In the pre-dawn hours of August 24, 1305, in London's Smithfield Prison, the outlaw William Wallace, who is to be executed at dawn, is visited by a Scottish priest who has come to hear his last confession. So begins The Forest Laird, the first book in Jack Whyte's masterful new trilogy, The Guardians.
Wallace's story leads us through his many lives - as an outlaw and a fugitive, a hero and a patriot, a rebel and a kingmaker. He is the first herioc figure from the Scottish Wars of Independence brought blazingly to life in Whyte's trilogy, to be followed by Wallace's two compatriots, Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and Sir James Douglas, known as the Black Douglas. Their exploits and escapades, desperate struggles and medieval savagery, high ideals and fierce patrioticism are the stuff of legends, and the soul and substance of these epic novels.
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Jack Whyte's The Forest Laird is a man's novel that women can enjoy. It's historical fiction at its finest. The subject matter is legendary and the action sequences are powerful with clear outcomes. Whyte's use of language is in turns smart and overdone. At times, one can hear the characters' voice, pitch and tone as they converse with each other.
Language is a major element in most historical fictions. And in Jack Whyte's The Forest Laird there is no exception, language is used to add colour, bring the characters to life and to distinguish between commoners and the wealthy, educated and/or well-bred. When our hero, William Wallace, decides to become a verdeer on his uncle's land, his choice is unheard of because he is educated and can speak Latin. In Wallace's Scotland, knowing how to read and write and speak more than one language are luxuries very few enjoy. Illiteracy and language play a part in the plot on a few occasions. Whyte makes a habit of telling the reader when the characters switch languages; at times this is redundant because it is pretty obvious when the characters are speaking the Scottish dialect, as the words read phonetically. Reading phonetics is a struggle at times but it has plenty of rewards as it does add richness to the text.
Depictions of the brutal savagery that was commonplace in that era, had me cringing, and sometimes retching. Much of the action is off the page. Whyte employs his characters to bridge plot gaps and describe off-page battles that impact the story, through conversations. At some points this is dry and boring, but in certain instances I am grateful as I could not stomach all of the details. The events that open the novel are one such case. Wallace and his cousin James (the narrator) are young boys running away from a group of drunken English soldiers, who've killed Wallace's family and used the two cousins "as women." They are discovered by an outlawed archer, who becomes their caretaker. The boys tells the archer and the reader about the events that led to them being orphaned, homeless and brutalized. The description of the injuries sustained by Wallace's dead family and him and his cousin left me feeling queasy.
There aren't a lot of action sequences but the few that Whyte does include are well executed and easy to follow. The vividness of Whyte's action sequences probably has to do with his meticulous description of the landscape, weapons and all of the factors that impact the outcome of a battle.
The novel's ending is a disappointment. Readers could have done with less of the narrator's blathering in the middle of the novel and more of the actions that led to Wallace's execution in 1305. The novel ends when the story seems to be picking up. This type of ending requires the reader to have previous knowledge of William Wallace's Scotland.
Would I recommend this novel? Yes, but in order to really enjoy this novel you've got to have an interest in historical fiction, and a strong stomach.
3/5
Braveheart is a 1995 epic historical drama film starring Mel Gibson as William Wallace. Please note Braveheart is not based on The Forest Laird. It's simply another depiction of the Life of William Wallace.
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