Three Kings, One Throne

Finn's Legacy #2

by Michael E. Wills

The crown of England was the most contested in Europe, this is the story of the two men and the masters they served. In a panoramic novel against a backdrop of violence and political turbulence in the eleventh century, Ivar, a Danish orphan is enslaved to the most successful and experienced soldier of the age. He eventually becomes one of the elite bodyguard of the Emperor of Turkey. Meanwhile his distant relative, Torkil, the grandson of an Anglo Norse thayne, advances his military career in the service of Harold Godwinson. History dictates that one day the two warriors, caught up in the maelstrom of treachery, carnage, and greed,will meet. When they do, there are devastating results for one of them, his king and his country. The crown of England was the most contested in all Europe; on the death of Edward the Confessor, Harold Godwinsson took possession of it. In 1066 two other claimants to the throne, a Norwegian and a Norman tried to wrest it from him. This is the story of Ivar, Torkil and the three kings they served.
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Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical

264 pages, Paperback

First published April 2, 2013

About the author

I was born on the Isle of Wight and after attending school there, I trained to be a teacher. I worked for two years in a secondary school in Kent before re-training to teach English as a Foreign Language. After a career in education both in UK and in Europe, I now have time to write about things which fascinate me, and foremost among my many interests is history. I like to tell stories about ordinary people who get caught up in historical events and thereby portray the lives of characters both real and fictional.

Reviews

[Jaffareadstoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The turbulent history which surrounds the invasion of England in the eleventh century is a complicated affair. The crown of England was a prize to be cherished above all prizes, and there were good men and bad, who were prepared to fight to the death to gain control of so rich a treasure. In 1066, on the death of Edward the Confessor, Harold Godwinson claimed the English crown, but standing by were two other claimants, a Norwegian and a Norman, who were both fully determined to stake their claim. Violence, greed and carnage were never off the agenda as opposing forces clashed and fought their way to victory.

What’s interesting about Three Kings –One Throne is that the story is narrated by two protagonists who are caught on opposing sides; Torkil, an Anglo Saxon thayne is on the side of Godwinson, whilst Ivar, a Danish orphan is part of the Norwegian opposing forces. Both men live with rough justice and violence, and are no stranger to their own brand of complicated deception.

There were occasionally times when the book seemed to flag a little, the task of explaining this particular snapshot of history is momentous, but overall Michael Wills has done an admirable job in bringing together all the intricate historical details, and has woven a credible tale of adventure and political skulduggery.

There are helpful footnotes scattered throughout the text which help to put the narrative into historical context, and the epilogue is especially valuable, as it references the history of 1065/1066 in easy to understand detail. If you to want to learn more about this crucial period in English and European history, there is an extensive bibliography with some useful references for further reading.

It’s not crucial reading, but it does sort of make sense to read Michael Wills’s previous book, Finn’s Fate as a precursor to Three Kings – One Throne, as it does prove helpful to know the background to some of the characters in Three Kings.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book through the Goodreads First Reads program.

When I took a British history course during university I found the events around the Battle of Hastings to be the part that really sparked my interest. It truly was a tale of three kings and one throne, with so many opportunities for events to have turned out differently, and the entire history of England would have been significantly different.

Thus I was eager to read a story that took place at the same time. Now I knew going in that this was a sequel to another book, Finn's Fate, but I felt that for the most part it wasn't necessary to have read the first. On the other hand, there were some parts where I felt the author was summarizing the events that occurred between the time the first book left off and the next one picked up, something I think wouldn't have seemed so strange if I had read the first book.

While I enjoyed the book overall, it was a little dry, I found I didn't really get attached to the two main characters Ivar and Torkil. Also, there is a large age difference between the characters, but we learn about their lives in parallel, so one has to keep in mind when reading about Ivar, the events are occuring a decade or two before the events being described for Torkil. As the POV in the book switched back and forth between the two, when they finally come together, it was a bit difficult to sort out the timeline (in fact we miss a chunk of Ivar's life).

However, I do feel I learnt a lot about the people and events leading up to 1066. In school we learnt nothing about Harald Hardrada, the focus was on Harold and William, so I really enjoyed the fact that a fair amount of time was spent on that part of the story. If someone is a fan of the time period or of historial fiction in general, I do recommend this book, it is clearly well researched.

[Felicity Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in a turbulent 11th century England, Three Kings - One Throne will undoubtedly be enjoyed by historical fiction fans of all ages (I know I liked it) but I'd especially recommend it for teenagers/young adults as whilst the story is never 'dumbed down' for this audience I do think it is written in such a detailed and yet simplistic enough way as to make it particularly accessible to them.

Narrated by not one but two characters, something that doesn't always work well and can be confusing. In this instance however an admirable job is done in telling the story from the perspective of two such seemingly different characters. And yet are they?

Though occasionally almost verging on text book territory, I admire that the author combined passages from actual texts of the era whilst going to such lengths to bring to life the events, the politics, the places, the people both real and, in particular, fictionalised, of the time. No mean feat when covering such a colourful period in history in just over 250 pages.

A satisfying and highly interesting read, my only real concerns being the minute print and the footnotes which, loved by some and loathed by others, I personally prefer in the form of a glossary that I can consult as and when.

Copyright: Petty Witter @ Pen and Paper.
Disclaimer: Read and reviewed on behalf of the author, I was merely asked for my honest opinion, no financial compensation was asked for nor given

[Lee Holz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three Kings – One Throne is a fictional fleshing out of what is known about roughly the middle third of the eleventh century c.e. The attempted is well conceived and well-executed with the stories of two mid-level noblemen who wind up on opposites sides of the Battle of Hastings in 1066 providing additional excitement and interest to the better known stories of Earl (later King) Harold, Harald Hardrata (King of Norway) and William, Duke of Normandy. I found the book convincing and thoroughly enjoyable.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is awash with historical knowledge and scholarly detail. As a piece of storytelling it was, for me, far less successful. I'm no fan of footnotes in a novel, for instance, and the sense that the author was instructing me about the 11th century rather than making me feel it only increased as the book progressed. For some readers, this might not be an issue.

Full review http://forwinternights.wordpress.com/...

[Belinda Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this thru the Good Reads contest and I'm a real buff on Historical books. I would have given this book 4 stars but I was quite distracted by all the footnotes. It was quite interesting and very much along the historical lines which I enjoyed. Although it would be a little complicated to read if you had no real knowledge of the History. Overall I liked the book.