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Band of Brothers #2
Harfleur
1415.
Harfleur.
The town stands defiant.
Henry V and his army have been repulsed. If the English fail to break the siege then their campaign will be over. Men will die, from disease or starvation.
The King instructs one of his agents, Thomas Chaucer, to negotiate a deal with a local French merchant to re-supply the army. But, instead of meeting an ally, Chaucer is about to come face to face with an old enemy.
Henry, in a last throw of the dice, charges the archer Robert Cooper with ending the siege. The bowman forms a plan. The night attack will either save the English army – or damn it.
Once more into the breach…
Band of Brothers: Harfleur is a page-turning novella full of action, intrigue and historical insight. For fans of Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden and George Macdonald Fraser.
Harfleur.
The town stands defiant.
Henry V and his army have been repulsed. If the English fail to break the siege then their campaign will be over. Men will die, from disease or starvation.
The King instructs one of his agents, Thomas Chaucer, to negotiate a deal with a local French merchant to re-supply the army. But, instead of meeting an ally, Chaucer is about to come face to face with an old enemy.
Henry, in a last throw of the dice, charges the archer Robert Cooper with ending the siege. The bowman forms a plan. The night attack will either save the English army – or damn it.
Once more into the breach…
Band of Brothers: Harfleur is a page-turning novella full of action, intrigue and historical insight. For fans of Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden and George Macdonald Fraser.
121 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 13, 2016
50 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Richard Foreman
37 books77 followersRichard Foreman is the author of numerous best-selling Kindle books, including Augustus: Son of Rome and the Sword of Rome series of novellas which follow Julius Caesar and his centurion Lucius Oppius during their campaigns in Britain, Gaul and the Civil War. The stories are a blend of action, intrigue and Ancient History.
He is also the author of Warsaw, a literary novel set during the end of the Second World War, and the historical novel A Hero of Our Time, as well as the Raffles series of historical crime novellas.
His latest novel, Band of Brothers: The Game's Afoot, is a story is action, intrigue and historical insight set in medieval times.
He has worked as a literary consultant and publicist to a number of bestselling authors, including Tom Holland, Conn Iggulden and Simon Scarrow. He is now a publishing director at Endeavour Press, the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books, with his business partner Matthew Lynn.
He lives in London.
He is also the author of Warsaw, a literary novel set during the end of the Second World War, and the historical novel A Hero of Our Time, as well as the Raffles series of historical crime novellas.
His latest novel, Band of Brothers: The Game's Afoot, is a story is action, intrigue and historical insight set in medieval times.
He has worked as a literary consultant and publicist to a number of bestselling authors, including Tom Holland, Conn Iggulden and Simon Scarrow. He is now a publishing director at Endeavour Press, the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books, with his business partner Matthew Lynn.
He lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 25, 2018
This is an improvement in some ways on the previous novella in this series. Band of Brothers: Harfleur starts in the midst of Henry V’s siege of Harfleur and thus, we’re not waiting around for the eponymous ‘band of brothers’ to journey to their plot point. When Thomas Chaucer is captured this time, there is real tension that isn’t undercut by “well it was plan all along” even if he manages to wriggle out of it by way of another deus ex machina.
Alas, all of the other flaws I noted in my review of the first in the series are still to be found. The book is overwritten, overwhelming the reader with detail that only dulls their senses and fails to invoke the setting. A great deal is told about the terrible conditions of Harfleur, but rarely, if ever, does the reader feel them. Dialogue goes on for great chunky paragraphs and feels unnatural, quotes from Shakespeare are again inserted into the text and his invention, Sir John Falstaff, gets a mention. Look, I’m sorry – is this is a work historical fiction about Henry V or a fanfiction of Shakespeare’s Henry V? I’d much prefer an author to come up with their own take than copy and paste Shakespeare quotes into their own story.
The characters are still undeveloped, Chaucer remains a snarky wonder boy while the others become indistinguishable beyond “heroic archer who is betrothed” and “heroic man-at-arms and former playboy who finds love at last” and their disposable “brothers” that exist just to be killed off by the baddies or to shore up the numbers. There is no sense of why this is a “band of brothers”, particularly when the plot splits them up so often.
The one exception to the rule is probably Henry V’s characterisation. Maybe it’s because I’ve come in pre-invested in Henry and find that Richard Foreman’s Henry is close to a match for how I see him, but it really works for me. This Henry is full of conflict and doubt, but places a mask up so that others see only an assured, confident king.
