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Civil War Chronicles #5
Warlord's Gold
Autumn,1643. As an increasingly bitter war rages across England, Captain Innocent Stryker leaves Oxford with orders to recover a lost treasure, vital to the success of the Royalist cause. But a seemingly simple mission to the remote Scilly Isles is soon jeopardised, for enemies lie in wait. A formidable Parliamentarian agent has been sent ahead of Stryker's force, intent on defeating Royalist plans. Feared by ally and enemy alike, he is a man whose determination is only matched by his hatred for Stryker.
The quest for the gold takes Stryker across storm-ravaged seas, through enemy territory and finally to the Royalist stronghold of Basing House. And it is there that Stryker will face his most dangerous challenge yet.
The quest for the gold takes Stryker across storm-ravaged seas, through enemy territory and finally to the Royalist stronghold of Basing House. And it is there that Stryker will face his most dangerous challenge yet.
480 pages, Hardcover
First published July 3, 2014
8 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Michael Arnold
114 books101 followersMichael lives in Hampshire with his wife and children. His childhood holidays were spent visiting castles and battlefields, but his fascination with the civil wars was piqued partly by the fact that his hometown and region of Hampshire are steeped in Civil War history.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 16, 2021
Read this book in 2014, and this one is once again set in the year, AD1643, with once more Captain Innocent Stryker in full action during the English Civil War.
Highly recommended, for this episode is in my view: "A Most Glorious Stryker Encounter"!
Highly recommended, for this episode is in my view: "A Most Glorious Stryker Encounter"!
January 3, 2018
Without doubt, this is my favourite English Civil War series and Warlord's Gold is a fine addition to it. Above all else, it is a thoroughly enjoyable and thrilling adventure but what sets it above and beyond are the characters of Stryker, Lisette, Stryker's men and those of the men they must face. Fabulous!
March 27, 2025
Rip-snorting.
October 17, 2022
A return to form in this, the fifth, tale in the Civil War Chronicles. I had never thought of the Scilly Isles being involved in the Civil War, but they seem to have made a contribution to Royalist fortunes throughout the conflict.
December 4, 2022
A good read exciting fights.
August 13, 2016
So this is book five in Mike Arnold’s civil war series and I’ve been reading and reviewing since book 1. What can I say that I haven’t already said?
This series is promoted as the ‘Sharpe of the Civil War’. In truth, though I love my Bernard Cornwell series, we are rapidly approaching the point where dear Captain/Major/Colonel Sharpe is actually the ‘Stryker of the Napoleonic Wars’. For me, Captain Innocent Stryker has now become one of the quintessential characters that define modern historical fiction. Macro and Cato, Alan Dale, Valerius, Hatton & Roumande, Two-knives, Raven, Jack Lark, Orm… and Stryker.
Arnold was unpredictable, I feel, in his first three books, in that though each one was an engrossing and rivetting read, they varied between books that were breakneck action, complex hunts, character-driven pieces and so on. By book 3 he had largely hit his stride of combining every stunning aspect into one novel. Book 4 (Assassin’s Reign) was a superb masterpiece of the genre and showed that he had crested the wave and could be relied upon to keep up the standard in every way. Book 5 confirms that.
Warlord’s Gold not only hits the spot in every aspect of historical fiction, it is also Arnold’s tightest, well-resolved and yet most wide-ranging plot yet. Our story begins with two distinct threads (ignoring bad guys that we know are going to converge with one or the other), with Stryker in the Scillies and Forrester (my personal fave character) heading south from Oxford on a special mission. For a lot of the book I presumed this was going to be the way of things, with two stories being told concurrently, each with their own heroes, villains and plots. And yet Arnold seamlessly joins them during the tale, bringing them together into a siege situation the like of which a lover of Zulu would enjoy.
Enough on the plot and writing style. Suffice it to say, the plot is extremely well-crafted, while the writing style is so comfortable and enticing that it is easy to get lost in the tale. Even with a busy life and demanding children, I finished the book in 3 days.
Since my era of choice is Rome, this Civil War series teaches me something with almosy every chapter, and I come away after a Mike Arnold book more insufferably knowledgable than ever I was before. Even just in the use of language (sotweed, dragooners, lobsters and so on.)
