Shadow on the Crown (Advanced Reader's Copy)
By: Particia Bradwell
Review by: Programmer
Shadow on the Crown is a historical fiction novel that centers around 1002 A.D. to 1005 A.D. It focus on Emma of Normandy's life and close companions.
It was to be honest a stereotypical historical fiction. Due to the historical nature of the genre, typically plots become very similar and meld together. Particularly with a character with so much historical data missing form her life ( around 15 years from references according to the author), gave the author a lot of creative license, and therefore she could have taken some risks. However, it was the same plot line and scenarios you see in most historical novels. I was on multiple occasions wondering, if I had read it before.
The character development was very strange. The king's son was portrayed as around the same age as
main character Emma of Normandy and despite the overwhelming reasons not loves her. Yes, the main competition for his throne will come from Emma's womb, but he loves her. The worst part is that the basis of their relationship was never clearly established. It sprung from the earth from fully grown and ready to go. Otherwise, the characters, are merely plot devices meant to further the overall theme. They were not expected to really develop, and they did not strive overachieve.
It was an average historical novel, that was not expected to break the mold. It did however do an average job of filling it.
