Epic Adventure in Medieval England

This was a brilliant read. The Scottish Boy has long been on my list to check out, but I suppose I feared it would be a bit too violent for my tastes. But it turned out to be more Three Musketeers than Braveheart. There are certainly battles and awful things happen, but the characters are wonderful and the circumstances are dire.

I never thought I’d be particularly interested in jousting, but every tournament maintains such suspense that I truly was never sure how they’d turn out. There were many unexpected twists and turns. Characters to be unsure of. I didn’t see how the story could turn out happily for two men in a romantic relationship in 1333. Homosexuality was punished by burning or hanging, then the body quartered and displayed to warn others. Truly horrific. But there is light in this book amid the darkness.

There are some bits that don’t quite make sense when held up to scrutiny… character choices and plot logistics, but for the most part they are easy to look past as the larger story is incredibly engaging. I heartily recommend this extremely satisfying book.