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French Executioner #2
Blood Ties
Years have gone by since the events surrounding the death of Anne Boleyn. But her missing hand and all that it represents to the dark world of 16th-century Europe still draws the powerful to seek it out. Jean Rombaud - the French executioner of the first novel - has grown old, both in age and spirit. Wearied by the betrayal of a son and the scorn of a wife, he fights in the seemingly never-ending siege of Siena. Meanwhile, Gianni Rombaud has forsaken everything his ageing father stands for and now kills heathen for the Inquisition in Rome. Then he is summoned by Cardinal Carafa himself. His masters no longer merely want his dagger in the hearts of Jews, they want the hand of the dead queen... But only three people know where it is buried, and one of them is Gianni's father...
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2002
21 people are currently reading
1400 people want to read
About the author
C.C. Humphreys
29 books431 followersaka Chris Humphreys
Chris (C.C.) Humphreys was born in Toronto, lived till he was seven in Los Angeles, then grew up in the UK. All four grandparents were actors, and since his father was an actor as well, it was inevitable he would follow the bloodline.
Chris (C.C.) Humphreys has played Hamlet in Calgary, a gladiator in Tunisia, waltzed in London’s West End, conned the landlord of the Rovers Return in Coronation Street, commanded a starfleet in Andromeda, voiced Salem the cat in the original Sabrina, and is a dead immortal in Highlander. He has written eleven adult novels including The French Executioner, runner-up for the CWA Steel Dagger for Thrillers; Chasing the Wind; The Jack Absolute Trilogy; Vlad – The Last Confession; A Place Called Armageddon and Shakespeare’s Rebel – which he adapted into a play and which premiered at Bard on the Beach, Vancouver, in 2015. Plague won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel in Canada in 2015. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. His epic fantasy series the Immortals’ Blood Trilogy, beginning with Smoke in the Glass' has just been published by Gollancz. He also published his other fantasy series, The Tapestry Trilogy, beginning in August 2020 with ‘The Hunt of the Unicorn’. His foray into modern crime, 'One London Day' was published in 2021. Hie new novel, the World War Two epic romance, 'Someday I'll Find You' is published by Doubleday in Canada on June 6, 2023.
Several of his novels are available as Audiobooks - read by himself! Find him here:
https://www.authorchrishumphreys.com/...
He is translated into thirteen languages. In 2015 he earned his Masters in Fine Arts (Creative Writing) from the University of British Columbia.
Check out his website: http://authorchrishumphreys.com
Chris (C.C.) Humphreys was born in Toronto, lived till he was seven in Los Angeles, then grew up in the UK. All four grandparents were actors, and since his father was an actor as well, it was inevitable he would follow the bloodline.
Chris (C.C.) Humphreys has played Hamlet in Calgary, a gladiator in Tunisia, waltzed in London’s West End, conned the landlord of the Rovers Return in Coronation Street, commanded a starfleet in Andromeda, voiced Salem the cat in the original Sabrina, and is a dead immortal in Highlander. He has written eleven adult novels including The French Executioner, runner-up for the CWA Steel Dagger for Thrillers; Chasing the Wind; The Jack Absolute Trilogy; Vlad – The Last Confession; A Place Called Armageddon and Shakespeare’s Rebel – which he adapted into a play and which premiered at Bard on the Beach, Vancouver, in 2015. Plague won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel in Canada in 2015. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. His epic fantasy series the Immortals’ Blood Trilogy, beginning with Smoke in the Glass' has just been published by Gollancz. He also published his other fantasy series, The Tapestry Trilogy, beginning in August 2020 with ‘The Hunt of the Unicorn’. His foray into modern crime, 'One London Day' was published in 2021. Hie new novel, the World War Two epic romance, 'Someday I'll Find You' is published by Doubleday in Canada on June 6, 2023.
Several of his novels are available as Audiobooks - read by himself! Find him here:
https://www.authorchrishumphreys.com/...
He is translated into thirteen languages. In 2015 he earned his Masters in Fine Arts (Creative Writing) from the University of British Columbia.
Check out his website: http://authorchrishumphreys.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
April 8, 2019
An enjoyable read but nowhere near as good as the first one was. I liked revisiting some of the old characters, but then at the second part the action moves to North America and they're just forgotten. At times the plot felt a bit forced and a little far fetched.
June 18, 2018
This is a continuation of Jean Rombaud' s life, and an excellent account of the years after he believed his quest to honour the oath he gave to Anne Boleyn was fulfilled and forgotten.
All except one, who died, the allies are still together. They have married with children.
Now the betryal comes not from the English courts but from Jean Rombaud's own family.
Blood Ties is the struggle of father against son to resurrect the treachery associated with the executed Queen.
From Italy to France, England and Canada, Jean Rombaud and his allies and their children struggle with their survival and the disposing once more of the bloody relic which could now destroy all hopes of Anne's daughter, Elizabeth, ever reaching the throne of England.
All except one, who died, the allies are still together. They have married with children.
Now the betryal comes not from the English courts but from Jean Rombaud's own family.
Blood Ties is the struggle of father against son to resurrect the treachery associated with the executed Queen.
From Italy to France, England and Canada, Jean Rombaud and his allies and their children struggle with their survival and the disposing once more of the bloody relic which could now destroy all hopes of Anne's daughter, Elizabeth, ever reaching the throne of England.
June 13, 2015
i won this book as a Goodreads give-away. i usually avoid swashbuckling and war stories, but because this was a give-away i was gifted a new author to follow. i didn't just READ this, i devoured it. What a romp! The mid-16th century, when this story is set, is a time of big changes in the old world. This well-written, absorbing, historical novel takes delightful advantage of that. Without straining my willing disbelief too far, the Tudor Princess Elizabeth's troubles, as she lives under constant threat during the reign of her half-sister Mary, are nicely woven into a tale that takes one from the siege of Siena, through Henri II's birthday party (in Paris) to largely unEuro-polluted Canada as we sample the vicious sadism of the Roman Inquisition under Carafa (the evil, er infallible Pope Paul IV), learn the power of polydactyly, and are reminded to pay attention to our dreams. Highly recommended.
