spoilers **
This book concludes the Conquest trilogy. The stories cover the years in England immediately following the Norman’s victory at the Battle of Hastings. They focus on Tancred, a Breton, who is frequently in the forefront of the battles against English rebels.
Knights of the Hawk is split into two events. The first covers the siege of the Ilse of Ely in modern day Cambridgeshire. The Ilse was held by English rebels, led by Earl Morcar and Hereward the Wake. When the story starts the Normans have already made on failed assault of the island. They had build a causeway /bridge from the marshy fens to the island, but this collapsed under the weight of the knights, leading to many deaths. Now a second assault is planned, this time with a new twist, following the capture of Earl Morcar’s nephew he met with the King William and for the promise of the restoration of his lands he will switch sides and attack the other rebels once Williams’s forces have landed and engaged the defending troops. Robert Malet and his soldiers, which include Tancred have been placed at the vanguard and have the dubious honour of leading the Norman’s across the newly created pontoon bridge. It is a close run thing but King William is eventually victorious and with the subsequent surrender of the remaining English lords finally concludes his conquest of England.
Things then turn sour for Tancred, he kills a Norman nobleman during a drunken fight at the wake for Lord Robert’s father. He is immediately dismissed from Robert’s service. He takes this opportunity to follow up on a piece of intelligence that points the way to his finding the love of his live, Oswyn. He travels to Dublin, and thence onto the Hebridean Islands to track done the Danish warlord who now holds her as his property. He is entrenched with his ‘Iron Fortress’ and believes himself and his castle to be safe from assault. Can Tancred and the rag tag band of soldiers he has manage to acquire successfully attack the castle and win?
Overall I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the series detailed a period of history I had little knowledge over. The series ends with the ultimate future of Tancred left somewhat in the balance and I for one hope the Aitcheson returns to Tancred in the future to complete the story of his life.
This book concludes the Conquest trilogy. The stories cover the years in England immediately following the Norman’s victory at the Battle of Hastings. They focus on Tancred, a Breton, who is frequently in the forefront of the battles against English rebels.
Knights of the Hawk is split into two events. The first covers the siege of the Ilse of Ely in modern day Cambridgeshire. The Ilse was held by English rebels, led by Earl Morcar and Hereward the Wake. When the story starts the Normans have already made on failed assault of the island. They had build a causeway /bridge from the marshy fens to the island, but this collapsed under the weight of the knights, leading to many deaths. Now a second assault is planned, this time with a new twist, following the capture of Earl Morcar’s nephew he met with the King William and for the promise of the restoration of his lands he will switch sides and attack the other rebels once Williams’s forces have landed and engaged the defending troops. Robert Malet and his soldiers, which include Tancred have been placed at the vanguard and have the dubious honour of leading the Norman’s across the newly created pontoon bridge. It is a close run thing but King William is eventually victorious and with the subsequent surrender of the remaining English lords finally concludes his conquest of England.
Things then turn sour for Tancred, he kills a Norman nobleman during a drunken fight at the wake for Lord Robert’s father. He is immediately dismissed from Robert’s service. He takes this opportunity to follow up on a piece of intelligence that points the way to his finding the love of his live, Oswyn. He travels to Dublin, and thence onto the Hebridean Islands to track done the Danish warlord who now holds her as his property. He is entrenched with his ‘Iron Fortress’ and believes himself and his castle to be safe from assault. Can Tancred and the rag tag band of soldiers he has manage to acquire successfully attack the castle and win?
Overall I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the series detailed a period of history I had little knowledge over. The series ends with the ultimate future of Tancred left somewhat in the balance and I for one hope the Aitcheson returns to Tancred in the future to complete the story of his life.
November 27, 2013
A Norman epic saga adventure that could put most Anglo Saxon and Danes to shame with the battles and voyages Tancred survives.
The first half and it is quite literally 50% is an amazing and quite true-ish retelling of how William the Conqueror and his many, many knights, including our own Tancred and his Lord Robert, helped turn the tide of the weary battle at the Island of Ely against Hereward the Wake and his rebels. As always James plunges us straight into the action full tilt and has us witness a truly shocking scene - where a certain knight shows genuine fear for the first time in the series.
