Customer Reviews

1066 The Healer

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This is the best historical novel I have read in a long time. Wright's choice of using two protagonists is brilliant. It allows him to present two multi-faceted believable characters as opposed to the usual stereotypical hero. You first meet the young protagonists, Riennes (a Norman) and Haralde (a Saxon) as they come ashore in William the Conqueror's Britannia of 1067 after 10 years of enslavement, and subsequent education, in a far-off Eastern kingdom. Wright keeps the action moving along briskly as you follow them on their journey from William's court to the wild Welsh frontier where Haralde hopes to claim his inheritance - his ancestoral land.

This well-researched book is set in real historic times and you do meet real historic characters, along with the fictional ones, all of whom sound, look, and feel right for that time. Likewise, their environment is one of mud, grime, smoke, and wood - no knights in shining armour here. I especially like the way the two protagonists' Eastern outlook on life sets them apart from the British characters they interact with. All characters are presented as fully dimensional but, cultural differences do affect their way of thinking and impact on the decisions they make.

If you like intellegent characterizations, interesting narration, a dynamic plot with plenty of action set in early medieval times, you will enjoy this novel.