February 13, 2017
This was a well written but didn't live to my expectations. Along the way, I found this to be dull and too boring. Perhaps "French Executioner" is better and the readers of that may understand this better? I gave up in he end.
May 19, 2015
Originally published at Reading Reality
Today, May 19th, is the 479th anniversary of Anne Boleyn’s death, which makes this a fitting day for a review of a book about, not Anne herself, but the ways in which she was used and abused after her death.
For a woman who only lived at most 35 years, and who was only queen for three, she has cast a long shadow. She fascinated Henry VIII, and her story still fascinates us.
In The French Executioner we read the immediate effects of her death on one man, the swordsman sent from France to cut off her head. In that story, Jean Rombaud made Anne a promise – that he would cut off her infamous six-fingered hand as well as her head, and take the hand away to be hidden where it could not be used by her enemies.
The Curse of Anne Boleyn takes place twenty years after The French Execution. Instead of featuring entirely the same cast of characters, it is more like The French Executioner: the Next Generation. But it still centers around Jean’s vow to keep Anne’s hand safe, and forces who want to use that hand and Anne’s legacy for their own grisly ends.
Although twenty years have passed, there are some things that are still the same. Anne Boleyn, or rather the King’s desire to marry her in spite of already having a wife, started England down the path of the Protestant Reformation that was catching fire (often literally) all over 16th century Europe.
While in Anne’s day, the Protestants were in the ascendant, twenty years later both Henry VIII and his even more devoutly Protestant son Edward VI are dead, and his daughter, whom history recalls as Bloody Mary, is on the throne. Mary was devoutly Catholic, and the blood spilled in her name was that of Protestant martyrs who refused to bend to whims of faith.
But as this story begins, Mary’s reign is coming to an end. She has no children, and it has become obvious that she will have none. Her heir is her sister Elizabeth, the Protestant daughter of Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth only has to survive her sister’s suspicions and the machinations of all of those around her and Mary who would destroy Elizabeth if they can’t manage to use her.
The Imperial Ambassador plans to use Anne Boleyn’s six-fingered hand as a way of pinning Anne’s purported witchcraft onto her daughter Elizabeth, as a last-ditch stand for the Spanish and the Catholic religion, to remain in power in England.
The hand is gone, and so we have another action/adventure tale of the hunt for the hand, as well as the bravery of the forces still trying to protect Anne’s legacy and Jean Rombaud’s last vow. The story is set against a backdrop of Elizabeth and the Imperial Ambassador playing a game of chess that is a metaphor for the real chess game they play about Elizabeth’s life. And the death that has been hung over her head.
But when Jean finds out that the hand is being sought, he is not the man he was twenty years ago. In the intervening time, he found brief happiness as an innkeeper and wine grower with Beck, the young woman who attached herself to his earlier quest. Jean and Beck, along with their comrades Haakon and Fugger, are inside the siege of Sienna after their homes had been overrun.
The fate of the hand now centers around their children. Haakon’s son Erik, Fugger’s daughter Maria, and especially Jean and Beck’s two children, Anne and Gianni. Gianni has betrayed them all, and is working with the more militant elements of the Catholic Church to bring the hand back to England at any cost.
Gianni’s betrayal has broken his parent’s marriage, and his father’s spirit. But when he kidnaps Maria in order to get Fugger to betray Jean again, we begin to see the depths to which he has sunk in his rebellion. And eventually his madness.
The story moves in grand swoops from Sienna to Paris to Rome and even to the wild lands of Canada, before it comes to its sweeping, and stunning conclusion.
Escape Rating B+: I love the way that this story, and the one preceding it, dip their toes into history without falling all the way in. There have been so many historical fiction treatments of Anne Boleyn that enough is probably past enough.
At the same time, the historical elements in this book feel true. Something like this could have happened. It even conceivably might have happened, on the principle that “reality is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.” That we are still fascinated with Anne Boleyn and the Tudors today is a testament to just how compelling her story and theirs was. And is.
But it is the characters in The Curse of Anne Boleyn that keep you turning the pages, probably long after you should have stopped for the night. And this story is actually a bit too hair-raising (sometimes literally) to read just before bed. Which didn’t stop me for a second.
While this is the story of the next generation after The French Executioner, what keeps it going is the family strife between Jean and Beck, and between their children Gianni and Anne, fueled by Gianni’s extreme and bloodthirsty fanaticism. Gianni wants to sacrifice everyone and everything to his belief in a Church extremely militant, while his family is as non-religious as possible in that era. Beck’s real name is Rebecca, and she was raised as a Jew, although she left her people to marry Jean. After the groups travails at the hands of the Church in The French Executioner, none of them are exactly fond of the avatars of the Catholic faith.
But Gianni, possibly as part of a natural teen aged rebellion, has gone the other way. He is fanatical to the point of hunting down and murdering those he believes are the enemies of his church. Including his mother’s people.
He’s ripe to be set on a mission to tear down his father’s friends and his father’s faith. His pursuit of his sister across the Atlantic is just part of his rebellion against his family. His father loved and trusted Anne more than Gianni, so Gianni will punish Anne because he can no longer reach his father.
Gianni never grasps that he, his faith and especially his brutality are being used, just as he uses anyone who comes near him in his quest for vengeance. Or is it validation?
The book is divided into two parts. The first half takes place in Europe, as Gianni and his allies harass Jean and his friends and pursue the hand. After their final confrontation, in Europe, Anne, her allies, the hand and eventually Gianni and his followers move the conflict to Canada, which at that time was still firmly in the hands of the Native nations.
