The Iron King cover art

The Iron King

The Accursed Kings, Book 1

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The Iron King

By: Maurice Druon
Narrated by: Peter Joyce
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About this listen

‘This is the original game of thrones’ George R.R. Martin

From the publishers that brought you A Game of Thrones comes the series that inspired George R.R. Martin’s epic work.

France became a great nation under Philip the Fair – but it was a greatness achieved at the expense of her people, for his was a reign characterised by violence, the scandalous adulteries of his daughters-in-law, and the triumph of royal authority.

©1955 Maurice Druon (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Fantasy Fiction Historical Royalty King

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Critic reviews

‘Iron kings and strangled queens, battles and betrayals, lies and lust, the curse of the Templars, the doom of a great dynasty – and all of it (well, most of it) straight from the pages of history, and believe me, the Starks and the Lannisters have nothing on the Capets and Plantagenets. Whether you are a history buff or a fantasy fan, Druon's epic will keep you turning pages. This was the original game of thrones’
GEORGE R.R. MARTIN

‘Blood-curdling tale of intrigue, murder, corruption and sexual passion’
SUNDAY TIMES

‘Barbaric, sensual, teeming with life, based in wide reading and sound scholarship…among the best historical novels’ TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
Most relevant
Really enjoyed this book
the narration was very good and I look forward to the next in the series

Very enjoyable

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I struggled with the strange accent (more suitable for a documentary of Starkey style), an appalling pronunciation of French names and places (the accent should be on the second syllable not the first). I almost returned this book if it wasn't for my love of historical novels...

Great story, awfully read

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I can see where George R R Martin gets his inspiration from after listening to Maurice Druon's books.

Very Good Story

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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
I never felt compelled to write a review before but Peter Joyce's narration of this book is so awful that I think it needs to be highlighted. I simply could not enjoy the book at all due to his ponderous and pretentious narration.

What did you like best about this story?
The story itself could have been quite entertaining, but the narration was far too distracting in it's awful pompousness for me to really enjoy the story at all.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Peter Joyce?
Anybody at all would be better than he is! Take your pick!

Appaling narration

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Couldn’t put this down. Interesting content and well written. Well dramatised and narrated (once I increased the speed!)Onto the next one in the series……….

Thoroughly enjoyable

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This is one of the wonderful books that I would never have found but for audible. George R.R. Martin says this inspired ASOIAF and it is easy to see why. Dynastic rivalry, deceit and betrayal and excellent descriptions of the way in which power can be used and abused.

Great book which inspired a great book

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I had never heard of Druon. His style is a bit medieval, but not so heavy that it is difficult to read. Historically he does a nice job. He breathes life into characters without wholesale nonsense.

If you LOVE medieval history and yet want a fictional account of the destruction of the Knights Templar, with all the historical persons. This is a great read. I just bought book 2, so putting my money where my mouth is.

Druon breathes life into the many places in France that I have visited in my travels, and given personality to the names I know.

Pretty amazing stuff

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Congrats to the narrator, his performance made it imposible for me to stop listening to the story.

Awesome narrator

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Gripping story. Excellent narration. One of the best audiobooks l have ever listened to.

Wonderful story made even better by the narration.

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I really enjoy the story, but the narrator's voice is a little too 'pompous' for me and the accents aren't very convincing.

Great story, lacking narration

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