Review: Robert the Bruce by Jack Whyte

From the Back Cover:

Robert I, or as he is known to a grateful Scottish nation, Robert the Bruce, was one of Scotland’s greatest kings, as well as one of the most famous warriors of his generation.  He spearheaded the valiant Scots in their quest for freedom, leading his people during the Wars of Scottish Independence against the Kingdom of England.

It was by no means a fair and easy road for this indomitable fighter. As a young man he saw the English king Edward I award the vacant Crown of Scotland to John Balliol. The nation quickly splintered into factions and this spurred Robert and his father to at first side with Edward and then against John, whom many of the nobles did not feel was the correct person to guide the nation. Thus began a decades-long path for Scottish freedom. To achieve this goal, Robert sometimes had to delicately balance the power of the nobles against the might of the English. He was a tireless campaigner and after a full life of battle and diplomacy, in May 1328, King Edward III signed the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton, which recognized Scotland as an independent kingdom and Bruce as its king.

A passionate man. An incredible warrior. And one of Scotland’s finest.

My Thoughts:

I really didn't have much knowledge of Robert the Bruce before picking up this book, so I jumped at the chance to read it. When it arrived, I groaned a little because it is a chunkster, and as I started reading, I realized it was going to take me awhile to get through it. This is a dense, thick read, packed with detail and history, but it is absorbing, and it did not take long for me to become engrossed in the story.

This novel covers Robert the Bruce's early life and sets up the dilemma that will plague him as an adult: whether he owes his allegiance to Scotland or England. He was born in Scotland and adores his Scottish mother and the wild lands of his family's domains, but his paternal ancestry is English, and he learns at an early age what it's like to straddle that line between the two. Robert learns much from his mighty grandfather, the fifth Robert the Bruce, also known as the Competitor for his claim to the Scottish throne. When the Scottish King Alexander dies, the clans jockey for political position, pitting enemy against enemy, and the Bruces find themselves exiled to England, where Robert earns the favor of King Edward I. He spends several years in England as a squire and then a knight, honing his skills at combat and with the ladies. But splintering relations between England and Scotland drag the Bruces back into the fray, and Robert, at the tender age of twenty-one, is forced to leave his youth behind and step into a new, serious role of responsibility as an earl and as a husband. And when Longshanks comes seeking repayment for his good graces in the form of leading men against his homeland, Robert must decide who he can trust and where his loyalty truly lies.

I found some of the lengthy political lessons in this book to be a bit dry, and I confess I found myself skimming here and there, and there was an adolescent "smell my fingers" scene that made me cringe, but other than that, I really enjoyed this book. Whyte paints a complex picture of a young man shaped by loss and conflicting loyalties, and he brings Longshanks's court to life in all it's beautiful, dangerous glory. This is the second book in a series about medieval Scotland's "guardians," the first having been about William Wallace, who does make a few appearances in Bruce's story. When I finished, I went in search of the release date of the next book, thinking it would be a continuation of Bruce's story since he is only twenty-three at the end of this book and has another thirty years of life ahead of him, so I was disappointed to see the next book is about the Black Douglas. While I am very interested in reading his story, I do hope there will be a healthy dose of Bruce to go along with it, for I wasn't ready to let go of him at the end of this rich and poignant telling of the formative years of one of Scotland's most powerful men and revered heroes.

My Rating:  4 Stars out of 5

GIVEAWAY!

Thanks to Tor/Forge, I've got two copies of Robert the Bruce to give away to two lucky readers in the US/UK/Canada! To enter, simply leave a comment on this review with your email address!

This giveaway closes at 11:59pm Thursday, October 10, 2013 and is open to residents of the US, the UK, and Canada. Winner will be selected at random. Thanks, and good luck!

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