Cold Heart, Cruel Hand: A novel of Hereward the Wake [Paperback]

LJB's first novel was so descriptive in content and so thought provoking, it left me hungry for more. I have since become a big fan of these types of books and have constantly looked out for more work by LJB. Well, the wait is finally over, Cold Heart, Cruel Hand is on the shelves, and doesn't dissapoint.

Ranulf, with his wife and son, have joined up with Hereward the Wake on a small island in the Fens. This small army of Saxons is the last pocket of resistence against William the Conquerer, the last hope against norman rule. Friends of Ranulfs that were present in Housecarl, once again join forces to aide this small army. The odds are stacked heavily against them, but every man has their own reasons for loathing King William, and all are willing to fight for their freedom from Norman rule, or pay the ultimate price trying.

Equally, King William needs to destroy Hereward the Wake and his small army of Saxons, and thus prove his ultimate power over England. If it were just a matter of strength, then William could crush this army like a bug, but first he must find a way to get to the enemy. Not an easy task, as the Conquerer finds out at a great cost.

The battle scenes are once again written with such detail that you feel as if you are there witnessing the events as they happen. The book is full of twists and turns that find you holding your breath in places, anticipating how things will end, and finding another turn that takes you in another direction. There are evil foes that Ranulf has to endure, and freinds in unexpected quarters.

This book has been worth the wait, and I am indebted to LJB for whetting my appetite for historical novels.
His write up says he is a lawyer. If he is as good a lawyer as he is a writer, then he is for sure a force to be reckoned with. If he is not as good a lawyer as he is a writer, then he should take up writing full time, we would then not be left waiting two years between books. Roll on book 3 or at least the movie of the first 2 books to keep us going in the meantime. Two thumbs up...

Ranulf Redbeard rides again! This time the sole survivor of King Harold's Huscarls finds himself fighting alongside Hereward the Wake. There have been many takes on Hereward's story with every author striving to understand this complex man who became one of England's first folk heroes. Author Laurence Brown, with his vivid style and enthusiasm, sticks quite close to the story as written down in the primary source De Gestis Herwardi Saxonis, even to the extent of using the Latinised names for some of the English resistance fighters. Again there are problems with the finer points of detailed research but, as with Housecarl, you can easily put this to one side and enjoy getting swept along in the high adventure.

The book ends with the fall of Ely and the Cap of Refuge to the Normans. The question now is; where will Ranulf Redbeard go next? Hereward carried on his fight for several more years after Ely fell, but many of his comrades left England to emigrate to Constantinople and joining the Varangian Guard. Now isn't that an idea for the next book! Though maybe he will join Earl Waeltheof in his many adventures? Hmm, I'll just have to wait and see won't I!

It is an old saying that the second book is harder to write than the first but this does not appear to be the case with Mr Brown. His writing style has soared in confidence in his portrayal of life after the Norman Invasion. This is a novel which takes you along at pace.You will visualise it so clearly it would be criminal not to turn it into a film for those who are not so keen on reading as the rest of us. It would be a film with the potential of Braveheart.

The book itself is deeply oppressive detailing the harshness of life under the Normans. The brutality is endemic and the drudgery of life for the Saxons is starkly highlighted. In Hereward's camp the players act out their lives in the cetainty that the Norman killing machine will eventually seek them out and destroy them as the last pocket of resistance.

The story is underlain with a forlorn but nonetheless dogged determination not to give in to the enemy. It is that indomitable spirit that makes the British what they are- the very essence of guts and courage.

Oh! And in a book full of bad guys there is one character who truly drips evil. He makes your flesh crawl. You can feel the poison ooze out of the pages and his vindictive atmosphere pervades the whole story. I kept looking round to make sure he wasn't behind me!

This naked malice is in stark contrast to a father's love for his son and his desperate race to find him and reunite his family.

I can thoroughly recommend this novel to you and I will use that hackneyed cliché - It truly is a book you won't be able to put down.