Insurrection

Author: Robyn Young
First Published: June 2012
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Series: Insurrection #1
650 pages (paperback)

This is one of those books that have been sitting on my bookshelf forever and I finally got around to reading it. I have been trying to read less historical fiction lately because I totally burned myself out on that genre. But, I thought, it's been a while since I read a his-fic, so let's give this one a go. This one if pretty different from my usual his-fic anyway (British, queens/princesses as main characters, time period of usually 1500-1700's ...)  I'm so glad I did because this was an amazing book. And to think I had this diamond of a novel just sitting on my shelf, unread!

Insurrection starts with King Alexander of Scotland dying in an unfortunate accident during a particularly bad storm. The throne of Scotland is open and now the Scottish nobles fight over who should rule, as Alexander has no heirs. Robert is just a child in the beginning. Robert's grandfather, a respected Bruce, tells Robert that another king, long ago, made him the heir should he die with no heirs. Robert's grandfather holds on to this in his bid for the throne, and tells young Robert that it is their family's destiny to have one of them become the King of Scotland one day.

The new king is chosen by the King of England, Edward, who acted as a guardian of Scotland while the throne was empty, and it is not any of the Bruces. Because the king was chosen by Edward, Edward enjoyed a lot of power in the Scottish kingdom, especially since he chose someone that was very malleable. You see, Edward has his own mission: he is working on conquering or taking over all the kingdoms of Britain, to unite them. To do so, he is searching for four relics, one in each of the four kingdoms -- Wales, Ireland, Scotland and England. He believes once he has the four relics and has united the four kingdoms, he may be able to avoid the doom prophesied by Merlin ages ago. Edward has already taken over Wales, and is working on Ireland and Scotland.

Seeing that Edward has the most power in Scotland at this point in time, Robert's greedy father sends Robert and his brother (also named Edward) to England to serve King Edward for a time, and also look over their English lands. Robert grows close to many of the young nobles his age there. So close, in fact, they invite him to join the Knights of the Dragon, which is pretty much a secret club ran by King Edward who helps the king hunt down the relics.

Robert was never fully understanding of the Knights of the Dragon's purpose but was pleased to have become a trusted friend of the King's and of the other English nobles. However, when he realizes Edward is turning his sights to Scotland, capturing the Scottish king and invading the kingdom, Robert feels conflicted. He eventually decides to go back to Scotland, his home, and fight with the Scottish people against King Edward's invasion. The Scottish are suspicious of him, given that he's spent so many long years in King Edward's court and was rumored to be a very close friend to the king and his nobles. The English are furious of Robert, declaring him a traitor. The Scottish throne still sits empty. Robert remembers his grandfather telling him it is their family's destiny to become the King ...

Everything about this book was so good! The author, Robyn Jones, is a seasoned historical fiction writer. She writes very well, no question about that. She's spent a lot of time researching  for this book and it shows. I love how at the end of the book, in the Author's Note section, she talks about the differences between her book and the real events that happened (because, of course, this is historical fiction and there's bound to be some made-up stuff for the sake of storytelling). I love a his-fic novel that doesn't have too many liberties taken with it, and I felt Robyn Young did a great job balancing history with fictional ideas. Most of the fictional parts were just toying around with the timelines (certain events happened earlier or later than in real life), I think.

What was particularly exciting about this novel was the fact I knew nothing about Scottish history. Nada. I had no idea who Robert Bruce was going into this book. Absolutely everything was new information to me and I think that's what made this book even more interesting to read. (But after I finished, I was so desperate to know what happens later in the trilogy, I Wikipedia'd Robert Bruce ... -_- I'm sure I'll still be in love with books 2 and 3 though, even with the knowledge of what happens later).

There's a lot of action packed scenes in this book. Many, if not most, of the battles and wars fought place the reader directly in the action. I, personally, am not the biggest fan of reading battle scenes. Reading about how this knight swung his sword high and that knight jabbed someone else through their mail or whatever, has always been rather dull to me. If you love battle/fight scenes that are detailed out to you, you will definitely enjoy this book. I'm not squeamish or anything, I just don't find reading about action sequences all that thrilling. That would be my only complaint, and even then, it is a complaint that I know most other people will not have.

If you are looking for a well thought out, brilliantly written historical novel, look no further. I will most definitely be reading the rest of this series!

My Rating: 5/5