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Sacred King: Richard III: Sinner, Sufferer, Scapegoat, Sacrifice
A historical fantasy set in the reign of King Richard III. England's most hated and yet most loved King...The Divine Victim and Scapegoat, losing life and reputation for his Land. But the King will return one day... A tale of hope.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
112 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2014
25 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
J.P. Reedman
105 books167 followersBorn in Canada, J.P. Reedman has been a UK resident for over 30 years. She has been writing since the age of 5, and preferred genres are fantasy and historical (or a mixture of both.) Interests are British history and prehistory, especially the neolithic and bronze ages, archaeology, anthropology and features of the countryside. She is author of the STONEHENGE SAGA a novel that places the legends of King Arthur back into the bronze age, and a number of works about King Richard III, including the epic, I RICHARD PLANTAGENET, which, with both parts combined, is over 250,000 words long and written from Richard's first person perspective. She is also the author of the bestselling medieval novel, MY FAIR LADY, about the little known Queen, Eleanor of Provence which is first in an ongoing series about lesser-known medieval noblewoman. 13 SO FAR!
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 10, 2015
I'm a newcomer to Richard's court, having only just got up to speed a few weeks ago on the Leicester discovery.
I've become caught up in the timeliness and the almost mystical coincidences that went into the discovery. I've also sensed something deeply meaningful about the finding of Richard, something archetypal, as author J.P. Reedman describes it.
She has written this book to try to convey, as only fiction can, that archetypal dimension of this story. I believe she has succeeded brilliantly. The book contains moving and evocative descriptive passages. It brings history, myth and old, old Englishness together in a way that expresses that larger meaning which I and so many others have sensed.
I've become caught up in the timeliness and the almost mystical coincidences that went into the discovery. I've also sensed something deeply meaningful about the finding of Richard, something archetypal, as author J.P. Reedman describes it.
She has written this book to try to convey, as only fiction can, that archetypal dimension of this story. I believe she has succeeded brilliantly. The book contains moving and evocative descriptive passages. It brings history, myth and old, old Englishness together in a way that expresses that larger meaning which I and so many others have sensed.
April 11, 2025
Interesting. I know there’s a lot of false rumors surrounding Richard, and I’m glad his remains were found so we could clear some of them up. But I also think he’s behind the princes in the tower, which means he definitely murdered children, which isn’t cool. So idk! I guess this was pretty heartfelt.
Hi, this is me in the future, Richard III got exactly what he deserved IMHO, all of these people did. Constantly making war for the sake of who gets to call themselves king, while their country suffers from being at war all the freaking time. See all murdering two innocent little boys. Idk why this author has such a hard on for Richard.
Hi, this is me in the future, Richard III got exactly what he deserved IMHO, all of these people did. Constantly making war for the sake of who gets to call themselves king, while their country suffers from being at war all the freaking time. See all murdering two innocent little boys. Idk why this author has such a hard on for Richard.
April 29, 2021
Sacred King: Richard III, Sinner, Sufferer, Scapegoat, Sacrifice
by J P Reedman
Originally reviewed April 4, 2019
It is August 1485. King Richard is near Nottingham hunting while waiting for news of the Tudor invasion force he plans on meeting. While riding, he enters a strange landscape and sees a vision of what appears to be a ritual killing. Later, before the battle, he has more visions. What do these portend?
Sacred King is an excellent blend of history with Celtic and Arthurian mythology, where the death of a king is only the beginning of the story.
-0-0-0-
February 7, 2021
This is an expanded review after reading Sacred King a second time.
I first read this novella almost two years ago. It was around the time that my nearly life-long interest in Richard III had reemerged after being dormant for a while, and I’d joined a Ricardian group on Facebook.
In a discussion on books, and because I mentioned that I enjoyed reading fantasy/alternate history as well as straight forward history, this one was recommended to me. The author, J P Reedman, was unknown to me back then, but has since become one of my favorites.
Curious to know if I would like it as much the second time around, I decided to give Sacred King a second reading. I reviewed Sacred King when I originally read it, but that review was brief. This time around, I thought I would spend a little more time on some of the details.
The first half of Sacred King opens at Nottingham Castle – Richard III’s “Castle of Care” – in August of 1485. There Richard awaits news of Tydder’s invasion force. Nottingham fills Richard with sadness. It is where he and Queen Anne were staying when they received the news that their only child had died. Less than a year later, Anne was also dead. Richard is still reeling internally from these losses, and although he does all he can to present a strong front, grief added to the tension of waiting for news of Tydder are taking their toll on the king and over the coming days, he finds himself haunted by visions, dreams, portents, and prophecies – none of them implying a good outcome.
While hunting in the Bestwood Forest near Nottingham, Richard comes upon a huge white hart. The hart tosses his antlers as if taunting the king to pursue it. Spurring his horse forward, Richard takes chase and finds himself surrounded by a mist. When the mist lifts, he sees a strange site – two men performing what looks like a pagan ritual sacrifice. And when he attempts to leave this obviously haunted place, he finds himself confronted by a Hanged Man dangling from a tree who utters a strange rhyme from his dead lips.
