Trinity: The Assassin: Book 2
It's safe to say that interest in medieval history and warfare has been in a state of fevered frenzy since the in famous TV show Game of Thrones hit the small screen in Thanks to the incredible popularity of the show and the bitterly resented wait for the series much anticipated book the Winds of Winter, people have been turning in droves to historical fiction, hoping to find similar books to whet their appetite for politics, murder, treachery, kings and wars without end. Naturally Conn Iggulden has taken notice of this trend and with his wars of the roses series now looks to garner the interest and enthusiasm of forlorn GoT fans.
At times Iggulden's clear admiration for GoT crosses the line for subtlety and becomes painfully blatant. He actually writes the phase 'Game of Thrones' and upon seeing that I was highly tempted to call G. M to ask whether he thought imitation was the sincerest form of flattery. Guess which one Conn Iggulden is Now onto Trinity itself Trinity focuses on the period of and centres on England, the borders of Scotland and Wales and the garrison of Calais. At the start Henry VI lies in a catatonic state in Windsor, unable to govern his disorganised and increasingly lawless kingdom leaving the Richard Plantagenet duke of York to take up the mantles and trappings of power as Protector and Defender of the Realm.
Understandably Henry VI's determined, energetic and shrewd Queen Margaret reacts with fury and outrage at seeing York invested with the powers of a king and is fearful of his possible motives towards the Crown.
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Despite the best intentions of York, tensions simmer and spill into conflict as York and Lancaster, the King and his Lords and England itself descend into civil war. The characters are more clearly defined, their importance and roles emphasised in relation to history, the writing is tighter and more enticing and plot itself does not stray markedly from the historical sources. Derry Brewer, while still an essential character, has a more believable role in Trinity and does not leave the influence and rarely the vicinity of his patron Margaret of Anjou.
Being fictional, Iggulden wisely restrains putting too much prominence on his actions. In essence Brewer has become a side character and benefits greatly from it. Trinity strengths are definitely its' fast pace, sharp plotting and its evocative battle scenes. The first battle of St. Albans in was particularly well-written and joyfully gory. Iggulden's knowledge concerning the trials and hardships of knights, their daily routine in war times and the methods of medieval warfare and weaponry were among my favourite aspects to Trinity and certainly Iggulden deserves kudos in that regard.
However Trinity did have its downsides and for me that lay in the characterisation, writing and rather bizarre theories put forward throughout the novel. For me, the characters in Trinity were somewhat lacklustre, inconsistent and passionless. Margaret of Anjou was called by Shakespeare 'the She-Wolf' and it was a name she did much to earn. Margaret was a proud, ambitious, intelligent and tenacious woman. Devoted to her husband and son, Margaret never relinquished the struggle for their right to rule. Employing mercenaries, enlisting Scottish warriors in exchange for Berwick and accusing York and his allies of treason, Margaret was a truly remarkable woman.
But in Trinity Margaret is muted, downplayed and at times rather annoying. There is no fire in her characterisation and the references to her beauty, her struggles not to cry, the emptiness of her 'womb' grate as the novel wears on. Her negotiations with the Scottish Queen Regent Marie of Guelders are ridiculous; they struck me as far too casual and warm.
Henry VI was a highly inconsistent character. One minute lying in a catatonic state,indifferent to the outside world and his own new-born son Edward, his rapid transformation from passive and benign to fierce and ruthless was difficult to believe or understand. One minute he lying listless in bed, the next he marches in armour to York demanding his kingdom back! His lapse back into indifference felt rushed and underdeveloped. We have no idea why it happened. Richard duke of York got a mildly better deal in Trinity. In Stormbird I felt he was slightly demonised and am pleased that Iggulden decided to add some moral ambiguity and emotional complexity to his character.
York is a proud and stern warrior firmly entrenched in his belief that Henry VI is surrounded by unworthy advisors. He is by far the novels most complicated and intriguing character; his struggle to reconcile his opposing tenets of loyalty to the king and the need for fair government give poignancy and credibility to his trials. At times he comes as rather easily unnerved or alarmed which struck me as another inconsistency.
Derry Brewer is a completely fictional character; he is the elusive and crafty spymaster for Margaret of Anjou and is determined to secure Henry VI's rule over England. Brewer is often shown to be the novels' most crafty character; a master of disguises, military ambushes, countywide espionage and the like. To me Brewer felt like semi superfluous character, not really needed yet often kept around for plot purposes. Despite this I enjoyed his jaunty and devoted character; his loyalty to Margaret and Henry is to be commended and he serves as one of the more morally good players in this novel.
The writing style of Trinity was perfectly serviceable and easy to read though the battle scenes were by far the best written.
Zack Satriani (Author of The Hidden Enemy)
The novel's fast pace left little time for greater complexity and intrigue to be fleshed out. There was, however, a certain boisterous energy and enthusiasm that encouraged me to read quickly and kept me interested. It was an easy read with a very workmanlike approach.
Thanks to the discovery of Richards bones in Leicester in we now know that he had scoliosis and his right shoulder was noticeably higher then the left. In Trinity, however, a two year Richard has a spine so bent and painful that York wishes that his son had been left to die out in the wilderness! I can not emphasise how historically inaccurate this is and how we have no evidence that York would say such a thing. The whole thing felt highly melodramatic.
