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Hereward [Hardcover]

James Wilde
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)

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Book Description

23 Jun 2011

1062, a time many fear is the End of Days. With the English King Edward heirless and ailing, across the grey seas in Normandy the brutal William the Bastard waits for the moment when he can drown England in a tide of blood.

The ravens of war are gathering. But as the king's closest advisors scheme and squabble amongst themselves, hopes of resisting the naked ambition of the Norman duke come to rest with just one man: Hereward...

To some a ruthless warrior and master tactician, to others a devil in human form, Hereward is as adept in the art of slaughter as the foes that gather to claim England's throne. But in his country's hour of greatest need, his enemies at Court have made him outlaw. To stay alive - and a freeman - he must carve a bloody swathe from the frozen hills of Northumbria to Flanders' fields and the fenlands of East Anglia.

The tale of a man whose deeds will become the stuff of legend, this is also the story of two mismatched allies: Hereward the man of war, and Alric, a man of peace, a monk. One will risk everything to save the land he loves, the other to save his friend's soul...

James Wilde's thrilling, action-packed debut rescues a great English hero from the darkest of times and brings him to brutal and bloody life.



Product details

  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Bantam Press; First Edition edition (23 Jun 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0593064887
  • ISBN-13: 978-0593064887
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.2 x 3.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 99,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

A novel about brutal and bloody times and not for for the squeamish but Wilde has succeeded in giving new and convincing life to a half-forgotten English hero BBC HISTORY magazine Moves at a wonderful pace... great swathes of blood-letting and an overall kickass arc... great stuff FALCATATIMES.COM Fantastically realised... strong, believable characters, lashings of fast-paced action ELOQUENTPAGE.COM

Book Description

Thrilling, action-packed historical debut that rescues one of England's forgotten heroes from the mists of early medieval history and brings him to brutal and bloody life...

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
56 of 56 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Cracking Debut 21 Jun 2011
By Gareth Wilson - Falcata Times Blog TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
With a huge amount of historical fiction titles currently being set around the 1066 mark, an author has to find something new to bring to the mix in order to generate memorable characters as well giving the reader a plot to keep them not only engrossed but thrilled and entertained throughout. Such is the volume of these titles to date that it's a wonder that none of the characters have charged headlong into each other on the battlefield.

Currently in this muddied and historically rich period James Wilde strides with his debut title which takes the reader onto the battlefield with Hereward which, is a tale for the modern audience with a tip of the hat and homage to the 1963 Victor Comic (Hereward the Wake, Saxon Chief) as well as Charles Kingsley's Hereward the Wake published in 1865. Whilst the title is all of the authors devising it's one that will thrill the modern audience from its hard-line bloodthirsty opening that sets the tone of the story (which incidentally has a very Gemmellesque feeling due to its Waylander type opening.)

All in the story moves at a wonderful pace, the combat is clearly thought out and with Howardesque touches, great swathes of bloodletting and overall kickass arc; it's a title that for a debut will make one hell of an impact to the Historical Fiction audience which makes Wilde an author to keep an eye on and one to pick up now prior to the hype and for me would have been ideal holiday reading and if you happy to be in Hereward country one that would generate an exploration of the surrounding area in closer detail. Great stuff.
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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Debut 28 Jun 2011
By Parm TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
There have been a fair few novels set around this period of history lately, some have met mixed reviews. It really depends on what you are looking for from a historical fiction book?
EG: Conquest by Stewart Binns is a rousing tale that roars along with loads of blood and thunder action and has a heavy tilt towards nationality. While Shieldwall by Justin Hill is a slower more historically rich title that really educates the reader.

Hereward for me falls somewhere in-between, it has a fair bit of historical detail (i cant vouch for the accuracy its not my area of expertise) and also lashings of action. As another reviewer (Gareth) has written there is a very Gemmellesque flavour to certain scenes and also characters, and there is in my opinion no higher accolade for a writer.
This is a great book and the fact that its a debut title means that we potentially have great things to come from this writer.

