Alright, Take 2 on The Crucible series by Sara Douglass. The first in the series was the last review I did, which inspired pretty mixed feelings. I dived straight into book two, either being a glutton for punishment, or just trying to get it over with. This review, obviously, will contain spoilers for book one; so in case my review didn't put you off it and you still feel inspired to read it - proceed with caution.
Having travelled through Germany and war-torn France on his quest to discover the secret of Wynkyn de Worde's casket and close the gates of hell, Thomas Neville casts off his priestly robes and returns to his noble roots. Under the protection of the Duke of Lancaster and his son, Hal Bolingbroke, Neville returns to England in order save the Earth from the thrall of demons. But his mission is thwarted at every turn. In France, the Holy Maid Joan of Arc leads the French to miraculous victory against the English. The Demon-King, Richard II now sits on the throne of England and seeks to destroy the house of Lancaster, and Neville is unsure who to trust. Could his new wife Margaret be a demon in disguise? And what of Hal Bolingbroke, who's lofty ambitions may have sinister roots? As Neville edges ever closer to the truth, be begins to fear that by completing his mission, he may create a future even more horrifying that the one he seeks to thwart.
Okay so first off, I need a word with the publishers. Voyager Publishing House, or whoever is responsible for writing the blurbs on these books, you have got to stop promising me the Black Death and then not delivering, I can't handle the disappointment. After the first book wrapped up the Black Death in 20-odd pages, I was excited to read on the back of The Wounded Hawk, that "the Black Death returns, worse than ever". This, I'm afraid, is a big fat lie. There's not even a sniff of everyone's favourite pestilence (which I'm sure doesn't smell great, in fairness). Very upsetting. If I was in the habit of awarding stars out of five, this alone could have cost The Wounded Hawk at least half a star.
The good news is that my main complaint of book 1 - main character Thomas generally being an insufferable, arrogant zealot is definitely tempered in book two. The redemption arc that I was so desperate for has come through for me somewhat, though he's still pretty irritating, . Luckily there's a much greater focus on the other characters this time, and we get more POVs. Bolingbroke, Margaret, Catherine and Joan are all far more tolerable, and more interesting characters than Thomas. The bad news is that less irritating Thomas is actually down to a far more boring plot. There's definitely some "second book syndrome" going on here, and a lot of the time it feels like nothing is really happening. The casket that was the be-all-and-end-all of the first book is shrugged off, and while there are some interesting court intrigue and rebellion scenes, it really didn't manage to hold my attention, and I didn't even have the rage the first book induced to get me through it for most of it - though Neville does two PRETTY UNFORGIVABLE things, which I won't spoil, but did go some way to reigniting the hate read.
Then men really don't do much at all, the real stars of this book are the women. They all deserve the world as far as I'm concerned, and their respective men/husbands do not deserve them at all. Mary, Hal Bolingbroke's wife, is a treasure. Catherine Princess of France is a tactical mastermind and a firecracker and Joan of Arc is fascinating. Thomas' wife, Margaret is the key to everything. If he gives his soul over to her in love, he risks the destruction of the world and the victory of the "demons", or so Archangel Michael keeps telling him. But is Michael to be believed? How can Margaret be evil, given what she sacrifices for Thomas at the hands of King Richard (a hint there to one of the COMPLETELY UNFORGIVABLE things that Thomas does)? Is Thomas going to continue to be a dense, narrow-minded pawn until I reach into the book and slap some sense into him?
The historical timeline, only gently tickled in the first book, is thrown right out the window for the sake of the plot here. It still works though, and remains one of the highlights of the book. The overthrowing of King Richard II, the Peasant's Rebellion lead by Wat Tyler, and the holy mission of Joan of Arc are all shifted forwards and condensed to make the story work. It is pretty clever how Douglass manages to make everything slot together. This, along with promise of the plot - despite the slow pacing - is really what's keeping me going with this series. Interestingly, what I thought was going to be "the Church are the bad guys all along" actually looks more and more like a double bluff and I really like where it's going. Is Richard the Demon-King as Neville suspects, or is the hellish monarch that St Michael prophesised much closer to home. Are these even Demons at all? Who really is the bad guy here?
I kind of thought going into this that it would have to be better than the first in order for me to stick with the series, and though it was in some ways (but wasn't in others), I hate half finishing things, so I've gone ahead and ordered the cheapest second hand copy I could find to make sure I wrap this up asap. Still on Team Demon, though I think that has to be Team "Demon?" now.
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