Once The Kings,Always The Kings
925090
I bought this book when I was in college and it soon went out of print. Thankfully it has returned. Despite a few mistakes in song lyrics, this book faithfully follows our leather clad heroes from childhood to stardom to superstardom. The story ends however at the release of the disasterous yet still somewhat entertaining film "Tougher than Leather".So kick up your shell-toe (no laces,please) adidas and enjoy a long overdue piece of rock and roll history.
3428561
Interesting read, though it is more about the life of his many children, especially the daughters, than it was about the king himself.  Of course, when he was suffering with mental problems there wasn't much in the way of his contributions to write about.
143999
Britain needs a king and Richard the Lion Hearted wants nothing but his crusade. When Britain selects John in his place, trouble follows quickly--but can Britain's wild magic save itself. Phillip of France is threatening and Germany has captured Richard.
Tarr does a wonderful job re-introducing us to some of the most important historical figures of medieval England. Richard, who was the last hope for the crusades, John, who signed the Magna Carta creating the basis for Britain's modern government, and Eleanor of Aquitaine, who brought half of France as her bridal gift when she married Henry II of England (and launched both kingdoms into a war that would last over a hundred years).
Interesting, but less impressive was Tarr's job describing the magic that binds men to their land and the land to its kings. I would have liked to see more dimensionality in these magical characters.
Overall, I recommend this book highly.
BooksForABuck
1950867
Coming years after the rest of the series, it was still wonderful to catch up with John, Vicky and Schmiidt. Throw in King Tut and the story has it all.
2679572
I love reading King 's books. Ever since I first picked up a copy of Gotrek and Felix a few years ago I have always looked for his works. If you enjoyed his other books, this one will be satisfying as well.
1284611
Seventeen years ago, a long and bloody rebellion wracked the six united regions of the Kingdom. Now the new King wields the vast and unvanquished army of Midlan with his right hand, and with his left has granted a small group of thugs  the nobles he calls his Sovereign Five  unbridled rule over the other regions. As if this weren't bad enough, the King has also outlawed the practice of whispering  which is a problem for Kael. Its not like he asked to be born a whisperer: he didn't ask for his strange healing powers anymore than he asked to be the village runt. And when he rescues a wounded girl from the perils of the Unforgivable Mountains, his luck only gets worse. She couldn't have been just any girl: she had to be Kyleigh the sword-wielding renegade knight with all of Midlan on her trail. Then one miserable, snowy evening, things go from bad to worse, and Kael is left with no choice but to follow Kyleigh down the mountains and into the tumultuous lowlands. She leads him on one mad quest after the next  eventually pulling off an act of such mischievous proportions that it threatens to change the Kingdom as they know it.
Often you read a story and they explain everything out in great detail. How things work, the history of the world and all about each character, and it all gets dumped on the reader at one time. In this story, Shae Ford, weaves the details throughout the story to be discovered. Kale, is told why he is special, but doesn't believe. Yet he doesn't go through the whole story in doubt. He eventually accepts the fact, just like we would after we are given proof. And then he must learn and grow and is not perfect. The love interest is one of the best. The tension is there, but it bounces back and forth. All for good reasons. New characters add dimension and don't clog up the story. The story moves along and keeps you hooked. I readed this in one sitting and went to book 2. Great Reading Everone!
2143411
Incredible insight into the archetype of the king.  If you want to know why cultures develop as they do, read this book.
4117496
It is amazing how a person's life can be summarized in only a chapter or two but this book helps bring these men to life with so little space.  So much is focused on George III and IV and even William IV (Duke of Clarence).  It is nice to see how the other brothers turned out.  I got a little clearer image of the Duke of Cumberland.  He isn't quite the monster so many authors portray him as.  Above all I enjoyed the Duke of Sussex and how he went a little against the grain and was a man of the people but still enjoyed his royal privileges.  A great read.
1893654
God Bless you Patience Prence...We need more Books like this...DECLARING THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE KING OF KINGS AND THE LORD OF LORDS!!!
485508
Desmond Seward has written a great, short (270-text pages) book about a conflict that, incredibly, has shaped the relations between France and England ever since, and has influenced the course of history. The English claim to the throne of France started with the Norman Invasion and the  crowning of Duke William as King of England in 1066. Ethnically, the  Normans were Vikings, but they had become French in a cultural way. William  was followed by his descendants, and they formed the Plantagenet Line, to  which some of the most famous and illustrious of English kings belong.  Seward sees the conflict as what it was: the invasion of France by English  troops in a time where loyalties were given to the feudal lord (duke,  prince, king) more than to the country. By the time the war finally ended  in 1453, the concept of "nationalism" was firmly entrenched in  both England and France. Between the years 1337 and 1453, England had won  an amazing string of victories against a bigger, richer enemy, but one that  had been wretchedly led, only to be driven away from France towards the end  of the war. The English despoiled the rich French countryside; they burned  fields; destroyed towns; and, finally, were hated even by those who, a few  decades earlier, had been loyal subjects of their English lords. Seward  focuses this narrative from a perspective to which we are not used: the  French perspective that, honestly, has never received a fair hearing in the  English-speaking world. Of particular interest to me was Seward's  description of King Henry V, the hero of Shakespeare, the hero of  Agincourt, the symbol of nobility..., and a murderer who burned prisoners  alive, who destroyed towns for no reason, who applied a religious  fanaticism to his campaigns and who, instead of being the ideal of a  Prince, was a paranoid, greedy psychopath. Is this an accurate portrayal of  Henry? I don't know. But Seward does provide us with a different look at a  much written-about hero of the English. Perhaps he is biased, but the  glamorized biographies I have read through the years do tend to pale next  to this work. Still, as with many historical figures, Henry will keep on  being controversial. (And authors do not have to please us every time: I  really did not agree with Seward's biography of Richard III.)  So, as for  the Hundred Years War, the author puts us right there at Crecy, Poitiers,  Agincourt (all extraordinary English victories), and at the counterattack  with Joan of Arc, the betrayal of the French (maybe they did deserve the  English after all), the final push, and the English being sent back to  England, while the French retained France. The French went on to lick their  wounds after 116 years of rape, pillage, and destruction. The English went  on to fight their own conflict, later known as The Wars of the Roses (but  not during the Wars between Lancaster and York), and managed to escape  major retaliation from the wounded French. This conflict, immense in  expanse, extremely important for the future of the world, given the  dominant position of both France and England in a resurgent, imperialistic,  planetary Europe, is seen with French eyes by a man who seems to stand,  sometimes uneasily, on both lands. Excellent book. I hope you enjoy it,  too.
2183768
A fantastic tribute to the epitome of knighthood.  The author clearly illustrates this in portraying Marshall's loyalty to the Plantagenet kings he served, five in all..  To read this book is to view the monarchy from just inside the throne room, at the front of line of battle or from the point of view of an Earl, not always in favor due to the paranoia of those he would serve. Follow William Marshall from his unlikeliest of beginnings through his life at tournament, on Crusade, at the side of Henry I/Henry II/Henry the Young King/John/Henry III and as a favorite of Eleanor of Aquitaine and finally, to his acceptance as a Knight Templar prior to his death.  Truly well written.  Those interested in the women behind the The  Wars of the Roses will find the active role of Eleanor of Aquitaine on par with those of Elizabeth Woodville, Elizabeth of York, Margaret Beaufort & Margaret of Anjou, et al. A must read for anyone interested in things medieval, English history (especially Plantagenet medieval), medieval warfare & the crusades and knighthood/chivalry.
3750931
Oh my goodness, I can't get enough.  I cant wait to read about the rest of the kings and their new found queens.
1148632
I thoroughly enjoyed this even if it was a bit choppy. Typical King. References to characters from previous books is always a pleasant surprise. I wish it was longer.
952817
not only have i seen the kings live on 7 separate occassions, but now i have a definitive recording of their most early stuff that i have personally ever heard! i do understand that they used to perform as the  whistlekings, but i never heard of them!  these men have withstood the  test of time along with their music...if you do not purchase or at least  listen to this cd you are missing out on a severe classic of out times!
2999708
I never knew about this king, let alone this story surrounding him. I was entranced with the plot and characters, and the plot twist is INCREDIBLE!! I highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves this time period as much as I.
4019354
All of Maurice Druon's installments in The Accursed Kings series are extremely enjoyable.  Like its predecessors, The Poisoned Crown is an unsentimental look at power and privilege in 14th century France that rings wonderfully true. Chivalry isn't dead so much as a facade: a prop to sustain and advance the ambition of the already privileged. Religion is an end to unchristian means.  The nobility a thoroughly ignoble gaggle of louts.

