Shadow of the Hawk

Master of War, Book 7

By: David Gilman

Narrated by: Colin Mace

The seventh instalment of David Gilman's gripping chronicle of the Hundred Years' War, following Thomas Blackstone, Edward III's Master of War.

Winter, 1364. Sir Thomas Blackstone, Edward III's Master of War, has travelled to France to secure Brittany for England. In the throes of battle, he rescues a Castilian boy, Lazaro, who just witnessed the murder of the young queen. It is suspected that the king - along with Velasquita Alcon de Lugo, the beautiful witch who serves him - assassinated his queen. But Lazaro knows that is not the case.

With the king in hiding and the French army advancing Castile is on its knees. So Blackstone is ordered to Castile, to defend England's ally from the French.

Accompanied only by a small band of his men and a group of Moorish cavalrymen loyal to the king, Blackstone must protect Lazaro if they are to uncover the true assassin. They will face extreme danger, savage battles and a cold and bitter winter on their journey, and Blackstone will find himself the assassin's target. For the Master of War, the shadow of death is always present.

©2021 David Gilman (P)2021 Head of Zeus

Not quite as satisfying as previous books

Good battle scenes as always. The relationship with the “witch” seemed a bit contrived. How did Blackstone know to eat charcoal to slow the poison?

A rollicking good read

A great read, while there are some historic license it stays true to the time period

Be careful ordering book.

Great series. There are two different narrators out for book 7. I prefer Gilbert Jackson. I didn’t notice until after order, now I need to repurchase book.

Sooooo Goood

This writer is amazing. Ok, I am a woman and the killing didn’t thrill me but this writer made it worth reading. You just have to listen to these stories, and the narration is a big 10. Oh my what he gave to this wonderful series. You get so invested in outcomes. Gripping.

Master of War

I absolutely love this series of books. Fantastic! Every single one. The master of war series would make an outstanding tv show! If you haven’t read these before, do yourself a favor and get them. You won’t be disappointed.

Enjoyable Series but disappointed with change

Enjoyed the first 6 books. Very disappointed with narrator change in book 7. The emotion , banter, humor, and sarcasm of the characters were not conveyed as well as in the first 6 books. I found the new narrator's style dry monotone and boring. As in the 6 prior books the author keeps you entertained guessing and surprised. Still a good storytelling journey but without the color of my good friend Gildart Jackson.

Where is Gildart Jackson?

This is a terrific series and although gory and graphic, also filled with memorable, sympathetic characters and clever storyline. This narrator was very good, however it was a great disappointment that it was not narrated by the brilliant Gildart Jackson, as all previous books in the series had been.

a continuation of a great story.

I love this whole series. it's has great characters, well written fights and plenty of action. the only bad thing about this is that the narration is vastly different then the previous installments. the familiar accents and intonations of characters are way off.

I need more!

The entire book is amazing, but the ending is the best! Just when you think you know what is about to happen, it takes a turn. I have very much enjoyed this series and will be listening to it many more times!!!

Amazing series! Loved every book!

So I didn’t realize how amazing the narrator was in first 6 books until listening to this one, Book 7 narrator is clear and easy to listen to BUT there is no noticeable voice change or difference in characters (that in my opinion makes the audiobook amazing). I can not tell who is talking now :( So this is the final book and it’s not the same