A page-turning historical action novel in the tradition of Bernard Cornwell, Simon Scarrow and George MacDonald Fraser, Reiver is an adventure on the war-torn borderlands of 16th century England and Scotland.‘If Jesus Christ was amongst them, they would deceive him…’1569 AD. The March lands between England and Scotland are a place of terror, where outlaw bands and broken men rob, pillage and … rob, pillage and murder in open defiance of the law. Here, deadly blood-feud is a way of life. Families of robbers, known as Border Reivers, live via blackmail and terrorism. No man sleeps safe in his bed, and the sound of hoofbeats on the tops is a herald of death.
Richie Reade, known as Richie O’the Bow, finds himself dragged into this dark and bloody world. One night his village is raided by a gang of Armstrongs, the most dreaded of the reiver families. After he slays two of the gang, Richie is declared a dead man walking: the Armstrongs and their allies will not rest until they have his head. Betrayed by the law, Richie is forced to flee into the wilderness. He and his fellow outlaws begin to forge a reputation as Richie’s Bairns, killing the Armstrongs wherever they find them.
Meanwhile the Border is threatened by war. The rebellious northern earls plan to depose the Protestant Queen of England, Elizabeth I, and replace her with the Catholic Mary Stewart. Many of the reiver families rise to join the rebellion, and the earls march south under the Banner of the Five Wounds. Civil war threatens to break out in England, even as fresh murder and conspiracy raise havoc in Scotland.
With the north in turmoil, and the Border in a state of bloody flux, Richie and his outlaws do what they can to survive. As his fame grows, Richie finds himself drawn inexorably into the war for England’s soul. When the final battle looms, above the rushing waters of the Hell Beck, he must choose his fate.
Reiver is the latest novella by David Pilling, author of the Caesar’s Sword trilogy, Leader of Battles, The White Hawk and Soldier of Fortune.
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I am a Scottish history fan so this perspective from an English border community perspective was quite interesting. The book is worth reading and the tale is gripping – definitely sad/tragic/brutal time period and place to be living.
Moved too slowly with too much detail. I had to send it to my “abandoned” section of my Kindle library.
A very good addition to the limited number of excellent Reiver novels. Highly recommend.
Not yet Noble Prize level but good, adventure, its a quick read, and the action moves almost the entire story, pretty good craftsmanship.
The story takes place on the border of England and Scotland. I learned a bit about that area in the 16/17th century
Did not care for this book at all. Could not finish it. Sorry,
Hard start book.
Not interested in crummy language. That doesn’t make any book better, just a lack of intellect.
A very good depiction of what life was like in that place at that time. Well put together.
It reads like the first of a series with too many side stories and not enough of main character development.