The Iron King: An unforgettable historical fantasy novel (The Accursed Kings) (Book 1)

Firstly I would like to get a bit of unpleasantness out of the way. This novel, the first in a series of historical novels concerning the French monarchy. That means that for a person adept only in the English language, there will be many trials and challenges awaiting the reader involving pronouncing those lovely French names, titles, and terms. This difficulty in no way affects how I feel about the absorbing tale Maurice Druon has written. I take full responsibility for my linguistic shortcomings. Philip IV or Philip the Fair as he is commonly referred to is the titular character of the Iron King and I found him to be an intriguing character who is able to reveal to us a cold and sometimes cruel persona, but also a man capable of gentleness and caring. It is alluded to a few times in the book that he seems almost inhuman or otherworldly because of his statuesque demeanor and his icy, unblinking stare. Perhaps my favorite character in the story is Beatrice who is in service to Mahaut. Beatrice was not featured near enough in my opinion but I suppose that added to the mystery that surrounded her since her introduction. She seemed to know a thing or two about sorcery which automatically thrust her to the top of interesting characters for me. It's also the cavalier manner in which she acts, making her seem almost otherworldly as well. I could go on about each character and family involved in the story but I will conclude my review on a positive note: if you enjoy medieval tales of courtly intrigue and especially if you enjoy the Song of Ice and Fire novels by George R.R. Martin then the Iron King will be a welcome read. I look forward to the Strangled Queen and I anticipate my review for it to be posted quite soon.

I came to this book (like many others) on the recommendation of GRRM. He has called it "the original Game of Thrones". It is easy to see how the machinations of the players in this historical novel influenced GRRM's ASOIAF series. However, if one is looking for the kind characterization and attention to detail that GRRM is noted for, you will be disappointed. That is not to say this is not a good book - only to say that expectations must be tempered. Do not expect ASOIAF redux. This is real history. With that being said, The Iron King drops you into the maelstrom that is Western Europe in the Middle Ages. King Philip IV of France (also known as "Philip the Handsome" ) has nearly completed his destruction of the Knights Templar organization and his appropriation of their vast fortune. Only one thing remains: how to deal with Jacques de Molay, the Grand Master of the now-defunct group. The king hopes to display his clemency by consigning de Molay and the three other remaining leaders of the group to a dungeon for the rest of their lives but de Molay has other ideas. de Molay denounces the king and his minions in full court leaving the king no other recourse but to sentence de Molay to death. On his pyre, de Molay curses the king and the other architects of his destruction. Almost immediately, his curse seems to begin to bear fruit. This begins the fall of House Capet and sows the seeds of the Hundred Year's War. Druon is a thorough historian, providing copious footnotes and explanations. He presents his characters as creatures of their time and place. However, between his own rather perfunctory writing and Humphrey Hare's colorless translation - some of the potential drama is lost. Even with the little French I know, I can see that Mr. Hare's translation lacked some of the vibrancy and urgency that I believe the original possessed. Nevertheless, this book left me wanting more and I look forward to reading the rest of this 7-book series. I hope to one day be able to read them in their original French. I can certainly see why GRRM was intrigued because I am as well. Since I've read all of the published ASOIAF series, I am able to trace the influences and homages which begin almost at page one. I look forward to continuing the series and learning more about this time in history.

First, I read Maurice Druon's epic in French a long, long, time ago. Won't say how long. I have also watched both French TV versions. This is French History put in a novel form. Maurice Druon very much stays with the facts and this may make for a slower book than most people want in an historical fiction. I love it. I said "Finally" because the only english versions of these books that are currently on sale are usually very old and very expensive. I have my French set that I can read but it is really nice to be able to sit with my Kindle and enjoy these books. Also, my husband is very excited since he does not read French and has wanted to read these books. I hope the next books become available soon. I hope we don't have to wait a year between books. I just wish they had made all the books available as one large Kindle book. If you like fact based historical fiction you will enjoy these books. So much is written about English history, especially the Tudors, that you may enjoy reading about a new part of history.

As a fan of HBO's Game of Thrones (I am waiting to read Martin's books until the TV series wraps), and seeing that this series was a major inspiration, I decided to give this first book a shot. The book is well-written (I have only read the English translation, not the original French), full of effective character descriptions, dialogue, and plotting. The various intrigues and large cast of medieval characters provide the most obvious influences for GoT, but this book is much tamer, with much less action. Other than two, somewhat graphic, executions and a brief, staged, scuffle, there is no action to speak of. There is plotting and backbiting, but no battles or fights or anything else one could reasonably describe as "action." It is very much focused on dialogue and scheming, though even the dialogue is less colorful and interesting than GoT. I suppose one could chalk this up to stage setting, with an expectation that subsequent books in the series will put the pedal to the metal with battles and such, but nothing from the first book gives me that indication. I may still give the second book a shot, but people looking for a GoT fix might want to look elsewhere.

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Because of the Game of Thrones, these books by Druon have been given a second life, which is excellent news. Since Martin mentioned them as the 'real' game of thrones, they've been prepared for release years after they were first in print. The stories read a bit more tersely than modern fiction. There's no graphic sex, no carefully-described deaths or battles. What there is in the books is the solid bones of good historical fiction, fleshed out with detail and a feel for the characters that makes them very human and makes the book very readable. As it's a translation, there are some moments where the language feels slightly stilted, but it is not a major issue. I first read these many years ago, they were difficult to find and until recently they were almost impossible to find, even used. Now, due to the interest in GoT, we are fortunate to have the series by Druon back. I would look very much forward to a good television adaptation of the stories, there's more than enough intrigue, backstabbing and underhanded behaviour to keep any audience interested. I'm looking forward to the remainder of the series being available in paperback. Fingers crossed!

J'ai acheté ce livre pour permettre à ma mère de lire Druon, car elle ne parle pas le français. Toute son oeuvre est formidable, mais ce premier bouquin de la série est une bonne mise en appétit.

It's an amazing book. The story telling is top notch with all the situations and human emotions and interactions having realistic fell to it(Although it is based on true events, the interactions between characters and their emotions are realistically portrayed). The only reason I'll give it 4 stars is that the book is small(around 320 pages) with big spaces between line. They can easily merge two books together to make one normal book so that it costs less ;)

Great book for anyone who enjoys historical fiction. It is not like Game of Thrones - fantasy, dragons, sorcery - but there is a lot of political intrigue as it was often the case in the time the book is set.