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Friends and Enemies
Hull, 1642. England is on the cusp of the bloodiest war in its history. Mathew Fletcher finishes his apprenticeship as a surgeon and plans to marry Elizabeth, the daughter of the local apothecary.Mathew's dreams of the future are shattered. Hull falls under siege by the Royalists, but with the aid of Captain Overton, a Parliamentarian Officer, Mathew's skills are put to use in a way he could never have envisage only weeks earlier.Is the cost of Captain Overton's aid more than Mathew is prepared to pay? The young surgeon, who gave an oath to preserve life, is caught up in a quest that will challenge the ethics of his profession and puts his life in jeopardy.
- GenresHistory
458 pages, Paperback
Published February 17, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 11, 2017
There's a lot of good stuff in this story. In particular the working in of real historical characters with fictitious ones. The author also clearly has an unprecedented depth of knowledge of 17th century surgery, which is quite divergent from modern practice.
Turner-Bone's characters feel real. He's also not afraid to kill them off. Several characters don't make it to the end, and none of those look like they're disposable before they die.
Set amidst the opening moves of the first English Civil War, Friends and Enemies works as a descriptive title. Some of the characters are indeed friends caught on opposite sides. The country hasn't quite polarised during the action, and we see some ambiguity in the characters.
Friends and Enemies is told through multiple points of view, sometimes switching within the chapter. Most of it comes from the primary character of Mathew Fletcher, a surgeon. However we also see the other side of the hill, the people working against Mathew Fletcher's interests also get time slices. This fills in some background gaps we might have had only on Mathew's point of view.
With the main character as a surgeon there's a danger of too much overly graphic description. Turner-Bone avoids this for the most part, although there's detail where it helps the plot.
The plot of Friends and Enemies goes at a fair place, it's as much thriller as it is historical fiction. Turner-Bone's experience as an English Civil War reenactor has added a lot to his descriptions of the battles. There's a real understanding of 17th century tactics, and some rather detailed explanations of the equipment and attitudes of the time.
Turner-Bone's characters feel real. He's also not afraid to kill them off. Several characters don't make it to the end, and none of those look like they're disposable before they die.
Set amidst the opening moves of the first English Civil War, Friends and Enemies works as a descriptive title. Some of the characters are indeed friends caught on opposite sides. The country hasn't quite polarised during the action, and we see some ambiguity in the characters.
Friends and Enemies is told through multiple points of view, sometimes switching within the chapter. Most of it comes from the primary character of Mathew Fletcher, a surgeon. However we also see the other side of the hill, the people working against Mathew Fletcher's interests also get time slices. This fills in some background gaps we might have had only on Mathew's point of view.
With the main character as a surgeon there's a danger of too much overly graphic description. Turner-Bone avoids this for the most part, although there's detail where it helps the plot.
The plot of Friends and Enemies goes at a fair place, it's as much thriller as it is historical fiction. Turner-Bone's experience as an English Civil War reenactor has added a lot to his descriptions of the battles. There's a real understanding of 17th century tactics, and some rather detailed explanations of the equipment and attitudes of the time.
March 5, 2017
I can count the historical fiction books I have read on one hand because I find I get lost in the description of the past, struggle to keep up with who is related to who and lose the plot. I decided to give this a whirl and glad I did.
It has a perfect balance between historical fact and fiction so it is highly readable. Based in Hull and Beverley in the beginning of the English Civil War, it follows the life of a young surgeon, Mathew whose life is blown off course by the politics of the king and Parliment. He enters a world where the line between friends and enemies are blurred far from how he imagined his life to be.
The descriptions of places and events are great if you have an interest in local history of this area.
I look forward to visiting Mathew again in the next book in the series.
It has a perfect balance between historical fact and fiction so it is highly readable. Based in Hull and Beverley in the beginning of the English Civil War, it follows the life of a young surgeon, Mathew whose life is blown off course by the politics of the king and Parliment. He enters a world where the line between friends and enemies are blurred far from how he imagined his life to be.
The descriptions of places and events are great if you have an interest in local history of this area.
I look forward to visiting Mathew again in the next book in the series.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews