Soldier of Fortune (I): The Wolf Cub, by David Pilling
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Soldier of Fortune (I): The Wolf Cub, by David Pilling
Best Ebook Soldier of Fortune (I): The Wolf Cub, by David Pilling
1453 AD. The great city of Constantinople, last remnant of the once-mighty Roman Empire, falls to the Ottoman armies of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. An English knight named Sir John Page is taken prisoner by the Ottomans, and forced to entertain the Sultan with tales of the West. Page chooses to tell the story of his own long career as a soldier of fortune in France, Bohemia and the Italian city-states. Page’s tale begins in the year of Agincourt, Henry V’s famous victory over the French. As the bastard son of Thomas Page, a famous mercenary captain known as The Half-Hanged Man or The Wolf of Burgundy, Page soon acquires the nickname of The Wolf Cub. After slaying his cousin in a duel, Page flees his home and joins a band of outlaws in the forests of Sussex. At last - tired of the brutality of his companions - he decides to leave England and join the English army in Normandy. There he endures brutal sieges, vicious combats, torture, betrayal and imprisonment, all to win glory and redeem his father's name. Trapped in the Sultan’s prison, Page must hope his story is enough to save him from the executioner’s blade....at least for another three days...
Soldier of Fortune (I): The Wolf Cub, by David Pilling- Amazon Sales Rank: #94757 in eBooks
- Published on: 2015-06-29
- Released on: 2015-06-29
- Format: Kindle eBook
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A page-turner By maltesemummy As the city of Constantinople falls to the Ottomans, John Page, an English knight and poet, is taken prisoner. His only chance of survival is by entertaining the Sultan with tales. He decides to tell the story of his life ... starting with his parents, then his slaying of his cousin in a duel, his joining a group of outlaws, and his escape from England to become a soldier in Normandy.This is a gripping tale, which had me hooked from the beginning to the end. It is packed with action and intrigue. It is rich in historical detail, and vividly recreates the brutal times of the early 15th century. John Page is a realistic character - he is mostly fearful, and would rather escape than fight, but wants to win fame and glory, and redeem his father's name.This novel is a clever blend of fact and fiction. It is exciting, well-written, and the pages flip past quickly. I also enjoyed the bits of gallows humour.I also appreciate the glossary included at the beginning of the book, and I enjoyed the author's note at the end.Looking forward to reading more about the adventures of John Page ... in Eastern Europe.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Mercenary son telling the story of his life By JPS The hero is the illegitimate son of “the Half-Hanged Man”, one of the nicknames of an English mercenary who had his hour of fame during the first part of the Hundred Years War before being killed by a rival mercenary captain. His son follows in his footsteps, flees to France and joins the army of Henry V of Lancaster after Agincourt, as the English King conquers Normandy.The story begins with Sir John Page, an old mercenary knight, being captured by the Turks, and by Sultan Mehmet II in particular, at the fall of Constantinople, together with the Byzantine historian Phrantzes. The latter is a historical character that really existed. The former, the hero of this book (and the next ones) is fictional, but could perhaps have been among the mercenaries that defended Constantinople. In a male version of the Thousand and One Nights, the old mercenary is made to dictate the story of his life to the historian for the Sultan’s entertainment. As long as this lasts, they will survive.The author has clearly well researched his topic, as shown by his little historical notice, but also by his attention to detail, such as the armour of Sir John Page. Also interesting, and in the same vein as “The Half-Hanged Man”, is the depiction of the main character as a human being, with all his flaws and limitations, who happens to be somewhere at the right time and moment and becomes portrayed as a hero, without really being one, and becomes a knight and a – very minor – baron. Also of interest are John Page’s motivations, and those of his fellow soldiers, to join the war in France. Patriotism may have been one of them, but it may not have been the main factor. Escaping justice, poverty and, more generally, the absence of any future and the off-chance to get rich quick in France, seem to have been at least as important.Also well reconstituted are the hard campaigns and sieges that Henry V had to sustain to conquer Normandy. As shown, many towns just gave in because they were insufficiently garrisoned and had little hope of being relieved by a French army. Some (Honfleur, Caen and Rouen) did, and in all cases, the sieges were terribly costly for the besiegers, with diseases killing probably more men than the enemy. Readers might be interested to learn about the battle of Baugé, the only clear-cut French victory during this period, and disaster for the English which was entirely the making of Henry V’s envious brother – the Duke of Clarence – who paid for it with his life, but also with those of hundreds of his men and a number of other senior and highly experienced lords and commanders.A last feature I would like to emphasise is the care taken by David Pilling’s in drawing what seems to be a realistic portrait of Henry V. The King’s superb soldiering and leadership is well displayed through the few glimpses that Page has of him, but his ruthless efficiency and his somewhat self-righteous piety are also well shown. Henry’s need to conquer and be victorious in order to cement the legitimacy of his reign, he was after all the son of a usurper who murdered his legitimate King, are also hinted at.There are however some minor glitches here and there or features and interpretations introduced by the author for dramatic effect and which may not always work or which are not entirely historical. Regarding the fall of Constantinople, the injury suffered by Guistiniani, the Genoese mercenary captain who was defending one of the most vulnerable sections of Constantinople’s Walls, did lead to his evacuation by his men, and therefore a weakening of the defence that the Ottomans took advantage off. It is however doubtful that the walls were totally abandoned as a result. Also, the Ottoman artillery simply did not pound to rubble the palaces of the Byzantine Emperors during the siege. Finally, John Page’s age, he is supposed to be sixty, is just about plausible but it is rather unlikely that he would have been able to hold his own against five Janissaries and kill three of them. Another little glitch is to have John Page addressing the Sultan as “Khans of Khans” – a title used the unfriendly Mongols – or as “Shahs of Shahs” – a title used by the Persians who not exactly on friendly terms with the Ottomans either.Four strong stars for a good and exciting read. I am also very much looking forward to the sequel of this book in which John Page, after leaving the English army following the disaster of Baugé, goes off to fight in Central Europe during the cruel and little known Hussite Wars.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Excellent straight-up action romp! By Steven A. McKay I've read one other book of this author's and thought it was a good read but lacked a little action. Well, in the main, the same can't be said for this one! This is a fairly straight-forward action adventure which tells one man's tale without any distractions and it works well. Our hero has a dark side, but not TOO dark so we still root for him. He shows his fear on multiple occasions which, for me, made him more realistic - it HAS to be kinda scary knowing an army much bigger than yours is coming to maim and then torture you, right?The middle third sails along and really drew me in although, I must admit there seemed to be a little lull just after that and one scene in particular left me wanting more. For that reason I'll say this is worth 4.5 stars.The premise behind the story - a captive soldier has to entertain his sadistic captor with tales of derring-do - is an excellent and novel one and Pilling works with it nicely. It could have felt like one big flashback, but thankfully it reads well and will have you hooked from the start as I was.Considering you're getting this for just £1.99 I really think this is a bargain. It's been well researched and lovingly crafted by a guy that knows how to tell a good yarn.The sequel should be a cracker!Steven A. McKay, author of Rise of the Wolf (The Forest Lord Book 3)
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