Death of a King

By Andrew H. Vanderwal

One of history's most turbulent times comes dramatically to life in this big, broad adventure novel. Twelve-year-old Alex, determined to get to the bottom of his parents' disappearance, sets out on a quest to find them. An ambitious time-travel novel set in Scotland at the time of William Wallace, Death of a King explores the turbulence of the bloody late thirteenth century after King Alexander dies on his way to Kinghorn without leaving an heir to the throne. The country is thrown into chaos, and Alex must overcome many obstacles along his path. Full of humor, intrigue, bloodshed, battles, and suspense, Death of a King is a rollicking read told by a major voice in historical fiction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Sep 10, 2013
• ISBN: 9781770493995

Reviews for Death of a King

[sharrona_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A little treasure of a book -- YA historical fiction set around 1300 in Scotland, involving some time travel. The author does a good job of blending his plot elements with real history, and that makes the story seem much more real. For instance, at one point Alex (the kid) tells an intentional fib to a British soldier, who then diverts his army across the Stirling Bridge, where William Wallace ("Braveheart" but I insult you, you knew that) then whacks them big time. If Alex hadn't done that one thing, the subsequent course of world history would've been quite different. The characters are charming, the setting and action appealing. I didn't realize this was YA fiction at first -- it's a good story, well told. I'll definitely look for THE BATTLE FOR DUNCRAGGLIN, the author's previous novel about the same folks.

[jayde1599_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Synopsis: This is the second book in a series. Teenager Alex travels back in time to 13th century Scotland to find his missing parents. In Scotland, Alex teams up with his friends (who also traveled back in time to get him) to assist William Wallace in the Battle of Sterling Bridge.Thoughts: Not knowing that the book was a sequel, made me confused in the beginning. The story is fast paced and full of adventure. However, as a time travel book, it is weak. The characters do not hide the fact that they are from the future. Although the historical scenes with William Wallace were good, the rest of the book was just okay.

[katylit · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Death of a King is a lively, adventure driven story of Alex, a 13 year old, 21st century boy, trapped in 13th century Scotland, searching for his lost, time-travelling parents. His friends, the MacRae children, travel back in time to find Alex and help him. What follows is high adventure, close calls, encounters with a wide assortment of characters, both good and bad, and a persistent drive to save Alex's parents and get back home. There is a masterful weaving of fictional characters with actual historical personalities and events. Anyone interested in Scotland's battle against the English, in William Wallace's time might truly enjoy this story.

[val313_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Death of a king is the companion novel to Battle for Duncragglin. Written in the time of William Wallace and the battles for Scotland's independence, we follow 13 year old Alex as he searches for his missing parents who time traveled several years before. As he works his way across the war torn country Alex faces assassins, hunger, ship wrecks and the knowledge that his parents could be executed at any moment for treason. I wish I had read the companion book first because for a while I was lost. This is not a book that can be read as a stand alone. I had to go back and quickly read the first to understand what was happening. That being said it was a very well researched book. The language, landscape and characters are historically accurate as they can be for a time travel book. I enjoyed the story for the most part. Alex and his friends get into many troubles along the way. Almost too many. There were some sections that felt forced. I was not a fan of the chapters where they were captured by the monks. It could have been left out as it added nothing really to the story as a whole. The historical side and the fact that I am a sucker for anything related to Scotland made up for some of the problems. Still, it is a fun and very action packed book that will keep many readers turning the pages to see if everyone can get out in time. I liken it to Outlander for the little guys! While it has its problems if you suspend all that you know or think you know about time travel you just might enjoy the story! I know of several students that will enjoy this for the time travel and the adventure. A decent book to add to a library collection.

[ltcl_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Great time travel for kids that take you back to Scotland and England and the uprising of Braveheart and The Bruce. When your parents go missing in history and you think they might be being held prisoner in a castle awaiting execution you don't hesitate but go back in history and try to change the outcome to save them which is exactly what Alex will do. The problem is that he might not be ready for the hardships, highwaymen and armies in his path. In a time where you are either for us or against us, English or Scot, it is difficult to keep your wits about you and your head on your shoulders. Others will follow to get Alex back and we will meet a wide range of characters, both imagined and real. This is "Outlander" for kids and young adults! It is the second book in the series which I received through LibraryThing's advance program but you will be able to follow the story easily without reading the first book.

[al6vick · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In The Battle for Duncragglin, Alex goes back in time to the time of William Wallace. He is looking for his parents who disappeared almost 10 years ago or so. In this book, Alex is already in William Wallace's Scotland. He is still looking for his parents, and finds a lead. Alex influences the events of the time resulting in the history that we know. That's a version of time travel that I really like. What has happened, has happened, the time traveller just didn't know that he played a part in it. I liked this book. It was a good fictional story providing some accurate history to interest young readers.

[amysing75 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received this book as a member of LibraryThing Early reviewers. I gave this book to my 12 year old to read and had him write a short review. This book is a fantasy adventure about a boy named Alex who can time travel. Alex and his friends use a cave to time travel to medieval Scotland to save his parents, who were arrested trying to stop the death of a king. This book was pretty exciting and I like history, so I enjoyed this book.

[ladycato · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I was provided a gratis copy of this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program.Death of a King has a lot going for it from the start. I love time travel. I love Scotland (though I have never been there). I love medieval history.I do not love this book.The historical setting is handled well enough, even if it does nothing original. William Wallace and Robert the Bruce are among the major historical characters featured. The biggest problem is apparent right from the start: the characters are idiots. All of them. I do not understand how they survived for even an hour. The fact that this is a sequel makes that even more improbable.Alex is a boy in search of his parents, though unbeknownst to him, his none-too-bright parents are actually stuck in time ten years before his own point. These parents are trapped in the middle ages--apparently unable to figure out the time travel apparatus that the children have mastered--and decide they are going to save King Alexander from his untimely death. Apparently, they never watched Back to the Future to learn about paradoxes and the fact they would likely obliterate their own existences. Also, they are wearing modern clothes beneath their other garb.Alex tells everyone he is a time traveler. Half the time people nod and believe him. The other half tries to kill him. This creates a redundant scenario where every single village he enters then tries to kill him.The other children in the book have returned to the present after having survived their other adventures. They decide to "hurry to save Alex" when they believe they find a mention of him in a history book--that he's sentenced to die. They have a TIME MACHINE--why hurry? Even so, when they hurry to go save him, it takes them over a month to get to him.Some of these children planned to go back in time wearing modern clothes. None of them bring or saved currency in the time period. No one brings food or medicine or any type of survival gear. None of them studied up on the history beyond one instance of "oh, I remember that from school." The girl in the group is pretty and young and is traveling as a female. Yes, near the end someone does grab her to rape her. This was after several incidents earlier in the book where she didn't like how men were looking at her. Do note that this is a young adult book.Then there is the character of Alan. He's a tagger. THE ONLY THINGS HE BRINGS BACK IN TIME ARE CANS OF SPRAY PAINT. And he tags everything. Carriages. Walls. And yet he lives. I made myself finish the book.

[literate0ninja · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's been a while since I've read a good time-travel book, so I was quite happy to get this from the Early Reviewers drawing. And I must say, for a YA title, this book does not back down from throwing us straight into the historical melee.We follow young Alex Macpherson, who has travelled back to 13th century Scotland in search of his parents, who were trying to save the life of the Scottish king Alexander III. Throughout the course of the book Alex meets up with many different historical figures and gets in and out of more trouble than can be easily believed. But if you are able to suspend your disbelief, you are in for an exciting read. Recommended for fans of time travel, alternative histories, and historical fiction.

[jordan6lusink · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book's synopsis mentioned time travel and William Wallace, so of course I had to request it.I have to say, I wish that I knew more about the history of Scotland, and specifically the William Wallace period of history. I really know nothing. I haven't even seen Braveheart...Even so, this was an adventurous read.Although it ended up being a very interesting, engrossing read, there were some things that were difficult to adjust to. The dustjacket and the synopsis both say, "From the Author of The Battle for Duncragglin." Nowhere does it say that this book is, in fact, a sequel of that book. Which would not be ahuge deal, excpet for there are characters that are not in the synopsis of the book on the dustjacket, and just kind of show up, without any explanation of who they are. Now, if I had read the first book, I would've known. (As the book goes on, some things are made more clear if you read between the lines.) Once I got over that, and figured out who these seemingly random characters were, things moved right along. The basic story focuses on a boy called Alex, who is trying to track down his parents. They went back in time in an attempt to save the life of a king (King Alexander) who died and apparently set in motion the events of the Wars for Scottish Independence. Apparently they were never given a lecture about time travel and not interfering with past events. Like with many time travel tales, something went wrong. Of course, they were unable to stop the death of the king, and because they foretold it happening, it was assumed they were involved in the plot to assassinate him so they were sentenced to death.Alex travels back in time to attempt to find them and save them, and along the way, provides the famed William Wallace with some much-needed information about how battles are meant to go. As you do, when you time travel.After Alex had been there for a bit (and gone through varying degrees of pretending to be mute so that people would not notice that he spoke differently), he was joined by some fellow children - the ones I mentioned earlier who seemed to pop up out of nowhere - who were apparently some kids that he was staying with in Scotland before he time traveled. They join him in the journey, and the kids run around Scotland trying to find Alex's parents.I have to say, it was all quite exciting. I wish there had been some more talk about how the time machine worked - it was a bit hokey, with animal heads on the wall of a cave that have to be turned a certain way to indicate where in time you'd like to end up. Perhaps there's more information about the mechanics of it in the first book. I also really appreciated that one of the characters is a girl that Alex meets in past Scotland who has had her hand cut off; I don't appreciate that she got her hand cut off, but I appreciate that there was a fairly main character who was not perfect.Of course, all's well that ends well. As if there is any other way when time travel is involved. Quite an exciting book. I'll probably go back and read the first one.

[exploreacademy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a fast paced book that kept me engaged. Starting the book off with a boy who went back in time to search for and save his parents is very catchy. It is because of this that I can imagine children reading this book and becoming more interested in history, especially that of Scotland and England. Even though this is a sequel, the plot was well explained and was not too complicated. I found myself enjoying the story about Alex, Annie, Alan, Craig, and Willie. Based upon the fact that this book had a great adventure, and the previous book's success, this book would make a good series.

[kimpiddington · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fast paced adventure with plenty of bloodshed and a sprinkling of humor that kept me turning the pages.

[jnwelch_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to like the YA novel Death of a King by Andrew H. Vanderwal more than I did. William Wallace battling in the 13th century! Time travel! Scotland!The novel is okay, but nothing special. This is a sequel to The Battle for Duncragglin. Teenage time traveler Alex's time traveling parents went missing when they tried to prevent the death of Scotland's King Alexander to keep Scotland independent and avoid future wars. Alex's siblings Annie, Willie and Craig, and a friend of Willie, travel back to try to save Alex while he's trying to find and save his parents. They all become enmeshed in the maneuvering between King Edward and William Wallace, and its effect on local villages. It's fun to meet up with characters like William Wallace in his youth, and as he leads the Scots against England's King Edward, and also to see odd, real history tactical choices explained by a time traveler's influence. But overall the tenor of the book is too flat and uninvolving."The knights jabbed with their lances. The Scots ducked and weaved. When one succeeded in grabbing hold of a lance, others helped pull the lance from the knight's hands. Each captured lance was turned against the knights. Legs were jabbed and horses collapsed, the knights crashing down with them."The many deaths along the way have little emotional impact, although there is some narrative drive to the endangerments the kids must face and try to overcome. This novel made me think of the much more engaging Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan. Although Flanagan's series, featuring a teen who joins a highly skilled, highly trained group of Rangers who protect a fictional kingdom, does not have the historical cachet of this series, it has far more complexity and warmth in the characters' relationships. Death of a King is a serviceable way to get some "You Are There" perspective on lives and battles in 13th century Scotland, but unfortunately never rises to something more.

[libstaff2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 StarsA pretty good children's historical adventure. The main characters are time-travelers who go back in time when William Wallace was alive. An interesting story, but there are some slow spots. I think the MCs should definitely go on a second adventure to another time period in the next book. This has the potential to be a great series.Net Galley Feedback

[marsap_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The Death of a King is the second in what I assume is a series—it is the sequel to Battle of Duncragglin. In this novel 12 year old Alex and his friends travel back in time (again) to 13th century Scotland to get to the bottom of his parents' disappearance. Death of a King explores chaos and turbulence resulting from the death of King Alexander without leaving an heir to the throne. While on his adventure, Alex helps William Wallace win the Battle of Sterling Bridge, escapes death multiple times at the hands of villagers, and befriends some important people of the time. I was provided a gratis copy of this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program. Death of a King had a lot going for it from the start. I love time travel, Scotland and medieval history. Despite all of this I struggled to finish this book. It could be partly from the fact that I had not read the first novel—making it difficult to follow some of the plot and understand who the characters where. The other problem was the time traveling aspect of the book—most of it never made any sense. The characters seem to go back and forth in time—without any regard to who they might meet, how they might impact the future—and they keep telling everyone they are from the future. I was surprised they weren’t hung as witches! 1 ½ out of 5 stars.