BookReview — Northern Blood (Northern Wolf Series, Book 3) by Daniel Greene

 

Northern Blood

(Northern Wolf Series, Book 3)

By Daniel Greene

 

To win the war, hands will get dirty....

With the installment of Ulysses S. Grant as the head of the Union armies, plans have been put into place to dismantle the Confederate war machine once and for all. But, you can't fight decisive battles against evasive opponents that fade into the landscape and strike like lightning in the night.

A daring raid is devised to draw the Confederate cavalry into a winner-take-all showdown. The Union needs a group of soldiers just brazen enough to do it or die trying. Libby Prison's most recent escapee, Johannes Wolf, and his unit of misfits, might just be the ones to get the job done - if they don't kill each other first.

Wolf embarks on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines to set J. E. B. Stuart, the Knight of the Golden Spurs, off-kilter and force him on to the battlefield.

What might drive a gentleman soldier like J. E. B. Stuart mad?

Kidnapping his wife.

Can Wolf and company accomplish their mission? Or will they hang from the gallows as war criminals?

 

“A man must live with the decisions he makes.”

 

Never a truer word was spoken. But this was war, and sometimes decisions have to be made in the moment, only to be regretted at leisure. If Johannes Wolf had not lied, then he may well have escaped the torture, but he would have just as likely died on Belle Isle — not that Libby Prison guaranteed his life.

 

For Wolf, the war was over, at least for now. All he had to do was survive or, if there was a chance, escape. But even if he were to escape Libby Prison then death awaited him – for he was impersonating an officer and that was a hanging offence regardless of whichever army you marched with…

 

From the desperate squalor of Libby Prison to a dangerous and secret mission behind enemy lines, Northern Blood (Northern Wolf Series, Book 3) by Daniel Greene is an enthralling story that grabs the reader from the opening sentence and does not let go until that fatal full stop.

 

The Northern Wolf Series by Daniel Greene is extraordinarily successful, and with the dramatic cliff hanger in Northern Hunt (Northern Wolf Series Book 2), I could not wait to find out where this story would take our brave protagonist, Johannes Wolf, next. When a series is such a page-turner, I am always slightly concerned that the author is going to run out of steam, that the story is going to lose momentum. I should have known better than to concern myself with such tedious trepidations, for Greene picks up where he left off, and he has presented his readers with a comprehensively brilliant book. This novel is packed with explosive action and unforgettable characters.

 

The narrative grabs hold of the reader and takes them on a journey through a war-torn country whose fields are soaked with the blood of its compatriots. The harrowing cries of a wounded horse and the desperate tears of a soldier who will never see his wife again are brought vividly back to life in all of its despondency. This is a story that is graphic in its depictions of battles fought, but it is also a spoken memorial of all the countless soldiers who died during the Overland Campaign of 1864. This attention to such penetrating and shocking detail gives the reader a harrowing front-row seat as the Union Army clashes with the Confederacy forces. The exhaustion of the soldiers, as well as their utter bewilderment as they try to bring comfort to their dying friends, certainly brought a tear to my eye. Greene demonstrates most ardently that there is nothing glamorous about war. This is a novel which, despite its strong sense of foreshadowing, cannot prepare the reader for the realities of what the characters in this book were to face.

 

Once again, we navigate the American Civil War with Johannes Wolf — a man who comes from nothing but finds a home in the Union Army. Wolf is a character that I have really connected with – his journey from town drunk to a respected soldier has been truly remarkable. I would go as far to say that Wolf’s depiction reminds me very much of Bernard Cornwell's Richard Sharpe, for he is the same sort of underdog, an unlikely hero who men will follow willingly into Hell and back. By using a lowly soldier as the protagonist, Greene allows his readers to witness this war from a soldier's perspective rather than an officer, which makes this story all the grittier and more realistic in the telling.

 

Another character that really stood out for me was James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart, a celebrated cavalry commander of the Confederate States Army. Although Greene uses a little creative licence in his depiction and the circumstances surrounding his death, I thought his portrayal was fabulous. His intelligence, his love for his wife, and the respect he received from his men was carefully drawn and very real in the telling.

