William De La Pole and Derry Brewer seek a way to obtain peace in the Hundred-Years War between England and France – at the request of king Henry VI who is nothing like his warlike father Henry V. A marriage between Henry and the French princess Margaret Of Anjou is thus in the making. But returning Maine and Anjou to the French is a thorn in the side of the English people living there and of Richard Of York, commander of Calais who sees himself as heir to the throne.
I am a huge fan of Iggulden’s series about Caesar, even if not all of it was historically accurate, and I also enjoyed his series on ancient Athens. Stormbird is the first volume of four about the English Wars of the Roses, so this couldn’t go wrong right?
The problem here lies in the many fictional perspectives that Iggulden brings to life. Derry Brewer never existed, neither did Thomas Woodchurch. Jack Cade did exist – at least we think so, but actually we know nothing about him. Their stories serve to illustrate the impact of war on the common man and soldier. 60% of the story is about them and is written in such a way that I did not get an emotional connection with those characters. If you want to read about the common people during the Wars Of The Roses, I recommend Toby Clemens’ Kingmaker series.
The perspectives of the fictional characters are interspersed with those of Margaret Of Anjou, William De La Pole, Richard of York and Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (the Kingmaker). These are real historical figures and I enjoyed reading about them. This book seems to treat all sides neutrally. But this is a pro Lancaster book. York is a big self-centred idiot who won’t get anywhere without his Neville supporters. Which is close to reality in my opinion – I’m not the biggest Richard Of York fan :). Most books are always pro York so this was refreshing to read.
But the many perspectives make for a book with a strange pace, one that goes in all directions. And Stormbird takes considerable license from history here and there. Because of all this, I don’t think this makes me want to read the next part right away. I might pick up Iggulden’s Athenian series again first.
Have you read anything by Iggulden?
In Another Era 