Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion

This is the discussion thread for the April group read of Time of the Wolf by James Wilde.

The Time of the Wolf: A Novel of Medieval England is the name of the book in the US. In the Commonwealth it is known by its original name Hereward.
As Goodreads is an American website with an International membership, I've put both titles in the Topic heading.

US
Commonwealth

Book blurb
"A London Times bestseller, this rousing historical debut rescues one of England’s forgotten heroes from the mists of medieval history and brings him to brutal and bloody life.

1062, a time many fear is the End of Days. With the English King Edward heirless and ailing, across the grey seas in Normandy the brutal William the Bastard waits for the moment when he can drown England in a tide of blood. The ravens of war are gathering. But as the king’s closest advisors scheme and squabble amongst themselves, hopes of resisting the naked ambition of the Norman duke come to rest with just one man: Hereward.

To some a ruthless warrior and master tactician, to others a devil in human form, Hereward is as adept in the art of warfare as the foes that gather to claim England’s throne. But in his country’s hour of greatest need, his enemies at court have made him an outlaw. To stay alive—and a free man—he must carve a bloody swath from the frozen lands outside the court in this evocative tale of a man whose deeds will become the stuff of legend."

Woo hoo! My copy arrived today. I've had this book on my TBR list for a while so I'm really looking forward to starting.

It has been on my tbr for ages too. I think possibly since before it was released. My library doesn't have it though. So I'll watch to see what people think of it, but won't be reading it.

This book was a bit of a dissapointment to me as I was attracted by the cover which had an awesome character on the front, Hereward, handsomely mad, monstrously rugged and deadly. You could see the devil in his eyes as he drew back the arrow from a bow that he was never portrayed as having fired in the book (as far as I remember). Anyway, the character turned out to be just a tad to inhuman at times (sinking his teeth into a wolf's throat and fighting a bear) and at other times a little too emotional. I suspect that the finished article ended where the next book will begin but I'm not sure I will want to read the sequel if there is one. I didnt like his portrayal of the grasping power-hungry King Harold and the inferral that Harold smothered Edward with a pillow. It is a fiction writer's perogative to be creative with the evidence and facts but that was a step too far for me. Still, it was a reasonable read and one I'm sure that some will enjoy if you're not too bothered about facts being bent or discombobulated!

Have this one coming on interlibrary loan...now I wait. I have had this one recommended to me a couple times so lets give it a go.

I read this when it first came out and thought it was great. Yes, he was more of a superhero than a real man, but it seemed to work and was really exciting.
I gave up on the sequel though, it didn't grab me at all.

On p. 82. Confusing thus far but hoping it will improve. I don't see WHY the two main characters are fleeing, but maybe that will be cleared up. Or maybe I missed something.... Hereward does seem to be larger than life.

This book is taunting me. It is chambered, but I need to finish my current read first....all 688 pages of it (Ash by James Herbert if anyone is interested).

Started reading and I was caught by it. Sure, the action is over the top, but that is what I am craving right now I guess. Only 19 pages in but I think I will have fun with this one.

A bit more in and it is kind of ending up a bit disappointing. After an exciting start, I feel it is kind of lacking at this point

I finished it, and in the end I was not impressed. It felt disjointed, and though the action was interesting, it was incongruous with the rest of the story, which was lack lustre. I will not be continuing with this series I think.

Daniel, are you and I the only two who read this one? When I finished, I wasn't impressed either.

Jane wrote: "Daniel, are you and I the only two who read this one? ..."

Does look that way.

Or, no one else commented....

I have yet to get a copy from my library. They sent me the wrong book the first time I ordered it.

Oh, good grief!

It's the first mistake they have ever made with any of the books I have ordered. Considering I order about 30 different kids' books a month in addition to my books, I think they are entitled to one mistake.
It was a team effort. I gave her In the Time of the Wolf, thinking since it's the US title that's what I would get. Not the case. The library system has the book under the title Hereward: End of Days.

Jane wrote: "Daniel, are you and I the only two who read this one? When I finished, I wasn't impressed either."

No, I posted saying I read it when it came out. I can't really say much more because it was years ago now.
I did like it - the OTT heroism worked quite well in my opinion.
The second in the series wasn't as good and I haven't read any more of them.

I'm finally getting to start this today. I had to clear some of my other library books off the shelf first.

Steven wrote: "I did like it - the OTT heroism worked quite well in my opinion."

For me that part was good and exciting, but it is the rest of the story that feel flat and felt disjointed to me.

I am a little more than 100 pages in. There's something missing from the story. I'm not quite sure what it is yet. In addition to the mystery of the missing element, I find myself agreeing with the opinions about the story being disjointed.

I haven't read this book, but I am reviewing another book about Hereward - Fen-Wolf. I'd never heard of the man before, but this book is well-written and not overly heroic (at least, so far it isn't). I can't find it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, so it may not have been released yet.

Just thought I'd mention it. Hope it isn't a problem.

Eileen wrote: "I haven't read this book, but I am reviewing another book about Hereward - Fen-Wolf. I'd never heard of the man before, but this book is well-written and not overly heroic (at least, so far it isn'..."

I believe you can preorder on most of the online sites, these 2 included--IF they plan to sell the book. Fen-wolf is the name of the book? Science fiction-y or [what I thought at first]: Scandinavian mythology?

I'm done with this. It wasn't great. It wasn't terrible. I have to admit I skimmed the last 75 pages or so. (view spoiler)[ Once the snitch who stole the relic was revealed, I completely lost interest. (hide spoiler)]

EDIT- So.......I just realized after looking at the other books in the series, I read book three not book one..........

I didn't realize I was reading book three. The order slip from the library says it is book one of the series and I am looking at the cover shown above. However, now that I have looked at the title pages in the book, it says I actually read End of Days not The Time of the Wolf. I'm just going to finish my tea and go to bed before I manage to make any more mistakes today.

Well, some ILL person wasn't doing their job.

Jane wrote: "Eileen wrote: "I haven't read this book, but I am reviewing another book about Hereward - Fen-Wolf. I'd never heard of the man before, but this book is well-written and not overly heroic (at least,..."

Not at all science fiction - real historical fiction about a historical figure living at the time of the Norman invasion and conquest. The writing is good and the story line complicated and believable, at least so far. Can't ask for much more than that!

Jane wrote: "Well, some ILL person wasn't doing their job."

I think someone at the library just failed completely. After proper caffeinated hydration this morning, I'm looking at the book and it seems that someone put the wrong jacket on the wrong book.

On the bright side, things make so much more sense now. I know what was missing from my reading. It was the first two books!

Jane wrote: "Or, no one else commented...."

I read it. I liked it and didn't like it. I liked a lot of the action sequences. I found it interesting because this is the first I have ever heard of Hereward, and apparently he was an important hero in medieval English lore. The relationships between the characters were compelling to me. I didn't like some of the writing style. The only specific item I remember on that score was too many sentences beginning with prepositional phrases. For me, that gets to be distracting, especially in a book as action-oriented as this one was. Too much blood and gore. I know ancient warfare with swords and spears and axes was brutal and bloody, and I believe in writing realistically about it. But too many scenes of it gets hard to read. And it didn't seem to have an ending. Maybe there's a sequel, but if so the author needs to let us know and create a better transition point at the end. So overall, I'm glad I read it but I don't feel compelled to read the sequel. By the way, I didn't see the post announcing the book for May.

Daniel wrote: "I finished it, and in the end I was not impressed. It felt disjointed, and though the action was interesting, it was incongruous with the rest of the story, which was lack lustre. I will not be con..."

I read this back in September or October not even realizing it was the monthly group read in April!

But I agree with your opinion completely. It started out with a bang. The MC was fierce and there was action and blood everywhere. I went from "I can't wait to get home and read my book" to "UGH, I have to finish that book" and I'm not sure when the turning point happened. I wont be continuing the series :(