Oath of Blood - Arthur Frazier (Kenneth Bulmer) - Wolfshead Book 1 - NEL 1973Oath of Blood opens with the Saxon ship accompanying
Harold containing
Ecgbert, Thegn (thane or lord) of Furnaceden, and his eighteen-year-old son
Edric, is shipwrecked on the Normandy coast in 1064. After a brief and bloody battle with plundering locals they are 'rescued' by the Norman
Rolf du Lac, Lord of Saint Laurent, and his eighteen-year-old son,
Simon. Customs at the time meant that, though they were treated as guests, in fact they were prisoners until a ransom was paid. During the period that
Edric and
Simon spend together they strike up a mutual respect, even friendship for each other, being so evenly matched in virtually every form of combat and sport.
This is all derailed, however, on the arrival of
Simon's younger brother,
Odo, a spoiled brat in the opinion of
Edric. His namesake in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine had an imperfectly formed face, and ironically it is the severe mutilation of
Odo's face by
Edricthat is the catalyst for the downward spiral of tragic events that follow here.
At only 108 pages the book is short, even for 1970's standards, but thankfully it is not just a load of action sequences cobbled together - it reads as a longer book,
Edric being especially well characterized, and actual history of the time is interspersed seamlessly as part of the plot. In fact most of the events here are as they are thought to have happened -
Harold being held captive by
William the Bastard (later Conqueror) after a similar shipwreck, and being coerced to swear an oath to uphold
Williams's claim to the English throne and events during the Battle of Stamford Bridge are woven expertly into the story.
The few action scenes are very bloody, though not gratuitously so, the fact is that fighting with swords and axes is bloody messy.
The books ends after the Saxon victory over the Vikings at Stamford Bridge and the imminent Norman invasion at Hastings in 1066, with
Simon swearing to seek out his former friend
Edric, slay him and bury him deep in his grave. Really enjoyed this and I look forward to reading about the Battle of Hastings in book 2 soon, but first another Bulmer pseudonym awaits - Clint Rockman - and the first slavery book 'Black Slaver' with a truly magnificent Richard Clifton-Dey cover, though as you can see above the cover to this isn't so shabby either.
Just finished book 2 (The King's Death) and am still thoroughly impressed with this series.
Book 1 ended with the Norman, Simon du Lac, hating his former Saxon friend, Edric Ecgbertson, because he mistakenly thought that Edric had mutilated his brother, left his father a vegetable and made off with a Norman noblewoman. Edric was under the impression they were still friends and was agonizing about what he would do at the forthcoming Battle of Hastings if he saw Simon on the opposing side.
Well at the end of book 2 Edric now hates Simon with just as vehemence as Simon hates Edric! And yet, and this is where Bulmer does superbly here, the more they hate each other, the more their personal lives seem to become inextricably tangled. Edric married the former Norman noblewoman, Ysabel, and they have children - and now Simon has fallen for the Saxon noblewoman, Elfleda, formerly Edric's childhood sweetheart. The only trouble is, she doesn't yet know that Simon is a Norman, and a Norman that hates Edric at that!
If this all sounds nightmarishly soap-operatic, then possibly, however there is enough action, sword and axe-play here in the mere 112 pages to satisfy anyone, and the Battle of Hastings makes for suitably rousing stuff. That makes two books totalling 220 pages - oh simpler times indeed!!
The only downside is that Bulmer has left this one poised on a cliff-hanger, Laurence James took over with book 3, hope he doesn't drop the ball with it.
Laurence James took over with book 3, hope he doesn't drop the ball with it.
Thankfully he doesn't, it's well up there with the first couple, though James does seem to relish the gorier scenes more than Bulmer, a couple of torture scenes that would fit right into his
James Darke series (I'm still on the fence over whether to try one or two of them), but on the whole this continues to impress as straight-forward historical adventure.
Oh, and the cover has to be my favourite cover ever - love the blood arterial spray on the axe!! Hopefully KC and FM will find the time and the inclination to read this eventually, you won't regret it guys.
