The Lawless Land is a medieval novel set just after the battle of Crecy years. It has all fans of the genre and time period could be looking for - A knight looking to right wrongs and avenge his mother, a lady guarding a sacred item handed down from the women of the family over generations, a Monsignor who would be Pope, a lord looking to become a King, and their adventures play out across England and France, from Canterbury to Mont-Saint-Michel, to Avignon and beyond. The Lawless Land is a tale of friendship, and the unyielding power wielded by kings and church. It's a gripping epic story fit for the big screen. Highly recommended.

The Lawless Land is a great historical fiction novel that follows two unlikely companions across Europe. The setting is 14th century England during the war of France. It is a very addictive and interesting read that has it all: history, action, suspense, mystery, romance, intrigue, villains and heroes. I enjoyed the writing, the setting, the characters. I would like to thank Netgalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of this book.

Gerard Fox is a knight who has not only. been excommunicated, but as the black death is just ending, he has also lost his family and his lands. He is now living the life of a man-at-arms, hiring out to protect any that might have need. When he sees a coach go by with a young girl at the reigns, being chased by armed guards, he chooses to intervene and assist.

Isabel is betrothed to be married, but soon realizes she is wanted for a very important, secret, religious relic that has been passed down from then women of her family since the days of Christ. She must escape in order to protect her one prize possession, but her betrothed is not easily cast off. Thus ensues a journey that will take all to places never expected, and involve clergy, monks, nuns, knights, and more.

Overall a good story. I think maybe this time period isn't my favorite, so I wasn't fully invested in all that was being shared. Also, soooo many times I had the thought, "well, isn't that a coincidence?" as yet another plan was foiled. A lot of the plot was just too predictable, or just not possible.

Thanks to NetGalley and Aries Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love the book cover and the time period. I didn’t like anything else.

The characters felt one-dimensional, the action uninspired, and the plot weak.

I made it about halfway through before boredom demanded I give up.

DNF

The Lawless Land by Beth and Boyd Morrison is a historical fiction that will have medieval action fans on the edge of their seats. Set in a post-ish Black Death England and France, The Lawless Land is what you get when you put Jack Reacher into a medieval setting (according to Lee Child, who I can’t disagree with here!). It’s a badarse book and easy reading.

59486098In The Lawless Land, Gerard Fox, roaming ex-communicated knight and man at arms for hire, witnesses a daring lady fleeing in a crossbow bolt-prickled carriage. Stepping in with recurve bow and blade, he inadvertently throws away his life plans and launches himself into bloody adventure alongside Lady Isabel.

Lady Isabel carries a secret protected by the women of her family line for centuries, but in fleeing the horrible grasp of her betrothed, she flings herself into the wild of a land stricken with the Black Plague, criminals, brigands, and an incredibly angry, vengeful, and spiteful husband to be.

Around our two main characters are the supporting cast: Lord Tonbridge is fuming at the loss of his bride-to-be and the impact on his future plans to rule, the corrupt Cardinal Molyneux chases the final step to the papacy, and Basquin the bastard craves freedom from under his father’s brutal heel.

The authors have interlinked the storylines of The Lawless Land nicely, and created an easy to follow web of twists and turns. They also know how to pull off a big scene and as we got in to the last 30% of the book The Lawless Land really picked up speed and I found it harder and harder to put down. The sheer attention to detail, and creative extrapolation where detail of certain things in the 14th century perhaps didn’t exists is amazing. In addition to the research both authors must have thrown themselves into, all of Beth Morrison’s experience as the curator of the Department of Manuscripts at the J. Paul Getty museum shows through here, as does both authors’ experiences travelling Europe.

However, there was one key thing that didn’t land with me. In the first half of The Lawless Land especially, the conversations between characters felt stilted. While I imagine the intended effect was to get me into the medieval mood, the result was to create a struggle in flow and conversations that felt a bit like bad acting, and therefore I didn’t really feel a bond of brotherhood between Fox and his associates as their banter trudged and tripped along.