The divide between the two parts felt a bit abrupt to this reader. Part one ends decisively, and almost felt like the end of the book as a whole. When it picks up again in Canada, it almost feels like a different story. And equally compelling story, but a very different one.
Anne and Gianni find themselves on opposite sides in one of the significant battles that forms the Six Nations Confederacy, a battle where they, and the people who have come to rely on them, both lose and win.
As Anne sails off into the sunset, the reader is left hoping that she finds her peace. And something of her family left behind.
Today, May 19th, is the 479th anniversary of Anne Boleyn’s death, which makes this a fitting day for a review of a book about, not Anne herself, but the ways in which she was used and abused after her death.
For a woman who only lived at most 35 years, and who was only queen for three, she has cast a long shadow. She fascinated Henry VIII, and her story still fascinates us.
In The French Executioner we read the immediate effects of her death on one man, the swordsman sent from France to cut off her head. In that story, Jean Rombaud made Anne a promise – that he would cut off her infamous six-fingered hand as well as her head, and take the hand away to be hidden where it could not be used by her enemies.
The Curse of Anne Boleyn takes place twenty years after The French Execution. Instead of featuring entirely the same cast of characters, it is more like The French Executioner: the Next Generation. But it still centers around Jean’s vow to keep Anne’s hand safe, and forces who want to use that hand and Anne’s legacy for their own grisly ends.
Although twenty years have passed, there are some things that are still the same. Anne Boleyn, or rather the King’s desire to marry her in spite of already having a wife, started England down the path of the Protestant Reformation that was catching fire (often literally) all over 16th century Europe.
While in Anne’s day, the Protestants were in the ascendant, twenty years later both Henry VIII and his even more devoutly Protestant son Edward VI are dead, and his daughter, whom history recalls as Bloody Mary, is on the throne. Mary was devoutly Catholic, and the blood spilled in her name was that of Protestant martyrs who refused to bend to whims of faith.
But as this story begins, Mary’s reign is coming to an end. She has no children, and it has become obvious that she will have none. Her heir is her sister Elizabeth, the Protestant daughter of Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth only has to survive her sister’s suspicions and the machinations of all of those around her and Mary who would destroy Elizabeth if they can’t manage to use her.
The Imperial Ambassador plans to use Anne Boleyn’s six-fingered hand as a way of pinning Anne’s purported witchcraft onto her daughter Elizabeth, as a last-ditch stand for the Spanish and the Catholic religion, to remain in power in England.
The hand is gone, and so we have another action/adventure tale of the hunt for the hand, as well as the bravery of the forces still trying to protect Anne’s legacy and Jean Rombaud’s last vow. The story is set against a backdrop of Elizabeth and the Imperial Ambassador playing a game of chess that is a metaphor for the real chess game they play about Elizabeth’s life. And the death that has been hung over her head.
But when Jean finds out that the hand is being sought, he is not the man he was twenty years ago. In the intervening time, he found brief happiness as an innkeeper and wine grower with Beck, the young woman who attached herself to his earlier quest. Jean and Beck, along with their comrades Haakon and Fugger, are inside the siege of Sienna after their homes had been overrun.
The fate of the hand now centers around their children. Haakon’s son Erik, Fugger’s daughter Maria, and especially Jean and Beck’s two children, Anne and Gianni. Gianni has betrayed them all, and is working with the more militant elements of the Catholic Church to bring the hand back to England at any cost.
Gianni’s betrayal has broken his parent’s marriage, and his father’s spirit. But when he kidnaps Maria in order to get Fugger to betray Jean again, we begin to see the depths to which he has sunk in his rebellion. And eventually his madness.
The story moves in grand swoops from Sienna to Paris to Rome and even to the wild lands of Canada, before it comes to its sweeping, and stunning conclusion.
Escape Rating B+: I love the way that this story, and the one preceding it, dip their toes into history without falling all the way in. There have been so many historical fiction treatments of Anne Boleyn that enough is probably past enough.
At the same time, the historical elements in this book feel true. Something like this could have happened. It even conceivably might have happened, on the principle that “reality is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.” That we are still fascinated with Anne Boleyn and the Tudors today is a testament to just how compelling her story and theirs was. And is.
But it is the characters in The Curse of Anne Boleyn that keep you turning the pages, probably long after you should have stopped for the night. And this story is actually a bit too hair-raising (sometimes literally) to read just before bed. Which didn’t stop me for a second.
While this is the story of the next generation after The French Executioner, what keeps it going is the family strife between Jean and Beck, and between their children Gianni and Anne, fueled by Gianni’s extreme and bloodthirsty fanaticism. Gianni wants to sacrifice everyone and everything to his belief in a Church extremely militant, while his family is as non-religious as possible in that era. Beck’s real name is Rebecca, and she was raised as a Jew, although she left her people to marry Jean. After the groups travails at the hands of the Church in The French Executioner, none of them are exactly fond of the avatars of the Catholic faith.
But Gianni, possibly as part of a natural teen aged rebellion, has gone the other way. He is fanatical to the point of hunting down and murdering those he believes are the enemies of his church. Including his mother’s people.
He’s ripe to be set on a mission to tear down his father’s friends and his father’s faith. His pursuit of his sister across the Atlantic is just part of his rebellion against his family. His father loved and trusted Anne more than Gianni, so Gianni will punish Anne because he can no longer reach his father.
Gianni never grasps that he, his faith and especially his brutality are being used, just as he uses anyone who comes near him in his quest for vengeance. Or is it validation?
The book is divided into two parts. The first half takes place in Europe, as Gianni and his allies harass Jean and his friends and pursue the hand. After their final confrontation, in Europe, Anne, her allies, the hand and eventually Gianni and his followers move the conflict to Canada, which at that time was still firmly in the hands of the Native nations.
