The King's Hounds Paperback – October 29, 2013

Land is what it’s all about. Alliances are made, and broken. Riches are in the land you own and the sons you can produce. Recently conquered England struggles with the yoke of the Danish King Cnut.In stumbles Winston the Illuminator and his destitute partner, Halfdan. Winston is commissioned by the King’s wife to paint her husband. The King decides Winston and Halfdan are to solve a recent murder in there camp. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Move over Holmes and Watson, Poirot and Hastings, William of Baskerville and Adso of Melk, and all the other fictional detective partners in literature; a new pair has made its debut. In Martin Jensen's, "The King's Hounds," we meet for the first time Winston, the Illuminator and his companion Halfdan, the dispossessed son of a Saxon nobleman and a Danish mother. The combination of Saxon and Dane becomes important when you consider that the book is set in the time of the Danish king, Cnute "the Great" and his ascension to the throne of England (circa 1016). Early in the 11th century, Cnute and his father had secured control of the northern part of England (the area north of the Thames, sometimes referred to by historians as the Danelaw). While the area south of the Thames was controlled by the Saxon king Edmund Ironside. The two kings agreed that whichever of the two should outlive the other should become the one king of a unified England. Cnute gains that position by defeating Edmund's army in battle, a battle in which not only Edmund, but both Halfdan's father and older brother as well, are killed. Now Cnute has summoned all of the nobles in the country, both Saxon and Dane, to assemble in Oxford for a joint meeting of the councils of noblemen in order to put before them his proposal to place the country under a unified set of laws to be approved by the assembled nobles. Against this background, a Saxon nobleman is murdered. Since this Saxon had openly expressed his grievances with Cnute, suspicion immediately falls on the king. Winston, a former monk who is now an itinerant "illuminator" (we would probably call him a "painter" today), accompanied by a fellow traveler, Halfdan, whom he has met on the road to Oxford, happens to be in King Cnute's presence when the body is discovered. Winston demonstrates his ability to draw deductions from the few bits of evidence which are observable about the body and the scene (which we now would call "forensics"). Impressed by Winston's reasoning and ability, Cnute charges Winston and Halfdan with solving the murder within the three days which remain before the king is to convene his council of nobles. The plot follows familiar lines from there as Winston and Halfdan pursue the clues they turn up and gradually home in on the murderer, but not before wandering down some blind alleys, uncovering a plot against the king, and surviving attacks from murderous Vikings. All the while the clock is ticking down to the king's deadline, and Cnute is growing increasingly impatient with our heroes.As Winston and Halfdan go about their detective work, author Martin Jensen paints an informative picture of a critical period in the emergence of the modern country of England. It is an historic fact that the unification of the country so desired by the Saxon king of Wessex , Alfred "the Great," was first achieved, ironically, by a Danish king, after years of Saxon resistance to numerous Danish incursions. Halfdan, who is the narrator of this book, has a foot in both camps due to his parentage and helps balance the different perspectives. And since Jensen is a Danish writer, the statesmanship of the Danish Cnute in bringing about a peaceful and unified England, is kept central to the story line.I find it fascinating that so many writers have chosen to set their novels in the so-called Dark Ages, this turbulent period of English history. F. A. Atkinson has published his Dominic Chronicles which series is set in the post-Roman era when the Saxons were the savage invaders and the indigenous Celtic Britons were the heroic resistance to conquest. Bernard Cornwell has set his "Warlord" series of books in the time of Alfred, by which time the Saxons had become the people who had settled the land and were resisting the numerous incursions by Nordic peoples who were generally lumped together as Danes. (Vikings were raiders who came seeking plunder; Danes were looking not only for plunder but also to settle the conquered lands.) Cornwell's hero is Uhtred of Bebanburg, which is a Saxon stronghold in Northumbria. Ironically, Jensen ascribes Cnute's being able to consolidate power in the north to the assassination of Lord Uhtred of Northumbria. Canute's reign' and that of his heirs, on the throne of England was relatively brief. Fifty years after Cnute consolidated power, the English throne was once more occupied by Saxon kings. When a new invasion of England was launched in 1066, it would be crushingly successful, and led by a descendant of "north men" himself, Guilluame le Batard, or as he is better known to English speakers, William the Conqueror, who was a Norman (the French word for "North man.") It is these Normans who are the subject of H.A. Culley's series of books and who will take England forward to the next chapter in her long history.Anyone who likes a murder mystery for a good read will enjoy "The King's Hounds." History lovers will like it even more for its rich portrayal of a singular period in English history. I recommend this book to either group. Since I consider myself both a mystery fan and a history buff, I am personally looking forward to reading "The Oath Breakers," Jensen's sequel to "The King's Hounds."

