KingMaker: Death of Kings

by Michael Alexander McCarthy

Though weakened by the crushing defeat of his army at Bannockburn, estranged from the English nobility and financially crippled, King Edward of England stubbornly refuses to relinquish his claim to the Scottish throne and to recognise Robert Bruce as King of Scots. Determined to force the hand of the enfeebled Plantagenet King, Robert Bruce sends the Earl of Carrick, the Earl of Moray, Sir James Douglas and the men of Scotstoun to raid and pillage deep into England and Ireland to diminish the power of their enemy and to strip away the wealth of England so that Scotland can be strengthened. Though wounded and beset from all sides, the Plantagenet King will not be so easily defeated. Through determination, guile and hard-headed obstinacy, King Edward resists the Scottish King through two full decades and raises one army after another in order to frustrate Robert Bruce and bring Scotland back under English rule. John Edward and the men of Scotstoun are at the centre of this epic, dynastic struggle and stand shoulder to shoulder with their countrymen on battlefields on Scottish, Irish and English soil. They must set aside their dreams of peace once again and attempt to win liberty and nationhood through brutal, bloody struggle.

612 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2018

About the author

Michael was born in Blairgowrie in 1967 and was brought up in Perthshire before going on to study history at the University of Stirling and embark on a business career that took him to London, Jersey, Hong Kong and Singapore.

He has now settled back in Auchterarder in Perthshire with his wife Lorna, their two daughters and their beloved dogs.

His writing reflects his life-long passion for historical fiction and he cites Conn Iggulden, Bernard Cornwell and George R.R. Martin as his greatest inspirations.

His KingMaker series follows John Edward, his brother and his cousin through the boiling cauldron of the First War of Scottish Independence where they struggle alongside Wallace, Murray, Comyn and Robert and Edward Bruce to defy the might and cruelty of the Plantagenet Kings of England.