Lionheart

I’m a massive fan of Ben Ken, he quite rightly ranks as one of the best Roman fiction authors around. However, Lionheart, his first foray away from Rome, might just be his best work yet.

It’s a fantastic read. Right from the first page the action kicks off and doesn’t let up right until the end. Rufus, the narrator and main character is fantastic. Through his eyes we get a thrilling ride through Richards years fighting his way across France, up until he takes the cross and is crowned King of England.

The fighting scenes are realistic and brilliant, as good as anything Christian Cameron himself can write.

This is a fantastic book, I can’t wait for number 2.

(Review)

I will have to admit that when i heard Ben Kane was writing about Richard the Lionheart i groaned a little, im always going to read a book by him because he is simply an excellent writer, But…. I hate the crusades, or at least i usually find that i do, there is usually just a bit to much pious religion, knights flogging themselves and dodgy priests galore, so i tend to steer clear of them, in the same way i tend to with anything plague related, because they are just dark and grim.

With Lionheart though Ben has taken me back to his writing style of 12 years ago, taking a character from youth and growing the story around them, in this case Rufus (Ferdia), and then he lets the story resolve its-self around this character, its a style i love and always makes me very invested in a character.

The story of Rufus takes us from his time as a hostage to his families good behaviour, through the harsh times and brutality of his captivity, to his steady rise as a squire and beyond. We get to see life in a border castle, through to royal courts of europe and the battles for the provinces of Duke Richards lands and those of France and Normandy. Ben has a style and ability to remove the grandeur that can be distracting to the story and concentrate on the intimate life of his character, the world is how Rufus perceives it and gives a different lens to the times. Mixed in with his view comes that of Sir William Marshall, who allows us to see a different view, that of a Knight in the employ of the Royal Heir Henry, and thus the pair provide opposing views of the machinations of the big stage and its players.

I devoured this book in a couple of days, and at 400 pages its no small read. But the whole concept and the characters had me from the first chapter and didn’t let go, it left me desperate for the next installment of what i think will be Ben Kanes best work to date, this is easily going to sit in the top 5 for the year for me.

Very Very Highly recommend this book

(Parm)

In the court of Henry II there is unrest, deceit and treachery as there is a power struggle for supremacy between his sons.
Step forward Duke Richard, the bravest and most noble of them all and a man with the heart of a lion.
We see the story through the eyes of an Irish captive nicknamed Rufus who’s fortunes rises along with Duke Richard’s.
Ben Kane has produced a novel that takes us from Ireland to England to France and the surrounding regions.
This has all the good stuff like bloody battles, political intrigue and deception but unlike other authors, Ben Kane makes you feel like you’re there.
A beautifully written book,. The best I’ve read this year.
The author creates a brilliant atmosphere throughout the book with your emotions on edge at all the time.
A masterpiece written with great aplomb.
I highly recommend this book.

Ben is without a doubt my favourite author, and I have waited for this book for nearly a year! The wait was definitely worth it. It's a step away from Roman historical fiction that Ben normally writes, but it is just aswell written as his other works. Infact it is one of his best in my opinion, I barely knew much about king Richard, but since reading this I just couldnt help but do a bit more research on him, so thank you Ben for speaking my interest enough that I needed to read more about him when I finished your book.
Excellent character depth, faced paced, gritty action and bloody excellent story telling by Ben makes for a fantastic read once again, top Mark's Ben!

A gritty, gripping and fascinating historical fiction that kept me hooked till the end.
It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last because it's brilliant.
It's well researched and it pictures a vivid and realistic historical background with a cast of great characters and a story well told and plotted.
Mr Kane is an excellent storyteller and I strongly recommend this book.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Ben Kane is solely responsible for why I started reading historical fiction. When given the chance to be part of the blog tour for his new book, there’s no way I was turning it down.

Unlike his previous novels, Lionheart is not set in the Roman era, but just before the time of Richard the Lionheart (hence the title). Despite loving the Robin Hood legends (no, this book has nothing to do with that!), it’s not an era I’ve previously read and I was interested to learn more.

