Customer Reviews

The Great Scot: A Novel of Robert the Bruce, Scotland's Legendary Warrior King

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just finished Great Scot, the historic novel of the reign of the Scottish King, Robert the Bruce, written by Duncan Bruce. I found the novel not only well written but very entertaining reading. Mr. Bruce used a third party to tell the story that provided a very intimate viewpoint to a great man's life and times. This third party approach made King Robert and his historic contemporaries and the times they lived in very lifelike. This novel starts and expands on the Scottish freedom story started by Sir William Douglas, the hero of the movie, Braveheart. Also, this is a novel that is full of significant history that is presented as a compelling and integrated background of this great story. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in a very entertaining novel of a great man. This is truly a great story for all to read.

FINALLY a novel about Robert Bruce, one of the most, if not THE most, influential figures in Scottish history.

Fascinated by the life of Robert Bruce since my Scottish grandfather related the the legend of "Robert the Bruce and the Spider" to me as a child, I have been waiting for someone to tell this story. It was worth the wait! If you are a fan of adventure and heroism combined with a bit of intrigue and treachery, this book is for you.

Beginning with Bruce's murder of the "Red" Comyn, a bitter rival for the Scottish throne, the tale only gets better. Narrated by Davie Crawford, a long time aid and confidant, the reader learns of Bruce's early defeats, his decision to wage guerilla warfare against the superior English forces which began to turn the tide, and culminates with his ultimate victory over the English at Bannockburn.

With the immediate threat eradicated, "Guid King Robert" still has to face the danger of more invasions while trying to unite Scotland under his rule. Before his death in 1329 he lives to see peace between England and Scotland, final recognition of Scotland as an independent nation, and Papal recognition of his title as "King of Scots".

I really enjoyed this book.

The Great Scot by Duncan A. Bruce is a fun read and helps see the story of Robert the Bruce as if you were there. Duncan Bruce tells the tale of Robert the Bruce through the eyes of the fictional David Crawford. David happens to be in Dumfries on the day Bruce murders the Red Comyn. He becomes page to Robert the Bruce and from there on is swept up on the Bruce's trail to the Throne of Scotland, battling England and the 3 Edwards, getting recognition from the Pope and ultimately trying to keep Scotland free. David just happens to be in all the right places to give a first hand account of what happened in the historical events critical to the Bruces success, from the battle at Methven, the Spider's Cave, Bannockburn, the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath and the death of Robert himself.
The book is definitely a hero worship tale about Robert, but it is suppose to be the long lost tale of David Crawford so that is believable to a point. A few times though it seemed very cliché but this tries to include all the legends. Robert the Bruce was a great man and did an amazing thing for Scotland, but he was still a man and had his faults of the times. This book hints at them but glorifies his strengths for sure.
I enjoyed The Great Scot and would recommend it to anyone who reads and loves Scottish history and the Wars of Independence, not for the historical value but as entertainment to live the legends rather then learn the history.

Duncan Bruce's "The Great Scot" gets five stars for its selection of a protagonist -- Robert the Bruce. While historical fiction is generally dominated by novels surrounding the largest figures in history (Julius Caesar, Hannibal of Carthage, Elizabeth I, Cleopatra, etc.), some of the greatest joys in the genre can be found in stories about lesser-known-but-worthy figures. Robert the Bruce is such a character. Inheriting a noble struggle for freedom against tyranny from the immortal William Wallace (of "Braveheart" fame), Robert the Bruce succeeded where his forebears failed, and he did so in grand style.

But "The Great Scot" does not carry the day. The narrator of the piece is a young man (David) who, as a lad, becomes the Bruce's page. Inexplicably, the Bruce places a huge amount of trust in the boy, who rises to become one of the Bruce's most indispensable men -- although this rise is explained more by the boy's mere presence and devout loyalty than through any great accomplishment on David's part. So far, so-so. But the style of the narration is flat, methodical, and without much insight. In general, the story is a series of "And then this happened . . ." followed by, "the Bruce said this," and "we were all swayed by the Bruce," and "she smiled at the Bruce." It gets tedious -- even the famous battle of Bannockburn, where the Scots wiped out a much larger English force, is told with little more than a rote recitation of events. David is also not around for many of the key events in the novel, which are told to him by folks who are as incapable of spinning a yarn as our narrator.