The divide between the two parts felt a bit abrupt to this reader. Part one ends decisively, and almost felt like the end of the book as a whole. When it picks up again in Canada, it almost feels like a different story. And equally compelling story, but a very different one.
Anne and Gianni find themselves on opposite sides in one of the significant battles that forms the Six Nations Confederacy, a battle where they, and the people who have come to rely on them, both lose and win.
As Anne sails off into the sunset, the reader is left hoping that she finds her peace. And something of her family left behind.
July 22, 2019
Ah yes, a sex ritual. Because otherwise, how would we know these people are native Americans? *rolls my eyes so hard they disappear into the back of my head*
June 14, 2015
Blood Ties was well written, epic novel. Humphreys, once again managed to mix historical subject matter (ranging from the siege of Siena to the French exploration of North America) with plenty of action scenes (including duels, skirmishes, and several large battles), good dialogue and interesting characters. I felt that Blood Ties lacked the tense pacing and vivid atmosphere of The French Executioner, but it was still worth reading.
March 25, 2020
Executioner of Anne Boleyn must dig up her six fingered hand (she didn't have one) to prevent it being used as a witchcraft item to push Mary to execute Liz. Okay -- the European part was kind of interesting, but taking the thing to 1600s Canada in the middle of a 6 nations dispute (didn't seem to know how much power women had in these groups -- a sex ritual?? really??) put me off. It seemed to be more of how many battles can we get into the pages. Glad it's done.
June 12, 2023
A swashbuckling adventure. And totally unbelievable. But I must have liked it anyway as I had trouble putting the book down. But the Canada part was ridiculous: sure, Gianni simply followed Anne all the way to Canada in a ship in about 1555, and had no trouble finding her! Fell in with an enemy tribe of the people Anne was living with, just like that! Interpreters galore.
March 15, 2016
I was expecting a book about Anne Boleyn, but she had a very minor part in the story, and there really was no curse. The story of two warring factions looking to use a piece of Anne as a talisman probably would have interested me more if I hadn't been expecting something different.
May 23, 2009
Big book, historical fiction. Similar to a Gabaldon book but missing the "je ne sais quoi" and the time travel.
Sometimes you need a big book that doesn't tax your brain.
Sometimes you need a big book that doesn't tax your brain.
November 30, 2011
Wow! Humphreys failed to re-create what he did in the first book. I cared nothing for the new characters in this sequel.
Read
August 7, 2011gave up after page 26 .... boring... probably should have read the french executioner first I suppose
September 22, 2013
The story of Anne Boleyn's hand and her executioner and his family continues. Interesting perspectives on the Jesuits and religious fanaticism.
November 6, 2014
Jean Rombard was Anne Boleyn's executioner.
October 25, 2020
More poor historical fiction. I have several of C.C. Humphrey's books: I am giving them to a local charity, as I never want to read them again!
July 7, 2022
A continuation from the first book titled The French Executioner.
The once headsman Jean Rombaud, has grown old and long since given up his occupation. He married the woman of his dreams, settled down and became a father. He tried to put the past behind him but could never forget his beloved Queen. Unfortunately Jean’s son is plagued by his father’s former association with the alleged witch Queen and goes on a mission to redeem his family. In an effort to uphold his sworn oath, Jean must now take up his sword once again but this time his enemy is his son.
Joining him on his mission is his daughter who not only bears the departed Queen’s name yet also has the sight to see the future.
I loved the first book, even thought of it as one of my favorite reads for 2021…but unfortunately the sequel was not as great. The first half dragged ever so slowly, the back and forth was frustrating however by the second half it did seem to pick up, though by that time it lost me. I don’t want to spoil the story just in case anyone else cares to read it, but I just couldn’t deal with the main character transition. I loved Jean, not so much his children.
The once headsman Jean Rombaud, has grown old and long since given up his occupation. He married the woman of his dreams, settled down and became a father. He tried to put the past behind him but could never forget his beloved Queen. Unfortunately Jean’s son is plagued by his father’s former association with the alleged witch Queen and goes on a mission to redeem his family. In an effort to uphold his sworn oath, Jean must now take up his sword once again but this time his enemy is his son.
Joining him on his mission is his daughter who not only bears the departed Queen’s name yet also has the sight to see the future.
I loved the first book, even thought of it as one of my favorite reads for 2021…but unfortunately the sequel was not as great. The first half dragged ever so slowly, the back and forth was frustrating however by the second half it did seem to pick up, though by that time it lost me. I don’t want to spoil the story just in case anyone else cares to read it, but I just couldn’t deal with the main character transition. I loved Jean, not so much his children.
August 23, 2021
Well that escalated quickly. And covered a lot of country. Plus I’m not convinced I liked any of the characters except Elizabeth…
That said, I did enjoy this book. It was dark, it was mysterious, it didn’t try to pretend that humans are good. It didn’t hide from the pain we cause each other, or the mess that makes up our motivations. And there were moments of light too.
I found it especially interesting that every culture is terrified of witches. Although in the West, that only seems to apply to women, whereas in North America — or this version of North America, I don’t know much about Huron history or culture — men could be witches too. Hm. Not unheard of in Europe, I think, but definitely unusual!
For the rest, there was a lot going on and it really would have helped me a lot to have the prequel as context. It would help if sequels weren’t included in book boxes…
That said, I did enjoy this book. It was dark, it was mysterious, it didn’t try to pretend that humans are good. It didn’t hide from the pain we cause each other, or the mess that makes up our motivations. And there were moments of light too.
I found it especially interesting that every culture is terrified of witches. Although in the West, that only seems to apply to women, whereas in North America — or this version of North America, I don’t know much about Huron history or culture — men could be witches too. Hm. Not unheard of in Europe, I think, but definitely unusual!