I found sections of the work confusing, I didn’t really understand what the hell was going on at Harfleur. And maybe I was a bit thick and didn’t read the text closely, or maybe it was just “oh, another fight-y bit” a bit too often that the plot was quickly lost.
Although this work is technically more exciting because it’s not all build up, I was disappointed that, in spite of the title, there really isn’t much of the actual siege in the book. Based on the events given in the books (Richard Courtenay, Bishop of Norwich, is already dead when the novel begins, he died on 15 September; the siege ended on the 22nd), Foreman’s novella covers a period of less than seven days of the thirty-five-day long siege. What’s more is that most of the attention is on the hijinks between Thomas Chaucer and his arch-nemesis, his endlessly monologuing French equivalent, Reynard de Troyes. And it repeats, beat by beat, the main gist of their previous interaction. Troyes captures them by surprise! Torture! They have a meal together! Troyes monologues! A competition between their sidekicks! Chaucer’s sidekick wins! Chaucer escapes! And honestly? That plot (subplot?) was so bombastic, clumsy and cliched that I would rather read another screed about how evil the French are in this book.
I almost dread to read the concluding tale novella on Agincourt because I really don’t want that to be sidelined so we can have another story about Chaucer the wonder boy facing down Reynard de Troyes in an almost beat-by-beat repetition again.
Alas, all of the other flaws I noted in my review of the first in the series are still to be found. The book is overwritten, overwhelming the reader with detail that only dulls their senses and fails to invoke the setting. A great deal is told about the terrible conditions of Harfleur, but rarely, if ever, does the reader feel them. Dialogue goes on for great chunky paragraphs and feels unnatural, quotes from Shakespeare are again inserted into the text and his invention, Sir John Falstaff, gets a mention. Look, I’m sorry – is this is a work historical fiction about Henry V or a fanfiction of Shakespeare’s Henry V? I’d much prefer an author to come up with their own take than copy and paste Shakespeare quotes into their own story.
The characters are still undeveloped, Chaucer remains a snarky wonder boy while the others become indistinguishable beyond “heroic archer who is betrothed” and “heroic man-at-arms and former playboy who finds love at last” and their disposable “brothers” that exist just to be killed off by the baddies or to shore up the numbers. There is no sense of why this is a “band of brothers”, particularly when the plot splits them up so often.
The one exception to the rule is probably Henry V’s characterisation. Maybe it’s because I’ve come in pre-invested in Henry and find that Richard Foreman’s Henry is close to a match for how I see him, but it really works for me. This Henry is full of conflict and doubt, but places a mask up so that others see only an assured, confident king.
I found sections of the work confusing, I didn’t really understand what the hell was going on at Harfleur. And maybe I was a bit thick and didn’t read the text closely, or maybe it was just “oh, another fight-y bit” a bit too often that the plot was quickly lost.
Although this work is technically more exciting because it’s not all build up, I was disappointed that, in spite of the title, there really isn’t much of the actual siege in the book. Based on the events given in the books (Richard Courtenay, Bishop of Norwich, is already dead when the novel begins, he died on 15 September; the siege ended on the 22nd), Foreman’s novella covers a period of less than seven days of the thirty-five-day long siege. What’s more is that most of the attention is on the hijinks between Thomas Chaucer and his arch-nemesis, his endlessly monologuing French equivalent, Reynard de Troyes. And it repeats, beat by beat, the main gist of their previous interaction. Troyes captures them by surprise! Torture! They have a meal together! Troyes monologues! A competition between their sidekicks! Chaucer’s sidekick wins! Chaucer escapes! And honestly? That plot (subplot?) was so bombastic, clumsy and cliched that I would rather read another screed about how evil the French are in this book.
I almost dread to read the concluding tale novella on Agincourt because I really don’t want that to be sidelined so we can have another story about Chaucer the wonder boy facing down Reynard de Troyes in an almost beat-by-beat repetition again.
September 6, 2023
3 green stars
Better than the first book in the trilogy. Still a man's tale of battles, whoring, and drinking, but the author has paid a little more attention to his plot and relating the historical events with a great deal of research. The addition of a bit of a love-story didn't hurt, but don't expect a happy ever after. The author is not squeamish when it comes to death and dying. I will probably read the last novella, Agincourt, to see how he concludes the stories of his "Band of Brothers."
One caution: There were an awful lot of typos in this Kindle edition, especially using plural forms where the singular was intended. One of the pitfalls of spellcheck, where a real person would have caught these errors.
