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The Bear Pit
This is a Royal murder mystery set in the early 15th century. England's princes are portrayed as born in a 'Bear Pit, ' their lives a ruthless struggle for power. This book explodes the romantic myth of the age of chivalry. Betrayal and rebellion, murder and revenge, Hopkin ap Griffith ap Rhys has seen it all. He has served many masters and betrayed them all. In the aftermath of the battle of Agincourt, Hopkin is summoned to the presence of the victorious King Henry, who has a special commission for the Welshman. Amongst the few English dead is the Duke of York, whose corpse holds a secret which threatens King Henry's rule. Hopkin is charged with the task of finding the truth about the Duke's suspicious death, a task for which he is uniquely suited. A former rebel, he is well acquainted with the enemies of the new King. Witness the diversity of Medieval Britain through Hopkin's a pagan, he casts a critical eye over the corruption of his age, and introduces us to the towering characters of the period; among them King Henry the Fifth, Sir Henry Percy ('Hotspur') and Owen Glendower, amongst others. Follow Hopkin's adventures from the outbreak of the Glendower revolt to the battle of Agincourt and beyond - the story of a turbulent period.
186 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 26, 2020
This was... not good. The MC is a jerk who betrays everyone and at one point kidnaps and tortures someone important and mocks Christianity and can't be straightforward about anything and I'm supposed to like him?
This book is a structural mess. The narration switches between time and place rapidly with no indication of the new setting and I could barely follow it. And part of the book is just two characters, the MC and some girl (her identity is revealed later and prepare to roll your eyes) talking back and forth with no dialog tags.
Paganism in the Middle Ages always makes me groan and this book was especially obnoxious with it, with several parts just shitting on Christianity so much I can't tell if it's just the characters or the author actually saying this. Apparently the author studied religion, according to the author profile. So did I. There were no secret pagans in the British Isles in the 15th century and if there were they definitely wouldn't be open about it, especially since this is, you know, the time that Henry IV and Henry V really cracked down on heretics. And Henry V knows the MC is a pagan and is fine with it. Wtf. If you must use paganism as a plot device, make it something secret and mysterious and interesting rather than a guy going on about how his religion is so much better than yours. I can go on the internet and read that in real time.
The plot was all over the place. I get the feeling the author wanted to have all these major historical figures from this time period involved and I love that sort of thing but here it's just a mess and has no focus and there's no actual solving of the murder that starts the book. I wanted a detective story. Or at least something where the character was actively trying to uncover the truth. The truth here turns out to be that all nobles are terrible cutthroat assholes who kill their own brothers all the time and no one has any actual chivalry or loyalty. Who was I supposed to like? Apparently no one. I ended up liking Thomas of Clarence the best, if in part because of what they do to him (it's not pretty). Also as someone who studies the Burgundian-Amagnac War, can I just ask wtf was going on with it in this book?
It's a pretty unexciting, not at all mysterious read. I guess I give it props for even though there's basically no one good in this, it wasn't a shitfest like the Last Days of Magic was and it didn't make anyone particularly grotesque. That's not enough though.
This book is a structural mess. The narration switches between time and place rapidly with no indication of the new setting and I could barely follow it. And part of the book is just two characters, the MC and some girl (her identity is revealed later and prepare to roll your eyes) talking back and forth with no dialog tags.
Paganism in the Middle Ages always makes me groan and this book was especially obnoxious with it, with several parts just shitting on Christianity so much I can't tell if it's just the characters or the author actually saying this. Apparently the author studied religion, according to the author profile. So did I. There were no secret pagans in the British Isles in the 15th century and if there were they definitely wouldn't be open about it, especially since this is, you know, the time that Henry IV and Henry V really cracked down on heretics. And Henry V knows the MC is a pagan and is fine with it. Wtf. If you must use paganism as a plot device, make it something secret and mysterious and interesting rather than a guy going on about how his religion is so much better than yours. I can go on the internet and read that in real time.
The plot was all over the place. I get the feeling the author wanted to have all these major historical figures from this time period involved and I love that sort of thing but here it's just a mess and has no focus and there's no actual solving of the murder that starts the book. I wanted a detective story. Or at least something where the character was actively trying to uncover the truth. The truth here turns out to be that all nobles are terrible cutthroat assholes who kill their own brothers all the time and no one has any actual chivalry or loyalty. Who was I supposed to like? Apparently no one. I ended up liking Thomas of Clarence the best, if in part because of what they do to him (it's not pretty). Also as someone who studies the Burgundian-Amagnac War, can I just ask wtf was going on with it in this book?
It's a pretty unexciting, not at all mysterious read. I guess I give it props for even though there's basically no one good in this, it wasn't a shitfest like the Last Days of Magic was and it didn't make anyone particularly grotesque. That's not enough though.
August 4, 2011
This is undoubtedly a very complicated novel and was hard to follow in places. Having said that it was clearly excellently researched and informative. A very interesting book just a little confusing at times.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews