The Blood Of Kings
May 10, 2013 Documentary on Maya Civilization. Shown in my World History 7.0 class. For more info, see or http://www.filmandhistory.
Flavius Magnus Maximus, a man of great ability and enormous charm, is hailed as one of the most influential Roman officers in Britain. When he befriends Caradoc Strong Arm, the King of the Dumnonii Tribe in Tintagel, he gains an understanding of the disunity that exists between the tribal kings of Britain and thus an ambitious plan ignites within Maximus's mind.
As the fi Flavius Magnus Maximus, a man of great ability and enormous charm, is hailed as one of the most influential Roman officers in Britain. When he befriends Caradoc Strong Arm, the King of the Dumnonii Tribe in Tintagel, he gains an understanding of the disunity that exists between the tribal kings of Britain and thus an ambitious plan ignites within Maximus's mind. As the first High King of the Britons, Maximus gathers together a huge force of brave Roman and British warriors and leads them into battle at Gaul. He has cast his eyes on the throne of the Emperor of Rome and nothing will stand in his way. The fate of Roman Britain appears to be controlled by the meeting of two very different men. When Flavius Magnus Maximus, a man of enormous charisma and courage, meets Caradoc Strong Arm, the King of the Dumnonii Tribe, the conflict that exists between them is palpable and even though ambitious plans drawn up between them attempt to unite the tribes, what it does is reiterate the very differences which, ultimately, make them enemies. Inevitably,with the beginning of any series of books, there is The fate of Roman Britain appears to be controlled by the meeting of two very different men.
When Flavius Magnus Maximus, a man of enormous charisma and courage, meets Caradoc Strong Arm, the King of the Dumnonii Tribe, the conflict that exists between them is palpable and even though ambitious plans drawn up between them attempt to unite the tribes, what it does is reiterate the very differences which, ultimately, make them enemies. Inevitably,with the beginning of any series of books, there is always an element of scene setting and the introduction of central characters who will go on to play a major role in the development of the story. I found that to be the case in this story, buy am pleased that the author had included a dramatis personae at the start of the story which I found very useful as I had no idea who some of the people were, or of their place in the history of the time. There’s also a glossary of place names at the end of the book which, again, I thought helped enormously in placing the settlements geographically.
I’m not overly familiar with early Roman history and found myself floundering a little with the beginning of this story and I had to keep back tracking in order to make sense, in my mind, of where the story was taking me. I found the narrative quite technical and, if I’m honest, a little bit long winded, but there is no doubting the author’s research or her commitment to telling a good story. It’s evident from the writing that the author is knowledgeable about this period in history and uses this knowledge to good effect. I’m not sure that I will commit to reading any more of the series but am glad to have read this book and to, maybe, understand a little more about the fate of Flavius Magnus Maximus, who I had never heard of before reading this book.
Hume is an Australian author, born in 1948, and based in Brisbane, Australia. Hume graduated as a teacher in 1967, specializing in Art and Ancient History before commencing teaching high school students. While teaching, she studied university courses as an external student in English and Ancient History. Along the way, Hume obtained a BA, an MA, a Master of Literary Studies degree and a Marilyn K. Hume is an Australian author, born in 1948, and based in Brisbane, Australia. Hume graduated as a teacher in 1967, specializing in Art and Ancient History before commencing teaching high school students.
While teaching, she studied university courses as an external student in English and Ancient History. Along the way, Hume obtained a BA, an MA, a Master of Literary Studies degree and a Phd in Arthurian Literature.
In 1996, Hume was encouraged to enter an historical romance writing competition conducted by the Random House Publishing Group under the sponsorship of a popular women’s magazine. Hume had no interest in romance writing, but she dashed off a novel based on her family history. The novel won second prize from a massive field of recognised authors - and she won $5,000 for her efforts. In 2007, Hume retired from the Queensland Education Department, and immediately commenced to write a trilogy based on the life and times of King Arthur of Britain.
Hume’s agent, the Dorie Simmonds Agency in London, brokered a contract with Headline Review to publish the three books in the trilogy. This agreement soon became six books, for Hume soon produced a further trilogy on the life and times of Merlin, which is now a prequel to the Arthurian trilogy. Her works are now published at six-monthly intervals, and the author maintains a punishing schedule involving eight hours of research and/or writing every day. She doesn’t believe that there is any such thing as ‘writer’s block’, and loves the whole creative process.
Hume intends to write at least 30 novels before ‘she drops off the perch’. She reads voraciously and adores meeting friends, attending rummage sales, making porcelain dolls and painting portraits.