When comparing this novel to other recent works of historical fiction -- see, for example, David Anthony Durham's "Pride of Carthage," or Bernard Cornwell's "The Last Kingdom" -- "The Great Scot" becomes more of a tedious slog to the finish rather than an enjoyable trek through a bygone era.

There is little to learn about the Bruce, as well, other than he's a good swordsman, a champion with the ladies, prone to the occasional illness, and a firm believer in freedom. None of these traits are surprising, and the Bruce appears to be much more of a cardboard cut-out of a hero than a true man of greatness (he does not compare favorably to Durham's Hannibal, for example, or with Sharon Kay Penman's Henry Curtmantle, or with the Julius Caesar of Conn Iggulden's "Gates of Rome" series -- or any character written by Colleen McCullouch).

Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh with this review, but I had high hopes for "The Great Scot." And these were not met. For fans of historical fiction set in the British Isles, there are many other more worthy selections.

If you let the first 5 chapters influence you - you won't finish this book. They were bad. After that the story finally picked up and the characters becames interesting enough to finish. I think that this is a first look at Robert the Bruce --and agree with the other reviewer that the man has been unjustly over-shadowed by William Wallace thanks to the movie Braveheart. However, that probably happened because there wasn't a story exciting enough about Robert the Bruce to turn it into a movie...this one isn't either.

What's good about it - the character holds an interesting place in history. There are battle references, there is court intrigue, there are murders and kidnappings and mysterious illnesses and all of the things that keep the story interesting so you plod on. It is a fast read and a simple read.

What didn't I like? Robert suffers from a strange malady that appears from time to time and threatens his life. However, the author discusses it almost as though it were unimportant. You never do find out what it might have been. Also - he paints Edward Bruce as much more of a military tactician and the battles are less than vividly portrayed. He also makes it very clear that Robert the Bruce was a womanizer who had mistresses slug out all over Scotland and was more than ready to use them for food, money and protection ...along with other things...when and ONLY when it was convenient to him. He supposedly loved only one woman in his life....yeah right. If anything this makes him less than valiant and noble in my opinion and the book would have been better with fewer women falling into his bed at every turn -- history certainly remembers him for deeds far more interesting.

Lastly, the author obviously has a good grasp on languages. However, he uses it sporadically and his timing is bad. The characters can go on for pages with all of their conversations recounted in English for the reader. Then suddenly when a very important speech is made the author writes it in some phonetic form of Scots and it stops ALL of the momentum he has built to that moment. You slow down and try to figure out what the speech even was and then suddenly everyone is speaking English again and the story goes on. However, the author does this not only in Scots, but French and Latin as well. There is no rhyme or reason as to which lines of which conversations must suddenly appear in another language - but I think it was a bad attempt to show off his linguistic skills and that it was NOT an enhancement for the story.

I understand it is his first work of fiction. It's not terrible but it's certainly not a 5 star book. I won't keep my copy - it's in the library donation box now. I also wouldn't recommend it to anyone. If you like the subject matter - give it a whirl but wait for the paperback price. If you don't - this probably won't make you want to read more about Robert Bruce. It's been suggested I try works by Nigel Tranter instead and that's what I intend to do.

Having recently learned that we are direct descendants of Robert the Bruce, my brother and I decided we should find out more about this man and his accomplishments. This historical novel was a GREAT read - it presented his life in a very personal way (rather than so dryly as many other "history" books). We have also read some other historical works about Robert the Bruce, and apparently The Great Scot was written with accuracy. We would both recommend it for anyone interested in that period of history.

Just finished this book on a long plane ride from Europe. I agree with all the critical assessments above. Not greatly written, did not reveal a lot of insight about the Bruce, etc. But I could not put it down. I was interested in "Page Crawford's" story and his outside view of what happened with the Bruce and historical events.

I mostly would have preferred to start the story sooner. In my historical readings and such, I already know most of the events from 1306 on. I am still looking for a good novel on what happened before - what created Robert the Bruce and his quest.

All and all a good read, not a masterpiece, but if you are interested in Scottish history or more directly, Robert the Bruce, you will enjoy and it is a quick read.