 

With careful attention to historical detail — the battles, the historical characters, the landscape, and the era, Greene has penned a novel that is as dramatic as it is beguiling. The backdrop to this story, as it was during the war, is enormous, but Greene has undoubtedly done it justice. This book is a work of flawless historical scholarship. Greene demonstrates how confident he is writing about this era through his enthralling narrative. Even when Greene merges fact with fiction, there is still a realism to his writing, which is something that I always look for in Historical Fiction. Greene is certainly a master at his craft for he balances the history with the story very carefully, and what he has written is a simply glorious book.

 

This book, this series, is next to impossible to put down. One more paragraph becomes one more page, one more page becomes one more chapter, but even then, I did not want to stop. I had to read on. I had to find out how this story was going to end. The Northern Wolf series is one of the best depiction of the American Civil War that I have ever read, and although Northern Hunt stands very firmly on its own two feet, you would be doing yourself a grave disservice if you did not start with Book 1. This is a series that does not threaten to mesmerise, it really does.

 

I Highly Recommend.

 

Pick up your copy of

Northern Blood

Amazon UK • Amazon US

Add Northern Blood to your ‘to-read’ list on

Goodreads

 

Daniel Greene

Daniel is an award-winning and best-selling multi-genre author. He made his debut in the post-apocalyptic genre and quickly became known as a must read with his award-winning and best-selling hit The End Time Saga. His deep passion for history has inspired him to tackle the historical fiction genre with launch of the best-selling Northern Wolf Series.

 

He is an avid traveler and physical fitness enthusiast. He fulfilled a quest of iron by worshipping at the shrine of Arnold Schwarzenegger, in Graz, Austria, an experience he will never forget. If he isn’t working on his next book, you can find him training to survive the impending rise of the dead. 

 

He is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association and the Historical Novel Society. Although a Midwesterner for life, he’s lived long enough in Virginia to call it home. 

 

Connect with Daniel:

Website • Facebook •  Goodreads.

 

 

Book Review: Northern Hunt (Northern Wolf Series Book 2) by Daniel Greene.

 

Northern Hunt

(Northern Wolf Series Book 2)

By Daniel Greene

 

It was a surefire raid to free prisoners, but it will soon become a battle for Wolf's soul.

When an escaped Northern prisoner reaches Union lines, his tales of abuse at Libby Prison set up the perfect justifications for a daring raid on Richmond.

Johannes Wolf has made a crucial mistake. He's volunteered for a secret raid, dragging along with him, his unit of misfits. They fall under the command of Colonel Ulric Dahlgren and set out on a quest for redemption and vengeance that will strike at the head of the Southern Cause.

Will they become famous for their glorious raid as knights of the North? Or will they become savages? Or even forgotten corpses buried in a shallow grave?

 

 

“I’ll be damned if I let any more of our boys spend another night in that godforsaken hell hole in Richmond… And you pretty Michigan lads and I are going to burn it all down.”

 

Everyone knew the first rule of surviving this war – never volunteer for anything, especially when an officer asks you to. Corporal Johannes Wolf should have known better. He had survived Gettysburg, but there were no guarantees that he, or his friends from the 13th Michigan Cavalry, were going to survive this. 

 

Nevertheless, the officers held in Libby Prison and the soldiers in Belle Isle deserved more than a nation’s gratefulness. And yet, to cross the Virginia Peninsula and march into Richmond to rescue the prisoners seemed almost suicidal. But it was too late now to change his mind. They would march to Richmond, they would free the prisoners, and they would win this war...

 

From a cold Virginia winter to the horrors of Libby Prison, Northern Hunt (Northern Wolf Series Book 2) by Daniel Greene is a gripping account of war, comradeship, and survival. 

 

It was the most harrowing experience endured by a generation of Americans, and it is an era that has been immortalised in the memory of a nation. But not since John Jakes’, North and South series have I come across a book that captures the very essence of this period in such a way that it leaves the reading gasping for more. For not only has Greene given his readers an unlikely hero in Wolf but he has also taken us on a journey of historical discovery and controversy.

 

God only knew how it would end. But the end of the war was on Corporal Johannes Wolf's mind, nonetheless. If he were not a soldier, then what would he be? Would he go back and become a drunk so he could disconnect himself from everything he had seen and done? With a crippled leg, what hope did he have to live a prosperous life in the future, anyway? Wolf is a character that is very conflicted in this novel – when he is in the thick of battle, his mind is focused on staying alive. But when he is not, he dares to think of his future, and that future looks bleak. Would it really matter if he stole a few silver trinkets from the Southern homes they entered looking for supplies? What does it matter if he shoots a man in the back? This is war, after all. But where does one stop? When does self-preservation become morally unacceptable? When does a hero become the villain? Greene asks his readers these questions throughout the length of this novel.