Cattle die and kinsmen die,
thyself too soon must die,
but one thing never, I ween, will die,
fair fame of one who has earned.
Cattle die and kinsmen die,
Thyself too soon must die,
But one thing never, I ween, will die,
The doom on each one dead.
At night, his dreams are haunted by those who have died before him: Anne, coughing up blood; his brother Edward, fat, bloated and dead; his brother George, drowned in a vat of wine on the king’s orders; and others.
As Richard leads his army from Leicester toward the field where the battle will be fought, his spur strikes the stone bridge they are crossing, and he’s accosted by a mad crone who prophesizes, “As your spur smote the stones of Bow Bridge so shall your head when you return, King Richard, third of that unlucky name!”
And on the march to destiny, there is a violent storm that causes the king and his companions to take shelter in a half-ruined church, where again he has strange visions.
The day of the battle, things go from bad to worse. The Duke of Norfolk, commanding the van, is killed. The Stanley brothers and the Earl of Northumberland withhold their forces. And then Richard orders that final, disastrous charge that ends in his death.
But death is not the end of this story, and that’s where the second half of this story takes off. Richard, whether it’s his essence, his spirit, his ghost, finds himself in a strange, empty land. He is able to observe what happens on the battlefield as his body stripped and defiled, but can do nothing but watch in horror.
From here, this becomes the story of a quest for absolution. Richard wanders this strange land, certain he is in some kind of Purgatory for the sins he committed in life.
Along the way, he encounters the Elf-Queen, who attempts to seduce him into being one of her knights. This he won’t accept.
Lift your enchantments from me and leave me be. Lost I may be, a fallen man, crooked of limb and unwholesome…but, by Christ, you will not make me your plaything…If naught else, I WILL REMAIN RICHARD, and go to whatever doom is my due!
The Elf-Queen acquiesces. Maybe this is your quest then, Richard Plantagenet. To expiate that guilt, even if only within yourself.
He continues his journey. He’s told there are three paths to follow – the Road to Elfland which is fair and curves around the moors; the Road to Hell, broad and white; and the Road to Righteousness, filled with sharp thorns and leading through a mire. Of course, our hero takes the Road to Righteousness.
There are many torments along the way. He meets his nephews. Uncle, what are you doing here? Are you dead like us? asks young Edward. You are not king here. I will be king and you will be bones…
An old acquaintance also shows up, the Duke of Buckingham. I did it for you, cousin, Buckingham taunts Richard. It is not as if you hadn’t thought of it. You had to think of it. You are as guilty as I am. Although Buckingham doesn’t spell out exactly what it is he is referring to, it’s pretty obvious that it’s the deaths of the princes.
And there’s Black Annis, a wicked crone who rides a tornado to wreak havoc on the landscape, and eats children.
There is also a brief, bittersweet reunion with his wife, Anne.
Sacred King is filled with references to ancient Celtic beliefs, Arthurian mythology, and archetypes such as the Doomed Hero and the Divine Victim. I lapped it up because these are things I love reading about. Combining them with a Ricardian fantasy quest was, for me, the perfect marriage of genres.
As I mentioned above, I originally read this book about 2 years ago. I fell in love with it then, and am happy to report that I’m still in love with it.
by J P Reedman
Originally reviewed April 4, 2019
It is August 1485. King Richard is near Nottingham hunting while waiting for news of the Tudor invasion force he plans on meeting. While riding, he enters a strange landscape and sees a vision of what appears to be a ritual killing. Later, before the battle, he has more visions. What do these portend?
Sacred King is an excellent blend of history with Celtic and Arthurian mythology, where the death of a king is only the beginning of the story.
-0-0-0-
February 7, 2021
This is an expanded review after reading Sacred King a second time.
I first read this novella almost two years ago. It was around the time that my nearly life-long interest in Richard III had reemerged after being dormant for a while, and I’d joined a Ricardian group on Facebook.
In a discussion on books, and because I mentioned that I enjoyed reading fantasy/alternate history as well as straight forward history, this one was recommended to me. The author, J P Reedman, was unknown to me back then, but has since become one of my favorites.
Curious to know if I would like it as much the second time around, I decided to give Sacred King a second reading. I reviewed Sacred King when I originally read it, but that review was brief. This time around, I thought I would spend a little more time on some of the details.
The first half of Sacred King opens at Nottingham Castle – Richard III’s “Castle of Care” – in August of 1485. There Richard awaits news of Tydder’s invasion force. Nottingham fills Richard with sadness. It is where he and Queen Anne were staying when they received the news that their only child had died. Less than a year later, Anne was also dead. Richard is still reeling internally from these losses, and although he does all he can to present a strong front, grief added to the tension of waiting for news of Tydder are taking their toll on the king and over the coming days, he finds himself haunted by visions, dreams, portents, and prophecies – none of them implying a good outcome.
