Showing results by author "Griff Hosker" in All Categories

Sir John Hawkwood is not getting any younger but he is now the supreme condottiero, not only in Italy but the whole of Europe. When the two rival popes try to manipulate him he has to use new skills to outwit them. He finds himself facing almost insurmountable odds when he is attacked by the Milanese and Veronese. He faces defeat at Castagnaro but his mind is as sharp as ever. Sir John Hawkwood shows his rivals why he is the best.

The Raven Wing Clan have fought off their enemies and prosper on their island home. A sibling rivalry threatens to break apart the fabric of their lives and Hrolf the Horseman is sent on a mission deep in into the heart of Frankia to heal the rift. When Jarl Gunnar Thorfinnson decides to take a wife it embroils the clan in an alliance which takes the clan far from home to fight overwhelming numbers of wild and fierce warriors. It is a novel filled with battles and intrigue.

The Christian armies of Spain are on the rise and are taking back the land controlled by the Taifa States. All seems well and the star that is Rodrigo de Vivar continues to rise. All of this ends when King Fernando dies, and his heirs begin a self-destructive civil war. Only the knight respected by both Christian and Muslim alike, the man known as El Campeador can unite the troubled land of Spain.

King William has the crown of the Confessor but he has many enemies both at home and abroad. He has to subdue a land that does not want a Norman yoke upon its shoulders. When Richard fitz Malet is given the manor north of York he finds that it is a poisoned chalice and when the north rises against the Conqueror's rule, he finds himself alone and isolated. He has to mould his manor into a fighting force or face death.

Kings make treaties but it is men who keep or break them. When Sir Thomas of Cleveland is given the task of policing the northern border, he is given a poisoned chalice. His son is given the northern manor of Elsdon and there he is on the front line. He has to fight bandits, enemy lords and traitors from within. Set in the harsh lands of the Scottish borders Sir William comes of age. He becomes a warrior who has the blood of the Warlord.

Sir John Hawkwood has almost all that he needs. He is the most respected and feared mercenary leader in Italy but he is surrounded by those who would do him and his family harm. He faces betrayal from friend and foe alike. His constants are his company and the leaders who fight for him. Treading a tightrope between warring factions that include the Pope and the Lord of Milan, Sir John Hawkwood decides to make the White Company into a warband and he becomes a warlord.

The story of a young illegitimate son of a Norman noble and the daughter of an English housecarl. Forced to be little more than a servant Robert fitz Malet shows the world and his half brothers that he has qualities which mark him as different. When he meets the famous troubadour, Taillefer, he becomes one of the most skilled swordsmen in Duke William's army as they prepare to invade England and claim the crown promised to him by King Edward.

Sent into exile once more, Don Rodrigo de Vivar has just Will Redbeard and two warriors for companions. Over the next years, he creates the legend of El Cid, defeating enemy after enemy. Fighting overwhelming odds, he succeeds every time until, at last, he has his fiefdom of Valencia. This is the final chronicle in the series and details the last 18 years of the life of the man known as El Cid. Although this is the last in the series, it is a standalone book. Forget the film and listen to the reality of the man who was the greatest knight of his age - some would say, any age!

The Vikings on the Cotentin try to live in peace with their neighbours, the Franks, but when they are attacked they have to fight. Aided by fellow Vikings they begin to make inroads into the land of the Franks until disaster strikes and the new allies meet defeat. When the full force of the Franks descends upon the Haugr every member of the clan must fight to prevent their extinction.

The warlord, his son and even his grandchildren are all dead. Sacrificed by kings who used them. Now King Henry asks the great-grandsons of the Warlord to help his son, The Lord Edward, learn how to rule. Sent with too few men and too many enemies, Sir Henry Samuel, Sir Alfred and the newly knighted Sir Thomas must learn how to use their skills, not in the familiar borderlands but in Gascony where insurrection and treason have reared their heads.

When Jarl Gunnar Thorfinnson is killed by Saxons and his wife and son slain it throws the clan on Raven Wing Island into disarray. Internal divisions and strife is only stopped when Siggi White Hair becomes jarl. A raid on Frankia gives Hrolf the Horseman a vision of his dream of a new home. When treachery strikes and the Bretons attack it seems that all of his dreams will be destroyed before he can make them a reality.

In the unforgiving docklands of east London, young orphan William must do all he can to survive. Like the other ‘wharf rats', his life of petty crime is not a choice; it's a necessity. But William's misdeeds won't remain hidden for long. When the boy unknowingly steals from a murderous pirate captain, escape is his only option. He is forced to stow away and begin a life that will take him to the far side of the world; a life as a soldier of the East India Company.