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tezzarudge's review against another edition
2.0
This is the lowest score I've ever given CI. After 23 books... but this just didn't work me
The autobiographical style was just really not my vibe. If the story is going to solely focus on one character, I need to at least connect with them in some way. That can be hate or love, but it certainly can't be indifference.
The book was boring. That's my biggest issue. I rarely read books, which make me feel like that, and I probably should have dnf at 50 percent rather than grinding this one out
The autobiographical style was just really not my vibe. If the story is going to solely focus on one character, I need to at least connect with them in some way. That can be hate or love, but it certainly can't be indifference.
The book was boring. That's my biggest issue. I rarely read books, which make me feel like that, and I probably should have dnf at 50 percent rather than grinding this one out
mary_celli's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kenleyneufeld's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
raeofbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
zach1100's review against another edition
4.0
Well paced and historically interesting novel covering a period of England’s history (10th Century) I was unfamiliar with.
4.5 stars
4.5 stars
elwoodradley's review against another edition
4.0
4.75. What an awesome book. First book of Iggulden that I’ve read, and it was amazing. He is a great storyteller and the story of Dunstan was incredible.
sil_the_lobster's review against another edition
4.0
This is a really, really good book!
If I have anything negative to say it’s this: it’s too short. Why didn’t Iggulden write 2 books? There are chapters and episodes that seem awfully condensed, as if the author had to adhere to a certain word count. I, for example, would have liked to read more about Dunstan’s stay in Ghent to learn about in how far the Flemish mentality differs from the English, in his perception anyway. He busied himself with making things there, too – how did he find working with the Flemish monks and craftsmen?
(I now realise I shouldn’t have lent the book to my friend before writing this review because I’m sitting here now and can’t remember all the names and the exact scenes that I found too short. Brilliant. Well done, me.)
Other than that, I couldn’t put the book down and was frustrated each time I had to. Iggulden is a superb storyteller, he has a way of letting the reader see through the eyes of the main character and follow their trains of thought so you can understand why they do what they do. Dunstan doesn’t come across very likeable at first, he’s a right little sh*t towards his brother and he doesn’t get much more likeable as the story progresses and yet, I found myself rooting for him all the time. He’s proud and stubborn and ruthless, but most of the time he puts all of this to good use. And the times he doesn’t, well, I can only speak for myself, but I found myself forgiving him the crimes he commits although, well, horrible, really. (That business with Skinner? Was that really necessary???)
He’s a fascinating person, Dunstan of Glastonbury, a man of many interests and talents who realizes early enough that his path lies with the church. Here, he can make things, and make things happen, too. He’s aware of the power his position gives him and he uses the influence he has. But he’s not corrupted by either, and he doesn’t lose himself in court games. He does all he can to serve God and if he’s proud of what he can do and of what he has achieved, well, he’s human after all.
One more thing: While I enjoy reading historical novels by male authors, some have a tendency to bore me to tears with their paaaaaages of detailed battle description…thankfully, Iggulden doesn’t do that. Dunstan rides to battle, yes, we follow him to the battlefield, yes, but it’s not taken to a point where it becomes painful for the reader. I noticed that when I read his Caesar novels, and next in line is the first of the Genghis Khan books.
So thank you, Mr Iggulden, for introducing me to somebody I’d not heard of before. There’s not an awful lot to be read about Dunstan of Glastonbury, I think, at least not where fiction is concerned. I’ll find out. And I’ll read it.
Four out of five stars.
If I have anything negative to say it’s this: it’s too short. Why didn’t Iggulden write 2 books? There are chapters and episodes that seem awfully condensed, as if the author had to adhere to a certain word count. I, for example, would have liked to read more about Dunstan’s stay in Ghent to learn about in how far the Flemish mentality differs from the English, in his perception anyway. He busied himself with making things there, too – how did he find working with the Flemish monks and craftsmen?
(I now realise I shouldn’t have lent the book to my friend before writing this review because I’m sitting here now and can’t remember all the names and the exact scenes that I found too short. Brilliant. Well done, me.)