For the rest, there was a lot going on and it really would have helped me a lot to have the prequel as context. It would help if sequels weren’t included in book boxes…
June 28, 2018
Another Great Story
I really enjoyed this sequel. I was allowed to revisit the characters I enjoyed in the first story and meet some new ones. The story was good and it was hard to put down. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys a good historical fiction.
I really enjoyed this sequel. I was allowed to revisit the characters I enjoyed in the first story and meet some new ones. The story was good and it was hard to put down. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys a good historical fiction.
February 23, 2018
Both the French Executioner and it's sequel Blood Ties were five star books. The stories were intriguing and full of history. I would willingly read both books again!
April 23, 2018
Review
This book was okay. Not one of my favorite. It was a interesting read though. It has magical elements in it.
This book was okay. Not one of my favorite. It was a interesting read though. It has magical elements in it.
May 21, 2021
Απογοήτευση... Από αλλού ξεκίνησε... Σε άλλο κόσμο κατέληξε...
July 29, 2021
Almost as good as the first novel. So many twists and turns, it's exciting, well researched and well written.
April 12, 2014
Έχουν περάσει 20 χρόνια από τότε που η Άννα Μπολέιν αποκεφαλίστηκε από τον Ερρίκο 8ο. Ο Γάλλος εκτελεστής της, Ζαν Ρομπώ με την κόρη του Άννα, θεραπεύτρια και οραματίστρια, ξεκινούν εκ νέου έναν αγώνα με θέμα την διασφάλιση του εξαδάκτυλου σκελετωμένου χεριού της Μπολέιν...
Στην Αγγλία κυβερνά η Αιματοβαμμένη Μαρία και η ετεροθαλής αδελφή της, Ελισάβετ Α', κόρη της Μπολέιν βρίσκεται σε άμεσο κίνδυνο, καθώς ο Αυτοκρατορικός Πρεσβευτής, Σάιμον Ρέναρντ ή Αλεπού, ψάχνει το χέρι για να υποβοηθήσει τα αιματηρά του παιχνίδια εναντίον της Ελισάβετ.
Υποχείρια στο παιχνίδι του είναι ο "επιφωτισμένος" γιος του Ζαν, ο Τζιάννι, που συνοδεύεται από τον Ιησουίτη Τόμας Λόουλι, που ο καθένας για διαφορετικούς λόγους ακολουθούν το "χέρι", άρα το Ζαν και την Άννα.
Βρίσκουμε στην πολιορκία της Σιένα, την παρέα του Ζαν και της Άννας, τη γυναίκα του Μπεκ, το Νορβηγό Χάακον και το γιο του Έρικ, το Γερμανό Φούγκερ και την κόρη του Μαρία...
Όταν ο Τζιάννι αιχμαλωτίζει τη Μαρία και ο Ζαν αποφασίζει να ακολουθήσει το χέρι και άρα να συγκρουστεί με το γιο του, η παρέα διαλύεται. Η Μπεκ διαχωρίζει τη θέση της και ψυχραίνεται με τον άντρα της, ο Χάακον και ο Φούγκερ ακολουθούν τον Έρικ για τη διάσωση της αγαπημένης του Μαρίας, η οποία και είναι επιτυχής και η Άννα ακολουθεί τον πατέρα της...
Ο Τζιάννι έχει βρει το χέρι στη Γαλλία και το μεταφέρει στην Αγγλία, η Άννα αιχμαλωτίζεται και βασανίζεται ενώ ο Τόμας νιώθει τα σκιρτήματα της αγάπης... Ο Ζαν φυγαδεύει την Άννα και αυτή κλέβει το χέρι από τον Τόμας...
Στη Γαλλία ο Τζιάννι τους βρίσκει και πάλι. Η Άννα, κουβαλώντας το χέρι και συνοδευόμενη από τον Ταγκαίη φεύγουν για το Νέο Κόσμο, στον Καναδά. Εκεί αποζητούν την ευτυχία. Η Άννα θα φέρει εις πέρας την αποστολή της φέρνοντας τη γαλήνη στη χαμένη Βασίλισσα και ο Ταγκαίη, η Μικρή Αρκούδα, θα βρει τα αδέλφια του, τη φυλή των Ταχοντένρατ, από την οποία απήχθη η μάνα του ενόσω ήταν έγκυος σ'αυτόν. Μεγάλωσε στη γαλλική αυλή ως μασκώτ μέσα στα χρώματα και στα αρώματα και έγινε αρσενική πόρνη. Στο λιμάνι και ενόσω το καράβι φεύγει, ο Ζαν βρίσκει το τέλος του από το γιο του. Οι φίλοι του και η Μπεκ καταφτάνουν και είναι αργά πια για δάκρυα...
Μεταφερόμαστε στον Καναδά και ζούμε τη γέννηση της Μικρής Αρκούδας, ως ενός γιου άξιου πολέμαρχου καθώς και την απομόνωση και τη μοναξιά της Άννας. Τις κατηγορίες εναντίον της ως μάγισσας από το Μαύρο Όφι, πρώην μέλος της φυλής των Νουνταγουαόνο και τον κίνδυνο της ζωής της αλλά και όλης της φυλής των Ταχοντένρατ από το διπλό παιχνίδι του Μαύρου Όφεως. Γνωρίζουμε τα έθιμα των φυλών αλλά κα τη βαναυσότητά τους.
Καταφθάνει ο Τζιάννι και ο Τόμας στο Νέο Κόσμο, οι οποίοι αιχμαλωτίζονται από τους Νουνταγουαόνο. Ο Τζιάννι συνεργάζεται μαζί τους. Τα όπλα για τη μάγισσα με το χέρι που κουβαλά... Ο Τόμας βοηθά τον Ταγκαίη να σώσει την Άννα από τις κατηγορίες του Μαύρου Όφεως ενώπιον της φυλής του. Ο αρχηγός διευθετεί τις αλληλοκατηγορίες με μια μάχη που θα καθορίσει το μέλλον. Ο Ταγκαίη θα αντιμετωπίσει μέχρι θανάτου τον Μαύρο Όφι. Ο νικητής σημαίνει ότι είναι και ο αληθινός στα λόγια του. Παρόλα τα προγνωστικά, ο Ταγκαίη θα νικήσει και θα βγάλει την καρδιά του αντιπάλου του...
