Hereward: The Bloody Crown:

Hereward #6

by James Wilde

Hereward's story concludes in this brutal, bloody and thrilling page-turner - perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden. "With great gusto...James Wilde has succeeded in giving new and convincing life to a half-forgotten English hero." -- BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE"Vividly describes those turbulent, dismal years...this is a masterful tale, graphic and gory, and loaded with medieval history." -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY"A truly spell-binding series...masterfully done." -- PARMENIAN BOOKS"Loved every minute." -- ***** Reader review"Wonderful storytelling" -- ***** Reader review"Full of twists and turns, aside factual events, recommended to all readers who enjoy battles and honour seeped in last events" -- ***** Reader review***************************************************************BLADES ARE SHARPENED, BATTLE LINES DRAWN. NOW IS THE TIME FOR HEROES...1081: The bloody battle for the crown of the Holy Roman Empire begins.Within the city of Constantinople itself, three mercenary factions will go to any lengths, including murder, to seize the throne.And outside the city's walls, twin powers threaten a siege that will crush the once-mighty empire to the west, the voracious forces of the most feared Norman warlord are gathering, while in the east, the Turkish hordes are massing - theirs is a lust for slaughter.And in the midst of this maelstrom of brutality and betrayal, Hereward and his English spear-brothers prepare to make what could be their final stand . . . The Bloody Crown is the final book in James Wilde's six book Hereward series. Have you read Hereward, The Devil's Army, End of Days, Wolves of New Rome The Immortals- the first five books in the series?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Medieval

418 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 28, 2016

About the author

James Wilde is a Man of Mercia. Raised in a world of books, the author studied economic history at university before travelling the world in search of adventure. Unable to forget a childhood encounter - in the pages of a comic - with the great English warrior, Hereward, Wilde returned to the haunted fenlands of Eastern England, Hereward’s ancestral home, where he became convinced that this legendary hero should be the subject of his first novel. Wilde now indulges his love of history and the high life in the home his family have owned for several generations in the heart of a Mercian forest.

Reviews

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This thrilling historical adventure is the 6th volume of the delightful and fascinating Hereward series by James Wilde.
It's another book with wonderful storytelling by the author, and also is the book pictured with great battle actions within the city of Constantinople.
All the characters within this gripping historical tale, whether real or fictional, come vividly to life from start to finish, and thus making this great book such a joy to read.
The book has been historically very well researched, so far as possible of course, and most that is known from that period of history has been wisely used within this enjoyable read.
The story is set once again in Constantinople, the Capitol of the Holy Roman Empire, but the time has moved on to the years of AD 1079 until 1081.
The story itself is about the battle for the Crown within Constantinople, where three factions will do anything to seize the throne, and thus maim and kill anybody who stands in the way.
Outside the Holy Roman Empire two armies are fighting it out with each other, the Normans and the Turks, for the riches of Constantinople, while at the same time inside there's also frictions between factions within the Capitol of the Empire, and it is in that complicated and dangerous situations that we find Hereward and his spear-brothers.
What will follow is a beautiful tale of courage, brutality, betrayal and death, before Hereward and his spear-brothers have to make their final stand against all those ruthless enemies.
Fully recommended, for this a fascinating tale, and by what the author himself indicates within the author's note, so this is for me a "Fantastic Finale....But Hopefully Not The End"!

[Speesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This just might be the final Hereward. The jacket blurb does indeed describe it as 'the dramatic final chapter' though at the end, Mr James does more than hint, if the wind is in the right direction, he may return to Hereward at some time in the future. I think the time is right to leave Hereward in Constantinople. He's run his course for now, and this is a fine send-off, if it be that. It's a story full of action, full of Hereward (and others)'s last moment interventions and piles on the excitement almost non-stop. Almost, because I can really do without the convoluted, back-stabbing, two-faced politiking that Hist Fic authors always entangle their stories of post-Roman empire Constantinople with. I''m not saying it didn't happen, but a couple of lines would be enough for me/us to get the picture. All 'that sort of stuff' has been trotted out so many times - you should register with an author that you've read it all before, you know how it was, so they (and you) can skip it this time out. Especially as this is supposed to be a tale of Hereward and his warriors. And saying that - it's a shame there hasn't been more time to go into the minor characters. The ones Hereward brought with him and have been with him through thick and thin, they sound an intriguing bunch and lose out on page space, with all the various Constantinople 'Houses' trying to second guess each other. However, there is (more) mileage to be wrung out of Hereward as the antidote to all that poison. A simple warrior, seeing to the heart of the problem - and doing something about it. If I were to draw a parallel with other books I've read plenty of recently, I'd have to mention Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp character. He is, as above, a simple man, someone who sees where the problem is and gets things done. Other parallels are of course, with the politicians in Vince Flynn, the factions here. Really goes to show that nothing changes but the genre.

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[peter david mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloody conclusions in Constantinople.

In this the final episode of the Hereward saga there are conclusions reached in the internal struggles for power in Constantinople. Hereward, Alric and the spear brothers finally find their destiny. Every book in the series has been superb and plotwise this final episode is the best of them all. I shall miss reading their extraordinary exploits.

[Linda Humberstone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good story about Hereward and his spear brothers, the last one for a while it seems. There's lots of intrigues, conspiracies and fighting and Hereward has to play dead for a while. I'm now looking forward to Pendragon and hope it is as good as the Hereward series.

[steve evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Wilde at his brilliant best

Another very enjoyable read about Hereward and his band of brothers in their quest for recognition . Plots a plenty along the road , exceptional series .

[Gary B Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

No more Wake

Excellent end to the tales of Hereward.
Loved every minute.
Now to Pendragon.
Hope as good as these books.
Onwards.

[Patrick Raftery · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is real game of thrones with so many families after the throne no one is safe,and in all the mix is hereward and his brothers must play one against the other Norman's in the West Turks in the East. With a rogue solider we a blood axe with a liking with killing Turks has hereward in his eye set,so goes James Wilde best book to date just loved it

[Scott Gardner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This easily the best of the second trilogy , not so much wandering about and characters popping up at random

[Nathan jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant plot

Full of twists and turns, aside factual events, recommended to all readers who enjoy battles and honour seeped in last events

[Melissa Widmaier · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bittersweet ending to Hereward's tale, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

[John Henshaw Sadlers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bloody plots

After a solid start the book begins its quest to lay betrayal on betrayal and in the end the plot twists become too convoluted .......just too much.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great tale of political intrigue set in Constantinople. Hereward and his spear brothers are right in the middle of all of it.
Lots of plots and counter plots intrigue and plenty of blood & gore.

[Mark Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last in the series. major twists and turns in it. Good action glad to see them get the gold and glory they've been after

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've enjoyed this series immensely. Wilde is a great writer - his characters are alive and in-your-face, and you can almost smell the blood and sweat of the battlefield.

[Jeff Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

**************** Possible spoiler alert*****************

I've loved this series ever since the first book came out some six or seven years ago. I tend to mostly read historical fiction nowadays and have all the prominent authors' books (Kane, Cornwell, Scarrow, Jackson, Fabbri etc) and they're all very good, but for me very few of them have ever come close to a par with James Wilde's Hereward series. I'm normally up the bookseller's the day of publication when each year's instalment comes out and usually read it within a matter of days, but having read somewhere that this was to be the last in the series I couldn't bring myself to read it - I couldn't bear to be parted from such great well-rounded characters as Hereward, Alric the monk and Kraki the Viking, but all good things come to an end. But without wanting to give away any spoilers I am delighted to read the author's notes at the end which state if the demand is there he may one day return and write another episode in the Hereward adventure.

So if you're a fan of this series and have enjoyed the other books you won't be disappointed by this instalment. It may not have quite as much bloody action as its predecessors (there is some!) the clever plot covering the political intrigue, back stabbing and plotting of those seeking power in the late Roman Empire, more than makes up for it.

A thumping good read and highly recommended.