As far as grimdark characters go, Basquin, Molyneux, and Tonbridge’s POVs provide the closest to what we love reading here at Grimdark Magazine. However, their characters never really cross the bridge from just being nasty for the sake of it, to having the reader relate to them in any way. Basquain probably gets the closest, but I never really got enough to form an emotional attachment to him so that when something didn’t go his way I would feel for him. When about a third of the book is made up of their scenes and chapters, it really means you’re just rooting for their deaths, and not really understanding them, making the villains a bit one dimensional rather than enjoyable reads for this reviewer.

The Lawless Land is a fun easy read, and will delight medieval action and adventure aficionados and fans. The lack of an emotional attachment to the POVs of approximately a third of the book is problematic for me, but if you love a good old fashioned evil villains doing evil things, then you’ll absolutely love this book.

3/5

I did not finish the book....It had a promising first 100 pages...but then I got distracted and did not come back to it before it was archived.

Full disclosure I did not finish this book, however, that was only due the fact that I mistakenly downloaded it on my computer and then ran out of time to finish the book.

What I did read of this story, I loved! I will absolutely be purchasing this book in order to finish the story. It was gripping, exciting and twist and turny and I loved it!

I loved reading this book. I was very pleased with all the information from the historical points of the book. I really loved the Fox and Isabel’s characters took part and the telling of the factual stories while they journeyed through different parts of the many different countries. The story was very entertaining for me. The story moves quickly. I thought that the story was written very well.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Lawless Land by Boyd Morrison and Beth Morrison was my first historical fiction set in Medieval time period and what a fun introduction to this era!

Set during The Hundred Years War and the Black Death that struck Europe, this novel follows heroic British knight Gerard Fox as he runs into a damsel in distress in the wood who is currently being chased by enemy soldiers. After saving her, he comes to realize that she is running away from her betrothed, who so happens to be the very lord that Fox was going to reach out to for help in getting his lands back. What follows is a fun, heroic tale, filled with twists and turns, and never a dull moment of action, as Gerard and Isabel flee from a corrupt Cardinal and a greedy Lord across England and France.

What I liked about it:
- I really enjoyed the attention to detail with regards to the setting around the characters. Beth Morrison in her notes has a historical background and it shows in the descriptions of the clothes, settings, customs, and traditions.
- I really enjoyed the strong plot and how it keeps the reader on their toes regarding what is going to happen next.
- I enjoyed the fact that it was a relatively clean read, nothing too violent, and no strong language either.

What I didn't like
- My one complaint was that I found the characters a bit one-dimensional at times, in that they lacked emotions. I felt that there were certain moments where the characters could have felt stronger emotions, especially when faced with death.

Overall I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

I loved this book. There is sword fighting, a heroine in distress, a mysterious knight who saves her, a quest for revenge, a bad guy a reader can love to hate, and a clever twist. Fox, a knight traveling through France, ,comes upon a carriage running out of control and being attacked. He rescues the survivor and becomes committed to escorting her to her cousin to deliver a special package. France is dangerous, there are remnants of the plague, and it is too dangerous for a young woman traveling alone. It is refreshing to find a hero that actually gets hurt when he gets in a fight. I will purchase this for my high school library. It will appeal to both boys and girls. I received this as an ARC, and was not influenced in my review.

Ramona Thompson

This is a great book if you like the Middle Ages, slight romance and mysteries quests. Also the bad guys get what's coming to them. I really hope that there is a sequel coming. :)

Historical fiction/thriller at it's finest, co-written by brother and sister, Boyd and Beth Morrison. Boyd has written action thrillers in his own series and coauthored several books with the late Clive Cussler. Beth Morrison is a scholar in medieval art and art history and Senior Curator of Manuscripts at the J. Paul Getty Museum. Both are brilliant researchers and know how to make history come alive.
In this first book in the series we meet Gerald Fox, an excommunicated Knight, who fought for the British in the Battle of Crecy and an intrepid Lady Isabel who is fleeing from a cruel fiance who is marrying her to get the manuscript her family has been guarding. A bishop in the Catholic church has promise a kingdom to the fiance in exchange for the manuscript which he needs to insure his selection as the next Pope.
Danger, intrigue, thievery, corrupt officials, and adventure abound as the story unfolds
This is an excellent reading experience , sure to be enjoyed by fans of historical fiction and adventure readers alike!.

