Powers and Thrones

«'This gripping history manages to bring novelty to a well-trod subject, spanning the Dark Ages and the globe. Traversing crises and empires and shedding new light on famous subjects, this archive of a fascinating time enthralls till the final page'»

«I've never read such a comprehensive and storming history of the Middle Ages, nor am I ever likely to again. Crusaders swept me away, but this? This is electric: pumping energy into an era glossed over... Literally, I was in tears at the end; I didn't want the storytelling to end'»

«'A rip-roaring read and exhilarating to the very end'»

«'Dan Jones is a brilliant storyteller. He keeps his hand on the tiller on this marathon voyage, guiding the reader with matchless dexterity. A triumph'»

«'It is as gripping as all his books'»

«'Jones is that rarity, a scholar with a novelist's feel for pace and drama, and this reads more like a thriller than a sober historical account'»

«'Casts a new light on places such as Rome, Paris, Venice and Constantinople; and it features some of history's most notorious and famous men and women'»

«Despite the sweeping subject matter, Jones's reading feels relaxed as he delights in peculiar details and revels in witty asides... [darting] through the middle ages, from the Romans to the rise of Islamic empires'»

«'With his trademark narrative style, Dan Jones packs the thousand years between the fall of the Roman Empire [...] and the protestant Reformation into 16 chapters'»

«'From Rome to Paris, Venice to Constantinople, this gripping historical narrative touches on some of history's most famous and notorious men and women, while asking exactly how the West came to be the way it is. And you thought the perfect dad gift didn't exist'»

«'Tells the story of an essential era of world history with skill and style'»

«'A great achievement, pulling together many strands with aplomb'»

«'Ambitious but brilliant'»

«'It's so delightful to encounter a skilled historian of such enormous energy who's never afraid of being entertaining'»

«'Mr Jones has a way of keeping things real'»

«A terrifically colourful and compelling narrative history... A hugely impressive achievement, bustling and sizzling with life on every page... This is now simply the best popular history of the Middle Ages there is'»

«Excellent... Combines [Jones's] usual narrative exuberance and playfulness with the authority and span to bring together an amazing masterly gripping panorama'»

«Empires come and go, religions form and break up, ideas clash and mingle – 1,100 years, 16 sweeping chapters, 700 pacey pages... Masterly, muscular and direct'»

«'A badass history writer... to put it mildly'»

«'A great achievement, pulling together many strands with aplomb'»

«'An epic new history of the Middle Ages, which grippingly chronicles the forces that defined the period – and which would go on to shape ours'»

«'In an age when medieval culture is easily and explicitly repurposed for ill, we are lucky to have a book that insists on portraying Europe's deep connections with other parts of the world and that wants to rehydrate the Middle Ages back from the flat, racist version. We are luckier still to have a book that narrates the past so thoroughly, vividly and joyfully'»

«'An audacious, entertaining page-turner. Dan Jones covers a thousand years of history with elegance and panache'»

«Dan Jones is in a class of his own... Read this book to wrap your head around 1,000 years of history with as much ease and enjoyment as relaxing into a good novel'»

«Jones is careful to entertain, as well as enlighten... Flashes of humour exist on the same page as academic rigour... Copious colour plates turn Powers and Thrones into a great gift, as well as a great read'»