An enjoyable, fast-paced and well plotted novel although lacking in characterisation and writing nuance, Trinity will appeal to historical fans indeed. It has been seventeen years of Henry VI's rule. But all is not well with Henry Vi's mind. This is causing trouble as other powerful members, especially Richard of York, plot to take the throne. Caught up in the middle is Henry's wife- Queen Margaret of Anjou. It was interesting to see the Queen's political games after Henry's capture.
While the troika of Lords opposed to the Lancaster rule -York, Salisbury and Warwick- is indeed formidable it is never wise to underestimate the power of a Qu While the troika of Lords opposed to the Lancaster rule -York, Salisbury and Warwick- is indeed formidable it is never wise to underestimate the power of a Queen. I think Margaret did the best she could with the the situation, since her alternative would likely have been death.
The author also makes out Richard, Duke of York, to be a fairly decent person. He is uncomfortable with the way this conflict is turning out, but he see's himself with no choice since for him it means the loss of his house and titles. A great and exciting story of a real life Game of Thrones. Unlike the tv show-to lose is indeed to die. In modern times the Nobility is looked down on-this is from a time where the Nobility earned their titles-or lost it all and their heads. There is something to respect about that. A great historical fiction of the Wars of the Roses.
Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro La Guerra de las Dos Rosas. War of the Roses. Segundo libro de la saga La Guerra de las Dos Rosas. Conn Iggulden is just so readable! His writing mechanics are perfect, giving the reader all the signals he needs to follow the unfolding action. He does not junk up the book with excessive descriptions of nouns. The book's said action was several fold but focused on the wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster which began in the mids, and that is as technical as I plan to get in this review. Less noble houses than those of York and Lancaster were responsible in part for the wars by the Conn Iggulden is just so readable!
Less noble houses than those of York and Lancaster were responsible in part for the wars by their infighting. The author does not take sides in this book, or any other book of his that I have read. The scenes that I especially liked in the present book were when York could not murder his king.
The job was his to do, but he could not do it. Was it loyalty to the crown or love for the king whose hold on reality was fleeting? I liked Margaret's honesty when she admitted to herself that she was tired of tending to Henry as though he were a child. I shuddered, yes shuddered, when the Crown issued the Writs of Attainder. Stripping a man of his property is a drastic measure, and Margaret, acting for Henry, made an error in judgment in issuing the Writs.
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I felt that the war escalated by that action. The epilogue tells a story in a few words. Iggulden, for a Good Read! Sep 25, Beorn rated it it was ok Shelves: Sadly disappointed by this book. There's none of the intrigue, treachery, subterfuge or evocative emotion of the first book, leaving what's left feeling remarkably hollow. Richard, Duke of York and one of the key protagonists, seems to have lost all trace of his backbone for no apparent reason.
Derry Brewer, spymaster, is hardly used at all and everything just kind of plods along at it's own pedestrian pace rather than keeping your mind buzzing and ticking over.
Even the relevance of the name of t Sadly disappointed by this book. Even the relevance of the name of the book, 'Trinity', isn't explained until the very end, after at least two of the main characters have meet sticky, or rather sharp, ends and feels more like an afterthought to tie it into the next book like selotape rather than something directly related to the story that unfolds in the book it is the title of.
Generally rather limp, trudging and mechanical, this book is virtually everything I hoped it wouldn't be. There's also a slightly strange moment when the author explicitly says that both Warwick and Caesar's goal was London Don't get me wrong, I'll probably still read the third instalment but this has seriously dented any likelihood of me actually buying a copy of book 3 and made me most likely to just get one from the library.
Esperando impaciente el desenlace. View all 7 comments. Sep 04, MissSophie rated it really liked it. I'm not that much into historical fiction, but I actually liked this one.: Well, that was fabulous. Mar 28, Mark Harrison rated it really liked it. Excellent second book as York, Salisbury and Warwick plot against Henry, his brilliant French wife Margaret and the Houses allied to them. Lots of plotting, betrayal and breathless battles. Real life Game of Thrones but less dragons.
Superb pace and very satisfying. This series just gets better.
The Hidden Enemy (Trinity, #1)
I so appreciate the historical accuracy, too. Great and complicated characters. I wrote a short review for the whole series here. Oct 06, Rebekah May rated it it was amazing Shelves: Stormbird review Book 3: Bloodline review Book 4: Rise of the Tudors review Upon rereading, my appreciation for this novel only grows. I'm removing my original review because I have quite a lot to add and I don't want this to end up too long.
I found that, after reading this back-to-back with Stormbird , the change in writing style is actually quite noticeable. I felt like this was more mature, almost more confident. This novel moves into more of a starting place for the Wars of the Roses, if there even is one, where book one was more of a set up and some aggravation between York and Lancaster. Here, amidst battles between families, Iggulden's writing flourished. Shop from Russia to see titles available to you. This sequel to Songs of the Earth by Elspeth Cooper continues the story of a young man who has been sentenced to death, and then exiled, for his magical abilities.
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