8 Jun 2010

THE BOYS TALE.



Who would ever want to harm two young boys, aged five and six? When the boys are half brothers to Henry VI, King of England, the list is long and distinguished. A lady in their mother's household flees with the boys to St. Frideswide's and asks Dame Frevisse to offer them a haven. Unable to refuse children, she takes them in and conceals them.

But as attempts are made on the boys' lives inside St. Frideswide's walls, Dame Frevisse realizes that from the ambitious and the wicked there is no sanctuary.....

... From the inner front cover.

FIRST SENTENCE: The warm summer's afternoon was worn well away.

MEMORABLE MOMENT: 'Not easy at all. Nor simple as it probably ought to be. But then nothing is so simple as it ought to be. Not love or hate or fear or even hope.'

The fifth book in a series of seventeen (click HERE for the complete list), perhaps it all would have made a bit more sense if I had read from book one onwards - but I suspect not.

I love my historical novels and have read many based during this period. What a let down The Boy's Tale proved to be - actually being more about Dame Frevisse then the actual boys who, when all is said and done, played a fairly minor role.

Not a book I enjoyed in any shape or form. Boring is not a word I bandy about readily but, in this instance, I'm afraid it just about sums up the novel.

'History fans will relish every minute' claims Publishers Weekly. 'A good mystery .... excellently drawn' states author Anne Perry. If only I had found the book to be either of these things.

Disappointing with a weak plot and lame, one dimensional characters, it also felt a little strange that so many American spellings were used in a novel set in England in the time of England's King Henry VI. If you want to read a really good novel set at this time, may I suggest you try Philippa Gregory's THE WHITE QUEEN for a far superior read. (Click HERE for my review.)

13 comments:

Trac~ said...

Hey there stranger! So glad you stopped by yesterday. I'm sorry I've not been that great of a bloggy friend lately but things have been NUTS here at home and work and I've just barely had time to post daily. *sigh* I'm so happy the hubby is back home - hope he feels better real soon. I am sorry about the disappointment on your latest book read. Maybe the next one you read will be much better. Hope you have a lovely day my friend! Big hugs! :o)

serendipity_viv said...

Tracy - glad to hear your hubby is home. I hope he makes a speedy recovery soon.

Sorry to hear this one wasn't for you. I think I would be put off my the fact the series had seventeen books in it.

Pam said...

I took the Yankee-Rebel test yesterday and made a 94% Dixie. That's funny as I've lived in Georgia all my life.
How is your hubby doing? Hope he is feeling much better.

Nina said...

Sorry to hear that it didn't do it for you! :) I haven't read the White Queen, but it's on my list to read. So I am glad to hear that you enjoyed it!

Jessica said...

Wow 17 in that book series, the author has certainly taken an idea and run with it. Theres alot of historical novels out there I guess you found some of the weakest out there in this.

Tracie said...

Life is too short to read boring books! I loved The White Queen. I've read it twice.

Kelly said...

This sounded good until I hit "book five of seventeen"! It's appeal went down from there.

So glad to hear that your hubby is home again!! Hope he's feeling his usual self soon!

Marinela said...

This sounded really good "book five of seventeen"

Oddyoddyo13 said...

I hope your husband is doing well!

Don't you just hate it when a book falls flat? Ugh.

Jenners said...

I love the phrase "bandy about." It isn't used often enough, I think. Too bad you had to use it in this review and bandy about the word "Boring."

Marie Cloutier said...

I hope your husband is doing better. As for the book- ooof. I guess they're not all winners.

Jen said...

I love historical novels. It's a shame this one disappointed. I hope your next read is better.

TirzahLaughs said...

I don't like many historicals. They are either dry, boring, or they bend the truth.

Only a rare few do a good job of it.

Tirz