Official Review: Rogue & Royal by Alan S. Blood
Posted: 12 Dec 2015, 14:31
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Rogue & Royal" by Alan S. Blood.]
3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Rogue & Royal by Alan S. Blood is an historical fiction novel based on the interactions between Charles II of England and the Puritan Fifth Monarchy Men who fought for Cromwell during the English Civil War. The novel spans a twenty year period from 1660 through 1680 with particular focus on the lives of Charles II and his adversary "Colonel" Thomas Blood, leader of the Fifth Monarchy Men.
As the novel begins, Charles II is returning triumphantly to England after his exile and London is preparing to hang, draw and quarter some of those responsible for the execution of Charles I. Soon after Colonel Blood receives notice that through the Act of Uniformity the lands of the Protestant Nonconformists will be seized should they not conform to the "middle way" of the new Anglican Church. As troops led by the Duke of Ormond begin to seize the lands of former Cromwellian troops, rebellion begins to brew and Colonel Blood is appointed to lead them and begins to put plans into place to seize Dublin Castle and the Duke of Ormond. Though he is ultimately betrayed and plot fails, this leads Charles II to become aware of Thomas Blood for the first time. Colonel Blood will spend the next two decades in rebellion of Charles II culminating in the attempt to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.
The main characters of Thomas Blood and Charles II are well developed and the reader gets a good sense of what drives them to take the actions they do. Supporting characters such as Maria Blood, Thomas' wife, and Barbara Villiers, Charles' favorite mistress, are also well written . Maria, in particular, was a favorite of mine because she was a very strong woman and devoted to her sometimes misguided husband. Some of the other minor characters seemed to enter the story as an afterthought and it was difficult to keep track of who some of the members of Charles' inner circle were. The plot moved quickly though some of the chapters could be more detailed to allow some of Colonel Blood's exploits to seem less rushed.
My biggest criticism of the book is the difficulty in figuring out the length of events and what year they occurred. The events detailed in the book spanned twenty years, but it was difficult to tell what year each event was happening in and how many years had passed since the previous exploit. I think it would be helpful to the reader if the author could add a date to each chapter to make it clearer whether a few months had passed since the previous chapter or whether it had been several years.
I give Rogue and Royal 3 out of 4 stars. The characters were entertaining and it was interesting to read a novel about a time period that I know very little about. I would recommend this novel to all readers of historical fiction, particularly those interested in the English monarchy.
******
Rogue & Royal
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
Like memory's review? Post a comment saying so!
3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Rogue & Royal by Alan S. Blood is an historical fiction novel based on the interactions between Charles II of England and the Puritan Fifth Monarchy Men who fought for Cromwell during the English Civil War. The novel spans a twenty year period from 1660 through 1680 with particular focus on the lives of Charles II and his adversary "Colonel" Thomas Blood, leader of the Fifth Monarchy Men.
As the novel begins, Charles II is returning triumphantly to England after his exile and London is preparing to hang, draw and quarter some of those responsible for the execution of Charles I. Soon after Colonel Blood receives notice that through the Act of Uniformity the lands of the Protestant Nonconformists will be seized should they not conform to the "middle way" of the new Anglican Church. As troops led by the Duke of Ormond begin to seize the lands of former Cromwellian troops, rebellion begins to brew and Colonel Blood is appointed to lead them and begins to put plans into place to seize Dublin Castle and the Duke of Ormond. Though he is ultimately betrayed and plot fails, this leads Charles II to become aware of Thomas Blood for the first time. Colonel Blood will spend the next two decades in rebellion of Charles II culminating in the attempt to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.
The main characters of Thomas Blood and Charles II are well developed and the reader gets a good sense of what drives them to take the actions they do. Supporting characters such as Maria Blood, Thomas' wife, and Barbara Villiers, Charles' favorite mistress, are also well written . Maria, in particular, was a favorite of mine because she was a very strong woman and devoted to her sometimes misguided husband. Some of the other minor characters seemed to enter the story as an afterthought and it was difficult to keep track of who some of the members of Charles' inner circle were. The plot moved quickly though some of the chapters could be more detailed to allow some of Colonel Blood's exploits to seem less rushed.
My biggest criticism of the book is the difficulty in figuring out the length of events and what year they occurred. The events detailed in the book spanned twenty years, but it was difficult to tell what year each event was happening in and how many years had passed since the previous exploit. I think it would be helpful to the reader if the author could add a date to each chapter to make it clearer whether a few months had passed since the previous chapter or whether it had been several years.
I give Rogue and Royal 3 out of 4 stars. The characters were entertaining and it was interesting to read a novel about a time period that I know very little about. I would recommend this novel to all readers of historical fiction, particularly those interested in the English monarchy.
******
Rogue & Royal
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
Like memory's review? Post a comment saying so!