I've said this before: I love Dan Jones. When he started writing and broadcasting about history he reawakened a passion I thought I had lost when I left college. Now, in his first major work of fiction, he brings even more excitement and action to a character-driven, first rate account of the English campaign in France in 1346.
The Essex Dogs themselves are wonderful creations: brutal, filthy, foul-mouthed, angry, but also loyal to each other, full of camaderie, and when required love.
Historical fiction doesn't get any better than this. An absolutely stunning novel.

I wasn’t sure I was going to like Essex Dogs. It started really slowly, not much happens for a while, and it seemed so focused on military life and war, that I thought it was going to be a ‘boy’s book’ reveling in bloody battle. However, almost without noticing the characters gradually drew me in and before long I was mentally throwing around biblical curses and waving around mighty swords.
You can tell this book is written by an accomplished historian. The detailed research is really impressive but it never gets in the way of the story.
Essex Dogs is the first installment in Dan Jones’ Hundred Years War trilogy. The series sees the first great campaign of the medieval war between England and France through the eyes of a small company of men-at-arms and archers who call themselves the Essex Dogs.
This first book covers the characters in the 1346 Crécy campaign, in which they join Edward III's armies as they battle through France and the Low Countries on their way to a showdown with the French king's army at the battle of Crécy. Through the viewpoints of the characters, and inserted fragments of sermons, newsletters and chronicles, we see the stark reality of medieval war through the experiences of the fighters, but also the merchants, renegade priests, calculating aristocrats and ordinary people caught in the storm.
Jones doesn’t flinch from showing us the reality and brutality of war but he also creates well developed and believable characters who support each other and fight bravely together. As each of their back stories emerge they become more rounded and compelling making this so much more than a war chronicle.
As you would expect from a historian, the research and detail are impressive, and it’s great to see a good writer bringing us some exciting historical fiction which isn’t set during the Tudor period! I’m looking forward to the rest of this trilogy.
With thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I’ve read practically all of Dan Jones’ non fiction books and enjoyed them very much so I wasn’t surprised that I enjoyed this as much. The story follows a gang of men - the Essex dogs - ordinary footsoldiers during the Hundred Years War culminating in the battle at Crecy. Knowing how much research he does plus all the knowledge that he’s written in his non fiction it is a joy to read the action so to,speak. I loved it and I’ll be buying it as presents at Christmas!

Dan Jones' debut novel is an impressive work of historical fiction set in the Hundred Years' War and, more particularly, during the Crecy Campaign. It bears all the hallmarks of the meticulous historical research we have come to expect from this author.

From the off, it's clear that we're in for a breathtaking, violently graphic encounter between the medieval armies of England led by Edward III (as well as the young Black Prince) and France.
Raw, harsh, gritty, fast-paced action continues unabated as the band of mercenaries ransack loot, rape and pillage their way across Normandy to the Somme and the Battle of Crecy.

Jones creates compelling and authentic characters - bloodthirsty, profane soldiers lacking conscience, killing for coin, yet fighting bravely alongside each other. He captures the sights and sounds of knights and men at arms in the fury of battle in blood-soaked, mud-sodden fields and brings the hell of fighting up close and personal.
I am looking forward to the sequel!

My thanks to NetGalley and, as ever, Head of Zeus for granting this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's 1346 and King Edward III and his army cross the English Channel and storm the Normandy beaches and then set off on a journey across France to reclaim English territory from the 'false king' Philippe. Dan Jones has written an excellent account of that summer's exploits with an amazing sense of place and time. The main focus is the group of ten men making up the Essex Dogs who we follow through the storiming, pillaging and saacking of whatever towns stood in the way of the King's forces. I could smell and taste the smoke and other more unsavoury aromas that he described. And what a collection of blasphemous oaths and curses. I bet he had fun writing those. Not for the faint hearted but it is such a good read that I can't wait for the next in this planned trilogy. With thanks to NetGalley, Head of Zeus and Dan Brown for a digitial copy of this book to read and review.

Thank you NetGalley, Head of Zeus, and the author for the eARC!

1346, the beginning of the Hundred Year's War. King Edward III and invasion force have embarked to conquer France.
Among the king's army is a tight-knit company fighting not for conquest but for each other, the 'Essex Dogs'.

I really enjoyed reading this!
I liked the premise, but at the beginning of the book it felt like the writing wasn't going to do it justice. In the scenes where not a whole lot was happening the writing felt kind of weak. But Jones quickly recovers from that and the rest of the book turned out great!

Especially the battle scenes are so well-written you can feel the tension as if you were really there. It's like a medieval version of 'Saving Private Ryan' or 'Band of Brothers'.

The character's themselves are great! Often with historical fiction it's really difficult not to make your characters feel too modern. But Jones finds the perfect balance, keeping the historical accuracy and still making it easy for a modern audience to empathise with them.

If you like Bernard Cornwell, you'll love this!

If you like Bernard Cornwell,battles and gore this is the book for you. Whilst there is no true leader of The Dogs like in Mr Cornwells books it has a similar sort of vibe.
I cannot wait for the next one

I really wanted to like this book, I have really pushed to keep reading and I have made it to 50% but it just isn't holding my interest.

It started off really strong in terms of action but then quickly fell into a repetitive cycle of walking, stopping, something minor happens, they talk to a nobleman, they walk etc.

It bothers me because I actually really enjoy the writing. It is full of description and has subtle facts and historical elements that make it feel very real. The setting is almost tangible. I can smell the unbathed, I can feel the crusty clothes.

But the plot is just not hitting the right spot to keep me going.

Brilliant. Couldn’t put it down. I fought with the Essex Dogs and felt everything they were going through. These guys get paid to fight. They stick together and look out for each other. Some of the orders they have to agree to would have me running for the hills.
We are going back in history to the 100 year wars. 1346. King Edward is marching through France and the Essex Dogs are part of the army. What takes they tell.
Fantastic this is number 1 of the trilogy. Can’t wait for number 2.

I came to this slightly sceptically- being an excellent non-fiction writer is not necessarily a marker for being a good fiction writer, and with a historian there’s the added danger of including ALL the research at expense of plot and character. I need not have worried, this is a great historical novel that feels real, has a well characterised group of soldiers swept up in events outside their control and wears its research lightly. Very much recommended and set up nicely for the second.

By coincidence I’d just finished a slightly older novel - The Scottish Boy by Alex de Campi, set about 10 years earlier. That too is excellent and worth seeking out.

I do love a book of historical fiction and this book ticks the boxes for me. Although the story of the Essex Dogs is fiction a lot of the facts are taken from historical chronicals..
The Essex Dogs are a group of men who are swords for hire. They are a close and loyal band of men who are part of the army of Edward 111 who travel to France to try to depose the supposed faux king Phillippe.
If you like historical battles this is a great read.

I really enjoyed Dan Jones's first excursion into historical fiction. This was taut, well written and, of course, impeccably researched. Loveday and his band of brothers demonstrated that the psyche and behaviour of soldiers remains the same throughout the decades and centuries. This was a rollicking good read and an excellent introduction to what will surely be a series n the Essex Dogs.

I can't wait for the next instalment.

What a horribly compelling novel….. in a good way!
I love a historical novel and this was a new level. I really enjoyed it. The pure hardship, class discrimination, the dirt, blood and grisly scenes captivate you.
The detail in this novel is amazing and you can feel that a true historian with attention to detail wrote this book, will look out for the second in this amazing trilogy.

Really gripping read, held my attention all the way through. The sort of book you should read to be able to appreciate how wars were fought in this period. The battle scenes are described so well you feel as though you’ve lived through them yourself, and it really does bring history to life. The Essex Dogs are a motley crew, together through necessity but also a deep bond between them all. The hardships they faced, the squalid conditions they have to put up with and the inequality between the ranks comes over very well. I look forward to the next book I. This series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

If you like a good historical fiction that actually has the facts right and heaps of characterisation, then this is the book for you.

So, Essex Dogs follows a group of Mercenaries that sign up to Edward III's conquest of France, as he saw it as his land, while the "usurper" French King obviously disagreed. The Dogs are a group of ten people, who have all been pulled together by war, the lust of gold, or just circumstance, and formed a brotherhood led by FitzTolbert, otherwise known as Loveday, and is the main point of view for the book. His is often seen as the wise, older leader, grizzled and suffered but quite likeable from the start. The other main character is Romford, a young lad whose life is moving in all directions, and it seems he has little to no control of.

One of the big things I loved about this book was that it used the modern names for the places the characters are going, and also have been. While I do like books where they use the names of places that were used in the time period, this book just made it easy by using the modern names, so you could see the map in your head perfectly of where they were. Also, the language they used, while some of it make sure you knew it was set in the 1400's, it was still modern enough to not have to worry about understanding what anyone was saying. And the detail of the period was explained with without you needing to have a phd in history.

