"Fields of Glory," by Michael Jecks has characters who flip-flop, a girl with a knife who kills more coldly than the English archers, experienced warriors making dumb decisions, and brutal men crying over killing. War deadens soldiers, a real issue for them, which is not in here.

Wow! This was an in depth look at what war was like in Medieval Europe. I enjoyed reading this version of what led up to and the Battle of Crécy. I have a vested interest with King Edward and William de Bohun being grandfathers. For some reason the human destruction didn't bother me, but if you are an animal lover, beware, there are some scenes that will have you cringing. Overall it is a fantastic Medieval story based in history with brilliant characters and well worth the read!

I don't really like appraising historical novels as a 'man's read' or a 'woman's read' as that tends to put books into outdated stereotypical genres - even now when I say I'm an author I get, 'Oh what do you write? Romances?' (I guess the chaps get, 'What do you write? Thrillers?') But for Fields of Glory I do wonder if this is a 'man's read' because it's basically about men on the battlefield - and it's very gritty (as battlefields were - are!). Having said that, if you're a lover of well-researched, detailed - as near as we can get to what really happened historical fiction - regardless of being suitable for male or female readers, then I'd recommend Mr Jeck's novel as an exciting and entertaining read.

I know nothing about this period apart from there were battles during a lot of rain at Crécy and Agincourt, and something about a certain play based around 'We few, we happy few...' by a chap called 'Bill', so it was a pleasure to read a novel where the facts of what went on were aparrently reliable. Although there were a couple of minor quibbles which, if I was reading purely for reading, not for writing a review, I would probably not have noticed. One was at the very opening: gunwale. The word (and an actual gunwale) first came into use soon after 1325ish, this opening chapter is 1346 so the dates are only just right, but I'm assuming this was a transport ship not a warship ... so I'm being very picky, but 'gunwale' doesn't quite sound right for this context. Personally, I'd have used 'bulwark' or plain 'rail'. Also, men seemed to recover from wounds pretty quickly - but then, for both observations, this is fiction so does it matter?

I did have to concentrate on getting my head around all the different characters with their unfamiliar names and unfamiliar job descriptions etc, but that's my failing as a reader, not the author's writing ability or style. (At 72 I'm finding remembering even close friends' names not as easy as it used to be - and reading on a Kindle makes the task harder as it isn't as practical to flip back through pages as a reminder.)

All that said, for readers who enjoy a good historical novel that is well written about historical events and the people involved in them, and readers who don't mind the blood, violence, guts and gore of the battlefield don't miss this one, it's a good read.

This is, literally, a breath-taking novel! The pace is relentless, especially during the description of the Battle of Crecy. Michael Jecks’ knowledge of historical combat adds authenticity to the battle scenes. But alongside the fighting, is an array of interesting characters and sub-plots around relationships amongst the soldiers. Even the one female character is fully integrated into the plot. Brilliant!

The very epitome of page-turner with a chilling storyline that grips from the first and kept me guessing right up to the heart-racing denouement STUNNER ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️