Forged in the fires of conflict, the Iron Kingdoms is a fantastic realm where the combined power of magic and technology thunders across a landscape shaped by war. Dominating the field of battle are rare individuals who have mastered both arcane and martial combat and who boldly lead mighty armies in the ongoing struggle to claim victory over these ancient lands. Three men Forged in the fires of conflict, the Iron Kingdoms is a fantastic realm where the combined power of magic and technology thunders across a landscape shaped by war. Dominating the field of battle are rare individuals who have mastered both arcane and martial combat and who boldly lead mighty armies in the ongoing struggle to claim victory over these ancient lands.
Three men who would be king threaten to sunder a kingdom, provoking a war that will drown its lands in blood. Amid the backdrop of a new Cygnaran civil war, the fate of the kingdom depends on the outcome of a covert struggle between two powerful warcasters—the gun mage Allister Caine and the mercenary warlord Asheth Magnus.
Caine faces a moral quandary as he seeks to kill the bastard son of Cygnar's former king, knowing he must end an innocent life to preserve the peace. But Magnus is equally determined to see the bastard crowned as king—and is willing to kill anyone who gets in his way. Regardless of who emerges the victor, the blood of kings must be spilled to end an otherwise interminable war.
War machine is one of my favorite games and stories set in the world of said game, I generally like. Unfortunately this book is not good.
The story is about the recent civil war in Cygnar and the quest for the throne. On the one side is King Leto, his evil brother Vinter, the former King of Cygnar and his bastard son Julius. This kind of story should have been a fun read but Douglas Seacat just couldn't seem to get it altogether. The first half of the book seems like a selection of short War machine is one of my favorite games and stories set in the world of said game, I generally like. Unfortunately this book is not good. The story is about the recent civil war in Cygnar and the quest for the throne.
On the one side is King Leto, his evil brother Vinter, the former King of Cygnar and his bastard son Julius. This kind of story should have been a fun read but Douglas Seacat just couldn't seem to get it altogether. The first half of the book seems like a selection of short stories that were thrown together to fill space. It was disappointing to say the least, because Cygnar is my favorite faction to play, so this normally would have given him a lot of slack. What should have been a story filled with court intrigue was instead a bunch of baffling episodes that finally lead to mass battle. A battle that seemed to be thrown together at the last minute with very little regard for tactics.
Honestly the fluff in the rulebooks for the game are better written and had this been a collection of passages in the book rulebook, would not have surprised me. I don't know if Douglas Seacat has written any other books, if he hasn't then hopefully his next attempt will be better. While this book was horrible, it certainly was not very good. Which is a shame considering how important an event this was in the game world. I felt this was a high three stars book. I enjoyed the appearance of the various named characters in the in Warmachine universe and liked the progression of the storyline to what was taken place in the MKIII version of the game, but like many other 'epic' novels with all the fighting, bloodshed and dire straits of a seemingly impossible situation to win, a victory is pulled off and none of the 'good guys die.'
The Blood Of Kings Summary
Not that I want the good guys to die (and I'm sure Privateer Press wants to keep them I felt this was a high three stars book. I enjoyed the appearance of the various named characters in the in Warmachine universe and liked the progression of the storyline to what was taken place in the MKIII version of the game, but like many other 'epic' novels with all the fighting, bloodshed and dire straits of a seemingly impossible situation to win, a victory is pulled off and none of the 'good guys die.' Not that I want the good guys to die (and I'm sure Privateer Press wants to keep them around for their game), but epic battles usually incur great loss on both sides. The highlight of the book I felt was King Vinter. He was definitely a formidable opponent and I'm interested in reading more about him and his past conquests. Overall I still enjoyed reading the book. Disclaimer: I have no ties to the extended universe in which this book takes place.
The Blood Of Kings Book
And I think for primarily those reasons, this book didn't work for me. High fantasy comes in all shapes in sizes, but I think you can boil the genre down to two different takes: one where characters and lore exist to tell a story, and one where characters and story exist to tell lore. It's the difference between Lord of the Rings and the Simarilion. THE BLOOD OF KINGS is certainly well-writte Disclaimer: I have no ties to the extended universe in which this book takes place.
And I think for primarily those reasons, this book didn't work for me. High fantasy comes in all shapes in sizes, but I think you can boil the genre down to two different takes: one where characters and lore exist to tell a story, and one where characters and story exist to tell lore. It's the difference between Lord of the Rings and the Simarilion. THE BLOOD OF KINGS is certainly well-written, but the author has much more interest in the lore of the universe than the characters that inhabit it.