This book pulls you along through the dirt and dust of travel, into grisly battle that leaves you drenched in mud, and all this is before you process the emotional side of what you are reading. A dagger sharp example of what historical fiction can be, and one that will will in those who think they do not even like the genre.

I was intrigued to read Essex Dogs because, having read a few of Dan Jones’ nonfiction books, I knew I could rely on it to be well researched and to bring the historical era around it to life. And, really, that’s what it did on the whole.

However—and this is a personal however, I hasten to add—I do think I prefer his nonfiction to this. Not to say that this was bad (hence, the “it’s personal”), but if I had to pick? Nonfiction every time.

Essex Dogs follows a platoon of men landing in Normandy during the Hundred Years’ War. In terms of what happens in the book, it’s hard to say, but as a vague plot summary: they fight and do battle and attempt, on behalf of their own king, to overthrow the French king.

The Hundred Years’ War isn’t a period of history I ever covered in classes. We did Hastings in 1066, followed by Magna Carta in the early 13th century, then skipped ahead to the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 (which falls squarely within the period of the Hundred Years’ War, and yet we somehow never touched on that), before finally landing on the Tudors. So this is a book set in a time period I only know vaguely about. And I think its strength is in bringing that time period to life, much like Dan Jones has always managed for me in his nonfiction books.

Perhaps where it was a bit weaker though was the characters. I never really felt like I engaged with them as much, and I never really felt like many of them had personalities. It probably wasn’t much help that, it being war, they were as likely to die within a few chapters of you meeting them as survive. The POV characters, as expected, were a bit more fleshed out than the others, though, and you could still root for them (and also, this is something I expect will be improved on as the series goes on).

Similarly, the plot seemed to have little drive, and I do wonder if this is a series that’s meant to be read all at once, where the plot is one that covers three books, rather than each book having its own self-contained plot. The ending of this one, which seems to work to set up the series as a whole more than anything, certainly points to that.

On the whole, though, I did fairly like reading this one. And if you’re looking for good thoroughly researched historical fiction, it would be for you.

An enjoyable read set during the Crecy capaign of Edward III. The heroes of the story are a mixed band of 10 soldiers from Essex which includes, among others, Loveday, their leader, a Scotsman a firmer priest, a pair of archers and a teenage boy. The company are rather good at fighting and come to the notice of the 2 rails leading the canoeing, Warwick and Northampton, and this get drawn into the heat of the fighting, not always without injury.
The fight scenes are exemplary and the take is fast-paced and keeps you coming back for more.
The fictional characters of the company of soldiers that the story follows are vivid and credible, if Dungeness a little shallow.
I do have a problem with the portrayal of the historical characters. Edward III is a mere shadow and had few words to say. Whereas the teenage Black Prince is unrecognizable, depicted as a spoilt cry-baby with a drink and drugs problem and despised by his father. In his author nowte, Dan Jones does mention that he got creative with the historical characters, but i can't reconcile myself to this vision of one of England's most famous warriors. It lets the book down.

If you like Bernard Cornwall or Patrick O’Brien then you will love this fast paced swashbuckling book.. Dan Jones cannot only write factual history book but factual fiction too. I look forward to his next book.

I find history so fascinating and I adore historical fiction and this one didn't disappoint, you can see how much the author has a passion for history and fantastically fuses together historical realism with fiction. Dan Jones debut into the fictional world brings to life a period in real life history through the lives of well developed fictional characters. I enjoyed seeing the story through the eyes of the Essex Dogs and all the side characters, discovering their backgrounds and their own individualities. You can really sense the brotherliness between the Essex Dogs and that bond is the driving force through this brutally savage journey. The interactions and dialogues are quite engaging, the author doesn't shy away from the odd wisecrack, plenty of potty mouth and evocative bloodshed.
Overall a great introduction to what I believe will be a fantastic trilogy. I can feel myself starting to care for these characters and the plot has me intrigued enough to wish the 2nd instalment was out now! Though I have a feeling that no character is safe and this war will be bloody gory!

Thanks to Head of Zeus and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this great book.

Set during the Hundred years' War, this first tale of the 'Essex Dogs' involves King Edward III's incursion into France.in 1346, culminating in the battle of Crecy.

It's a great story of visceral battles and violent action, but also of the bonds of comradeship, and the love of brothers.

The book contains lots of very well drawn characters, each of the Dogs is very distinct, but my favourite was the Earl of Northampton, whose creative cursing is a real highlight, and laugh out loud funny.

Easily as good as Bernard Cornwell, a real joy. Can't wait for further adventures.

Five stars from me, highly recommended.