The Castle of Kings

A Novel

By: Oliver Pötzsch

Narrated by: Kate Reading

In 1524, in what is now Germany, hundreds of thousands of peasants revolt against the harsh treatment by their aristocratic overlords. Agnes, the daughter of one of these overlords, is not a typical 16th-century girl. She refuses to wear dresses and spends more time with her pet falcon than she does trying to attract potential suitors. In fact there is only one man who interests her: Mathis, a childhood friend, whom she can never marry because of his lowly birth. But the situation changes dramatically when a rogue knight attacks Agnes, Mathis shoots the knight to save her life, and the two are forced to go on the run together, into the midst of the raging peasants' war.

Over the next two years, as Agnes and Mathis travel the countryside, are captured by and escape from various factions of the war, participate in massive battles, and make new friends both noble and peasant, they also, of course, fall in love. Meanwhile, Agnes' falcon finds a mysterious ring, and Agnes begins having strange dreams that lead the two lovers to revelations about their place in the world and in the emerging German states.

With The Castle of Kings, Oliver Pötzsch has written a historical epic that calls to mind Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth and Bernard Cornwell's Agincourt.

©2016 Oliver Pötzsch. English translation © 2016 by Anthea Bell (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Historical Fiction Blended with Fantasy

Gabaldon is my exception, but I'm not usually a fan of the supernatural, especially when it contributes substantially to plot resolution. Character development and growth are interesting as are historic events and places.

Another Excellent Book by Pötzsch

This author has rekindled by love of historical fiction. Great story. Great characters. Great read.

I love this guy’s stories!

The afterword talks about how German history is not just castles and knights and damsels in distress (making reference to the use of the castle by the Nazis). For me the novels of this author are a chance to recognize a German history obscured in my mind by the horrors of the Nazis. Though they are a reminder of the horribly cril that repeats itself over and over in the past

Very well done Hitorical Novel.

Almost as good as the Hangman's Daughter series. Worth one credit and a bit more.

Charming

Set in the Palatinate of 1520s, this Historical Fuction novel propels our Heroine, Agnes, theough many adventures as she seeks to understand her dreams and the mysterious signet ring she has found. Intertwined with her story is that of the local blacksmiths son Mathis (pron Matese), her childhood friend and love deapite her high birth and his low. Theoughout the story we see through their eyes the devastation of the real war of the time and it felt strangly timely as it was the.peasants risng up to wrest control from the nobels There us a degree of the fantastic here... Some remarkable events and luck but nothing of fantasy. I really enjoyed this novel and the unabridged audible presentation