Eighteen-year-old James Douglas can only watch, helpless, as the Scottish freedom fighter, William Wallace, is hanged, drawn, and quartered. Even under the heel of a brutal English conqueror, James’s blood-drenched homeland may still have one hope for freedom, the rightful king of the Scots, Robert the Bruce. James swears fealty to the man he believes can lead the fight against English tyranny.… tyranny.
The Bruce is soon a fugitive, king in name and nothing more. Scotland is occupied, the Scottish resistance crushed. The woman James loves is captured and imprisoned. Yet James believes their cause is not lost. With driving determination, he blazes a path in blood and violence, in cunning and ruthlessness as he wages a guerrilla war to restore Scotland’s freedom. James knows that he risks sharing Wallace’s fate, but what he truly fears is that he has become as merciless as the conqueror he fights.
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If you like blood and guts war, plus patriotic duty to your country you will really enjoy this book.
I read this quite a while ago so it’s difficult to write a good review but I remember the character development being good and it had good action. I am a fan of the period so usually enjoy stories from this time.
Knowing very little about Scottish history, I was pleased to find a book which could present it to me in story form. It was an exciting read and the characters, while fascinating in their own right, were merged into a very large story about the fight for Scottish Independence.
A Kingdom’s Cost by JR Tomlin is the first book in The Black Douglas trilogy. It is the story of James Douglas aka The Black Douglas and the first Scottish War of Independence. In 1305, 18-year-old Jamie Douglas watches helplessly as the Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace is hanged, drawn, and quartered. Despite the brutal English conqueror …
The story of Robert the Bruce’s struggle against Edward I is one of the saddest histories I think I ever ran across. To say the English king was ruthless is an understatement; his cruelty knew no bounds. The Bruce was fortunate to have loyal Scots who were willing to die for him—and many did, horribly. Jamie, the Black Douglas was one of his …
I’m 3/4 of the way through this book. Although the story line is very interesting I’m having a hard time keeping up with the characters and the geography of the story. I will finish this book but am not that engrossed to read the rest of the trilogy
Thoughts I wanted to keep reading, it kept me interested in the events right up till the end. Good reading.
a great historical read.
A powerful convincing historical novel about “Black Douglas” set in the time of Robert the Bruce.
i AM OF SCOTTISH DESCENT AND LIKED LEARNING MORE OF THE HISTORY
Had to keep reading other books in the series
It was slow starting and never really caught my interest.
I am hooked on the history of Scotland. Interesting and full of all kinds of crazy stuff. I just bought the rest of the series and am looking forward to the rest of the Douglas tale.
Enlightening take on an unfortunate period of Scottish history.
Great read!
i found it tedious and simplistic
This is a fascinating blend of historical facts and riveting fiction making for a fantastic portrayal of events during the time of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. Follow eighteen-year-old James Douglas as he pledges his allegiance to Robert despite his family’s castle having been seized by the English.
With life-like characters and a …
This trilogy of novelized biography of the Black Douglas (as he’s known in England), Sir James Douglas the Good (his Scottish name) suffers a little from a need to overly romanticize and sexualize what is, without the romantic novel cliches, already a fascinating life story. Well-researched, with its deviations from history validly argued for, …
You need to like history. A lot of research was done on this one.
I enjoy reading early history from Ireland. Some can be very boring this one kept my attention.