Book Review: Oathbreakers by Matthew Gabriele and David M Perry

"Although it was rare for a hostage to go to Barcelona to raise an army against a Carolingian ruler, if we had a nickel for every time it happened, by the end of this book we'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice."

Oathbreakers is the story of the last three generations in the Frankish empire, and how the dissolution of the empire (spoilers!) created not only the Dark Ages but also the first flickers of recognition for areas called "France" and "Germany".

Dry stuff, right? Well, Gabriele and Perry do a great job of keeping it as light and simple as possible. Not an easy task when describing a seldom-discussed empire from over a thousand years ago where everyone was named either Charles, Louis, or Peppin. But they make it as engaging as possible.

Not only do they explore Frankish/Western European history, but they also delve into the idea of history itself, asking what is important enough to be written down and why some things are written down in particular ways. Net net it's easier to record history when you want it to tie into a certain endpoint (like, maybe, putting yourself on the throne), but it's worth hearing the long version.

Altogether, a more fascinating read than I thought going in - eight out of ten hot dogs!