An acquired taste

As many others pointed out, this book really stands out from the rest of the series. Meant as both a final point to the vicissitudes of the French crown from the end of the Capetians to the troubled hours of the early Valois, its style may not suit everyone.
I personally enjoy the style, the feeling of being part of a conversation with a snarky old cardinal.
Through the musings and rantings of his main character Druon offers a ruthless panorama of royal affairs during the Hundred Years war, the evolutions of the Catholic church and its papal organ in Avignon or the geopolitics of the time between England, France, Navarre, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Papacy. Probably better enjoyed after a previous reading/listening or some previous knowledge of the era.
As a French native speaker, reading the book was a delight because of the sharp tongue the cardinal has. I'm not sure how well it translates into English. I do shower enjoy this recording: first of all, because I couldn't find it in French, secondly because Peter Joyce's interpretation of the cardinal is slightly different from my imagination.
While the acting and reading are enjoyable to me; as a native speaker, the mangling of French names sometimes grinds my gears, especially when the character you impersonate is a fluent French speaker...

TLD;DR: a great audio book if you already enjoy the original written piece (with its differences from the others in the series) or/and know enough about French history during that era.

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