Cnut (pronounced Cannute) Sweysson is on the verge of becoming king of all England. To this end he has called all of the leading nobles to a meeting at Oxford. There he hopes to unite England under one ruler and one system of laws. The nobles consist of a mixture of Saxons, Angles, Vikings, Danes, and Jutes. It is an accomplishment to gather these nobles in a state of relative peace.The last thing Cnut needs is a cold blooded murder.A Saxon thane has been slain. Some believe that Cnut has ordered the killing. Cnut need this murder solved quickly. But where can he find investigators without ulterior political motives?This is where our intrepid main characters become involved. Winston is a manuscript illuminator. His work is exquisite and in high demand. Since he works independently, he owes no allegiance to any lord. His friend, Halfdan, is a former noble. He lost his inheritance when his father and elder brother fought and died on the losing side of the war. He does not hold Cnut responsible for their deaths. He knows that his father's turncoat leader is to blame.In Winston and Halfdan, Cnut finds his neutral investigators. Cnut orders them to solve the murder before the great meeting which is in three days.Using their wits and experience, Winston and Halfdan pursue the truth.Will they discover the identity of the killer, and avoid any political entanglements, in just three days?I enjoyed this novel. The translator did a great job of telling the story in English using a nice easy to read style. The occasional use of a modern English idiom made the reading fun. There is a large number of characters to keep track of. The plot mostly consists of Winston and Halfdan questioning different people and sorting out truths from lies. Then there are a few fight scenes which serve to liven things up.For me, this novel was a fun read.

I know the author has published quite a few books. However, as a fellow writer and book editor, I find serious flaws in description of natural phenomena and plants, unconvincing dialogue and a really irritating use of modern slang words such as “ass” and “buddies”. There has obviously been some decent research into historical events and people, but the way this is shared with the reader often involves stilted, artificial utterances from his paper-thin characters. One simply does not believe in them. Moreover, some execrable writing has been allowed to slip through, as in the scene early on when Cnut, the Danish conqueror of England and the Saxons, “whistles” while exhaling. Try doing this. It’s impossible and nonsensical.The prose style, possibly affected by unsympathetic translation, might be engaging for a 12-year-old reader lacking in historical knowledge, or a rather dim adult seeking “an easy read” on a long haul flight or poolside vacation. Those with more intelligence and learning should look elsewhere for insights into this period and its key figures.

From the recent novels I've read set during the Norman conquest, I've now moved back 50 years to an earlier invasion of England, that of the Danish King Canute, 1000 years ago this year. He defeated the English King, Edmund Ironside in 1016, and they made a deal to divide the country between them, with the survivor inheriting the whole kingdom. Ironside died later that year, though it isn't clear if it was murder or he died of his wounds at the decisive battle of Essandun. This novel is set a year or two later when Canute is trying to unite the fractured kingdom he has conquered. Against this tense background, a Saxon noble is murdered just before a crucial meeting of the Saxon Witenagemot and Danish Thing (a similar assembly of notable men) in Oxford. Step forward our two protagonists: Halfdan, whose father, a Saxon nobleman, died at Essandun and whose mother was Danish; and Winston, an ex-monk who is a skilled illustrator of manuscripts. The characters are good, well rounded and far from being Medieval stereotypes; most of the minor characters are also interesting and believable. This is the first of what appear to be a trilogy of novels, translated from the original Danish; my only criticism was that some of the translation jarred as it sounded a little too modern to me. A good read, and I already have the sequel on my Kindle (downloaded before I read this in some earlier sale).

