Honour and the Sword

My latest historical fiction reading has been Honour and the Sword by A.L. Berridge.

This is the author's first novel and takes place in a French village during the Thirty Years War. Not the usual setting for historical fiction and that is probably what attracted me.

The essence of the story is the Spanish invasion and occupation of the village. The young son of the local noblemen becomes the focus of resistance to Spanish rule. There are a number of acts of resistance leading to the liberation of the village with some belated assistance from the French army.

The characters are developed well on both the French and Spanish side. Operating a resistance force within the social structures of French society of the period is very well presented.Not exactly a full bloodied action adventure but there is plenty to keep the reader interested and the author has done her research on the tactics and equipment of the period.

The story is told as a series of interviews after the event. I am not sure about this format. For me it breaks up the narrative and can be repetitious. As a consequence I had to force myself through what is a long tale anyway. Not sure it quite lives up to the 'fast paced' hype on the cover, but something a bit different.