I was asked by NetGalley to review this book

Set in the days of Anglo-Saxon England in the year 937. England is a nation that's divided. It's ruled by minor Kings and Viking Lords.

Beautifully written and the author being a former english teacher - he can write well and has a good interest in history which brings the story alive,

Recommended read.

Absolutely fascinating. To my great surprise, as I have not really read many historical stories since I was a teenager, I was utterly enthralled by this book. The writing was good, the story was great, and I was incredibly pleased when, having finished the book, there was a long and instructional section on what was real, what was changed for the sake of the story, and the true life of Dunstan.
Having not really expected to enjoy this book, I found myself telling my husband all about Dunstan at supper that night!

Love Conn Iggulden’s books. Really enjoyed reading about this period in history. Would read other books by this author.

Not really my ideal book, but it was good nonetheless. Might have to look at more of the author's books at some point.

Dunstan was an unknown historical character to me before reading this book. The book was very good at covering the details of his life and we learnt a lot of his achievements but I didn't find that it took off as a gripping story. It was a good but not exciting account.

This was an interesting story and quite engaging. It made me dig out all the author's books to enjoy his storytelling skills.

Wow a mighty time but worth the effort. One for the boys

ANOTHER BRILLIANT HISTORICAL NOVEL FROM CONN IGGULDEN - A STAND ALONE TALE
"Dunstan" is set in the years following the death of Alfred the Great (the unifier of much of Southern England under one crown).
The book tells the story of the life of Dunstan, who rose from a relatively humble background, to his appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury. Along the way we are mesmerised by the twists and turns of fortune as Dunstan climbs the Ecclesiastical Ladder. A story typical of this master of historical fiction, Conn Iggulden.
Dunstan lived through a turbulent period of history where the lives of Monarchs were frequently short: brief reigns encouraged those with ambition. However, the objective of Alfred remained with his successors - the unification of the whole of England under one crown.
I learned much about the period from this book. An example being that the Monarchy was not one that depended on progenitor, instead the "Parliament" of the day, the Witan, voted on the issue of succession. Whilst deliberating, peace and stability were prominent considerations for a country under continuous threat of attack from Viking invaders, Lords of the North and Ireland. A great cocktail of threats. Sometimes the Witan made grave errors: such as splitting the Kingdom in two between brothers.
Iggulden admirably sticks as far as possible to historical fact using artistic licence to weave a tale which keeps you glued from start to finish.
Whilst the novel does fall into the category of Historical Fiction it deserves a much wider readership: it is a standalone novel and should appeal to all readers who like a book with intrigue, politics and a cracking story. I would with enthusiasm recommend this book to all readers of fiction.

Conn Iggulden is one of my favourite authors and I am grateful for the opportunity to read his latest novel.

As with all his books it is engaging and full of detail. I now feel like I know so much more about this time. I hadn't read a book set in Anglo-Saxon times before but will be looking out for more of them.

This is a sweeping historical tale. It is always a treat to read such a well researched novel. It covers an incredibly interesting ( for me) time in British history when the country was in turmoil and seeing it through Dunstan's eyes and influence is fascinating.

The premise of this book was good and it thoroughly lived up to the hype. A wonderful tale of growing up and living life in 937 AD.

Centres around Brother Dunstan as he grows into being the abbot of Glastonbury.

A really entertaining and enjoyable read,that showed Dunstan having his ups and downs,as Vengeance is a fine thing.

Really enjoyed this one

Conn Iggulden can do no wrong. The departure into a new genre works perfectly..

One of the popular English canonised archbishops, Dunstan, changed the course of the English history, dating from the reigns of Edward the Elder, son of Alfred the Great, to Edward the Martyr.

Dunstan was a sort of kingmaker in the turbulent periods from Glastonbury to Winchester in the kingdom of Wessex, which was merged with other kingdoms to form a new nation of England. Dunstan was believed to have fallen from the roof of the church and survived to implement the course of the history.

Working life at the monastery was dark as Dunstan was abused and pardoned repetitively by the other monks. He later became the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Some kings and queens were villains to the nation making Dunstan’s life miserable.

I look forward to the continuing story after the reign of Edward the Martyr if Conn writes! I first enjoyed Conn’s books about the life of Caesar ten years ago.

Caesar13

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of a book to review

Set in the turbulent years of the 900s, when England as a country was more of a dream than reality, Dunstan is the story of a rather un-saintly saint, and of the part he played in these formative years. His life spanned the reign of seven English kings, from Æthelstan, the first to consider himself King of all Britain, to Ethelred; some considered him a friend and adviser; others saw him as a foe, one even banishing him overseas. But whether welcome at court in Winchester or not, Dunstan is always plotting and planning, furthering his own ends as much as the king's.


This is period of history I know little about - I think for many readers the time from Alfred the Great to William the Conqueror will be a blur - but, from this story of a man caught in the middle of it, it's as full of treachery, double dealing, and political machinations as you could imagine.
The story is told as the remembrances of an old man looking back on his long, tumultuous life, his achievements and mistakes, the part he played in history as builder of church monuments and adviser to kings. The portrait Iggulden paints of Dunstan is of a complex man. A younger son with few other prospects, he's drawn to the church more for the possibilities of power and learning, than any religious calling. Tales of miracles and visions surround him and Dunstan becomes Abbot of Glastonbury at an early age, spending much of his life building of monasteries and cathedrals. On the other hand, he's full of petty jealousies, not wanting anyone to stand in his way, holding grudges against those opposed to him, and paying them back with violence. He's not a man you'd want to get on the wrong side of!

It isn't the sort of book that I'd normally pick up but I've been watching The Last Kingdom on TV and as this is set a couple of generations or so later I was intrigued. There's some, though not a tremendous amount of, war and violence because of the nature of the times, but the story only really concerns itself with events Dunstan witnesses first hand, and as a man in holy orders he's not on the front line of every battle and skirmish. Dunstan brings the period to life in an enjoyable, readable way - and there are historical notes at the end if, like me, you want to know how the story compares to what really happened.

Overall I enjoyed reading this book, it was a bit of a slow burner to start with but once it got into the meat of the story I found that it rolled along nicely. If you like your historical fiction full of blood and thunder then this probably isn't for you, with there only being one major battle scene. But if you like a book full of twists and turns, political manoueverings and intrigue, then you will enjoy this book. The central character (Dunstan) can be quite hard to like sometimes. One moment He can be quite self sacrificing and the next his single mindedness can lead him to acts that are quite brutal.

Good book
Very descriptive of the times and the politics.

It took me quite a while an interstingwhile to read this book, it is rather slow paced in comparion to his other books. However it is well worth the effort and covers an interesting period of history. well written as usual, good narrative and in the end a very interesting character. The only down side is that it is not such an exciting read, more an interesting one.

This book sounded good but once I started reading, I found it just wasn't my cup of tea hence a lower score than it probably deserves.

Conn Iggulden is an immensely popular author but this is the first book I have read by him. I enjoyed it but found it to be just a bit too long, I found my attention wandering in the middle part of the book. However, I love historical fiction based on real people and events and I found the writing style very readable, liked the use of first person and lapped up the historical details. Overall, a good read and I'll read more by Iggulden in future.

Although I didn't love this book in found it readable but I'm afraid it just didn't grab me. Nothing against the book or the author I just feel it wasn't the book for me. This hasn't put me off reading other books by this author and have recommended it to people who I know would really enjoy it.