Όταν την παραμονή της προγραμματισμένης επίθεσης οι Ταχοντένρατ επιτίθενται πρώτοι, ταυτόχρονα η φυλή πίσω θάβει τα ιερά και τα όσια της σε ένα λάκκο πριν φύγουν για νέο τόπο διαμονής, η Άννα ρίχνει το χέρι στο λάκκο. Ο αντιπερισπασμός έχει πετύχει αλλά ο Ταγκαίη θα πεθάνει στην αγκαλιά της Άννας και ο Τζιάννι από τους συνεργούς του...
Η΄Άννα επιστρέφει στην Ευρώπη, με το παιδί του Ταγκαίη μέσα της και τον Τόμας να την κοιτά στα μά��ια...
End of Story.
Το πρώτο βιβλίο δεν το έχω διαβάσει αλλά ήδη είναι στη λίστα μου.
Δε βρίσκω κανένα λόγο να μη δώσω 5 αστεράκια σε αυτό το βιβλίο. Ήταν γρήγορο, είχε δράση και περιπέτεια, είχε συναίσθημα, εξυπνάδα και ήταν σκοτεινό και λίγο creepy γιατί οι εποχές στις οποίες αναφέρεται ούτως ή άλλως ήταν dark.
Στην Αγγλία κυβερνά η Αιματοβαμμένη Μαρία και η ετεροθαλής αδελφή της, Ελισάβετ Α', κόρη της Μπολέιν βρίσκεται σε άμεσο κίνδυνο, καθώς ο Αυτοκρατορικός Πρεσβευτής, Σάιμον Ρέναρντ ή Αλεπού, ψάχνει το χέρι για να υποβοηθήσει τα αιματηρά του παιχνίδια εναντίον της Ελισάβετ.
Υποχείρια στο παιχνίδι του είναι ο "επιφωτισμένος" γιος του Ζαν, ο Τζιάννι, που συνοδεύεται από τον Ιησουίτη Τόμας Λόουλι, που ο καθένας για διαφορετικούς λόγους ακολουθούν το "χέρι", άρα το Ζαν και την Άννα.
Βρίσκουμε στην πολιορκία της Σιένα, την παρέα του Ζαν και της Άννας, τη γυναίκα του Μπεκ, το Νορβηγό Χάακον και το γιο του Έρικ, το Γερμανό Φούγκερ και την κόρη του Μαρία...
Όταν ο Τζιάννι αιχμαλωτίζει τη Μαρία και ο Ζαν αποφασίζει να ακολουθήσει το χέρι και άρα να συγκρουστεί με το γιο του, η παρέα διαλύεται. Η Μπεκ διαχωρίζει τη θέση της και ψυχραίνεται με τον άντρα της, ο Χάακον και ο Φούγκερ ακολουθούν τον Έρικ για τη διάσωση της αγαπημένης του Μαρίας, η οποία και είναι επιτυχής και η Άννα ακολουθεί τον πατέρα της...
Ο Τζιάννι έχει βρει το χέρι στη Γαλλία και το μεταφέρει στην Αγγλία, η Άννα αιχμαλωτίζεται και βασανίζεται ενώ ο Τόμας νιώθει τα σκιρτήματα της αγάπης... Ο Ζαν φυγαδεύει την Άννα και αυτή κλέβει το χέρι από τον Τόμας...
Στη Γαλλία ο Τζιάννι τους βρίσκει και πάλι. Η Άννα, κουβαλώντας το χέρι και συνοδευόμενη από τον Ταγκαίη φεύγουν για το Νέο Κόσμο, στον Καναδά. Εκεί αποζητούν την ευτυχία. Η Άννα θα φέρει εις πέρας την αποστολή της φέρνοντας τη γαλήνη στη χαμένη Βασίλισσα και ο Ταγκαίη, η Μικρή Αρκούδα, θα βρει τα αδέλφια του, τη φυλή των Ταχοντένρατ, από την οποία απήχθη η μάνα του ενόσω ήταν έγκυος σ'αυτόν. Μεγάλωσε στη γαλλική αυλή ως μασκώτ μέσα στα χρώματα και στα αρώματα και έγινε αρσενική πόρνη. Στο λιμάνι και ενόσω το καράβι φεύγει, ο Ζαν βρίσκει το τέλος του από το γιο του. Οι φίλοι του και η Μπεκ καταφτάνουν και είναι αργά πια για δάκρυα...
Μεταφερόμαστε στον Καναδά και ζούμε τη γέννηση της Μικρής Αρκούδας, ως ενός γιου άξιου πολέμαρχου καθώς και την απομόνωση και τη μοναξιά της Άννας. Τις κατηγορίες εναντίον της ως μάγισσας από το Μαύρο Όφι, πρώην μέλος της φυλής των Νουνταγουαόνο και τον κίνδυνο της ζωής της αλλά και όλης της φυλής των Ταχοντένρατ από το διπλό παιχνίδι του Μαύρου Όφεως. Γνωρίζουμε τα έθιμα των φυλών αλλά κα τη βαναυσότητά τους.
