Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (Trade Paperback – 10 September 2024)

Series: De Norton Trilogy – Book Three

Length: 419 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Ian Ross brings his exceptional De Norton historical fiction trilogy to an extremely strong end with the excellent and powerful third and final entry, King’s Enemy.

For the last year or so, I have been utterly enthralled with acclaimed historical fiction author Ian Ross’s latest series, the De Norton books.  Following young squire and eventual knight, Adam de Norton, as he finds himself drawn into the 13^th century rebellion of Simon de Montford against the crown, the De Norton books are extremely compelling, and I love the blend of action, cool characters, and compelling historical setting.  The first book in the series, Battle Song, was an outstanding read that expertly introduced the protagonist, as well as his unpredictable mentor, and showed how he became involved in the war on de Montford’s side.  Battle Song ended up being one of my favourite books of 2023, and I eagerly dived into the sequel, War Cry, earlier this year.  Set shortly after the events of Battle Song, War Cry worked to show the aftermath of de Montford’s major victory, and the subsequent royalist counter-rebellion, by following the newly knighted de Norton as he finds himself once again called to battle.  War Cry was a very worthy sequel, and I loved how dark and grim it got in places, especially at the end.  War Cry left the reader on a major cliffhanger, and as such I have been eagerly waiting to get my hands on the third and final book, King’s Enemy.  One of my most anticipated books from the second half of 2024, King’s Enemy had an outstanding plot behind it that really got me excited.

England, 1265.  It is two months after the infamous battle of Evesham, where knight Adam de Norton lost everything.  The rebellious Simon de Montford lies dead on the field alongside de Norton’s mentor, Robert de Dunstanville. and the rest of their army, massacred by Prince Edward and his victorious army.  Spared by the prince alongside a few other noble survivors, de Norton remains a prisoner of the crown in the grim castle of Beeston, with all his lands, wealth and honour stripped from him.

However, despite the crushing victory at Evesham, England is far from peaceful, as new rebellions begin against the king.  Determined to take his fate into his own hands, de Norton makes good an escape from Beeston and becomes a fugitive from the crown.  Branded a king’s enemy, a man who can be slain with impunity by those pursuing him, de Norton flees across England, alongside the recently widowed noblewoman Joane de Bohun, contending with royal troops and dangerous outlaws, desperate to find a cause to fight for.  But when the promised new rebel army is swiftly beaten, de Norton and Joane are once again left without options.

Adam and Joane soon find their fates tied to that of the mightiest fortress in England, Kenilworth Castle, when they seek sanctuary there.  The last castle holding out against the crown, Kenilworth is garrisoned by a motley band of rebels and knights, each with their own reasons for being there.  Joining the defenders, Adam finds old friends and enemies within and without the castle walls, as he prepares to endure a lengthy siege.  But as the months pass and the battle becomes more desperate, Adam must decide what is more important, the lives of those he loves or his knightly honour.

King’s Enemy was another outstanding novel from Ross, who brings his de Norton trilogy to brilliant end with this third book.  Once again expertly focusing on a particularly intriguing part of English medieval history, Ross crafts together a powerful and intense narrative that will have you hooked the entire way through.  King’s Enemy is an epic read that gets a full five-star rating from me.

Ross has come up with a fantastic story that I honestly could not turn away from.  Starting shortly after the memorable cliffhanger of the second book in the trilogy, War Cry, King’s Enemy starts off with Adam de Norton in captivity, having lost everything.  Ross does a great job capturing the initial despair of his protagonist before setting him off on a new adventure as he makes his escape from captivity.  This results in a pretty good fugitive arc as Adam and his ill-fated main love interest, the recently widowed Joane de Bohun, attempt to find a new cause so that they may both recover their positions.  This first half of the book is very fun and makes sure to set the scene for the rest of King’s Enemy.  There is plenty of adventure, excitement, and even a surprising nod to classic Robin Hoods mythology, as the two protagonists head towards promised safety and a new army to fight with.  However, as readers of the De Norton books will be aware, things rarely go well from the main character, and Ross adds in a major road-bump for him halfway through the plot that forces him towards his inevitable destiny at Kenilworth Castle.

The rest of King’s Enemy is essentially one big siege sequence, as Adam, Joane, and several surviving supporting characters, take refuge int the castle and attempt to hold off a massive besieging force belonging to the crown.  This proved to be an exciting second half which really pushes the protagonists to the limit.  I’m a huge fan of sieges in fiction, and I thought that this depiction of this infamous British siege was extremely good.  Ross captures so many cool aspects of this siege with his writing, including the desperate defenders, the intense fighting, and the grinding impacts of time as the besiegers attempt to starve out the inhabitants of the castle.  Things get really tense as the book continues, as Adam finds himself caught amid various big personalities, including an unstable fellow knight and other defenders seeking to gain advantage from their plight.  There are some dark and deadly moments here, and Ross keeps the reader on the edge of their seat as Adam tries to determine the best course forward.  Everything ends on an interesting note, as all the existing storylines are wrapped up, many figures, both fictional and historical, meet their fates, and the final chapter in the protagonist’s adventure and complex romantic life is revealed.  I personally felt that Ross ended everything on a very strong note, and those readers who have become quite attached to the series will come away very satisfied.

