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The Spider and the Stone by Glen Craney

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Rowan
Bibliophile
Posts: 1462
Joined: August 2008
Interest in HF: I love history, but it's boring in school. Historical fiction brings it alive for me.
Preferred HF: Iron-Age Britain, Roman Britain, Medieval Britain
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The Spider and the Stone by Glen Craney

Post by Rowan » Tue August 18th, 2015, 3:21 pm

As the 14th century dawns, the brutal Edward Longshanks of England schemes to steal Scotland. But a frail, dark-skinned boy named James Douglas--inspired by a headstrong lass from Fife--defies three Plantagenet kings and champions the cause of his wavering friend, Robert the Bruce, to lead the armies to the bloody field of Bannockburn. Here is a thrilling saga of star-crossed love and heroic sacrifice set during the Scottish Wars of Independence.

~~~~~~~

Like one or two others whose reviews I read on Goodreads, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this book. No dates were ever given, which should happen - in my opinion - for those who are new to the time period written about. The story seemed to meander even while it never deviated from its purpose. As one of the reviewers said, it's as though Craney was determined to fit everything he knew of this period of Scottish history into this story. Because of this, it wasn't a tightly woven story. The story is told via flashbacks by Queen Isabel, to Douglas' son and nephew, which seems absurd since an English queen doesn't seem likely to have known much about what happened in Scotland when she wasn't an active participant, other than being married to Edward II. I'm sorry, but I do not believe there's any possible way she could've known these details, yet we are expected she does in the prologue and epilogue.

3/5 stars for me

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