I found this to be a delightful historical adventure/medieval road trip novel, complete with all the expected medieval elements as well as a lot of juicy, lesser-known facts. The action starts on page 1 and rarely lets up through to its conclusion. The medieval elements of the book are based on co-author and expert medievalist Beth Morrison’s decades of research. She and her co-author brother pepper this epic adventure with fascinating details that never feel overstuffed into the narrative. Primary characters Sir Gerard Fox and Lady Isabel are well rounded characters, as are the secondary characters who support them. The villains are fairly one-dimensionally nefarious, but they provide considerable challenges for the valiant Fox and the formidable Isabel to overcome. The settings throughout Europe were extra-vivid, and I am already imagining where further adventures in this series will lead (Hello, Carcassonne, France, and a bit of Templar history?) In any case, I highly recommend the audio version of this novel, read by Mark Elstob, who deserves 5+ stars for his performance.

[Thanks to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of this book.]

3.5 rounded up.
The authors have a background in Medieval history which added authenticity to the setting. They wove fact with fiction effectively. Overall, I enjoyed this story, though I found the tone to be more YA than adult fiction. The story lacks the complexity that I expect in adult medieval fiction. The authors state that they tried to represent Medieval swearing and other language in the text. This may explain the lack of present day curse words. The story also included no sex scenes, and the violence seemed superficial for the most part.
The characters were clearly good or bad with very little dimension. I did not feel invested in any of them. The good guys (and girls) all blended together as did the bad characters. This book is a mental twinkie for Medieval fiction fans. It's a fun, swashbuckling read. However, I personally like a little more grit in my historical fiction.
It was an enjoyable story that took place in a well developed atmosphere. It just seemed far more tame than the Medieval fiction I am used to reading. This is the first in a series, but I doubt I will read the next installment. The characters do not compel me to invest more time.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

A well written and very very readable story. would I buy this title when it comes out on the shelves, oh yes and in hardback too.

I am a fan of this particular genre, histsorical/medieval fiction. I was not sure what to expect but the summary had drawn me in, and was I ever glad that I read it! At the time of The Pestilence in England, the country was in chaos. The characters highlighting this story are the chivalrous Knight Sir Gerrard Fox, and the Lady in distress holding a secret close to her heart, Lady Isabel.. Little did Sir Gerrard know that by stepping in to save Lady Isabel, he would be traveling across the continent to help her keep safe her family's religious artifact, but that it would also bring him into contact with the men who have ruined his life by taking all that he held dear. The other characters in the story bring danger, loyalty, and religious corruption to their eventful journey. We find out the back-story of both Sir Gerrard, Lady Isabel, and her servant Willa through chapters designated to bring the character history into the storyline. Well worth the read, and hoping there may be a sequel to this book! While the rating shows a 4-star...in my mind a 4.5 star. Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus Ltd. for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #TheLawlessLand #NetGalley.

Didn’t like at like at all. Poor writing. Felt the authors weren’t realistic in their development. I got bored too.

What a great book! I enjoyed this book from page one to the end. The many twist and turns, the wonderful characters, perfect passed book and just the right length. I love the writing and character building, you can start to understand the characters and their motivation. As they travel through the book and the locations, you can really picture the castles, churches, homes, cities and country side. I enjoyed the way the story unfold and the flashback chapters. I am really hoping this becomes a series, but this is still a wonderful stand along book that has a great start, strong story and perfect ending.

One of my favorite genres is medieval history and this book does it very well. The authors did their homework here. The locations are real world places and much of the action is compelling.
I especially enjoyed the tournament portion of the book. The authors painted a very accurate picture of jousting and melees. It kept my interest throughout.
I hope there will be more books in this series. I want more of Fox and Willa.

I had no expectations going into this read. I had not read the storyline, nor have I read the authors works. I was impressed, with the immediate pull, I felt to the story. The plot held me captive throughout, the characters were well defined and I thought the writing was good. I am not a historian, writer, or editor, just an average reader that likes to be entertained by a good story. The Lawless Land was interesting, intriguing and riveting. Adventure, peril, medieval fighting, were a major part of the story. I was impressed that the authors maintained moderate decorum while describing the battle scenes. The romance is clean and chaste. The historical and Christian aspects were well executed.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.