Then when the battle is won but not quite in the way you might expect or know of - things seem to be at peace again for Tancred, his Lord claims his inheritance from his deceased father, Tancred and the original Lord Malet make amends, they all get a bit of gold and some horses, and then!!!! Well dear reader I won't say what happens but something does that turns Tancred's world entirely upside down. And if you think Tancred's discovery of his lover in Splintered Kingdom was shocking this will truly make you want to run into the story and tell him surely everything will be alright, it will work out in the end, James Aitcheson can't be that cruel an author-god can he?
Thus the second half of the tale begins with Tancred saying a lot of goodbyes, I won't say to whom, where or what, as he does what the Viking ancestors of his liege lords would have done, grab a boat, sail on the sea and have an almighty life-changing adventure! That's right folks - Tancred is leaving the British Isles! Not that far though, he's only heading west to a land that should have 'dire' in it's name. Where it will take all his strength, honour and determination and a bit of cunning to perform a task that seems utterly impossible. And the ending is simple yet dramatic leaving the reader asking the only question anyone would ask in the situation - what will Tancred or for that matter James Aitcheson, do next?
The first half and it is quite literally 50% is an amazing and quite true-ish retelling of how William the Conqueror and his many, many knights, including our own Tancred and his Lord Robert, helped turn the tide of the weary battle at the Island of Ely against Hereward the Wake and his rebels. As always James plunges us straight into the action full tilt and has us witness a truly shocking scene - where a certain knight shows genuine fear for the first time in the series.
Then when the battle is won but not quite in the way you might expect or know of - things seem to be at peace again for Tancred, his Lord claims his inheritance from his deceased father, Tancred and the original Lord Malet make amends, they all get a bit of gold and some horses, and then!!!! Well dear reader I won't say what happens but something does that turns Tancred's world entirely upside down. And if you think Tancred's discovery of his lover in Splintered Kingdom was shocking this will truly make you want to run into the story and tell him surely everything will be alright, it will work out in the end, James Aitcheson can't be that cruel an author-god can he?
Thus the second half of the tale begins with Tancred saying a lot of goodbyes, I won't say to whom, where or what, as he does what the Viking ancestors of his liege lords would have done, grab a boat, sail on the sea and have an almighty life-changing adventure! That's right folks - Tancred is leaving the British Isles! Not that far though, he's only heading west to a land that should have 'dire' in it's name. Where it will take all his strength, honour and determination and a bit of cunning to perform a task that seems utterly impossible. And the ending is simple yet dramatic leaving the reader asking the only question anyone would ask in the situation - what will Tancred or for that matter James Aitcheson, do next?
November 15, 2013
Review
Once again James Aitcheson well and truly knocks the ball out of the park, his latest book Knights of the Hawk is an action packed thriller. There are very few let up in the story for you to take a breath and pause, you literally find yourself flipping to the next page then the next, just one more page, just one more chapter, and then suddenly ...its 3am... how did that happen. totally lost in the world of Tancred.
I cant say he is the most likeable character, and in this book possibly even less so, but he is well written , and allows the reader a rare first person view of what it must have been like for the Normans having conquered this wild and proud land of Britain.
As usual the mix of fact and fiction is so well done, so blurred i really don't know where one start and the other ends. I always feel i have learned something important by the end of these books, even if its just how the British as they are today were formed into who they are. This period of our history is so wild, so varied, so violent, so action packed, so full of change. Never again would this land be conquered, so its so important to understand how it happened, and how we all formed together, how people like Tancred became British, something James Aitcheson does so well, with an obvious love of the towns and villages of old Britain, and what they must have seemed like so long ago.
Every time i read his books i feel transported back to that time, the sights sounds and smells sounds so clichéd in a review, but it really is a relevant comment for his writing, because he brings them all to life.
