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The Middle Ages are called the dark ages for a reason: there are often difficult to study, understand and to be able to grasp its impact on the shaping of the modern world. They are confusing, there are not that many reliable sources of research and those existing need a real expert on the field to bring us within reach of what it meant to be royalty at that time or to gravitate around royalty, to be Catholic, to be a Jew, to be rich or to be like the 99% of the rest of Europe: poor, hungry, sick, ignorant and surrounded by death as part of life, often more present than not. Maurice Druon accomplishes it, bringing us a superb work of fiction using non-fiction history as a framework. You must read the Iron King, as well as the other six books that complete the series of the Accursed Kings. This is not an option, it is something you should put in your bucket list and try to accomplish as soon as possibleThe English translation has a foreword from George R. R. Martin, who will tell you he used Maurice’s work as inspiration for its A Song of Ice and Fire and for its TV version, Game of Thrones. Even if it says it there in the cover and may seem like a plot from the publishers to try to sell you a 1950’s forgotten literary jewel, it is not a marketing plot or a favor from George R.R, it is true: If you watched Game of Thrones, you will see that it is nothing more than a repetition, I would even say a censored and watered down repetition of the constant plots, conspiracies, treasons and betrayals that are an integral part of the Accursed Kings and this period of European history. There is no Games of Thrones without the Accursed Kings, and they are even worse because all these terrible things and events not only happened for real and repeated over and over, but also mostly happened amongst members of the same family! There are no inviolable principles, or better yet, there are no principles at all, everything is valid and things are often done without any remorse.The only problem is that only three of the books have been translated to English (from its original French): The Iron King, the Strangled Queen and the Poisoned Crown. The 4th book, The Royal Succession is due on November 4th, and the 5th book, the She Wolf, will only come out in late 2015. There is no release date for the 6th and 7th books, which is a shame because you need to read the entire series to become full circle on the plot and see the full consequences of Philippe the Fair decisions and the Templar’s Curse. If you are lucky enough like me, who happens to be fully fluent in Spanish, you can finish the series sooner as the Spanish translation has been around for many years now. But worse case you do the A Song of Ice and Fire thing and wait a few years to read it all, it is worth itI came to this book (like many others) on the recommendation of GRRM. He has called it "the original Game of Thrones". It is easy to see how the machinations of the players in this historical novel influenced GRRM's ASOIAF series. However, if one is looking for the kind characterization and attention to detail that GRRM is noted for, you will be disappointed.That is not to say this is not a good book - only to say that expectations must be tempered. Do not expect ASOIAF redux. This is real history.With that being said, The Iron King drops you into the maelstrom that is Western Europe in the Middle Ages. King Philip IV of France (also known as "Philip the Handsome" ) has nearly completed his destruction of the Knights Templar organization and his appropriation of their vast fortune. Only one thing remains: how to deal with Jacques de Molay, the Grand Master of the now-defunct group. The king hopes to display his clemency by consigning de Molay and the three other remaining leaders of the group to a dungeon for the rest of their lives but de Molay has other ideas. de Molay denounces the king and his minions in full court leaving the king no other recourse but to sentence de Molay to death. On his pyre, de Molay curses the king and the other architects of his destruction. Almost immediately, his curse seems to begin to bear fruit.This begins the fall of House Capet and sows the seeds of the Hundred Year's War.Druon is a thorough historian, providing copious footnotes and explanations. He presents his characters as creatures of their time and place. However, between his own rather perfunctory writing and Humphrey Hare's colorless translation - some of the potential drama is lost. Even with the little French I know, I can see that Mr. Hare's translation lacked some of the vibrancy and urgency that I believe the original possessed. Nevertheless, this book left me wanting more and I look forward to reading the rest of this 7-book series. I hope to one day be able to read them in their original French.I can certainly see why GRRM was intrigued because I am as well. Since I've read all of the published ASOIAF series, I am able to trace the influences and homages which begin almost at page one. I look forward to continuing the series and learning more about this time in history.A five star page turner, read in two sittings. Brilliantly depicted history of the French Capet dynasty, full of gory murder, sex, intrigue. George Martin has said this series, of which the Iron King is the first, was an inspiration for his own Game of Thrones and you can see why. It would take only the merest tweak to turn this history into fantasy. The writing is vivid, precise, not a word wasted. The depictions of people, places captivating. A joy to read, addictive. Some characters stand out as for instance Robert d'Artois, a huge bear of a man full of life and intrigue. You want to know more of him and his plots. You want to know what happens next to this cursed royal family. This is history brought to glorious life. A wonderful read. Roll on the next in the series. Can't recommend it to greatly.I learned of this book through the praise of George R.R Martin and although I hoped it would be good I did not expect it to be. How wrong I was from the opening pages I was hooked on the story of Philip iv and the other members of the house of Capet. The characterisation is brilliant and I really felt as though I was walking the streets of medieval Paris and London. The whole book was a joy and is one I would recommend to anyone.Some authors can establish intimacy with a character with well chosen analogy. Marguerite is an intriguing vixen, Robert of Artois a tree trunk of a man, Beatrice D'Hirson a captivating and possibly vicious femme fatale. Knowing them, their individual motivation becomes obvious, colouring in the history they influenced, for there is more history than fiction in here even if the fiction is absorbing. If all medieval history was blessed with as learned a story-teller as Maurice Druon, we would all want to know much more about our past. I have ignored the George Martin controversy expressed in some reviews, but am delighted that his sponsorship facilitated the reprint of a series of books I might never have discovered otherwise. Introducing the Valois era as clearly as it does, this story clarifies the link between Normans of the 11th and 12th centuries and Bourbons of the late 16th, but also starts you off on Edward III's precedents in England. Before long, thanks to the story-telling ground laid by this author, I expect to have a decent command of The Hundred Years War, which will bathe pre-Tudor English history in bright sunlight. Edward III was Isabella's son and his victory at Crecy in 1347 is as pivotal as was his great grandson Henry V's victory at Agincourt in 1415. Read all about Isabella and her times in this fabulous series of books.Philip IV of France, astute, cold and power hungry, rules with an iron fist his hapless sons and heavily taxed kingdom. Mr Druon writes as if he knew intimately the personalities involved and completely brings to life that complex, powerful man Philip IV King of France from 1285. Druon's series have been compared to Game of thrones and they certainly are as readable if not more so but the fact that these events are based on reality gives it double interest.This is the first book in The Accursed Kings series of French historical novels written in the 1950s by noted Academie francaise member Maurice Druon, and cited by George R R Martin as one of his inspirations for his fantasy series beginning with A Game of Thrones. It is set in the high Medieval period at the close of the reign of King Philip IV the Fair, the King who suppressed the Templars and whose daughter Isabella married and probably murdered the English King Edward II and later supported the claim of her son Edward III to the throne of France. This novel covers very dramatic events - the burning at the stake of the Templar leader Jacques de Molay, the serial adultery of the King's daughters-in-law, hideous executions, poisonings and betrayals. Unlike Game of Thrones, it's all real history, though; history being more my cup of tea than fantasy, I expect I'll be reading the second book in this series, The Strangled Queen, before I read A Clash of Kings (Druon's novels are much shorter also!). Great stuff.
