- Nov 15 - Dec 14
- 335 entries
- US only
The Crown of Albion is failing, and the age of warlords has begun. The sweeping political intrigue of Romance of the Three Kingdoms meets the brutal, mud-and-blood reality of the War of the Roses in a Tolkien-esque epic of loyalty, ambition, and the shattering of a realm. The Plantagenet Empire is rotting from within. King Henry VI sits on the throne, pious but powerless, while the ruthless Duke of Somerset rules London through terror and extortion. When the bloody White Cloth Rebellion exposes the Crown’s weakness, the great lords of the realm retreat to their strongholds, sharpening their swords and weighing their loyalties. The island is fracturing, and three distinct destinies are beginning to take shape. In the misty, impoverished hills of Wales, an exiled nobleman named Henry Tudor witnesses the suffering of the common people. Lacking an army, wealth, or a stronghold, he possesses only a dangerous compassion and a royal name. In a border alehouse, he meets two extraordinary the stoic, arrogant, and lethally skilled Jasper Tudor, and the massive, explosive brawler Rhys ap Thomas. Beneath the falling blossoms of an ancient white hawthorn tree, the three men swear a blood oath of brotherhood, vowing to restore justice to a broken land. But vows do not feed armies. When the brothers march east to join a coalition of lords rebelling against Somerset, they discover that the nobility of Anglia is paralyzed by vanity and petty rivalries. It is only when Somerset’s terrifying champion—the Black Earl of Warwick—rides out to slaughter the allied vanguard that the three western brothers prove their worth in a spectacular clash of steel that makes them impossible to ignore. Meanwhile, in the shadows of London, the old Archbishop Bourchier realizes that Somerset cannot be defeated on the battlefield. Instead, he orchestrates a deadly stratagem, using the beauty and brilliance of the young widow Elizabeth Woodville to drive a wedge of jealousy between Somerset and Warwick. The resulting betrayal shatters the capital and leaves a power vacuum in its wake. Into this vacuum steps Edward of York (The White Rose). Brilliant, charismatic, and utterly ruthless, Edward recognizes that the realm does not need another tyrant, but a true master. He begins to forge an unstoppable military machine, replacing aristocratic privilege with brutal efficiency. As the first volume builds to a climax, the old northern aristocracy clashes with Edward’s new order in the freezing, blood-soaked snowstorm of the Battle of Towton. Edward emerges as the terrifying new hegemon of the island, leaving Henry Tudor to realize a chilling courage and brotherhood are no longer enough. To save the realm from the White Rose, Henry must find a mind capable of matching Edward’s genius. The Dusk of the Crown is a masterful opening to an epic trilogy, blending the legendary oaths and stratagems of Eastern literature with the gritty, freezing reality of medieval warfare. Perfect for fans A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, The Accursed Kings by Maurice Druon, and the historical epics of Bernard Cornwell.
- Historical fiction
- Fantasy
