Keith John Coleman

The Afterlife of King James IV explores the survival stories following the Scottish king's defeat at the battle of Flodden in 1513, and how his image and legacy were used in the years that followed when he remained a shadow player in the politics of a shattered kingdom. Keith John Coleman has written a legend-based biography of James IV that straddles the gap between history and folklore that looks at the undying king motif and otherworld myths of James IV, one of Scotland's most successful rulers.

Otherworld Legends Of The Scottish King

The Afterlife of King James IV

Lacy W

I received this eARC from Netgalley and John Hunt publishing. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

I will start this review by being completely honestly, as I always am in all my reviews. I know very little information about King James IV. The only thing I know about him is that he married King Henry VIII’s sister and I only know that information because of a book I read (by the same publisher of this book about Margaret Tudor. So I was a bit worried, when I accepted this arc, that I wouldn’t understand what was happening or that I would just spend the entire time confused. 

Thankfully, that was not the case with this book. The author, Keith J Coleman, made sure to give plenty of history and background information leading up the death of King James. He explained before (a little biography of King James), during (how he died) and after his death in a clear and concise manner, which helped my understanding of what happened to this unfortunate monarch. 

There was so much work and research that went into this book and I appreciate that. The author clearly wanted to make sure that things were right and even when there was mention of specalition, he made sure to point that out so we weren’t falsely misled. 

One major thing I look for in a non fiction book such as this, is readability. If I can’t understand the material in the book, then what is the point of reading it? The readability in this book was good but did need some improvement. There were parts where the author quoted poems or stories in the old English language which were difficult to read. Don’t get me wrong, I love it when I see this because it brings authenticity to the book but it was just very difficult to read and needed some sort of translation because I had no idea what was actually being said. I felt like I missed out on some key details.

Overall, I am pleased with this book. I enjoyed learning about King James and because of this book, I will be looking at some more books about him. I am very curious about this monarch, whose death was such a mystery. If you are a fan of history (like me) or just want to dip your toes in some mystery and intrigue, then I highly recommend this book.

The Afterlife of King James IV Otherworld Legends Of The Scottish King

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