Καταφθάνει ο Τζιάννι και ο Τόμας στο Νέο Κόσμο, οι οποίοι αιχμαλωτίζονται από τους Νουνταγουαόνο. Ο Τζιάννι συνεργάζεται μαζί τους. Τα όπλα για τη μάγισσα με το χέρι που κουβαλά... Ο Τόμας βοηθά τον Ταγκαίη να σώσει την Άννα από τις κατηγορίες του Μαύρου Όφεως ενώπιον της φυλής του. Ο αρχηγός διευθετεί τις αλληλοκατηγορίες με μια μάχη που θα καθορίσει το μέλλον. Ο Ταγκαίη θα αντιμετωπίσει μέχρι θανάτου τον Μαύρο Όφι. Ο νικητής σημαίνει ότι είναι και ο αληθινός στα λόγια του. Παρόλα τα προγνωστικά, ο Ταγκαίη θα νικήσει και θα βγάλει την καρδιά του αντιπάλου του...
Όταν την παραμονή της προγραμματισμένης επίθεσης οι Ταχοντένρατ επιτίθενται πρώτοι, ταυτόχρονα η φυλή πίσω θάβει τα ιερά και τα όσια της σε ένα λάκκο πριν φύγουν για νέο τόπο διαμονής, η Άννα ρίχνει το χέρι στο λάκκο. Ο αντιπερισπασμός έχει πετύχει αλλά ο Ταγκαίη θα πεθάνει στην αγκαλιά της Άννας και ο Τζιάννι από τους συνεργούς του...
Η΄Άννα επιστρέφει στην Ευρώπη, με το παιδί του Ταγκαίη μέσα της και τον Τόμας να την κοιτά στα μά��ια...
End of Story.
Το πρώτο βιβλίο δεν το έχω διαβάσει αλλά ήδη είναι στη λίστα μου.
Δε βρίσκω κανένα λόγο να μη δώσω 5 αστεράκια σε αυτό το βιβλίο. Ήταν γρήγορο, είχε δράση και περιπέτεια, είχε συναίσθημα, εξυπνάδα και ήταν σκοτεινό και λίγο creepy γιατί οι εποχές στις οποίες αναφέρεται ούτως ή άλλως ήταν dark.
May 19, 2015
"The Curse of Anne Boleyn" is a re-release of the second book in C.C. Humphreys' French Executioner series about Jean Rombaud. Before reading this book, I did not realize that this book was the second in a series. I must tell you that had I known that, I would have read the first book first as I had a lot of questions about the characters in this book. The premise of this book is that when Anne Boleyn was buried, one of her hands was cut off. It's now been many years since her death and several people are now after the missing hand in this book.
I have read several other books by C.C. Humphreys at this point in time and many of the things that I liked about his previous books are also present in this book. Although this is billed as historical fiction, it can also be build it as historical action. In this book, the French executioner Jean Rombaud is now older. The book focuses on him as well as on his son, Gianni. There are also some sections about Princess Elizabeth, Anne Boleyn's daughter and her captivity. To me, these sections were more compelling in a lot of ways. I am a huge fan of Elizabeth I and it was interesting to me to see Humphreys' take on the events surrounding her mother who she barely knew's death.
Here is where you have to take into account the fact that I did not read the first book. I would've liked to see a little bit more development of the characters. The focus is really on the action of the book and therefore I feel like I didn't really get to know The characters well at all. I really wanted to know what their motivations were and what made them tick.
For other history lovers, I enjoyed that this book covers the siege of Siena, Italy, something that I did not know much about at all. The author uses a lot of historical detail to help the reader understand all of the different parties involved and that historical event. I always like learning something new! Again, I want to go back and read the first book in the series to see if it gives me any more background on any of the characters in this book. This book is great for readers who are looking for an action story with a little bit of mystery included.
I have read several other books by C.C. Humphreys at this point in time and many of the things that I liked about his previous books are also present in this book. Although this is billed as historical fiction, it can also be build it as historical action. In this book, the French executioner Jean Rombaud is now older. The book focuses on him as well as on his son, Gianni. There are also some sections about Princess Elizabeth, Anne Boleyn's daughter and her captivity. To me, these sections were more compelling in a lot of ways. I am a huge fan of Elizabeth I and it was interesting to me to see Humphreys' take on the events surrounding her mother who she barely knew's death.
Here is where you have to take into account the fact that I did not read the first book. I would've liked to see a little bit more development of the characters. The focus is really on the action of the book and therefore I feel like I didn't really get to know The characters well at all. I really wanted to know what their motivations were and what made them tick.
For other history lovers, I enjoyed that this book covers the siege of Siena, Italy, something that I did not know much about at all. The author uses a lot of historical detail to help the reader understand all of the different parties involved and that historical event. I always like learning something new! Again, I want to go back and read the first book in the series to see if it gives me any more background on any of the characters in this book. This book is great for readers who are looking for an action story with a little bit of mystery included.
February 16, 2015
You do not often get to see the heroes of a book age without the soft caress of the writer's loving hand to soften the edges of time. Jean and Beck left us in the first book vivid and ready to make the world into their version of happiness having fulfilled Jean's promise to the deceased queen Anne Boleyn. In this sequel we find a much different story than the happy ending we envisaged for them. It is Siena in 1555 and they are under siege but a greater gulf has separated Jean and Beck; their son Gianni, believing his family to be cursed because of their former dealings with the six fingered hand of Boleyn has turned to God for his family's redemption. Beck blames Jean and cannot forgive him and Jean, older and tired has lost the courage that once drove his actions. Neither is aware that in his fervor Gianni has turned his need into an obsession with cleansing the world of those he believes to be guilty of offending God by purging them of this world. His weapon is no longer the cleansing word of God but the sword and he wields it as he sees fit It is this which will drive him to the attention of the next man who wishes to be Pope; but in order to succeed he will need Gianni to bring him the famed hand of the executed queen in order to prosper against his enemies and help bring to fruition a plot against Princess Elizabeth of England. It is Gianni's actions that drive the story as he tries to bring about the glory of a new Church but it is his sister Anne, named after the deceased queen who will be the impetus that carries the story into France and then across the sea to Canada as she follows her heart and tries to end this once and for all. The story will demand sacrifices that the reader will not be able to make but the characters are strong enough to embrace. Can be read along but the emotional connection for the reader will be more intense if the books are read in order.
