The Prodigal Son is the fifth in the Shadow of the Raven series by Chris Bishop. It's set in Wessex in 893 during the time of King Alfred the Great. If you enjoy reading historical fiction, then this review will interest you - especially if you're interested in the times of Anglo-Saxon England.
Thank you, Literally PR and Chris Bishop, for sending me a copy of The Prodigal Son in exchange for my honest review.
Twitter: @CBishop_author
Website: https://chrisbishopauthor.com/
AUTHOR BIO
Chris Bishop was born in London in 1951. After a successful career as a chartered surveyor, he retired to concentrate on writing. Combining this with his lifelong interest in history. This the fifth book in his The Shadow of the Raven series. The others are Blood and Destiny, The Warrior with the Pierced Heart, The Final Reckoning and Bloodlines.
BOOK BLURB
There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Wessex 893. As the kingdom is once more plagued by Viking attacks, Wareham is obliged to strengthen its defences against the threat posed by a fleet of Viking longships which are rampaging along the south coast and could strike there at any time.
Meanwhile, having recognised Edward's true lineage, King Alfred fears that the boy may fall victim to every fraudster in the realm seeking to get their hands on the vast fortune he's set to inherit. Worse still, given his newly established bloodline, he could well be used by those wishing to usurp Alfred as King.
The most immediate threat to the boy, however, comes from his treacherous uncle, Edmund, who has already tried once to kill him and failed.
Edmund hides, for now, until his greed and envy lead him to strike again...
MY REVIEW
I really enjoyed reading The Prodigal Son. The characters - old and new - make the story interesting on many levels. They propel the main and sub-plots forward at such a pace that not once was I tempted to skip a paragraph or two. As with the previous book, Bloodline, I was immersed in the story from the start. It's written in a way which captures both interest and imagination. Even though this is book five in a series, I have only read books four and five. However, I was able to pick up the thread of this series easily and - after reading these two books and enjoying them so much - I'd very much like to read books 1-3.
NEXT REVIEW
22nd July. The Secrets of Life: Book four: So What Does It All Mean? by SS O'Connor
In this, the last book in The Secrets of Life quartet, S S O'Connor pulls together the threads of genetic and cultural evolution, and then adds to these the conclusions of evolutionary game theory. As he does this, he ends with an intertwined barrative that explains why so many of the phenomena of our existance may not be the mysteries we think they are, but could in fact have the same underlying logic to them.
Thank you for joining me today. I hope you enjoyed my review of The Prodigal Son by Chris Bishop.
See you tomorrow for my next review! 📚
Gill x
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