Description: 1415. Harfleur. The town stands defiant. Henry V and his army have been repulsed. If the English fail to break the siege then their campaign will be over. Men will die, from disease or starvation. The King instructs one of his agents, Thomas Chaucer, to negotiate a deal with a local French merchant to re-supply the army. But, instead of meeting an ally, Chaucer is about to come face to face with an old enemy. Henry, in a last throw of the dice, charges the archer Robert Cooper with ending the siege. The bowman forms a plan. The night attack will either save the English army - or damn it. Once more into the breach...
Better than the first book in the trilogy. Still a man's tale of battles, whoring, and drinking, but the author has paid a little more attention to his plot and relating the historical events with a great deal of research. The addition of a bit of a love-story didn't hurt, but don't expect a happy ever after. The author is not squeamish when it comes to death and dying. I will probably read the last novella, Agincourt, to see how he concludes the stories of his "Band of Brothers."
One caution: There were an awful lot of typos in this Kindle edition, especially using plural forms where the singular was intended. One of the pitfalls of spellcheck, where a real person would have caught these errors.
Description: 1415. Harfleur. The town stands defiant. Henry V and his army have been repulsed. If the English fail to break the siege then their campaign will be over. Men will die, from disease or starvation. The King instructs one of his agents, Thomas Chaucer, to negotiate a deal with a local French merchant to re-supply the army. But, instead of meeting an ally, Chaucer is about to come face to face with an old enemy. Henry, in a last throw of the dice, charges the archer Robert Cooper with ending the siege. The bowman forms a plan. The night attack will either save the English army - or damn it. Once more into the breach...
October 30, 2020
I liked the attention to detail in the historical setting of this book as well as the depth of character shown for the protagonist, his cohorts and even the people portrayed which actually lived during these turbulent times. I rushed through the book in one sitting and looked for more in the series.
March 24, 2023
This book follows the sacking of Harfleur castle, along with a side bit about spy master Chaucer encountering the ongoing villain of the piece Reynard of Troyes. Fans of the Shakespearean play Henry V will recognize several bits, but this is its own piece and is a gritty, grisly representation of siege warfare and medieval warfare.
June 8, 2017
Riveting
Both books have been full of companionship, sense of humour and truly realistic battles. Although I have already (read) a version of Agincourt l am looking forward to renewing the next adventure
Both books have been full of companionship, sense of humour and truly realistic battles. Although I have already (read) a version of Agincourt l am looking forward to renewing the next adventure
June 22, 2021
Quick read for summer day
B kindly this book is a set up for others to follow. Simple story embellished with gory battle screens interspersed with conversations about whores and drinking bouts. I would not recommend this book
B kindly this book is a set up for others to follow. Simple story embellished with gory battle screens interspersed with conversations about whores and drinking bouts. I would not recommend this book
September 23, 2024
I actually stopped reading this book because I found other books more to my enjoyment. The author was just long winded and although there are a few good action scenes nothing like the first book sobI think I am done with this series.
March 14, 2023
2nd in the series of the Band of Brothers, very enjoyable read so you want to keep those pages turning
July 15, 2025
Entertaining light read.
September 7, 2016
I read Harfleur while on holiday savouring it like a pint of fine vintage ale. Since reading Games Afoot, I had high expectations for its sequel Harfleur and boy was I delighted. Right off the opening pages, one is mesmerised, amazed, and intrigued. The nail biting sequences left ones stomach roiling. Foreman has definitely not lost his touch. Succinct yet lucid Harfleur has Foreman's hallmark stamped right across it. Here Foreman continues to unfold his opus on Henry V's medieval England. He opens with a crescendo in the thick of the siege to the harsh staccato of cannons. Henry V has arrived at Harfleur with his army and the battle is in full swing. Perfectly arranged and alluringly delivered each note of this opus seamlessly captures every nuance and minutiae of this historic battle in glorious technicolour. One is lost in its lyrical imagery. The metaphors tug at ones heartstrings holding one captive. Written with such passionate intensity and clarity, excitement crackles through every page. One is instantly engulfed by the sights, sounds, and smells of the medieval battlefield, thrust into the heart of the siege, its gore, and debauchery. Though Harfleur is fiction, Foreman resists the temptation to bend facts. Thomas Chaucer, son of notable poet Geoffrey Chaucer, did indeed exist and was a loyal supporter of Henry V. However, the band of merry intrepid mercenaries enlisted in his monarchs cause are colourful characters sprung from Foreman's fictional pen. As each day dawns and sets at Harfleur, Foreman taps into their salacious yet snarky renderings around the campfire adroitly unfolding medieval debauchery alongside its pageantry, chivalry and a stoicism that hides their vulnerability and tender heartedness. One experiences their raw emotions simmering just beneath the surface, the powerful and potent ardour in the throes of battle, their droll though depraved wisdom as they face the uncertainties of life and the immense sacrifices expected of them. His pitch-perfect characterisations and the well crafted dialogue, raunchy yet realistic, attest that Foreman is a master wordsmith. None are spared Foreman's insightfully blunt penmanship not even Henry V, as the maestro extols their virtues and without bias exposes their every flaw. What a memorably lovable bunch! Amidst the carnage and grime of war springs romance with its heartache and pain in the most unlikely of places. And, onto the next movement of Foreman's opus from romance to the foul stench of treachery not least from a deluded archrival as the rug is pulled from under the hapless English feet. In the face of overwhelming odds, can the English side maintain their morale and persevere to win the battle? For these were superstitious times when men interpreted everyday occurrences as a sign from God. No soldier was prepared to fight unless God was on his side. How did Henry V manage to keep their morale and persevere in the lost cause of Harfleur? And, as the maestro brings his opus to the grand finale it metamorphoses into a victory march – Henry V has won the siege of Harfleur. Well, history cannot be changed even in fiction for it to be credible. So, as the curtain falls on Harfleur, one is aware that the war is not over yet, there is the journey to the final destination Agincourt. There is a breather albeit small as one awaits Agincourt.