Other than that, I couldn’t put the book down and was frustrated each time I had to. Iggulden is a superb storyteller, he has a way of letting the reader see through the eyes of the main character and follow their trains of thought so you can understand why they do what they do. Dunstan doesn’t come across very likeable at first, he’s a right little sh*t towards his brother and he doesn’t get much more likeable as the story progresses and yet, I found myself rooting for him all the time. He’s proud and stubborn and ruthless, but most of the time he puts all of this to good use. And the times he doesn’t, well, I can only speak for myself, but I found myself forgiving him the crimes he commits although, well, horrible, really. (That business with Skinner? Was that really necessary???)
He’s a fascinating person, Dunstan of Glastonbury, a man of many interests and talents who realizes early enough that his path lies with the church. Here, he can make things, and make things happen, too. He’s aware of the power his position gives him and he uses the influence he has. But he’s not corrupted by either, and he doesn’t lose himself in court games. He does all he can to serve God and if he’s proud of what he can do and of what he has achieved, well, he’s human after all.
One more thing: While I enjoy reading historical novels by male authors, some have a tendency to bore me to tears with their paaaaaages of detailed battle description…thankfully, Iggulden doesn’t do that. Dunstan rides to battle, yes, we follow him to the battlefield, yes, but it’s not taken to a point where it becomes painful for the reader. I noticed that when I read his Caesar novels, and next in line is the first of the Genghis Khan books.
So thank you, Mr Iggulden, for introducing me to somebody I’d not heard of before. There’s not an awful lot to be read about Dunstan of Glastonbury, I think, at least not where fiction is concerned. I’ll find out. And I’ll read it.
Four out of five stars.
aimeesbookishlife's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed Conn Iggulden's series on Genghis Khan, which my dad introduced me to, and found them to be well-researched as well as interesting. So, when I heard (thanks to Dan Snow's History Hit podcast) that he had written a book set in my favourite historical era I wanted it at once. The Saxons are fascinating, more so because there is so little written evidence from the period, so it is fertile ground for a historical novel like this one.
I knew of Dunstan's later years before reading this book thanks to the non-fiction book [b:Elfrida: The First Crowned Queen of England|17989525|Elfrida The First Crowned Queen of England|Elizabeth Norton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1370223945s/17989525.jpg|25225630], which I highly recommend. However Iggulden's book doesn't dwell much on this period so I learnt a lot about the short-lived kings in between the great Æthelstan and the much less great Æthelred (the Unready).
It's not quite a five-star book for me because I was a bit peeved by some of the choices Iggulden made with regards to his source material. I appreciate that such material is scant, but he seems to have deliberately chosen the sources with the more lurid stories in rather than the ones that are more historically reliable. This seems to have been done purely to make a better story, when a more historically-accurate story would have been just as good and there are plenty of unknown years (such as Dunstan's school days) to play around with instead.
For instance, in Iggulden's book King Edwy is caught in delicto flagrante with Elgiva (Ælfgifu) and her mother at the same time, a story that did the rounds at the time and was recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. However many modern historians think this was most likely a confusion caused because of the names of two of Edwy's lovers, Ælfgifu and Æthelgifu, since Ælfgifu's mother was also called Æthelgifu, a common name at the time. The idea of a king having a threesome is surely scandalous enough, surely, without including the dubious 'fact' that the two women were related.
Speaking of names, I was irrationally annoyed at the way Iggulden chose to modernise some of the Saxon names. I know all the Æthel-, Ælf- and -thryth names are confusing and hard for modern readers to pronounce, so I fully expected him to go with easier-on-the-eye alternatives like Elgiva, Allwold and Elflaed, but in other places his choices were so far from the original name that I didn't realise who the person was meant to be until several pages later.
Audrey, for instance, is generally used as a form of Æthelthryth; for instance in the case of St Æthelthryth of Ely (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelthryth). Iggulden uses the name Audrey for King Edgar's queen, Ælfthryth - I admit the name looks a lot like Æthelthryth at first glance but Saxon names are made up of two parts (which is why they are all very similar) and these two names are completely different and have different meanings. Ælfthryth's name is usually rendered as Elfrida or Alfrida - if Iggulden had used one of these forms it would have avoided confusion and been more pronounceable, while still making her recognisable as a character.
