Devil's Charge

England stands divided: king against Parliament, town against country, brother against brother.

For Captain Stryker, scarred hero of a dozen wars, the rights and wrongs of the cause mean little. His loyalties are to his own small band of comrades - and to Queen Henrietta Maria's beautiful and most deadly agent, Lisette Gaillard. So when Prince Rupert entrusts him with a secret mission to discover what has happened to Lisette and the man she was protecting - a man who could hold the key to Royalist victory - nothing, not false imprisonment for murder, ambush, a doomed siege or a lethal religious fanatic will stand in his way. From the bloody rout of Cirencester, to the siege of Lichfield and finally to the killing fields of Hopton Heath, Michael Arnold brings vividly to life all the drama and the passion that lay behind the English Civil War.

“'You can smell the gunpowder and hear the cannon fire . . . Arnold's passion for the period suffuses every page'”

Michael Arnold's Devil's Charge featuring the battle-hardened English civil war veteran Captain Stryker, skilfully blends the author's own inventions with the real events of 1643 - Sunday Times, Historical Fiction Books of the Year

Pushed as "the Sharpe of the civil war", Captain Stryker is a character well able to attract readers on his own merits . . . The novel ends with the Battle of Hopton Heath in the spring of 1643. Many of the most famous engagements of the civil war are still to come, and the enigmatic Stryker's involvement in them promises much entertainment - Sunday Times

A dark-hued romp, livid with the scents, sounds and colours of a country on the brink of implosion . . . impressive - Daily Express

If you love Sharpe, you'll be knocked out by the 17th-century civil war adventures of Captain Innocent Stryker . . . at times this one-eyed veteran makes Sharpe look rather civilised - Peterborough Evening Telegraph

Heart-thumping action . . . Arnold brings the English Civil War to colourful life - Lancashire Evening Post

Arnold is at his best describing real events . . . if you like Cornwell you will like Arnold - Historical Novels Review

A thumping good read. With considerable skill, Arnold has reached back in time to create a living, breathing depiction of 17th century England. From his vividly described battle scenes to the richly drawn descriptions of everyday life, from the earthy vernacular of its characters to the precise details of military equipment, every last part of this book oozes authenticity. Fans of Cornwell's Sharpe novels will love Captain Innocent Stryker - he's uglier, meaner and cleverer than Sharpe. Tremendous! - Ben Kane, bestselling author of The Forgotten Legion Chronicles

Arnold has joined the ranks of Cornwell and Sansom... - Battlefield Review

Michael Arnold lives in Hampshire with his wife and young son. His childhood holidays were spent visiting castles and battlefields, but his fascination with the civil wars was piqued partly by the fact that his hometown and region of Hampshire are steeped in civil war history.

England stands divided: king against Parliament, town against country, brother against brother.For Captain Stryker, scarred hero of a dozen wars, the rights and wrongs of the cause mean little. His loyalties are to his own small band of comrades - and to Queen Henrietta Maria's beautiful and most deadly agent, Lisette Gaillard. So when Prince Rupert entrusts him with a secret mission to discover what has happened to Lisette and the man she was protecting - a man who could hold the key to Royalist victory - nothing, not false imprisonment for murder, ambush, a doomed siege or a lethal religious fanatic will stand in his way. From the bloody rout of Cirencester, to the siege of Lichfield and finally to the killing fields of Hopton Heath, Michael Arnold brings vividly to life all the drama and the passion that lay behind the English Civil War.

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