Another fantastic novel, i look forward to the next. Very highly recommended
(Parm)
Once again James Aitcheson well and truly knocks the ball out of the park, his latest book Knights of the Hawk is an action packed thriller. There are very few let up in the story for you to take a breath and pause, you literally find yourself flipping to the next page then the next, just one more page, just one more chapter, and then suddenly ...its 3am... how did that happen. totally lost in the world of Tancred.
I cant say he is the most likeable character, and in this book possibly even less so, but he is well written , and allows the reader a rare first person view of what it must have been like for the Normans having conquered this wild and proud land of Britain.
As usual the mix of fact and fiction is so well done, so blurred i really don't know where one start and the other ends. I always feel i have learned something important by the end of these books, even if its just how the British as they are today were formed into who they are. This period of our history is so wild, so varied, so violent, so action packed, so full of change. Never again would this land be conquered, so its so important to understand how it happened, and how we all formed together, how people like Tancred became British, something James Aitcheson does so well, with an obvious love of the towns and villages of old Britain, and what they must have seemed like so long ago.
Every time i read his books i feel transported back to that time, the sights sounds and smells sounds so clichéd in a review, but it really is a relevant comment for his writing, because he brings them all to life.
Another fantastic novel, i look forward to the next. Very highly recommended
(Parm)
June 22, 2014
I remember a few years back I read a book, before I read the first in this 'Conquest' series Sworn Sword, which told of (some of) the events of 1066 from the English rather than Norman perspective.
Why do I bring that up? Because the main character of that book - Hereward, known today with the sobriquet 'The Wake' - also appears in this, and is indeed a central character in roughly the first half or so.
That part of the book deals with King Guillaime (William, aka (today) 'The Conqueror') campaign to crush the last(?) of the English resistance to his conquest in the fen country, with Tancred (as always) playing a central role in doing so. Following their eventual success, however, and for plot reasons I am not going to go into here, Tancred finds himself on the run from his former Lord, traveling to Dyfflin (Dublin) in pursuit of his lost love, leading to him allying himself with the most unlikely of allies and launching an assault upon a Dane who has holed up in the Northern Isles.
This, I felt, is another great read in the series: I will be picking up the next when it comes out!
Why do I bring that up? Because the main character of that book - Hereward, known today with the sobriquet 'The Wake' - also appears in this, and is indeed a central character in roughly the first half or so.
That part of the book deals with King Guillaime (William, aka (today) 'The Conqueror') campaign to crush the last(?) of the English resistance to his conquest in the fen country, with Tancred (as always) playing a central role in doing so. Following their eventual success, however, and for plot reasons I am not going to go into here, Tancred finds himself on the run from his former Lord, traveling to Dyfflin (Dublin) in pursuit of his lost love, leading to him allying himself with the most unlikely of allies and launching an assault upon a Dane who has holed up in the Northern Isles.
This, I felt, is another great read in the series: I will be picking up the next when it comes out!
August 18, 2015
Really wanted to like this book, but it took me quite some time to read, basically because I kept losing interest. I think it’s about the shift in how people see their world as circumstances change. This writer is proficient, I have no doubt, and it’s all very readable. First-rate battle scenes, the men are sturdy characters, details are solid. (Though I couldn’t help wondering why there were so many mice in the hall, do hunting dogs think mice beneath them?) Tancred is strong, bold, and intelligent, all the stuff he should be as a knight, but…he’s a bit boring. I’m sorry but he is. He came over as rather naïve, the intrigue and politics seem to pass him by. And I seriously can’t get his feelings for Oswynn, she seems a rather generic ‘beautiful, spirited, worthy woman’, it’s like she’s just an abstract for him to hang on to, not a real person. The character of Eithne, on the other hand, had promise, but she simply dissolved into the background.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t looking for a bodice ripper, I wanted to feel connect with the time. Perhaps I should have read the series in order, but I came across it waiting for a plane, and I can’t help feeling each book should be able to stand alone.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t looking for a bodice ripper, I wanted to feel connect with the time. Perhaps I should have read the series in order, but I came across it waiting for a plane, and I can’t help feeling each book should be able to stand alone.