I felt that Ross once again did a really good job of enhancing his captivating narrative with his great writing, and readers really get stuck into King’s Enemy as a result.  The quick-paced flow of the story and the intense action really help to drag you in and go hand in hand with the great characters and intriguing historical setting.  Ross does an outstanding job of showcasing the hard-hitting combat associated with historical knights, and all the intense action sequences are a joy to read.  I also must once again highlight the cool siege that made up the second half of the book, and fans of fictional fighting will love some of the chaotic sequences that emerge there.  There is also a strong emotional edge to the plot, as many of the main characters are desperate figures struggling in the aftermath of a devastating defeat and trying to find a path forward that balances their survival with their sense of honour.  While King’s Enemy can be read as a standalone novel due to the excellent way Ross summarises some key prior events, readers really should check out the first two entries in the series first.  The continuing character arcs, recurring themes, and excellent conclusion to long-running story elements, help to make King’s Enemy a lot more enjoyable for returning readers rather than interested newbies, and I was very invested in seeing how this story ended due to how much I had connected to the protagonist.  I felt that Ross wrapped up this trilogy extremely well, and if you loved Battle Song and War Cry you will not be disappointed here.

As with the previous De Norton novels, one of the things that most impressed me about King’s Enemy was the intriguing historical events that Ross chose to set his story around.  The 13^th century rebellion of Simon de Montford is one of England’s lesser-known civil wars, and I have been deeply enjoying seeing the events of this war unfold through the eyes of the protagonist.  The first book did a wonderful job exploring the events leading up to the rebellion, as well as de Montford’s major victory that turned the whole country on its head, while the second book captured the chaotic instability that followed and the eventual end of the main rebellion.  King’s Enemy continues in this vein by examining what occurred after de Montford’s death and defeat, with the country still unstable despite the crown’s victory.  Ross does an excellent job of ensuring his protagonist is present for many of the key moments of this post-rebellion period, and you really get some good insights into these tumultuous events from the protagonist’s perspective.  There is a great focus on the politics and society at the time, especially as major parts of the plot revolve around how the defeated knights and lords were treated.  Ross also excelled at capturing the many key parts of the siege of Kenilworth Castle in the second part of King’s Enemy.  The longest siege in English history, the battle for Kenilworth is a fascinating inclusion to the story, and I loved how Ross showcased it as the last stand for the desperate rebels.  You really get a sense of the events leading up to, and surrounding the siege, and I loved how well Ross examined the motivations of the various defenders and why they kept fighting.  All this proves to be an excellent background setting to Ross’s main story, and it was fascinating to find out how this entire civil war came to its end.

I also need to once again highlight the great characters that Ross has featured in this series, with some intriguing and moving character-based storylines sitting at the core of the plot.  King’s Enemy is another great example of this as, while many key characters died at the end of the previous novel, it still features a strong cast of complex protagonists and supporting characters, including a mixture of original characters and historical figures.  The most prominent of these is series protagonist and primary point of view character Adam de Norton, a former lowly squire who gained lands and a knighthood for his role in Simon de Montford’s rebellion.  After gaining so much in the previous books, Adam starts King’s Enemy at his lowest, with most of his friends dead and everything he fought for lost.  This places the protagonist in desperate circumstances, and he spends this entire book fighting with his back against the wall, literally and figuratively.  Ross writes some moving storylines around Adam’s conflicted mind, as he is forced to balance his honour and loyalty with getting what he wants.  I loved seeing the continued epic of Adam de Norton in King’s Enemy, as it proved impossible not to become attached to the scrappy and exceedingly honourable figure in the previous books.  This proved to be a great final entry in Adam’s story, and Ross ensures that there is still plenty of suffering and conflict for his protagonist.

Other major characters I need to highlight include Adam’s main love interest, Joane de Bohun.  Joane, a strong-willed survivor determined to survive and regain her lands, proves to be an interesting companion to Adam.  The two share an intense and often contentious relationship, as Joane attempts to balance romantic feelings with her ambitions.  Due to the desperate events of the book, Adam and Joane are finally able to express themselves to each other at times, although their differing goals often lead them into conflict.  There is a real tragic romance angle going on between Adam and Joane in King’s Enemy that worked extremely well, especially with the other story elements, and it added a compelling extra layer to already impressive story.

The final character I really want to highlight was bold younger knight, Henry de Hastings, with whom Adam has many interesting encounters in King’s Enemy.  A captured rebel like Adam, de Hastings seems to follow the protagonist around to all the major encounters of the book, and they become both comrades and rivals as a result.  I really enjoyed how Ross portrayed de Hastings in this book, and you have to love the combination of arrogance, contempt and friendship that he gives towards the protagonist, which ensures that the reader finds him both insufferable and entertaining.  De Hastings’s appearance in the book’s main siege also produces some memorable character changes as the knight becomes obsessed with winning and holding out against the enemy, so much so that he becomes a dangerous threat to the protagonist.  There is a wonderfully written slide into darkness for this side character that I deeply enjoyed, and he ended up being a standout figure in King’s Enemy as a result.  All these characters, and more, helped to turn King’s Enemy into something special, and it was amazing to see where many of these recuring figures ended up.

Overall, I found King’s Enemy to be an exceptional book that served as a brilliant and impressive conclusion to Ian Ross’s De Norton trilogy.  Loaded with intense characters, fascinating history, and outstanding action, King’s Enemy had me hooked the entire way through and provides readers with a powerful end to a great historical series.  A highly recommended read, you won’t be disappointed with this latest offering from Ross.

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