Book Summary and Reviews of Wolves of Winter by Dan Jones

Wolves of Winter by Dan Jones

Wolves of Winter

Essex Dogs Trilogy #2

by Dan Jones

  • Critics' Consensus (19):
  • Published:
  • Jan 2024, 448 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

The epic sequel to Essex Dogs, continuing the New York Times bestselling historian's trilogy of novels following the fortunes of ten ordinary soldiers during the Hundred Years' War.

1347. Bruised and bloodied by an epic battle at Crécy, six soldiers known as the Essex Dogs pick through the wreckage of the fighting—and their own lives.

Now a new siege is beginning, and the Dogs are sent to attack the soaring walls of Calais. King Edward has vowed no Englishman will leave France 'til this city falls. To get home, they must survive a merciless winter in a lawless camp deadlier than any battlefield.

Obsessed with tracking down the vanished Captain, Loveday struggles to control his own men. Romford is haunted by the reappearance of a horrific figure from his past. And Scotsman is spiraling into a pit of drink, violence, and self-pity.

The Dogs are being torn apart—but this war is far from over. It won't be long before they lose more of their own.

From a vast siege camp built outside Calais' walls, to the pirate ships patrolling the harbor, and into the dark corners of oligarchs' houses, where the deals that shape—and end—lives are made, this captivating and darkly comic story brings the fourteenth century vividly to life.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Recalls Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall novels with its masterly control, period details, and understated humor…Jones' entertaining second installment in a trilogy more than whets the appetite for the conclusion."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Rousing and atmospheric…Jones skillfully weaves together these and other strands as he juxtaposes scenes of incredible action with moments of black comedy and pathos. Readers will be panting for the Dogs' next adventure."—Publishers Weekly

"Brilliant, brutal and bloody ... It's a grim and grisly tale vividly told, as Jones deftly unravels the cynical reasons for the continuation of the endless conflict, and the miseries it brings to the ordinary medieval soldier."—Daily Mail (UK)

"Dan Jones brings us his Essex Dogs in a new campaign—the siege of Calais in 1347— where their grim courage and innate violence are thrown against the high walls and deep moats of Calais. A convincing picture of hard men in a hard time, Dan Jones's fiction rings with the authority of his scholarly history."—Philippa Gregory, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Other Boleyn Girl
 
"Absolutely fabulous. A raucous, swaggering charge through the medieval underworld. I had such a good time reading it that I never wanted it to stop."—Antonia Fraser, New York Times bestselling author of The Wives of Henry VIII and Marie Antoinette
 
"Another brilliant book by Dan Jones." —Charles Spencer, author of The White Ship and Killers of the King
 
"Nobody but Dan Jones could write this story. I could not put it down. It captures the grime, blood, sweat, and friendship of medieval war brilliantly." —Gareth Russell, author of The Palace and Young and Damned and Fair

"A simply stunning read." —Duff McKagan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of It's So Easy and founding member of Guns N' Roses

This information about Wolves of Winter was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

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Author Information

Dan Jones Author Biography

Photo: © Peter Clark

Dan Jones is the New York Times bestselling author of Powers and Thrones, Crusaders, The Templars, The Plantagenets, Wars of the Roses, and Magna Carta, as well as the novel Essex Dogs. He is the host of the podcast This is History: A Dynasty to Die For and has produced, written, and presented dozens of TV shows, including the popular Netflix series Secrets of Great British Castles.

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Read-Alikes

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