I knew it would be a good read – I’ve never come across a Ben Kane book that disappointed me. I was right: emotive and in-depth characters, a historically engaging plot, a pace that keeps you page-turning and the perfect rise and fall of tension.

Our main character is a young man named Ferdia – nicknamed as Rufus due to his colouring when he becomes a hostage in England after his father’s Irish uprising. Despite swearing to never kneel to the English, Rufus becomes awestruck when meeting a young Duke Richard and fate makes the two men cross paths enough that Rufus eventually becomes Richard’s squire

Ferdia/Rufus is an instantly-likeable main character. We meet him beaten and humiliated but with his pride intact and a refusal to take the easy road when given the chance to name his abuser. It sets him up for the rest of the book: Rufus’ pride may be shelved when it comes to serving the Duke, but he won’t forget past ill-deeds.

It would be easy to make Rufus hostile, but that’s far from the case. He swiftly makes friends and accepts the hero-worship of a young orphan – Rhys – with a good heart, trying to do his best by the boy. He’s warm, likeable and you root for him from the beginning.

There is a scattering of secondary characters; Rhys, the duke, the king and Richard’s scheming brothers (I had no idea John wasn’t his only brother), as well as various knights (including Rufus’ tormentor) and squires. Rhys takes the spot as a favourite – I love how doggedly loyal he is to Rufus despite everything.

The novel spans a number of years and the pacing is fairly gentle, reflecting that long time-span. There are battles scattered throughout but not many big clashes with the enemy as peace talks often interfere. The height of anticipation keeps you gripped though, feeling Rufus’ apprehension and keenness, and wanting him to have the chance to prove himself.

When there are battles, they are written with the finesse often found in Ben Kane’s novels: you’re never confused who is where but your heart is in your mouth in regards to whether a main character will make it out alive or not.

It’s not action-packed from beginning to end and a knife in the back is a bigger danger than a battlefield. But your attention is gripped throughout and you engage and empathise with the characters right from the start.

An intense and powerful read.

Lionheart is the start of a new and epic series of historical adventures set in the time of England's most illustrious monarch, Richard the Lionheart and this is a move from Ben Kane's Roman series (which I thoroughly enjoyed). It is certainly a pleasure to see Ben Kane tackling a new era and this world comes alive very fast when you open the book. You feel like you're IN the Medieval World. On an immersive scale, Ben did his research and the proof of the pudding shows in the work. One minute I'll be in a castle, the next in a barn, or fighting off bandits. Ben does some great historical detail that's rarely shown and you'll figure that out during your read of this novel.

For someone like me, that is familiar with the 100 years war (but not too much!) Ben certainly simplified the conflict between the Kings of England and France - as I assume that there's a lot more history involved behind this. Because the 100 years wars, in a nutshell, was a conflict between two families. The War of the Spanish Succession was a conflict that involved many nations but mostly: England, Spain, and France. It's not so much of a comparison, but I wish to bring the attention of the fact that we're in a time where the Kings command armies, those nobles under their command can bring large swathes of men into the battlefield, etc. There's a lot of detail that you will notice.

The story focuses on a defeated Irish nobleman from Striguil, who is named Rufus, his real name being Ferdia held hostage that is by a stroke of fortune pushed into the service of Richard the Lionheart. He also has to contend with cunning characters that seek to take away his position and the Fitzgeralds....possibly some of the most horrible villains you could ever want to be in. And the best thing is that Rufus escapes his hostage in Wales, and joins the young Richard in his campaign in France,

Whatever goes on is like a cycle. One minute, the English win, the next, the French are on their heels. It feels like the wars will never stop and the mercenaries are the worst offenders of the war. There are fantastic battle descriptions written with stunning prose. Also, Richard does often get saved by Rufus a lot! You grow with Rufus, and the brilliant use of the prologue works to this effect. Overall, my only criticism would be that as you progress through his journey from hostage to being a loyal servant of Richard, the pacing did feel a bit too fast. Because the real action and the real exciting journey in the sequel will be the Crusades by itself. I love that part.

You will laugh, cry, and love the characters and hate some of them at the same time. You will also love the word Amadan.

Overall, a 10/10 from me.