Louis X reign with a wobbly, indeterminate fist. Uncertain what to do he often does nothing, letting government and royal power atrophy or revert to the nobles.  Prerogatives wither as the monarch dithers.  In the wings is the grasping are two Phillipes--one uncle, one brother--each eager, willing and more or less able to fill the vacuum created by the hapless Louis.

Once again, Druon's command of history is formidable.  The Poisoned Crown is plump with historical nuggets.  There is a lovely discourse on the French tapestry industry in Arras, patronized by Mahaut, Comtess d'Artois.  Another on the brief, but impressive period of acquisition by Clemence of Hungary, who manage quite a haul in her less than a year marriage to X.

Others have noted there is less action than the first two books, which may be true.  But if one is going to do historical fiction properly, one has to follow events, not make them up to please readers.  Druon, to his credit, sticks to the facts as they are known, and makes them come alive once again.  Very well done.
4948624
This is the first of two books that cover the period from 1637 to 1647; the second is "The King's War". The two should be regarded almost as a single (very long) book: only someone already expert on the history of the period would read the second one without the first.

The book opens with Charles I having been on the throne for thirteen years. England and Scotland have been one united Kingdom for only twenty years longer than that. There is religious sectarianism of multiple kinds. There is financial pressure from the King's taxes. The King believes he rules by divine right. Parliament, when the King is willing to call it together, disagrees, and will not cooperate with the King. These threads, and others, will inevitably lead the kingdom to war over the next ten years.

Wedgwood starts with almost two hundred pages of setting the stage: what was Britain like in 1637? The survey is thorough--science, taxation policy, religion, economics, court politics, education, social conditions, health, trade, the Church, the state of Ireland--and is well enough written. It does feel a bit like doing one's homework so as to be ready for the rest of the book, but it pays off amply in aiding comprehension of the later events.

After this opening section, Wedgwood starts the story, beginning in mid-1637. In both books, she takes the slightly unusual approach of sticking very closely to a linear narrative of the events, instead of providing an overview and filling in details. She doesn't jump ahead and tell you how an intrigue is going to turn out, and this greatly increases the interest of the innumerable political twists and turns. Charles was not the cleverest British King, and had a weakness for over-complication and multiple plots; Wedgwood recounts them and the counters to them from Parliament as they happen, day by day, and it makes for fascinating reading.

Wedgwood writes clearly and without too much ornamentation, though her style is not at all simplified. It is plain throughout that she loves her subject and knows all the characters intimately, and this enthusiasm and insight easily transmits itself to the reader.