Saturday, June 01, 2013

Catching up

I'm so far behind on updating this. Shame on me. So, a few quick write-ups to catch up: 

Book #10: The Three Edwards by Thomas B. Costain. This volume of Costain's Pageant of England covers the Plantagenet kings Edward I, Edward II and Edward III, and their reigns from Edward I's coronation in 1272 through to Edward III's death in 1377. Just over a hundred years of Edwards

Book # 11: 1356 by Bernard Cornwell - After reading Costain's book on the Edwards and the start of the Hundred Years War, thought I'd give Cornwell's fictionalized take on the Black Prince's (aka Edward the Prince of Wales) victory at Poitiers in 1356 a shot. Not bad but a little light on the fictionalized plot side. Cornwell definitely does do a nice battle scene though.

Book #12 : Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill. Nice, creepy ghost story. Definitely some similarities in writing styles between Hill and his father, but Hill does have his own voice and is a more concise writer. I like a good ghost story, and while this was a little predictable, it was also good and creepy. 

Book #  13 - The Last Plantagenets 1377-1485 (Book IV of the Pageant of England) by Thomas B. Costain. Did it. Finished all four books of Costain's opus on the Plantagenet monarchs. Really great stuff. This chapter went from Richard II, who was deposed by Henry IV, to Henry V, to Henry VI who was deposed by Edward IV to (sort of) Edward V to the last Plantagenet, Richard III. So this one covered one of my favourite time periods, the Wars of the Roses. He gave really short shrift to Henry IV though (deemed him boring basically, lol) and Henry V (based on there already being a mountain of writing about him), but spends half the book on Richard II. Who I didn't know too much about.