A good read but for me personally I did not engage with the characters as I would for say, an Iggulden novel. More of a 3.5 but I like to round up. ( )

This is the first in a trilogy that involves segments of the 100 Years War. It tells of the campaign by the English King to invade Normandy and beyond as well as claim the throne of France. It culminates in the Battle of Crécy 26 August 1346. The historical research is quite good and the plausible story of people fighting or caught up in events is masterfully done (rather expected with Jecks' writing history). I am not going to give anything away. Jecks does not hold back on the horrors of medieval warfare (war in any era is a horror) so the faint hearted needs be aware of that before cracking the cover. As usual, some things happen, or don't happen, that one may be totally surprised by and which richly spice the work. I had difficulty in putting the book down to take a break. The publishers story outline should be adequate to get one's interest but again, I am not going to give any part of the story itself away so that no one is disappointed in their reading. I just hope that I don't have to wait a year for title number two. By the way, I even survived without my favorite characters from Jecks' Templar series finding new ones of interest. Please, do take time for this title in whatever format you chose. I don't believe you will be sorry if you like exceptional historical fiction. Then, tell a friend! ( )