The group is led by “Loveday” FitzTalbot, a grizzled and increasingly disillusioned veteran of many previous campaigns, and includes among its number a shy 16-year-old archer named Romford. One more “main” character is a young 15 year old kid with a mysterious backstory, fighting some personal demons that are slowly revealed. Of course one of the ways humans defend themselves in such situations is through humor and that is very much a part of this narrative. Character driven medieval fiction that engages us in a range of conflict as well as political intrigue. Vital, earthy, and heart-stopping… So deft and funny that you’d never guess this is Dan Jones’ debut work of fiction.

The Dogs hired their sword-and bows-arms to anyone who paid–in any sort of activity where brute force and sharp steel were needed. There’s a strong echo of Spielberg’s WW2 epic Saving Private Ryan in the first pages of this book: the same desperate struggle to get out of the Normandy surf under fire; the same immediate requirement to get to grips with the defenders. Horribly compelling… Only Dan Jones can carry you through blood, piss and vomit and leave you wanting more. There is some swearing between the men but there’s also a lot of humour and the one liners are truly funny.The plot concerns a small experienced group of soldiers, hired by a knight to be his company of foot soldiers in an invasion of France by Edward III in the mid 14th century, part of the Hundred Years War between England and France. He is that rare, very rare, historian that seems to understand that if you want your books to sell then the average reader has to like them and be entertained by them.

Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. There is a real lack of tension and conflict in the book which is surprising given its real world inspiration. To anyone with a basic knowledge of 20th-century European history, or has seen “Saving Private Ryan, ” at least, this may sound like a familiar opening.He follows a small band of men attached to Edward III's invasion of France in 1346, culminating in the Battle of Crecy.