Could not stop listening

This book was excellently researched and excellently written. It is a subject, medieval justice, that I don't read much about. I found it fascinating and the narration is some of the best I have ever listened to.

I highly recommend this book

4 people found this helpful

An epic tale and a B+ for René Auberjonois

A good police thriller is made by the quality of the the villain. In this History the victim AND the villains are fantastically callous and despicable individuals , only their remoteness in time makes them safe for reading.
The story is fascinating, wonderfully alien in people's daily dealings of the occult and the holy. At one time a woman brings in a grievously wounded man and rather than tending to the man's wounds, she rushes out to find a priest so his immortal soul can be saved.
This story is made for the big screen, certainly an epic tale worthy of your time.

For me the story matters more than the reader but for this French medieval detective story a person with command of French is appreciated . René Auberjonois, of Deep Space Nine fame, with that French sounding name gives you momentary hope, that it will be perfection. It is not; but René is an American with notions of French so many pronunciations of names and place names are pretty good so B+!

3 people found this helpful

eh.

What did you like best about Blood Royal? What did you like least?

The story started and ended really well, it was the 6 hours in between that really lost me. I was following happily and then so many characters where introduced and the plot diverted so many times that I was just lost. Very confusing non-fiction.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

This non-fiction really wanted to be a novel. It would have been a great novel. It might even have been a great series about the rise and fall of this branch of the french royal family.
I think a stronger narrative would have been enjoyable, sticking to some aspect of dissecting the forensic story.

Which character – as performed by Rene Auberjonois – was your favorite?

I honestly don't know who any one was at this point. I love Rene Auberjonois, and his narration was the reason I chose this book.

Could you see Blood Royal being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

The book would need some serious reworking to fit an even more narrative plot, but I think that Iwan Rheon and Gaspard Ulliel would work well in roles.

Any additional comments?

Probably a great book to read. Probably amazing for travel. Terrible audio book.

2 people found this helpful

Intriguing and educational

A well constructed story that keeps your interest all the way through. I want to go to France to visit all these places now

1 person found this helpful

Fascinating

What made the experience of listening to Blood Royal the most enjoyable?

Rene Auberjonois is a fantastic narrator for this book because he is able to pronounce the French names without stumbling.

What other book might you compare Blood Royal to and why?

Blood Royal reads almost like some of Ann Rule's true crime novels. It does a great job of laying the foundation for the crime and discussing the climate and culture of the times.

Any additional comments?

I thought the book was very interesting. In some ways it was more like a thriller than a nonfiction work.

1 person found this helpful

historical true crime - great!

This book combines two of my most-read genres, true crime and history. Events from long ago, especially those involving cover-up at the highest level, often lack enough detail to be informative and certainly not enough to fill a book. But Jager has enough material to document the terrible crime, and to set the events and the characters within their social and political context. Everything is recounted in rivetting detail.Jager has obviously conducted a great deal of painstaking research, and the writing is excellent, as is the narration by Auberjonois whose voice and delivery are just perfect for the story.

1 person found this helpful

True Crime Medieval Style

The narrator isn't bad but certainly brilliant--it has a rather monotone delivery. I found this book a little hard to follow and I am somewhat familiar with the time period. It's interesting to see how crime was handled at the end of the middle ages in what we consider modern detecting. However, the point of the book is to show how the murder of the duke leads to Agincourt and Joan of Arc and how the murder was precipitated by the madness of the king.

1 person found this helpful

Being a cop in Medieval Paris really a horror!

First about the Narrator Rene Auberjonois, he makes this a pleasure to listen to. So many French words I'd be tripping over reading this to myself, Rene speaks French and his rich fireside voice runs through the french pronunciations like a hot knife through butter.

This is a bloody tale where there are not-kind or even moderately cruel characters, definitely, nobody was decent. The best you can say about the Provost is "He didn't use torture, for this case." They tortured a lot, they starve people, kill babies, how anyone thinks of such gruesome treatment of each other blows my mind. I mean, death must have been like meals, at least 2 a day. Everything stunk and seeing blood and entrails was common. Why? I don't know, people were ghouls in medieval times. They went to hangings just to see people kick around till they were dead. Then they left the dead hanging in putrefaction where birds ate chunks of the dangling corpses.

It's probably the first investigation done like a real investigation documented in history. But there is no justice after the case is solved.

Narrative Non-fiction at its Best

A beautiful listen - Jager tell what could be dry facts from compelling point of view and Rene Auberjonios heartfelt reading.

Royal Read

I liked this book very much. However, given that the murder took place over 600 years ago and in a place I, unfortunately, have never lived/visited, much of this book is truly a history book rather than the true crime book it purports to be. There are many interesting details of life, political intrigue, and French history, as well as the true crime. So, if you like history, give this one a try. Don’t be turned off if you’re not into true crime. And, if you are very opposed to learning about those who have gone before us, skip it. Again, I found it enjoyable.
I only gave the narrator four stars, because his style had to grow on me. After a little while, I was pronouncing French phrases after him, so he probably deserves 4.5.