But for me, no matter what else good I can say of this series, Arnold’s strength that makes him stand out among peers is his characters. He is capable of creatin such vivid characters that even half-way into their first scene the reader can thoroughly visualise them in their head. Stryker and Forry are prime examples of this, and carry from book to book, with Stryker being easily one of the top 3 most memorable characters in the whole genre for me. But even one-shot villains or supporting characters in these books are so vivid and clear that they steal the stage from one another at every turn. In fact, I would go so far as to say that Arnold creates the most impressive complete nutcases in the literary world! In this particular book we meet a thoroughly disreputable and enjoyable smuggler-turned-privateer, a misshapen vengeful lunatic (though you might know him), a zealous Balkan killer, a reluctant military commander with the heart of a lion and more. It really is a treat to read in terms of character.
The less said about the plot the better, for fear of spoilers, but it will be giving nothing away to those who have read the first four and have seen the book’s title that this one revolves around Cade’s missing treasure and its recovery. In fact it is something of a race between two parties to deliver the gold to their opposing masters, with action all around the south coast this time, ranging from Basing House in Hampshire to the Scilly Isles. One thing for sure is that you cannot predict the path of the plot, so don’t try.
In short, Arnold has become a master of his art, and this book just shows it. This review is redundant for anyone who’s read the rest of the series. If you’ve read books 1-4, you’ve had book 5 on pre-order anyway, I’m pretty damn sure. If not, then you’ve not read any of these. WHY???? Go out and buy them all at once. Don’t waste time where you might have to wait for the next book to be delivered. Take my advice and get them all now.
A thoroughly absorbing masterpiece that deserves to hit the top and stay there.
This series is promoted as the ‘Sharpe of the Civil War’. In truth, though I love my Bernard Cornwell series, we are rapidly approaching the point where dear Captain/Major/Colonel Sharpe is actually the ‘Stryker of the Napoleonic Wars’. For me, Captain Innocent Stryker has now become one of the quintessential characters that define modern historical fiction. Macro and Cato, Alan Dale, Valerius, Hatton & Roumande, Two-knives, Raven, Jack Lark, Orm… and Stryker.
Arnold was unpredictable, I feel, in his first three books, in that though each one was an engrossing and rivetting read, they varied between books that were breakneck action, complex hunts, character-driven pieces and so on. By book 3 he had largely hit his stride of combining every stunning aspect into one novel. Book 4 (Assassin’s Reign) was a superb masterpiece of the genre and showed that he had crested the wave and could be relied upon to keep up the standard in every way. Book 5 confirms that.
Warlord’s Gold not only hits the spot in every aspect of historical fiction, it is also Arnold’s tightest, well-resolved and yet most wide-ranging plot yet. Our story begins with two distinct threads (ignoring bad guys that we know are going to converge with one or the other), with Stryker in the Scillies and Forrester (my personal fave character) heading south from Oxford on a special mission. For a lot of the book I presumed this was going to be the way of things, with two stories being told concurrently, each with their own heroes, villains and plots. And yet Arnold seamlessly joins them during the tale, bringing them together into a siege situation the like of which a lover of Zulu would enjoy.
Enough on the plot and writing style. Suffice it to say, the plot is extremely well-crafted, while the writing style is so comfortable and enticing that it is easy to get lost in the tale. Even with a busy life and demanding children, I finished the book in 3 days.
Since my era of choice is Rome, this Civil War series teaches me something with almosy every chapter, and I come away after a Mike Arnold book more insufferably knowledgable than ever I was before. Even just in the use of language (sotweed, dragooners, lobsters and so on.)
But for me, no matter what else good I can say of this series, Arnold’s strength that makes him stand out among peers is his characters. He is capable of creatin such vivid characters that even half-way into their first scene the reader can thoroughly visualise them in their head. Stryker and Forry are prime examples of this, and carry from book to book, with Stryker being easily one of the top 3 most memorable characters in the whole genre for me. But even one-shot villains or supporting characters in these books are so vivid and clear that they steal the stage from one another at every turn. In fact, I would go so far as to say that Arnold creates the most impressive complete nutcases in the literary world! In this particular book we meet a thoroughly disreputable and enjoyable smuggler-turned-privateer, a misshapen vengeful lunatic (though you might know him), a zealous Balkan killer, a reluctant military commander with the heart of a lion and more. It really is a treat to read in terms of character.