A number of other reviews have mentioned the disservice that the translation has done to this book first published in Danish. Essentially, the translator has chosen to insert numerous colloquial “Americanisms” with which a number of reviewers (not all English, by the way) have taken exception. This is indeed a problem, mostly (at least for me) because it is an anachronism. Neither I nor other reviewers expect the characters to speak on Old English, Danish or Norse, of course. However, mentions of a “worst case scenario” or of a “buddy”, just to mention these two (there are quite a few others as well) jars rather horribly and can somewhat spoil the story.Fortunately, I found the plot and historical context rather excellent so that this remains a good and even a great read, despite the translation. The plot is set at a time when Knut has just vanquished the last Anglo-Saxon resistance of Edmund Ironside who has died shortly before. The Danish King being quite literally the “last man left standing”, seeks to have his conquest, his reign and his domination over the whole of England accepted by both his army and warlords and by the Anglo-Saxon nobility and his future subjects. For this, he needs to reward the former and ensure the security of the later while also ensuring the Church that he will rule justly and according to the law.Unfortunately, a Saxon thegn has just been murdered at the gathering in Oxford called by Knut to achieve his reconciliation scheme. His widow accuses Knut of being behind the murder, which is possible since he previously had a number of his high profile opponents and rivals murdered quite openly. To save his reconciliation scheme, something that is, of course, in his own best interest, Knut appoints a Saxon cleric and illuminator and a half-Dane disposed nobleman to try to solve the case in a show of objectivity.While the plot may not appear to be terribly original, the period chosen is, and the historical context and characters are presented in very plausible ways. This is particularly the case of Knut himself, but also of Archbishop Wulsfan and of the enigmatic but though Thorkell the Tall. Many of the fictional characters are also good, particularly the Chief of Knut’s huscarls.The two other main strong points of the book are the historical context and the attitudes of the various characters, both of which ring true. The events and the inquiry take place at the (historical) gathering at Oxford under heavy tension between the victorious Danes and the various war bands of Vikings associated with them and the defeated Anglo-Saxons which, by then, had submitted to Knut but may still be unwilling to accept him as King and could be plotting his demise. An added “wrinkle” is that the huge tribute that England was to pay to the Scandinavian army and fleet – the price for sending most of it home and content – is to be mostly assembled in Oxford, a town that Knut and his father had pillaged less than a decade before.The atmosphere of general suspicion and fear of the King is very well captured. So is Knut’s awareness that he needs to watch his back, starting with his closest and most powerful councillors. This is also historical since he would indeed drop out with one of them a few years later, one who was in fact too powerful to eliminate as others had been previously. Four stars, but this one could have been worth five had it not been for the translation glitches…

At last a book that deals with a part of history rarely covered. Cnut is a king on the verge of bringing Britain together . But the murder of a nobleman must be dealt with first or it could all fall apart. It's a well written story that gives you lots of historical facts. Just when you think you know who did it , the plot twists again. Can't wait to read the next book. Xx

I enjoyed the story and character development of this book. It is a time in history that I haven't heard too much about (not since I was 10 or 11 and my studies covered Ethelred the Unready) and this was entertaining subject matter. The plot was not too subtle but good enough. The major negative was the translation into American English, which others have mentioned and which was at times a bit distressing. It is possible it is not the translator and that it's a stylistic thing in the original language too I suppose. Nevertheless I'm Ok with the book. Not sure I'd pay full price for future books in the series in order to put up with the massacre of the English language but I may be addicted & want to see what comes next. I'd recommend this to others as an entertaining, mildly historically educational book that is an undemanding read. You can leave your brain idling neutral......