Here There Be Dragons (Sunscapes Trilogy Book 2)

A longer tale than I expected, but even though it did not have a conventional plot structure, I never lost interest in what was happening. A truly impressive compilation of historical fact and compelling characterization that I will be thinking about long after reading the last page...

I love the way that Penman writes. She gives the characters real life and gives them real feelings, makes them believable. Not only do the characters come alive under her pen, she has done the research that makes this story true to history. Anyone who loves the Medieval period will love Here Be Dragons.

After being somewhat sated with Tudor historical fiction, I decided to give this a try as my family is Welsh and I know relatively less about the Middle Ages. I find these reads usually get me interested enough in the real history to delve into more scholarly works. However, this is marred by several points. First, there's a little too much ripping of laces and bodices (if you are going to do this, dear writer, at least put notice on the cover with an appropriately half dressed couple). While written from a feminine perspective, what about other concerns of women of the time such as the omnipresent threat of death in childhood? Second, the language never feels true to itself - the author goes back and forth with long passages stuffed with "mayhap" and "for Ceres," and then throws in terms that originated much later ("self-sabotage"). There's another seen in which a character was eating rice, which would have been unlikely to be eaten in Wales in 1200 as it was not introduced into cultivation in Europe til later. Few writers can write in language that is both understandable to the modern reader yet make it feel not of this time - see Hillary Mantel for brilliant examples of this. Unfortunately this inability to find such a voice greatly diminished my enjoyment of this book

I carefully read several readers' reviews of this long (very very long) account of a slice of medieval England and Wales. Many readers were swept away but there is a significant minority that drew attention to some serious flaws in this book. I am in that camp and echo the comments of several very perceptive reviewers.

The book begins in the dying days of King Henry II and takes us through the tempestuous reigns of Richard the Lionheart, King John and some of Henry III. The main characters are Joanna, an illegitimate daughter of King John, her husband Llewelyn who becomes the virtual Prince of Wales and King John himself who is painted as a deeply troubled man, highly intelligent, crafty, occasionally brave, capable of compassion and love and yet capable also of acts of tremendous cruelty and brutality. His paranoia eventually gets the better of him and he dies alone, having almost lost his kingdom.

Joanna loves her father but also loves Llewelyn, to whom she is married at age 14. She is constantly torn between the two -- her sexy Celt who is smart, brave, resourceful, gentle, intelligent, handsome etc etc etc -- and her scheming father who is hellbent on conquering her adopted land if he can.

Apart from this trio, there is a cast of thousands -- knights, barons, monarchs, bishops, archbishops, sons, daughters (both legitimate and illegitimate) -- and we also get a lot of history about the loss of John's French lands and battles for places whose locations and significance we're not sure about.

Growing up in England, I knew John the way he has gone down in history as a "BAD KING," the bad guy in the Robin Hood stories and the one who lost the crown jewels in the Wash (good schoolboy joke). Actually, that scene is one of the most effective in this book. And of course he signed the Magna Carta which was a GOOD THING. So one of the strengths of this book is the author's success in presenting him as a complex, nuanced character.

Now to the flaws: like many readers I was at first amused and eventually annoyed by the author's childish attempts to give a period flavor to the way the characters speak. Her constant use of the word "mayhap," and her use of the word "certes" every time someone wants to say "sure" or "certain" are not convincing -- just silly. As in, "The King of Frances will be angry for certes." This is juxtaposed with 21st century Americanisms to produce a totally inauthentic effect.

Second problem, as pointed out by others, is the lack of focus. You never know what the story is actually about. Is it about Joanna and Llewelyn? Or John? Or Wales? Or France? It's about all of the above -- which means it turns out to be about nothing.

Third problem -- all too often, the author switches into "Romance novel" mode and flips from realpolitik to "real housewives of the 12th century." I don't care how many orgasms Joanna and Llewelyn achieve and how they achieve them.

Fourth problem -- as stated, too long -- Way too long.

We authors are taught to "show not tell." This book mostly tells.

This book had some good parts, but also long stretches of history that seemed irrelevant to the storyline. I felt like the author was trying to prove how much she knew about Welsh/English history and it didn't serve the story. It also meant that there were many historical characters that came in and out of the story...it was hard to keep track of everyone. This book was more work than fun, despite a few shining moments.

This is a great read - vivid characters, colorful settings, gripping narration. But I was continually distracted by Penman's unfortunate stilted sentences - a curious habit. Does she think such usage adds authenticity? It doesn't! Again and again my attention rested on her condensed syntax rather than on the wonderful yarn she's telling. It's quite an ususual mannerism, and quite a negative one, as it mars the believability of her characters.

Well, since I am fan of historical books the book was okay but nothing more. The plot sometimes was too slow, too many characters (some of them not necessary at all). I don't think I would buy other Penman's books soon.