I’m a Dan Jones guy. I enjoy his entertaining and well-researched history books (The Templars) and television programmes. His debut work of fiction (historical, of course) is Essex Dogs, the story of an English mercenary group invading France in the fourteenth century.
The Dogs were formerly led by “The Captain,” although he has disappeared for reasons unknown. “Loveday” is the de factor leader of the Dogs these days, and “The Scotsman” is his right-hand man. Where Loveday is a bit taciturn, The Scotsman is, well, the Scotsman. Rounding out the crew are the Welsh bowmen (brothers), Romfort, and Father. The bowmen keep to themselves. Romfort is a young man good with a bow and bad with fitting in. Father, a former priest, now spends his time drinking and cavorting. One gets the sense the Dogs, as-is, aren’t going to fare well in the invasion.
However, the Essex Dogs are seasoned mercenaries, and you don’t get to become a season mercenary by accident. Despite the seemingly cursed campaign, the narrative follows the Dogs from the beaches through the major battles.
Not surprisingly, Jones excels at writing about the ins and outs of what a campaign would be like, both for the invaders and the invaded. I most enjoyed reading about what the daily experience would be like for low-level fighting men, or average villagers trying to survive the whims on invaders while keeping their businesses and families relatively unharmed.
The book is listed with retailers as Essex Dogs #1, so I supposed more are on the way. While I didn’t love this book, I’ll be back for more. Just like the Essex Dogs.