Review: King, by Ben Kane

Blurb

Warleader
Autumn 1192. With Jerusalem still in the Saracens’ hands, and a peace treaty agreed with their leader Saladin, Richard the Lionheart is free at last to travel back to his strife-ridden kingdom. By his side at every turn is the loyal knight Ferdia, also known as Rufus. Together they will face not just Richard’s archenemy Philippe Capet of France, but also the king’s treacherous younger brother, John.

Captive
Shipwrecked on the Italian coast, the king and his small group of companions are forced into a perilous journey through lands controlled by their enemies. Shortly before Christmas 1192, Richard is taken prisoner near Vienna by Duke Leopold of Austria. Kept prisoner for several months, the king is then handed over to Henry VI, the Holy Roman Emperor. His captivity lasts for another year, fanning the flames of unrest in his territories in England and beyond.

Negotiator
Talks between Richard’s mother Queen Alienor and Henry VI last for months, but finally reach a bitter agreement. The extortionate sum demanded to free the king will empty the treasury and bleed England dry. Philippe Capet and Richard’s brother John collude, offering vast sums to see the king kept captive for longer. Their efforts are in vain, leading Philippe to pen a letter to John including the famous line: ‘Look to yourself, the devil is loose.’

King
Crowned for a second time to wash away the shame of his captivity, Richard restores order in England, forgiving John his shameful behaviour. His next task is to recover territories lost to Philippe Capet, and to re-establish his dominance over the French king. Forging clever alliances, building strategic castles and when obliged, waging war, the Lionheart carves a unique path into history.

My Review

This third book in the Richard the Lionheart series has us returning from Outremer, as the king and his followers are stranded somewhere up the Adriatic, hundreds of miles from Saxony and a safe harbor. They have no choice but to travel incognito through enemy territory, but the inevitable happens and King Richard is captured. And so begins a fourteen month captivity under his old antagonist Duke Leopold’s inhospitable care—especially grueling for our Rufus, who is thrown into a dungeon along with his friend William. Ultimately, their difficulties became less stringent as Richard’s rank could not be ignored forever, and an exorbitant ransom was demanded. By then, King Philip and Prince John complicated matters by trying to outdo the highest bidder and keep the king imprisoned forever. Even so, Richard holds the King of France in the highest contempt:

‘Philippe stooped even lower, though, in his letter to me. All bonds between us are severed, he wrote. I was to take his message as a declaration of war. War? What does that coward know of that? He could not leave Outremer fast enough after we took Acre. God’s legs, but what I would give to be at the head of an army, in the Vexin! I would sweep all before me, not stopping until the very gates of Paris!’
‘Philip would soil himself, sire,’ said William, droll as ever.
‘He would too!’ Richard threw back his head and guffawed, the one that came from his belly, the very core of his being.

The king’s release takes its inevitable course and Richard proceeds to retake the castles that the perfidious Philip has captured during his imprisonment. Rufus stays with Richard every bit of the way, more than slightly distracted by the love interest he has rekindled with the lovely Alienor. Has it become time for him to settle down? We really care what happens to him and the king, although we know through history that the magnificent King of England is doomed.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/King-Ben-Kane/dp/1409197867/

Visit Ben Kane on Twitter @BenKaneAuthor