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Accomplished courtier, attendant to five English Queens, pivotal in annulling a royal marriage, this is Jane Boleyn’s own story spanning 1534 to 1542.

Jane has been much-maligned, but I always considered her a complex woman who was buffeted by circumstance, finding nuance even in the most vicious assassinations of her character. Gregory definitely has a modern view of Jane, and clearly seeks to rehabilitate history’s view of the infamous Lady Rochford.

While Jane Boleyn is sensitively portrayed, I didn’t feel “Boleyn Traitor” added much depth to my understanding of her character. However, Gregory does make a compelling argument for Jane’s skill as a courtier and spy, as she rightly points out how long Jane survived in the lethal court of Henry VIII. I’d never before considered how odd that was.

Gregory also portrays Catherine Howard in the most sympathetic light I’ve encountered yet. She does a great job in painting a picture of how appalling it must have been for a somewhat silly teen to be married to the ageing King of England at the peak of his unpleasantness.

Generally, Gregory’s writing is absolutely fine, but I found this a little over-long and slightly tedious. I think I’d have liked it more had I known less about Jane. I do think anyone who is interested in the Tudor’s but hasn’t read much about Jane Boleyn will find this novel both interesting and enjoyable.

The twelfth expedition enters Area X.

This is not a bad book, Annihilation is just absolutely not for me. I didn't enjoy the premise, characters, world-building, story, all of it was dull verbiage. I cannot stand supernatural stuff, it reads like tedious bullshit to me. Which is, coincidently, how I'd describe this book. I got a strong “Lost” vibe from it, and if one considers that a good thing, I can see Annihilation being enjoyable.