The less said about the plot the better, for fear of spoilers, but it will be giving nothing away to those who have read the first four and have seen the book’s title that this one revolves around Cade’s missing treasure and its recovery. In fact it is something of a race between two parties to deliver the gold to their opposing masters, with action all around the south coast this time, ranging from Basing House in Hampshire to the Scilly Isles. One thing for sure is that you cannot predict the path of the plot, so don’t try.
In short, Arnold has become a master of his art, and this book just shows it. This review is redundant for anyone who’s read the rest of the series. If you’ve read books 1-4, you’ve had book 5 on pre-order anyway, I’m pretty damn sure. If not, then you’ve not read any of these. WHY???? Go out and buy them all at once. Don’t waste time where you might have to wait for the next book to be delivered. Take my advice and get them all now.
A thoroughly absorbing masterpiece that deserves to hit the top and stay there.
July 12, 2014
Like a very fine wine,the longer it goes,the better it is,and the 5th outing of Captain Innocent Stryker is not only a full body adventure of the Civil War,it has now become a smooth we`ll develop series that now walks beside another class act that of Sharpe.They need to change the sticker on the cover from the Sharpe of the Civil War to Stryker the main man of the Civil War.Once again Michael Arnold has produced a cracking adventure that has you in the heart of the action,we`re you can smell the gunpowder and hear the battle cry`s as Stryker,Forrester and Lisette come up against a old foe from the past,a foe who has a passion to reap revenge on our heroes,and comes very close to achieving his goal.Michael Arnold brings his passion for the period on to the page and along with great research has produced another gem to sit along side the other four gems in the series.I can not wait for the next outing of Forrester,Lisette and the main man of the Civil War Captain Innocent Stryker.
September 16, 2014
Book #5 in Michael Arnold's 'Civil War Chronicles', this picks up not long after then end of the previous (Assassin's Reign), with Stryker and his men off to retrieve a treasure from the Scilly Islands for the cause of King and Country.
Of course, agents of Parliament are also after the same treasure.
Meanwhile, Stryker's friend Capt Lancelot Forester is also sent deep into Parliamenterian held country in order to shore up the will of an outpost that is still holding out for the king ...
Surviving shipwreck, imprisonment and torture, the two distinct plot strands (Stryker and the treasure/Forester' mission) eventually mesh at the defense of Basing House, in another enjoyable entry in the series.
Of course, agents of Parliament are also after the same treasure.
Meanwhile, Stryker's friend Capt Lancelot Forester is also sent deep into Parliamenterian held country in order to shore up the will of an outpost that is still holding out for the king ...
Surviving shipwreck, imprisonment and torture, the two distinct plot strands (Stryker and the treasure/Forester' mission) eventually mesh at the defense of Basing House, in another enjoyable entry in the series.
March 3, 2015
Arnold has Stryker back where he belongs: in a swashbuckling adventure filled with evil-doers, gold and blood. Volume #4 had me worried that Arnold had lost his sense of adventure and fun, sticking his protagonist in a necessarily dull siege but Warlord's Gold is much more like it.
Tbe Civil War has begun to turn away from the Royalists as The Parliament slowly gains the advantage and the inevitable regicide. There is a lot of history left in the Civil Wars, however, and Michael Arnold can spin this story out for years. Which I hope continues to be a good thing.
Tbe Civil War has begun to turn away from the Royalists as The Parliament slowly gains the advantage and the inevitable regicide. There is a lot of history left in the Civil Wars, however, and Michael Arnold can spin this story out for years. Which I hope continues to be a good thing.
July 27, 2014
really enjoyed the latest in the civil war series and felt there was more depth in the characters as the series has gone along.
May 28, 2015
Another stormer! Can't wait for the next one!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews