Author: Arthur Frazier (aka Laurence James)
First Published: 1973
Pages: 111pp
Publisher: New English Library
Not currently available in eBook format
Warning: As this is part three of a six-book series there are bound to be some spoilers in this review. My reviews of the opening two books are here and here.
I had been looking forward to starting the third installment of the Wolfs Head saga for a while. The previous two had been written by the prolific Kenneth Bulmer, and he had won me over with his mixture of historical attention to detail and fast-paced visceral action. However, books three and four are penned by his stable-mate at New English Library, Laurence James, for whom I have already been particularly impressed with, due to his Piccadilly western fiction series, 'Crow'. It was with some excitement that I picked up A Light in the West this weekend in order to continue the rollicking story of the Saxon, Edric Ecgbertson and Norman Lord, Simon du Lac in medieval England.
In keeping with the previous title, The King's Death; A Light in the West follows on almost immediately after the end of the preceding book. Following their overwhelming and bloody victory at the Battle of Hastings, The Normans now rule England. Their leader, William the Bastard, has risen to be crowned King of England and has left the land in the control of his warrior-bishop Brother Odo, whilst he strengthens his role back in French Normandy for a while. Simon du Lac was awarded the demesne of Furnaceden in Kent - the family home of Edric Ecgbertson - by his new King. He has taken his forces, accompanied by his second Guy Vermeil, and taken over the Saxon hamlet as his own. At the end of The King's Death, Simon had just killed Edric's father, Ecgbert, who had attempted a doomed retaking of Furanceden - helped only by the one-handed woodsman, Alaric, and a young boy named Nebba.
As A Light in the West begins, Edric is returning from a failed rescue of his father, and Simon is settling into his new role. He takes for his bride, Elfleda, the Saxon woman once romantically linked to Edric. Fast forward a year, and they now have a child, Agnes. Edric has arranged for his wife, Ysabel and his own two children to stay with her family back in Normandy, protected by his Viking freedman friend Beorn. This allows him to organise his band of outlaws, the Wolfs Heads, on their campaign of hate against the Norman invaders, and Simon du Lac in particular. With his family in a safe haven, Edric is free to roam the Kent countryside without fearing for their safety.
Publisher: New English Library
Not currently available in eBook format
Warning: As this is part three of a six-book series there are bound to be some spoilers in this review. My reviews of the opening two books are here and here.
I had been looking forward to starting the third installment of the Wolfs Head saga for a while. The previous two had been written by the prolific Kenneth Bulmer, and he had won me over with his mixture of historical attention to detail and fast-paced visceral action. However, books three and four are penned by his stable-mate at New English Library, Laurence James, for whom I have already been particularly impressed with, due to his Piccadilly western fiction series, 'Crow'. It was with some excitement that I picked up A Light in the West this weekend in order to continue the rollicking story of the Saxon, Edric Ecgbertson and Norman Lord, Simon du Lac in medieval England.
In keeping with the previous title, The King's Death; A Light in the West follows on almost immediately after the end of the preceding book. Following their overwhelming and bloody victory at the Battle of Hastings, The Normans now rule England. Their leader, William the Bastard, has risen to be crowned King of England and has left the land in the control of his warrior-bishop Brother Odo, whilst he strengthens his role back in French Normandy for a while. Simon du Lac was awarded the demesne of Furnaceden in Kent - the family home of Edric Ecgbertson - by his new King. He has taken his forces, accompanied by his second Guy Vermeil, and taken over the Saxon hamlet as his own. At the end of The King's Death, Simon had just killed Edric's father, Ecgbert, who had attempted a doomed retaking of Furanceden - helped only by the one-handed woodsman, Alaric, and a young boy named Nebba.
As A Light in the West begins, Edric is returning from a failed rescue of his father, and Simon is settling into his new role. He takes for his bride, Elfleda, the Saxon woman once romantically linked to Edric. Fast forward a year, and they now have a child, Agnes. Edric has arranged for his wife, Ysabel and his own two children to stay with her family back in Normandy, protected by his Viking freedman friend Beorn. This allows him to organise his band of outlaws, the Wolfs Heads, on their campaign of hate against the Norman invaders, and Simon du Lac in particular. With his family in a safe haven, Edric is free to roam the Kent countryside without fearing for their safety.
