[The Ace]

I never read, "The Wicked Day," but I have to admit, the treatment of the Dark ages was excellent. On the rare occasions when Stewart discusses armour and weapons, she does seem to touch on the late Roman period rather than the classical approach seen in some recent dramatisations (the pilum, gladius, scutum, strip armour and imperial helmets were long gone by this time.) There is also the fact that they were set against fifth-century Britain and the Saxon invasion and not in an idealised medieval setting so beloved of lesser authors.