Even though I knew what to expect, the fun was in sitting back and watching how Druon tells it, letting him lead me through the complicated tangle of lies and intrigue.The writing style continues to be a challenge, but I realized with this book that it's not so much the French-to-English translation that's the cause. So it didn't surprise me that this book started out kind of slow there's a lot of character development and build up of the story. There aren't too many surprises here, and like a TV producer planning out a season's episodes, Maurice Druon chooses to save the juiciest bits in history for his book's climax and ending. The title itself is a major spoiler, but history also gives us a clue as to what to expect.
This being a period of time in which the royal court was rife with scandal and corruption and when loyalties could be bought and sold, I have to say that this story practically writes itself. Eldest son Louis X takes the throne, but with his wife Marguerite of Burgundy and her cousin Blanche still imprisoned in Chateau Gaillard for adultery, he can neither produce an heir to secure the succession nor take another wife while technically still married. Everyone is thinking the same thing: that it appears the Templar curse is still running rampant through the French court. The books depict a most tumultuous time in the history of France, leading up to the Hundred Years' War.The previous book (The Iron King - see my summary and review here) ended with the death of King Philip IV. This is the second installment of Maurice Druon's The Accursed Kings, perhaps better known these days as the French historical fiction series that played a part in inspiring George R.
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