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 sixteenth-century girl. She refuses to wear dresses and spends more time with her pet falcon than she does in 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 each 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.
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“The main story of Trifels Castle and the German Peasants’ War, with appearances by a few historical figures and accurate details of medieval life and weaponry, is quite fascinating…The story reads like Princess Bride with serious pirates, or The Count of Monte Cristo meets Snow White…Entertaining.”
— Booklist
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Oliver Pötzsch worked for years as a journalist and scriptwriter for Bavarian television. He is the author of seven books in the international bestselling Hangman’s Daughter historical series, the Black Musketeers series, and several stand-alone novels. His work has been translated into more than twenty languages.
Kate Reading, named an AudioFile Golden Voice, has recorded hundreds of audiobooks across many genres, over a thirty–year plus career and won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. Among other awards, she has been recognized as an AudioFile Magazine Voice of the Century, Narrator of the Year, Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy, and winner of an Publisher’s Weekly’s Listen-Up Award. She records at her home studio, Madison Productions, Inc., in Maryland.