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The life of a serf, Myles Morgan, is forever changed when he becomes the heir of an English lord. But the path of Myles's destiny will be anything but carefree, what with the hazards of Henry VIII's court and the dangerous mission of a religious scholar Myles respects, William Tyndale, in The Sword of Truth by author Gilbert Morris.

Without question, it was the bold, excellent cover artwork and the strong, epic sound of the book titles that drew me to The Wakefield Dynasty historical ChristFic series.

As for this first novel, I found the writing style to be overdramatic, lacking subtlety, with the narrator and characters exclaiming (!) far too much. Instead of "showing," the author "tells" everything, using an overabundance and frequent repetition of "-ly" adverbs on almost every page: "suddenly," "instantly," "quickly," etc., over and over again.

Because the characters come off as unnatural, predictable caricatures, and the rudimentary emotional development lacks finesse, I wound up feeling rather indifferent to most of the characters—except for Myles, and not in the best way, as his high level of naïveté becomes unbelievable as the years pass.

However, what bothers me more than that is the way this novel portrays two of the devout Christian women when the men they love make confessions about the men's other romantic pursuits or affairs. The story depicts a fantasy of sweet, holy femininity having no anger, feeling no sense of devastation for being two-timed or strung along, no sense of betrayal over her partner's infidelity. Displaying meek acceptance of their men's faults, the ladies are just all too happy to be with their men now, it's God's doing, and the men suffer no romantic consequences in their relationships with their oh-so-understanding women of faith.

I'm not at all okay with that.

Now, the diehard historical fiction fan in me enjoyed the history and related intrigue in the novel, even with its apparent biases (concerning "the great Columbus," for one). And as for the novel's stylistic issues, I know you can't always judge an entire series by its first book, especially for series that are published over the course of years.

So, the diehard historical fiction fan in me will be checking out at least a little more of this dynasty. ( )

The story about a boy growing up in the time of Henry VIII. A strong Christian theme alongside realistically portrayed history. Fast-moving and alive. ( )

The Wakefield Dynasty weaves a fictional tale into historical fact. During the fascinating reign of Henry VII Myles Morgan, the lead character, is a young vassal being raised by his mother. Upon the death of his mother event lead to the revelation that he is the heir to the 'Wakefield Dynasty'.

Miles is friends with Hannah Kemp whose personal tutor is William Tynedale. Tynedale, fascinating historical icon, was the first to ranslate many portions of the Bible into English; the first English translator of the Bible to to refer directly to the Hebrew and Greek texts. His placment in time allowed for his translations to be produced by printing press. This also placed him in greater danger from those who didn't want the common man to have access to the Bible. Remember that this was a time when owning a personal copy of the Bible could lead to punishment...by death.

This series entertwines fact and fiction, romance and hatred, good and evil, indlugence and deprivation.

The name Wakefield is found in history. It is the name of a tower at The Tower of London. The name of the tower is said to be derived from either the imprisonment of descendants of the line of York following the Battle of Wakefiled during the War of the Roses, or from William de Wakefield, the Kings Clerk, in 1334.

Even if you do not typically read Christian fiction, if you have an interest in English history, you will still find this series greatly intriguing. If you are interested in Christian history you will be riveted.
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