The Raven in the Foregate - Ellis Peters

This is a thought-provoking but comfortable story, which begins with a new priest taking the living of the local parish. Father Ailnoth is brilliant, educated, devout, austere - he has everything, in fact, except for the smallest hint of mercy or humility. In spite of his graces, his strict adherence to the letter of the law and his preference for correctness over human kindness soon makes him hated in the parish. When he is found dead in the mill-pond on Christmas Day, there are only too many suspects.

Suspicion rests on the young man helping in Cadfael's gardens, who arrived with the priest as nephew to his housekeeper. As pressure builds for a murderer to be uncovered, Cadfael tries to shelter his young assistant and discover the true culprit.

As usual, the tiny details are spot on historically and add very much to the atmosphere and depth of this novel. Cadfael's benevolent, forgiving attitude and his willingness to aid young people in love give a feeling of warmth and hope not often found in murder mysteries.

Another beautifully written and intriguing novel by Ellis Peters.


Next up: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Legend - David Gemmell

I wouldn’t normally choose something quite as… battly, but this one came recommended so I thought I’d give it a try.

The writing style doesn’t have much finesse, but then it was Gemmell’s debut novel, so it’s quite possible he improves over time. Another criticism would be that he really doesn’t understand women – the point of view shifts between characters throughout, and the women are a little odd, to say the least.

That said, the events of the novel are suitably epic, with the odd real-world historical echo in there. The central character, Rek, falls in love with and marries the daughter of an earl, whose fortress is in danger of attack by a vast invading army. He reluctantly joins the siege to defend what is now his family’s holdings, along with the aging legendary warrior Druss.

Gemmell conjures up some interesting concepts, for instance the group of thirty warrior-monks (with the ability to see the future), and toys with ideas of the after-life. To my personal taste, I would have preferred more detail on these, and on the lives of the characters we meet, than so much description spent on military and strategic proceedings and the minutiae of the siege. There were some very gripping action sequences, however, and some touching moments.

All in all, I get the impression that this is a very manly book, with the emphasis on heroic action. Not exactly to my taste, but if that’s what you want, Gemmell’s Drenai series can provide it!

Next up: The Raven in the Foregate by Ellis Peters