Essex Dogs

by Dan Jones

Hardcover, 2022

Status

Available

Call number

823.92

Publication

Head of Zeus -- an Aries Book (2022), 464 pages

Description

Fiction. Literature. Thriller. Historical Fiction. HTML:The New York Times bestselling historian makes his historical fiction debut with an explosive novel set during the Hundred Years' War. July 1346. Ten men land on the beaches of Normandy. They call themselves the Essex Dogs: an unruly platoon of archers and men-at-arms led by a battle-scarred captain whose best days are behind him. The fight for the throne of the largest kingdom in Western Europe has begun. Heading ever deeper into enemy territory toward Crécy, this band of brothers knows they are off to fight a battle that will forge nations, and shape the very fabric of human lives. But first they must survive a bloody war in which rules are abandoned and chivalry itself is slaughtered. Rooted in historical accuracy and told through an unforgettable cast, Essex Dogs delivers the stark reality of medieval war on the ground �?? and shines a light on the fighters and ordinary people caught in the storm. &#… (more)

Media reviews

Grimdark Magazine

"Essex Dogs is an impressive, five-star debut. Its pace is just right, the author has excellent knowledge of the period and its leading characters are wonderfully flawed and plausible."

— 2 more

Kirkus Reviews

"It will be hard to top those scenes in Jones' planned sequels."

Publishers Weekly

"Journalist and historian Jones (The Plantagenets) makes his fiction debut with a rousing story of the Hundred Years War, the first in a projected trilogy."

User reviews

LibraryThing member JHemlock

Where did Jones go wrong with this book? Well the story is not that bad, if you can really find a story. I have read all of Jones work and I have been itching to read his first real fictional jaunt. He was successful in fleshing out the characters. Their development was very well done. The smells,

sights and horrors of middle age combat is grueling and very well written. If Hollywood could smell half the stories they put on the screen then half of those stories would never make onto film. You can smell Essex Dogs from page one. The problem with this book is number one. The Language. I am an old retired sailor and foul language surely does not bother me. But at some points the use of it in this story is distracting. Now…. I know these are hard men, in a hard world living in battlefields. I get it. Second. The story itself kind of goes nowhere and I do believe that Jones did that with a purpose. Perhaps we will get a second volume. But there are quite a few holes in the story in general. Overall Essex Dogs is well written, easy to read and encourages the reader to read more on the subject of the Hundred years war. I won’t fault Jones. He was having fun.

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LibraryThing member janerawoof

The beginning of the Hundred Years' War [14th century] in France told through the device of a small group of mercenary soldiers, rampaging, burning. killing, and pillaging, through France, starting from landing at the beaches of Normandy, climaxing at the battle of Crecy. Exciting but I did not

like so much dirty language.

I did like the epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter, taken from contemporary chronicles, that summed up the action in each chapter.

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LibraryThing member clrichm

It has been a very long time since my high school European History class, and so I could remember hardly anything about the Hundred Years War going into this book. I found myself having to (for my own neurospicy sake) put it down and go spend time reading up on the war’s lead-up and context in

order to feel situated within it—probably not something most people would feel necessary, but I did. Until I did enough of that, I had difficulty engaging emotionally with any of the characters, as my mind was preoccupied with the various maneuvers and battles and other large-scale aspects.

Once I got past that, I found the book to be unrelentingly dark, though that’s the nature of such books; war’s hell, and an author should feel compelled to try to keep it entertaining and light. Unfortunately, I was so tense because of it that it was still hard to get attached to the men of the Essex Dogs, since almost all of their time on-page was spent in deep stress and unhappiness. (Maybe a prologue with a little scene from before they sailed off to France would have helped show a more full picture?) But it was a well-crafted story, and those readers who enjoy war books will probably not have the same issues.

Finally, if you’re winding up for a sequel, a bit more foreshadowing of the next book’s impetus than in the last couple of paragraphs would be appreciated. (I’m assuming we are talking sequel, because otherwise I have no idea why we’d end on such an unexpected reveal.)

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