August 28, 2016
c2013: FWFTB: Normans, East Anglia, Hereward-the-wake, loyalty, pontoon. Another heroic outing for Tancred reminding me of Hereward the Wake who I have not heard/read about for many many years. The book is more bitter in tone echoing the bitterness being felt by the protagonist but it is deftly handled. The battle scenes are brilliant and the battle in the marshes is really well done indeed. "And so we did. Even though we were all bone-weary from the battle and from lack of sleep the previous night, we nevertheless stayed awake, hardly speaking a word, even as from outside the guardhouse the joyous cries and music of the revellers floated upon the breeze.'
October 26, 2014
I really like the idea behind these books, the period after the Norman Conquest needed literature to cover it but as someone else wrote in a review earlier in 2014 I just can't make myself like the lead character.
This was the best of the 3 books and I enjoyed the involvement of Harold Godwinson's relatives but I still couldn't believe anyone would have followed his cause as eagerly as they did.
That being said Aitcheson's battle scenes are always good and that really helps these books come to life.
An improving author, and although these books left a bit to be desired, I look forward to reading future work by him!
This was the best of the 3 books and I enjoyed the involvement of Harold Godwinson's relatives but I still couldn't believe anyone would have followed his cause as eagerly as they did.
That being said Aitcheson's battle scenes are always good and that really helps these books come to life.
An improving author, and although these books left a bit to be desired, I look forward to reading future work by him!
November 22, 2015
My introduction to this series based around the adventures of Norman knight Tancred a Dinant began with he second book in the series so taking that into account - this is the best book so far. The fact the hero is a Norman and the Saxons are the enemy turns the reader's pre-concieved prejudices upside down.
Weaving true events and people into the fictionalised story of our hero is nothing, new but in these books it is done well, and the overall feel is less glamour and real grit and dirt.
Can't wait for the next one to see where Tancred ends up next.
Weaving true events and people into the fictionalised story of our hero is nothing, new but in these books it is done well, and the overall feel is less glamour and real grit and dirt.
Can't wait for the next one to see where Tancred ends up next.
November 17, 2013
Tancred moves from one disaster to another. This time with William the Bastard's army in the Fens round Ely. It portrays in quite an interesting way, a knight's dependence on his lord. The Malets have lost the King's favour, so can't reward their knights as they should, and so it passes down the chain. Tancred has fought well, without much reward and is being passed over as new men come in.
Thought this might he a trilogy but we are in for a series!
Thought this might he a trilogy but we are in for a series!
November 12, 2016
I just finished a trilogy (the author insists we have not seen the last of our protagonist) by James Aitcheson -- Sworn Sword, The Splintered Kingdom, and Knights of the Hawk. The series follows Tancred, a knight in William the Conqueror's army in the years after the conquest. Aitcheson is engaging in the development of relationships and captures the turmoil that came in the years after 1066. I recommend the series.
August 10, 2014
l have to say l really enjoy this book, and can not wait for the next part, we move a long at great pace from Norfolk,Dublin to Hebrides lots of battles for our hero to do some within himself, watch out Simon Scarrow Ben Kane and even the great Bernard Cornwell there a kid in town and hes a great story teller
June 3, 2014
Third book in the series sees a bit of an improvement in the plot and story line. The writing is still very good but I can't bring myself to like the main character...maybe that's the point, but as a result the book doesn't make me want to read the next in the series. (Despite having read all of them so far).
August 12, 2023
3.5 stars for the series.
I love that this was written by an historian, and it is obvious he really loves the rich history of medieval England, Scotland and Wales. My specialty is focused primarily on the Welsh and their experience during the Norman invasions, and so it is interesting to look at this time period through the eyes of the Normans, rather than the Welsh or Scots.
I love that this was written by an historian, and it is obvious he really loves the rich history of medieval England, Scotland and Wales. My specialty is focused primarily on the Welsh and their experience during the Norman invasions, and so it is interesting to look at this time period through the eyes of the Normans, rather than the Welsh or Scots.
January 9, 2018
Tancred returns in an excellent adventure, harrowing at times, which reveals much about the state of England and Ireland in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest. An enjoyable series continues in fine form.
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