Review: Good Read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 28, 2013
Wars fought in the name of religion--anybody's religion, just pick one--are as old as time itself and are still going strong.  War may be old, but the Monmouth Rebellion was short, timewise.  In 1685, James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, and a small army of Protestants, mostly Presbyterians, sought to overthrow King James II from the English throne because he was Catholic.  The rebel army  was small and untrained, but it did win some skirmishes and could have possibly succeeded in its goal but for one wrong turn.I gave the book four stars because the mechanics were good and the read was easy and never boring.  The research was fine, but history itself had me in the encyclopedia much of the time.  What had happened to Henry VIII's Church of England formed a century earlier?  Was not this King James responsible for giving us THE HOLY BIBLE, KJV?  Why did the ...?  Enough questions!  I could spend all my time being picky, but I require a basic historical background before I read historical fiction.  It is amazing to learn how much I have forgotten through the years.  So, dear author, thank you for making me refresh my memory.This account of the Monmouth Rebellion was told through fictitious characters who delivered the story with heart.  Adam was with the rebel army.  He was afraid, and more afraid that his fellow soldiers would see that he was afraid.  In the end, the thing he feared most became his desire.  Death.  There were many lessons to be learned from every character in the book.  The sexual exploits were a bit graphic, but their graphic nature served a purpose.Thank you, Mr. Vicary, for a good read.