I confess to not having read the first two in the series - but found that I could read this one with no trouble (there are hints at Blackstone's background along the way). Previous reviews have summed up the plot and characters so I will forgo re-hashing all again.

What attracted me to the story was the character of Sir Thomas Blackstone - for me he was a cross between Richard I, Sir John Hawkwood, Sir John Mandeville and William Marshall (plus a few others). All were larger than life men of their times - soldiers, adventurers - where fact was far more interesting than fiction - they were the type of real historical characters that make good fictional ones.

I like epic sagas where the main protagonist embarks on a quest / a mission / revenge for a past wrong. If this is your type of history, then you will enjoy reading this series.