I'm super happy to be part of an exciting blog tour for The Black Prince. The Black Prince is written by Adam Roberts, based on a 90 page script written by Anthony Burgess (A Clockwork Orange).
The Black Prince
‘I’m working on a novel intended to express the feel of England in Edward III’s time ... The fourteenth century of my novel will be mainly evoked in terms of smell and visceral feelings, and it will carry an undertone of general disgust rather than hey-nonny nostalgia’ – Anthony Burgess, Paris Review, 1973
The Black Prince is a brutal historical tale of chivalry, religious belief, obsession, siege and bloody warfare.
From disorientating depictions of medieval battles to court intrigues and betrayals, the campaigns of Edward II, the Black Prince, are brought to vivid life by an author in complete control of the novel as a way of making us look at history with fresh eyes, all while staying true to the linguistic pyrotechnics and narrative verve of Burgess’s best work.
My Review
The minute I saw the cover and title of this book, I knew I wanted to read The Black Prince. The minute I found out that it was based on writings by Anthony Burgess, I knew I needed to read The Black Prince. This book has been one of my most highly anticipated books of this year.
If you're of a squeamish disposition, this book is not the book for you. The war scenes are brutal, vicious, visceral, bloody and real. The writing really catches the horror of war. At times I found myself breathless reading the fight scenes as if I was taking part. I feel very much that this book will easily convert to a film!
The Black Prince demands your attention as you read, as it jumps between poems and memories from different perspectives. It's all fascinating and extremely well done and once you get used to the rhythm changing up it is a really excellent read. It isn't an easy read, but its definitely worth the effort.
I liked the fact that we got a darker and more realistic look at this time in history, as in a lot of historical books, you get a dulled down version which doesn't really reflect how things actually were. I also felt that this meant you were more invested in the story as you could actually picture it all, no matter how bad the scene was.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I was happy that the content lived up to the covers promise!
I gave this book four stars.
About The Authors
Adam Roberts
Adam Roberts is a writer, critic and academic. He is the author of sixteen novels and many shorter works, including the prize-winning Jack Glass (2012). His most recent novel is The Real-Town Murders (2017). He is Professor of Nineteenth-Century Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London, and has published critically on a wide range of topics, including nineteenth- and twentieth-century fiction and science fiction. He lives in the south-east of England.
Anthony Burgess
Anthony Burgess was a British novelist, critic and composer. He was also a librettist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, travel writer, broadcaster, translator, linguist and educationalist. Born in Manchester, he lived for long periods in Southeast Asia, the USA and Mediterranean Europe as well as in England. His fiction includes the Malayan trilogy (The Long Day Wanes) on the dying days of Britain's empire in the East; the Enderby quartet of novels about a poet and his muse; Nothing Like the Sun, a recreation of Shakespeare's love-life; A Clockwork Orange, an exploration of the nature of evil; and Earthly Powers, a panoramic saga of the 20th century. He published studies of Joyce, Hemingway, Shakespeare and Lawrence, produced the treatises on linguistics Language Made Plain and A Mouthful of Air, and was a prolific journalist, writing in several languages. He translated and adapted Cyrano de Bergerac, Oedipus the King, and Carmen for the stage; scripted Jesus of Nazareth and Moses the Lawgiver for the screen; invented the prehistoric language spoken in Quest for Fire; and composed the Sinfoni Melayu, the Symphony (No. 3) in C, and the opera Blooms of Dublin.
Don't Forget To Check Out The Rest Of The Tour
Huge thanks for the Blog Tour support x
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