This book has thrilling characters, brilliant battle scenes and well established historical foundations. The opening is immediate and swift. From early on in the book we know what to expect, as a reader, and from the ending of the book those expectations are met. The two central characters in this book are very well rounded and exciting. Their lives are believable which helps to express cultural issues of the time. Both Thomas and Katherine were both members of a priory and strongly religious. When they are trust into the midst of the wars of the roses, they're forced to develop and learn to survive. This allows for them to grow as people and allows for heaps of character potential. The battle scenes in this book are confusing. This is, of course, not a bad thing. The confusion illustrates a battle and represents the panic of the men. The battles are narrated through the eyes of Thomas who is a common foot solider. This confusion is appropriate with his interpretation of the events: he does not know everything that is happening, very little in the grand scheme of things. This way of narrating a battle really captures how the foot solider would have experienced it, and is remarkable in evoking the emotions of the men. The author can easily be compared to Ken Follet, the author of The Pillars of the Earth. This is not in terms of writing style, but in the approach taken to reporting the events of a historical novel. Historical figures such as the Kingmaker (Earl Warwick), Margret of Anjou and The Duke of York provide a setting for the novel to take place in; a back story if you would like. This allows the author to focus upon his characters, but also at the same time relate their lives to real history. I find this technique very effective as it gives history a personal, intimate, touch. This is the first time I've felt physically sick, from reading, and had my stomach churn. In this, hats of to the author, your descriptions of medieval surgery are brutally real and scary, very scary. I would not have wanted a fistula in the wars of the roses, or at any other time to be honest but you get my point! Toby Clements is an author to watch out for; this is only his first published novel and it is already very accomplished. I shall be reading the rest of this series and keeping an eye out to see what else he may come up with in the future. This book comes strongly recommended by me. I have read several interpretations of the wars of the roses, in fiction, and have found this one to be both innovative and stimulating. It is tremendous to see such historical turmoil through the eyes of a man who is so shocked by it, like the reader themselves.