G295 Book Review of 1066: What Fates Impose by G.K Holloway
Author: G.K Holloway
ISBN: 978-1-78306-220-1
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
Type of book: England, William Duke of Normandy, relationships, family, kingdom, ruling, 1045-1066, uniting, France, medieval, politics, history, treaties, King Harold, King Edward the Confessor, political struggle, battles
Year it was published: 2014
Summary:
King William then utters the following words to the room: ‘I appoint no one as my heir to the Crown of England, but leave it to the disposal of the Eternal Creator, whose I am and who orders all things. For I did not attain that high honour by hereditary right, but wrested it from the perjured King Harold in a desperate bloody battle.’
England is in crisis. King Edward has no heir and promises never to produce one. There are no obvious successors available to replace him, but quite a few claimants are eager to take the crown. While power struggles break out between the various factions at court, enemies abroad plot to make England their own. There are raids across the borders with Wales and Scotland.
Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, is seen by many as the one man who can bring stability to the kingdom. He has powerful friends and two women who love him, but he has enemies will stop at nothing to gain power. As 1066 begins, England heads for an uncertain future. It seems even the heavens are against Harold.
Intelligent and courageous, can Harold forge his own destiny – or does he have to bow to what fates impose?
Characters:
The main character or characters would be Harold who is the second son of Goodwin. He is painted favorably in the book and does his best to do whatever he can for his family, even at the risk of alienating some certain family members. By other characters he is described as popular and well-liked. There is also Edward, the King of England who seems to be either homosexual or asexual as well as other countless characters. Although I'm not familiar with this particular event and time period, I really can't tell with which things did the author take creative liberties? The story seems very well fleshed out.
Theme:
Be careful in life
Plot:
The book is written in third person narrative from what seems to be everyone's point of view, or almost everyone's, although the point of view switch wasn't confusing for me. While I liked the characters, Harold in particularly, I would have liked there to be more of Edward and his wife. (Have to admit that Edward is an interesting character, especially when it comes to his wife.) Women characters do tend to be strong, but they aren't given large parts, and they seem to be active in the beginning before fading out until the end, unfortunately. But still, its probably the first non-romance focused historical fiction that really entertained me and where I wanted to learn more about Great Britain.
I have been interested in history since I was a boy, which I suppose explains why, when I came across a degree course in History and Politics at Coventry University that looked tailor made for me, I applied right away.
In my first year at Coventry I lived in the halls of residence within a stone’s throw of the Leofric Hotel. In the opposite direction, just a short walk from my halls, is the bell tower that houses a clock, which when its bell chimes the hour, produces a half size model of naked Lady Godiva riding a horse for the titillation of tourists. Above her, Peeping Tom leans out of a window for a better view. In all of the three years I was there, it never once occurred to me that I would one day write a book featuring Earl Leofric and his famous wife, as key players.
After graduating I spent a year in Canada before I returned to England to train as a Careers Officer in Bristol. Later, I lived and worked in Gloucestershire as a Careers Officer and then in Adult Education as an Education Guidance worker.
After I met my wife, I moved back to Bristol to live and I worked at Bath Spa University as a Student Welfare Officer for a number of years. It was about this time I read a biography about King Harold II which fascinated me so much I read more and more about the man and the times. I found the whole pre-conquest period of England so interesting I couldn’t understand why no one had written a novel about it. So, I decided to write one myself. Now, after many years of study and time spent over a hot keyboard, I have finally produced thatnovel.
1066: What Fates Impose is the result of all that study and hard work and is the first book I’ve written. I am now working on a sequel.
Buy the Book
Opinion:
I have to be honest that although I'm a history major, I know next to nothing about British history. My knowledge goes something like this: Roman Empire up until 6th century Byzantium then Crusades which began in 1097 and this is up until 15th century. In other words, I read this book knowing absolutely little to nothing about the time-line as well as the setting. I really liked this book, really enjoyed learning about England of 1060s. (A map would have been helpful though.) Reading this, I felt that I finally understood why Britain and France hate each other, as well as why England treated its future colonies so abominably. The seeds of hatred and of why are right in this book. I was also impressed with the research, enjoyed the conversations, and yes, the author has inspired me to read more information about Great Britain and what happened before. (Don't worry, he does go over the previous events in a great deal.) I do feel that the book is biased more towards English than the French, and some parts I didn't understand, such as the reason why Harold treated one of his brothers the way he did. By the way, loved the first four pages.
Virtual Tour and Book Blast Schedule
Friday, April 25
Review at Impressions in Ink
Book Blast at Ink Sugar Blog
Book Blast at The Mad Reviewer
Review at Impressions in Ink
Book Blast at Ink Sugar Blog
Book Blast at The Mad Reviewer
Friday, May 2
Review at Curling Up By the Fire
Review at Confessions of an Avid Reader
Book Blast at A Book Geek
Book Blast at Layered Pages
This is for Historical Fiction Virtual Book TourReview at Curling Up By the Fire
Review at Confessions of an Avid Reader
Book Blast at A Book Geek
Book Blast at Layered Pages
4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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