In Harfleur, Foreman chooses to delve deep. Historically Henry V is widely criticised by his detractors for the excesses against the French both at Harfleur and subsequently at Agincourt. Why did Henry V a Plantagenet choose to wage war against the Plantagenet homeland France? Moreover, did Henry V consider the cost of this war? This premise is the fulcrum around which Foreman composes his opus Harfleur. Foreman's perceptive flair gives one fresh insight into Henry V's character and his active role in the thick of battle. One cannot help but admire Foreman's Henry V not only for his courage at Harfleur but also for his bravery in standing up to England's nemesis. The battle of Harfleur has always lived in the shadow of Agincourt. However, Foreman's eloquently unbiased rendering of Harfleur has redeemed its prominence in English history restoring it to its rightful place as a significant landmark, of which one can be truly proud. Umm….there is so much more to Harfleur than a darn good historical novel that will enthral every reader. Aside from the masterful storytelling and Foreman's interpretive flair, which adds depth to the plot, the adept use of the characters to compose a profound tale interspersed with grave humour and philosophy yet devoid of the sententious, a telling phrase, the revealing detail. Indeed, in his opus Harfleur, the maestro has outdone himself seemingly with effortless ease elevating historical fiction to the beaux-arts.
Despite being a sequel this novel can be read as a standalone but one will be intrigued by its characters and curious to know more. There is even an omnibus edition available, lucky you. I had to wait for the sequel.
In Harfleur, Foreman chooses to delve deep. Historically Henry V is widely criticised by his detractors for the excesses against the French both at Harfleur and subsequently at Agincourt. Why did Henry V a Plantagenet choose to wage war against the Plantagenet homeland France? Moreover, did Henry V consider the cost of this war? This premise is the fulcrum around which Foreman composes his opus Harfleur. Foreman's perceptive flair gives one fresh insight into Henry V's character and his active role in the thick of battle. One cannot help but admire Foreman's Henry V not only for his courage at Harfleur but also for his bravery in standing up to England's nemesis. The battle of Harfleur has always lived in the shadow of Agincourt. However, Foreman's eloquently unbiased rendering of Harfleur has redeemed its prominence in English history restoring it to its rightful place as a significant landmark, of which one can be truly proud. Umm….there is so much more to Harfleur than a darn good historical novel that will enthral every reader. Aside from the masterful storytelling and Foreman's interpretive flair, which adds depth to the plot, the adept use of the characters to compose a profound tale interspersed with grave humour and philosophy yet devoid of the sententious, a telling phrase, the revealing detail. Indeed, in his opus Harfleur, the maestro has outdone himself seemingly with effortless ease elevating historical fiction to the beaux-arts.
Despite being a sequel this novel can be read as a standalone but one will be intrigued by its characters and curious to know more. There is even an omnibus edition available, lucky you. I had to wait for the sequel.
October 21, 2016
Wow, just wow! I was so into this story, I forgot to eat dinner. Amazing read, and I have found a new author. I will be searching out anything and everything this man writes.
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
December 17, 2016
Excellent read. I enjoyed this author's skillful handling of the plot, characters were brought to life in exquisite detail. An exciting, riveting novel ! Highly recommended!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews