Rate this book

Opstand (2011)

by Robyn Young(Favorite Author)

3.9 of 5 Votes: 1

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Van Holkema & Warendorf

series

The Insurrection Trilogy

review 1: I don't quite know why I can't rate this higher as a lot of research has obviously gone into it and the story was well told, especially the battle scenes. I think the main problem is it feels too slow - it is a really long book and you're really not much into the whole story of Robert the Bruce by the end of it. Female characters are also scarce - Robert's wife gets hardly a mention and a bit more around their relationship (even invented) would have helped. I'm not sure if I've got the stamina to read the other books in the series.
review 2: Insurrection is the first book in Robyn Young's latest trilogy based on the life of Robert Bruce. I liked the Brethren trilogy so I was looking forward to reading this book as well. Young does not disappoint, spinning a... more tale of adventure and political intrigue set against the backdrop of King Edward I's Welsh and Scottish campaigns. The book deals with Bruce's childhood and first years of knighthood giving us insight to his various personal relationships that would later shape this enigmatic and troubled man.I found this book to move at a somewhat slower pace than the previous trilogy, that's not to say it's any less interesting or appealing, however, quite the opposite. Young is a master at weaving lush descriptive tapestries of landscapes bringing the Scottish countryside to life and she draws us in with her description of a banquet or the carnage of a battle's aftermath. The book is written in a style that will appeal to history buffs. The prose is flowing (although fans of Cornwell and Scarrow beware this is not a romping high-octane page-turner and the battle scenes are less gritty and claustrophobic) and cerebral, the reader is drawn into the story like a river voyage - meandering, flowing with a bit of whitewater interspersed here and there, all the while enjoying the ride and the view. The plot does tend to lag now and again during the bits dealing with politics but it never gets to the point of wanting to flip ahead or stop reading. One of the things I like about Young is her ability to insert "prophecies" and "secret societies" into the text without seeming hokey or turning it into the latest conspiracy theory bestseller.The characters are well developed and believable, you can tell Young has done her research and is passionate about her subject. I always say that one sign of a well-written historical fiction novel is that once finished I'm instantly off in search of more material either to brush up or deepen my knowledge and this book has definitely been the case. I also appreciated the glossary and bibliography in the appendices. On a personal note, I was thankful that the romantic interludes were kept to a minimum in this work, I found it excessive and tedious in Young's prior trilogy. Overall I enjoyed the book and I recommend it to anyone with a passion for well-written HISTORICAL fiction. As I said before this book probably won't appeal though to rabid fans of Cornwell, Scarrow, Severin et al. less

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