Robyn Young (1) (1975–)

Continuing the Robert Bruce trilogy, this book follows him from his crowning to the triumph of Bannockburn, with lots of adversity in between. And hope and determination too. The book crams lots inside its covers, even if some of it is simplified and fictionalised.

Continuing the story of Robert Bruce through the years of a fictional relic hunting trip in Irelnad, submitting to Edward I as a method of eventually being able to rebuild his power base in Scotland and renew his claim for the Scottish throne, through Edward's Scottish wars. As a novel driven by adventures it's easy enough to follow but I struggled to keep all the characters who pop in here and there straight in my head.

On the whole, this one felt a bit sprawling, but I enjoyed reading a historical novel about Scotland for a change.

Great read. Well written, engaging, enlightening... A really good start to the trilogy and whilst I'm not fond of us English being the enemy, I'll definitely be reading more.