While hunting in the Bestwood Forest near Nottingham, Richard comes upon a huge white hart. The hart tosses his antlers as if taunting the king to pursue it. Spurring his horse forward, Richard takes chase and finds himself surrounded by a mist. When the mist lifts, he sees a strange site – two men performing what looks like a pagan ritual sacrifice. And when he attempts to leave this obviously haunted place, he finds himself confronted by a Hanged Man dangling from a tree who utters a strange rhyme from his dead lips.
Cattle die and kinsmen die,
thyself too soon must die,
but one thing never, I ween, will die,
fair fame of one who has earned.
Cattle die and kinsmen die,
Thyself too soon must die,
But one thing never, I ween, will die,
The doom on each one dead.
At night, his dreams are haunted by those who have died before him: Anne, coughing up blood; his brother Edward, fat, bloated and dead; his brother George, drowned in a vat of wine on the king’s orders; and others.
As Richard leads his army from Leicester toward the field where the battle will be fought, his spur strikes the stone bridge they are crossing, and he’s accosted by a mad crone who prophesizes, “As your spur smote the stones of Bow Bridge so shall your head when you return, King Richard, third of that unlucky name!”
And on the march to destiny, there is a violent storm that causes the king and his companions to take shelter in a half-ruined church, where again he has strange visions.
The day of the battle, things go from bad to worse. The Duke of Norfolk, commanding the van, is killed. The Stanley brothers and the Earl of Northumberland withhold their forces. And then Richard orders that final, disastrous charge that ends in his death.
But death is not the end of this story, and that’s where the second half of this story takes off. Richard, whether it’s his essence, his spirit, his ghost, finds himself in a strange, empty land. He is able to observe what happens on the battlefield as his body stripped and defiled, but can do nothing but watch in horror.
From here, this becomes the story of a quest for absolution. Richard wanders this strange land, certain he is in some kind of Purgatory for the sins he committed in life.
Along the way, he encounters the Elf-Queen, who attempts to seduce him into being one of her knights. This he won’t accept.
Lift your enchantments from me and leave me be. Lost I may be, a fallen man, crooked of limb and unwholesome…but, by Christ, you will not make me your plaything…If naught else, I WILL REMAIN RICHARD, and go to whatever doom is my due!
The Elf-Queen acquiesces. Maybe this is your quest then, Richard Plantagenet. To expiate that guilt, even if only within yourself.
He continues his journey. He’s told there are three paths to follow – the Road to Elfland which is fair and curves around the moors; the Road to Hell, broad and white; and the Road to Righteousness, filled with sharp thorns and leading through a mire. Of course, our hero takes the Road to Righteousness.
There are many torments along the way. He meets his nephews. Uncle, what are you doing here? Are you dead like us? asks young Edward. You are not king here. I will be king and you will be bones…
An old acquaintance also shows up, the Duke of Buckingham. I did it for you, cousin, Buckingham taunts Richard. It is not as if you hadn’t thought of it. You had to think of it. You are as guilty as I am. Although Buckingham doesn’t spell out exactly what it is he is referring to, it’s pretty obvious that it’s the deaths of the princes.
And there’s Black Annis, a wicked crone who rides a tornado to wreak havoc on the landscape, and eats children.
There is also a brief, bittersweet reunion with his wife, Anne.
Sacred King is filled with references to ancient Celtic beliefs, Arthurian mythology, and archetypes such as the Doomed Hero and the Divine Victim. I lapped it up because these are things I love reading about. Combining them with a Ricardian fantasy quest was, for me, the perfect marriage of genres.
As I mentioned above, I originally read this book about 2 years ago. I fell in love with it then, and am happy to report that I’m still in love with it.
October 12, 2022
Moving
This story really pulled on my heartstrings. I particularly loved the ending and was very emotional for me. I so felt for Richard and was so happy for him. JP Reedman is definitely one of my favorite authors!
This story really pulled on my heartstrings. I particularly loved the ending and was very emotional for me. I so felt for Richard and was so happy for him. JP Reedman is definitely one of my favorite authors!
October 17, 2022
This book is told in two parts - Richard III's thoughts on the eve of the battle of Bosworth and how that final fight went down, and then Richard II's afterlife, in which he is in a weird Celtic / Catholic purgatory in which he sees how he is remembered and waits to be redeemed.
I loved the part about Richard's life - especially with how you could see all the latest research about Richard's body and archeology that has gone into figuring out exactly how the battle took place. It was very fun to see Richard sneering about Henry Tudor - deliberately using the older spelling of Tydder, to show the contempt ("Tydder" is not someone you take seriously, since they sound like a tit).
The afterlife part, however, left me feeling confused as to what was going on. That might have been the point, considering how confused Richard was, but I would have liked clearer world building.
Still, I loved the descriptions of Richard's England and getting what felt like an extremely accurate depiction of that decisive battle.
March 11, 2020
Loved it
I really love I p reedman style of writing. I especially liked this book as it follows richard AFTER Bosworth and until his body is discovered and re-interred in leicester.
I really love I p reedman style of writing. I especially liked this book as it follows richard AFTER Bosworth and until his body is discovered and re-interred in leicester.
October 25, 2014
Beautifully written, a wonderful tribute to Richard's memory. I enjoyed this novella very much.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews