Blood’s Campaign (2019)
(The third book in the Holcroft Blood series)
In the theatre of war there can only be one victor….
August 25, 1689
The English Army is besieging Carrickfergus in Ireland. Brilliant but unusual gunner Holcroft Blood of the Royal Train of Artillery is ready to unleash his cannons on the rebellious forces of deposed Catholic monarch James II. But this is more than war for Captain Blood; a lust for private vengeance burns within him.
French intelligence agent Henri d’Erloncourt has come across the seas to foment rebellion against William of Orange, the newly installed Dutch ruler of England, Scotland and Ireland. But Henri’s true mission is not to aid the suffering of the Irish but to serve the interests of his master, Louis le Grand.
Michael ‘Galloping’ Hogan, brigand, boozer and despoiler of Protestant farms, strives to defend his native land – and make a little profit on the side. But when he takes the Frenchman’s gold, he suspects deep in his freedom-loving heart that he has merely swapped one foreign overlord for another.
July 1, 1690
On the banks of the River Boyne, on a fateful, scorching hot day, two armies clash in bloody battle – Protestant against Catholic – in an epic struggle for mastery of Ireland. And, when the slaughter is over and the smoke finally clears, for these three men, nothing will ever be the same again….
(Review)
Ive been a fan of Angus Donald since i got my hands on a little paperback 10 years ago called “Outlaw”, it was the beginning of something totally new, a total rewrite of the Robin Hood Legend, a robin hood meets the godfather, and when it ended after 8 amazing tales i really wondered if he could top it as a series, and for me he did, the beginning of the Holcroft Blood series “Bloods Game” was something truly different because while it followed the norm of taking a hero from childhood to adulthood, it did so with a boy that was different, Angus introduced us to Holcroft Blood a boy who lived with Autism, something they would not have known back then, but surely existed, it took a boy on the ride through dangerous politics and Machiavellian plots, where those around him could consider him to be too simple to understand due to his lack of social skills, but under that quiet exterior lurked a highly intelligent, boy then young man.
Bloods Campaign finds Holcroft a grown man, with his beloved Artillery regiment, an officer and a gentleman of some skill, as always he is front on centre in the action and mired in a personal battle with his nemesis Henri d’Erloncourt a french officer and spy, and the battle for Ireland.
Angus Donald writes in a style that is very character driven and has a talent for introducing lots of well rounded and fun side characters, like Enoch the aged artillery man, and in this book Hogan an Irishman, a brigand and an all round chancer, but one with his own moral code and skills, I love a good side character, and loved the addition of Hogan, a man who could star easily in his own book. We travel the length and breadth of Ireland galloping over bogs and rivers, there are sieges and battles, there are sneak attacks, betrayals, spies, bravery, stupidity in action and so much more. I tore through this book in a single day, so far this is easily my favorite book that Angus Donald has written, a total adventure from first page to last, with some beautiful scenes and scenery. My Favorite is the meeting near the end between Holcroft and the man who is alleged to have cuckolded him, so well written and so beautifully showing the growth of Holcroft from the start of the book to the end.
I highly recommend this book, and all of Angus Donalds books
(Parm)
