Category: 8.5/10

As the 14th century dawns, Scotland’s survival hangs by a spider’s thread. While the Scot clans scrap over their empty throne, the brutal Edward Longshanks of England invades the weakened northern kingdom, scheming to annex it to his realm. But one Lanark lad stands in the Plantagenet monarch’s path.

2015 Chaucer Award First Place Category Historical Fiction 
Foreword Reviews Book-of-the-Year Finalist in HF 
2015 B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree 

The beleaguered Scots cherish him as their “Good Sir James.” In England, his slashing raids deep into Yorkshire and Northumbria wreak such terror that he is branded the Black Douglas with a reward placed on his head.

As a boy, James falls in love with the ravishing Isabelle MacDuff, whose clan for centuries has inaugurated Scottish monarchs on the hallowed Stone of Destiny. But his world is upturned when he befriends
Robert Bruce, a bitter enemy of the MacDuffs. Forced to choose between love and clan loyalty, James and Isabelle make fateful decisions that will draw the opposing armies to the bloody field of Bannockburn.

Isabelle will crown a king. James will carry a king’s heart. Both now take their rightful places with Robert Bruce, Rob Roy, and William Wallace in the pantheon of Scot heroes.

Here is the story of Scotland’s War of Independence and the remarkable events that followed the execution of Wallace, whose legend was portrayed in the movie Braveheart. This thrilling epic leads us to the miraculous Stone of Destiny, to the famous Spider in the Cave, to the excommunicated Knights Templar, to the suppressed Culdee Church, and to the unprecedented Declaration of Arbroath, the stirring oath document that inspired the American Declaration of Independence four hundred years later.

The Spider and the Stone is the unforgettable saga of the star-crossed love, religious intrigue, and heroic sacrifice that saved Scotland during its time of greatest peril.

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Review:

Informative, captivating, and extraordinarily descriptive.

This story recounts the difficulties and hardships Scotland underwent in her search for Freedom, and immerses you in a time when clans routinely switched allegiances between the Scottish Crown, William Wallace and the British Empire.

The writing is well done and exceptionally descriptive with vivid battle scenes and horrific violence. The main characters are true Scotsman; strong, stubborn, fascinating, and relentless in their quest for rights and justice. And the plot is a roller coaster road of turbulent times, bloody battles and cruel Plantagenet kings.

This novel is remarkably researched with a good mix of factual historical data, legends, and theories. I especially like the authors views surrounding the mysterious love life of James Douglas, the friendship between Black Douglas and Robert the Bruce, and ultimately the demise of a brilliant war monger.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy of this book from your favourite retailer or from the following links.

Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon Canada, Chapters/Indigo, Book Depository

 

For more information on Glen Craney, visit his website at: glencraney.com

or follow him on Twitter at: @glencraney