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' fiction rings with the authority of his scholarly history.

Philippa Gregory

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

'Superb historical fiction as fresh, vivid and vital as this morning's headlines... proves once again that nothing really changes, be it a soldier's life – or great storytelling.'

Lee Child

At its best, the book 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 Starred Review

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

An enthralling, captivating, and thrilling chronicle of 14th Century warfare by a gifted medieval historian who brilliantly transports the reader to the experience of those who had boots on the ground in the Hundred Years War. Truly wonderful and truly fascinating!

General David Petraeus