Highly recommended (Parm)

Product Description (From the back of the book)
1062, a time many fear is the End of Days. With the English King Edward heirless and ailing, across the grey seas in Normandy the brutal William the Bastard waits for the moment when he can drown England in a tide of blood.

The ravens of war are gathering. But as the king's closest advisors scheme and squabble amongst themselves, hopes of resisting the naked ambition of the Norman duke come to rest with just one man: Hereward...

To some a ruthless warrior and master tactician, to others a devil in human form, Hereward is as adept in the art of slaughter as the foes that gather to claim England's throne. But in his country's hour of greatest need, his enemies at Court have made him outlaw. To stay alive - and a freeman - he must carve a bloody swathe from the frozen hills of Northumbria to Flanders' fields and the fenlands of East Anglia.

The tale of a man whose deeds will become the stuff of legend, this is also the story of two mismatched allies: Hereward the man of war, and Alric, a man of peace, a monk. One will risk everything to save the land he loves, the other to save his friend's soul...

James Wilde's thrilling, action-packed debut rescues a great English hero from the darkest of times and brings him to brutal and bloody life.
Was this review helpful to you?
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars The original outlaw 22 Aug 2011
By N. Brett TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
There are periods of English history I am ashamed to say I have had to learn through fact based fiction. So thank you to the likes of Bernard Cornwell and now James Wilde.

I had never heard of Hereward, but he did exist and fought against the Normans after their invasion of 1066. In many ways he reminded me of Robin Hood, but his existence is fact compared to the legend of Robin Hood, in addition to preceding him by 150 years.

We see Hereward as a young man forced to leave the emerging English court because of his unruly behaviour and then allegations of murder. His character is wild, intense and unpredictable (reminded me of the sort of character then late, great David Gemmell produced) with a dark side kept barely in check. Hooking up with a young priest, also on the run, Hereward is struggling to discover a goal and self value, but once the Normans invade, he sees his duty to defend England against the Norman tyranny.

The Normans occupied England (not Scotland or Wales) and pretty much dominated it all, Hereward was based in the Isle of Ely and the Fens, an inhospitable area that the Normans struggled to gain control over. The original outlaw he ran a running campaign against the Normans. This book deals with his early years from exile to the start of his campaign against the Normans and it is interesting, page turning stuff.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars Not my choice
Badly written. No feel for period, just some bolt-on historical detail. Just jumps on the bandwagon of current popularity of Roman and Medieaval fiction
Published 1 month ago by PT
5.0 out of 5 stars hereward
I have an interest in this period of history and this book decribed it very and combined with a good story of Hereward it makes a really good read
Published 2 months ago by Robin J. Nellist
5.0 out of 5 stars Fab
Great read, thanks very much. Found it even easier with the kindle in being able to choose and purchase from the comfort of anywhere, i'm converted - thank you
Published 2 months ago by Mrs. N. J. Foulkes
4.0 out of 5 stars Novel set somewhere between myth and fact
I enjoyed this book. It is what I had expected. I found that I was making time in the day to read it so that was a good sign. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Wessex Woman
5.0 out of 5 stars Historical Faction
Whilst little is generally know of the exploits of Hereward the Wake this novel sets the scene wonderfully well. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ed Brown
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
This is ok for those that like History & a story combined.

Full of blood & gore Vivid descriptions .
Published 3 months ago by james parker
4.0 out of 5 stars An exciting read of our past.
I read a lot of history based novels and found this by James Wilde, to be a great read. It holds your interest throughout, it, to me, is to the point, direct, descriptive without... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Terry Barbier
4.0 out of 5 stars a great read in history which is not widely known
I would recomend this and did ,a lot of this history was never told at school.I like the characters and battle scenes
Published 3 months ago by stewart
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic read
Fantastic read. This is the first time I have read a book by this author. The story grips you, the character is larger than life. On to the next in the series.
Published 3 months ago by Ninjutsu
5.0 out of 5 stars Rollingkin good yarn
I bought the book on other reviews, and wasn't disapointed, action, blood and gore of the medieval times. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Budgie56
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