Essex Dogs

A Novel

De: Dan Jones

Narrado por: Ben Miles

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2023

The New York Times bestselling historian makes his historical fiction debut with an explosive novel set during the Hundred Years' War.

July 1346. Ten men land on the beaches of Normandy. They call themselves the Essex Dogs: an unruly platoon of archers and men-at-arms led by a battle-scarred captain whose best days are behind him. The fight for the throne of the largest kingdom in Western Europe has begun.

Heading ever deeper into enemy territory toward Crécy, this band of brothers knows they are off to fight a battle that will forge nations, and shape the very fabric of human lives. But first they must survive a bloody war in which rules are abandoned and chivalry itself is slaughtered.

Rooted in historical accuracy and told through an unforgettable cast, Essex Dogs delivers the stark reality of medieval war on the ground–and shines a light on the fighters and ordinary people caught in the storm.

©2023 Dan Jones (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Wonderfully written

Very much enjoyed this tale and becoming friends with the characters. Looking forward to book in the series.

Realistic portrayal of the harsh times

I loved this book’s take on the historical time period and how the ordinary soldiers would have experienced them.

Raw and Real

Enigmatic chunk of history brought to life with wonderful description, dialogue and details and anchored in firsthand sources. Real -feeling men. Felt I was there with all the hard asses in the raw and oddly ordered chaos. Fabulous delivery.

Quite good

Not sure what I expected from my favorite historian but I was pleasantly surprised by this story. I loved how Mr. Jones infused reality (events as we know them to have happened) with our fearless band of Essex boys. I enjoyed the narrator as well (after I sped up the playback). All in all it was a great listen and I look forward to the sequel!

A superb exercise in historical fiction

I’ve enjoyed much of Dan Jones’s highly readable history books so I was eager to see how he’d do at fiction. I’m pleased to say he’s taken his talent for building narratives and describing the medieval world and created an enjoyable (and educational) tale.

Excellent!

I heard Dan on a History Hit podcast and knew this book would be interesting and funny… it didn’t disappoint! The narration is great, which is key when specific accents play a large part in character’s personalities.

Unbelievably wonderful!!!!

I listened with my eyes closed and could picture every little detail. Yay twice over!

Good job of getting the history with an interesting story

Worth the read for a time period you don't get a lot of fictional stories from of this quality. interesting characters and you do feel the historical research with of course a bit of fiction mixed in. good effort by the author at something different.

Raw personalities of the period; clear description of Medieval warfare within a complex society

As much as I prefer the minutia of smaller medieval events (The Corner That Held Them is a must-read for that), this piece definitely brought me deeper into the imminent nature of medieval conflict. The interpersonal details and the swathing layers of guilt and remorse with the main character sometimes feel out of place in a world known for its callous treatment of innocents, but Dan Jones manages to balance the tightrope and keep the realism intense and serious amidst the pageantry of medieval social life. Can’t wait to read the next in the series.

Swashbuckling

Swashbuckling entertainment, unfettered by character development. I would’ve appreciated had historical characters been identified as this does make a difference in how one appreciates a novel. Also, it was not clear that this is part one of an intended trilogy, which I would have not begun until the entire series had been released.