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Scarlet by Stephen R Lawhead (view source)
Revision as of 16:00, 26 August 2020
, 16:00, 26 August 2020no edit summary
As you can see, it's a great story. Despite much of the book being taken up with Will's first person retelling of past events, it still feels pacy and exciting. I found Will a more engaging character than Bran, the Robin Hood figure. He's open and honest and he attaches himself to life, love and friends utterly wholeheartedly. He sees clearly, he has great loyalty and a sharp but unassuming intelligence. He can be roused to righteous anger, but he is never spiteful. I thoroughly warmed to him and rooted for him in the subplot of his romance with Noin. Much of the time, I was more concerned that things worked out for Will than I was that they worked out for Bran and his right to the throne of Elfael.
There is also less of the supernatural in this book than there was in the first. We still catch an amount of Celtic mythology, but ''Scarlet'' is more concerned with events than the mysteries surrounding them. I liked this, but anyone looking for lots of magic may be a little disappointed. We end with plot resolution for Will, but the larger battle, for Elfael, goes on. I am a famous moaner about cliffhangers, but ''Scarlet'' has it done just how I like it - internal events are closed, but there is still development and tension in the big picture to excite some anticipation for the third volume. Lawhead has been ill, I understand, but is thankfully now recovered, but the last book in this sequence will suffer a little delay. Drat. Because I'm looking forward to reading it.
My thanks to the good people at Atom for sending the book. We have a review of the [[Tuck (King Raven Trilogy) by Stephen R Lawhead|next book in the series]].
Slightly younger children will enjoy [[The Telling Pool]] by David Clement-Davies.