April 12, 2012
Wer "Die Hand der Anne Boleyn" gelesen hat, wird in diesem Buch eine würdige Fortsetzung finden. Es sind 18 Jahre vergangen seit Jean Rombaud sein Versprechen an die Königin Anne Boleyn erfüllt hat und die sechsfingrige Hand in Frankreich zur ewigen Ruhe gebettet hat. Eigentlich hatte er vor seinen Lebensabend mit seiner geliebten Frau und seinen Kindern in Italien zu verbringen, aber in Europa kämpft die katholische Kirche gegen evangelischesGedankengut. Dabei wird die berühmte Hand der tragischsten Königin Englands ein Spielball zwischen den Parteien. Es entbrennt erneut ein Kampf um diese Reliquie in der sich Väter gegen Söhne, Schwester gegen Brüder und Ehefrauen gegen Ehemänner stellen. Man begegnet in diesem Buch liebgewonnenen Charakteren aus dem ersten Teil, aber auch einer neuen Generation von Helden. In der zweiten Hälfte des Buches findet man sich sogar in Kanada des 17. Jhd. wieder und erlebt einen Kampf um Land zwischen den Ureinwohnern.
Das Buch ist unbestritten spannend. Nur finde ich das es verglichen zum ersten Teil ein paar Schwachstellen aufweist. Den zweiten Teil fand ich persönlich etwas unpassend, denn obwohl mit der Erklärung die Hand könne in Europa keine Ruhe finden und müsse in die neue Welt, wird der Schauplatz nach Kanada verlegt. Aber dort wird eine neue Geschichte eröffnet, die nur noch entfernt etwas mit der Handlung zu tun hat. Der Schriftsteller hätte daraus ruhig einen eigenen Roman machen können. Das Ende war für meinen Geschmack etwas zu konstruiert und eher vorhersehbar. Nichtsdestotrotz eine gelungene Fortsetzung auch wenn ich gerne mehr von den Helden des ersten Buches gelesen hätte, als von deren Kindern.
Das Buch ist unbestritten spannend. Nur finde ich das es verglichen zum ersten Teil ein paar Schwachstellen aufweist. Den zweiten Teil fand ich persönlich etwas unpassend, denn obwohl mit der Erklärung die Hand könne in Europa keine Ruhe finden und müsse in die neue Welt, wird der Schauplatz nach Kanada verlegt. Aber dort wird eine neue Geschichte eröffnet, die nur noch entfernt etwas mit der Handlung zu tun hat. Der Schriftsteller hätte daraus ruhig einen eigenen Roman machen können. Das Ende war für meinen Geschmack etwas zu konstruiert und eher vorhersehbar. Nichtsdestotrotz eine gelungene Fortsetzung auch wenn ich gerne mehr von den Helden des ersten Buches gelesen hätte, als von deren Kindern.
May 8, 2015
If you haven’t read ‘The French Executioner’ I would really advise you to do it before you read its sequel.
I’m not saying that this novel can’t stand on its own. It can. But personally, I think you’ll be missing an important view and dynamic of the story as a whole. But that’s just me.
This story is set twenty years later and tells the story of the next generation of Rombaud, Jean’s son, Gianni and his daughter Anne, who are both caught in Anne Boleyn’s terrible legacy.
Once more Mr. Humphreys manages to draw me in with a fast paced, well written and researched story that had taken me on an exhilarating journey from Siena to Canada.
Reading one of Mr. Humphreys novels is like having history lessons, but you’re not bored because he weaves the tale so well that you’re all caught up in the telling of it.
His action scenes are unbelievably well done and highly suspenseful and entertaining that they feel like I’m watching a movie.
With a solid plot filled with suspense, intriguing characters and appropriate to the times dialogue, I was taken on an adventure of a lifetime. Hope you’ll give it a try.
Melanie for b2b
Complimentary copy provided by the publisher
I’m not saying that this novel can’t stand on its own. It can. But personally, I think you’ll be missing an important view and dynamic of the story as a whole. But that’s just me.
This story is set twenty years later and tells the story of the next generation of Rombaud, Jean’s son, Gianni and his daughter Anne, who are both caught in Anne Boleyn’s terrible legacy.
Once more Mr. Humphreys manages to draw me in with a fast paced, well written and researched story that had taken me on an exhilarating journey from Siena to Canada.
Reading one of Mr. Humphreys novels is like having history lessons, but you’re not bored because he weaves the tale so well that you’re all caught up in the telling of it.
His action scenes are unbelievably well done and highly suspenseful and entertaining that they feel like I’m watching a movie.
With a solid plot filled with suspense, intriguing characters and appropriate to the times dialogue, I was taken on an adventure of a lifetime. Hope you’ll give it a try.
Melanie for b2b
Complimentary copy provided by the publisher
June 2, 2015
The Curse of Anne Boleyn continues the story that began with the novel, The Executioner. Jean Rombaud is obliged to honor the promise he made to Anne before he took her head to hide and protect her six fingered hand. This sequel is very much an adventure story, filled with suspense, intrigue, and evil villains. Well imagined, with plenty of exciting plot twists, C.C. Humphreys takes readers on a jaunt from England, to France, to Italy, and even the new world across the vast ocean. A great intricate plot brings to life the 16th century. Memorable characters and vivid descriptions make this a memorable read. I strongly recommend you read the first book before this sequel. If you've never read a novel by C.C. Humphreys then this is a good duology to begin with. Definitely recommended.
February 6, 2017
It took me awhile to get back into the characters that were from the first book. I loved the depth of the main characters. The story takes place in both Europe and Canada. Of course, I loved the Canadian section of the story, with the Natives. This is an author that I buy even if I don't know anything about the book.
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