But I'm just being petty because I love this era and I hate it when people get Saxon facts wrong. It doesn't detract from how enjoyable this book is, and I hope it brings the wonders of late Saxon England to a whole new readership.
I knew of Dunstan's later years before reading this book thanks to the non-fiction book [b:Elfrida: The First Crowned Queen of England|17989525|Elfrida The First Crowned Queen of England|Elizabeth Norton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1370223945s/17989525.jpg|25225630], which I highly recommend. However Iggulden's book doesn't dwell much on this period so I learnt a lot about the short-lived kings in between the great Æthelstan and the much less great Æthelred (the Unready).
It's not quite a five-star book for me because I was a bit peeved by some of the choices Iggulden made with regards to his source material. I appreciate that such material is scant, but he seems to have deliberately chosen the sources with the more lurid stories in rather than the ones that are more historically reliable. This seems to have been done purely to make a better story, when a more historically-accurate story would have been just as good and there are plenty of unknown years (such as Dunstan's school days) to play around with instead.
For instance, in Iggulden's book King Edwy is caught in delicto flagrante with Elgiva (Ælfgifu) and her mother at the same time, a story that did the rounds at the time and was recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. However many modern historians think this was most likely a confusion caused because of the names of two of Edwy's lovers, Ælfgifu and Æthelgifu, since Ælfgifu's mother was also called Æthelgifu, a common name at the time. The idea of a king having a threesome is surely scandalous enough, surely, without including the dubious 'fact' that the two women were related.
Speaking of names, I was irrationally annoyed at the way Iggulden chose to modernise some of the Saxon names. I know all the Æthel-, Ælf- and -thryth names are confusing and hard for modern readers to pronounce, so I fully expected him to go with easier-on-the-eye alternatives like Elgiva, Allwold and Elflaed, but in other places his choices were so far from the original name that I didn't realise who the person was meant to be until several pages later.
Audrey, for instance, is generally used as a form of Æthelthryth; for instance in the case of St Æthelthryth of Ely (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelthryth). Iggulden uses the name Audrey for King Edgar's queen, Ælfthryth - I admit the name looks a lot like Æthelthryth at first glance but Saxon names are made up of two parts (which is why they are all very similar) and these two names are completely different and have different meanings. Ælfthryth's name is usually rendered as Elfrida or Alfrida - if Iggulden had used one of these forms it would have avoided confusion and been more pronounceable, while still making her recognisable as a character.
But I'm just being petty because I love this era and I hate it when people get Saxon facts wrong. It doesn't detract from how enjoyable this book is, and I hope it brings the wonders of late Saxon England to a whole new readership.
stormblessed4's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
elentikvah's review against another edition
3.0
Picking this on a whim during an Audible sale because I generally like Iggulden's writing style. I thought I knew what I was getting into - I did not. That said, St. Dunstan's story was intriguing and interesting. As usual, I loved Iggulden's writing and, as with most good historical fiction, the author's note at the back makes the entire book worth reading!
This is Anglo-Saxon England in the 900's, when England's unification is solidifying under the rule of the grandsons of Alfred the Great. It weaves a tale of Dunstan, a man who would become a saint - starting in boyhood throughout his career in the church and follows his ebbs and flows as a participant in various royal courts.
This is an enjoyable for any historical fiction reader!
Rating 3/5 stars "liked it"
16 hrs and 44 mins / 464 pages
Audiobook / Kindle
This is Anglo-Saxon England in the 900's, when England's unification is solidifying under the rule of the grandsons of Alfred the Great. It weaves a tale of Dunstan, a man who would become a saint - starting in boyhood throughout his career in the church and follows his ebbs and flows as a participant in various royal courts.
This is an enjoyable for any historical fiction reader!
Rating 3/5 stars "liked it"
16 hrs and 44 mins / 464 pages
Audiobook / Kindle