 

Wolf is a character whom I really enjoyed reading about in Northern Wolf (Northern Wolf, Book #1) and I was looking forward to reconnecting with this character in the second book. But since The Battle of Gettysburg, Wolf’s rose-tinted glasses of what war was, have been thoroughly trampled on by a thousand desperate boot heels. He has seen men, friends, die. He has witnessed terrible atrocities, and it has changed him as it would do anyone. And yet, he is still, despite his doubts, despite his concerns, a man of honour, and although he is a man of lowly station, he can appreciate the sanctuary of life more than the officers whom he serves under. Wolf is a character that really appeals to the reader, for he is an ordinary person in an extraordinarily volatile time. He could be your son, your brother, your friend and I think that is what makes him so very appealing. This is a character that I have invested time in, and I will continue to invest my time in him because he is so beautifully portrayed and it is an absolute joy to follow his journey through this war-torn country.

 

As one would expect, there are many historical characters in this book, and Greene has not shied away from a few of the very controversial ones in the Union Army. General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick “Kill-Cavalry” is in desperate need of a victory and young Colonel Ulric Dahlgren thinks he knows how to get him one. Both admired and despised, Greene has presented his readers with a man who is reckless with his mens' lives —— he does not think of them as people, but chess pieces. He is also unnecessarily brutal to the communities he passes through in the Southern States. Add to that his ambition and history tells the rest. I thought Greene’s portray of Kilpatrick was fabulous. He was just how I had imagined him to have been.

 

Colonel Ulric Dahlgren was a character whom I initially sympathised with and who later I came to maybe not despise, but something very close. Dahlgren is young. His temperament is governed by how much pain he is in, as well as his frustration in not achieving what he set out to achieve. Dahlgren is one of those controversial historical figures whose life has become shrouded in whispers and shadows. Dahlgren really drove the narrative forward in this book, and although at times his actions made for some very uncomfortable reading there was a realism about him, Greene does make a point of saying in his historical notes at the end of this book that he had, to an extent, fictionalised Dahlgren, but there was still a ring of authenticity about this character. I also loved the way Greene brought all of the stories about Dahlgren together in this book, and whether they are true or not, it is of no consequences to this story.

 

There is one character I would like to mention very quickly, and that is the unforgettable Boy General. Unlike the previous book, Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer only makes what could be a called a cameo appearance. But, even still, he makes an impact on the reader. He is in this book, as history confirms, completely besotted with his new wife, and incredibly distracted by her. But he is still a formidable soldier and is a stark contrast in this novel, as he was in life, to Kilpatrick. Custer leads from the front, and he inspires his men, Kilpatrick does neither. When Kilpatrick fails, Custer seems to succeed, which is incredibly frustrating for Kilpatrick, but it made for some fabulous reading.

 

This historical detailing in this book is breathtakingly brilliant. Greene is a confident historian, and this comes across in the narrative. Even if you know nothing about the American Civil War, by the end of this book, you would have an understanding. Greene is one of those talented authors who knows how to engage his readers, and he knows how to use the lightest of touches when setting his scenes. He depicts this era, but he does not drown the reader in paragraphs after paragraphs of descriptive text. As a reader, I can appreciate that every word in this book serves a purpose, and that purpose is to drive the story forward. And this is precisely what Greene has done. Greene makes history personal for his readers, and more importantly, he has breathed life into this age. Bravo, Mr Greene. Bravo indeed.

 

Northern Hunt (Northern Wolf Series Book 2) by Daniel Greene is an astonishing work of scholarship. Greene has set the bar impossibly high — no one writes about the American Civil war the way he does. This book has made it into the top five Historical Fiction novels I have read this year, and I cannot wait to get my hands on Book #3.

 

I Highly Recommend.

 

 

 

Pick up your copy of

Northern Hunt

Amazon UK • Amazon US

Add Northern Hunt to your ‘to-read’ list on

Goodreads

 

Daniel Greene

Daniel is an award-winning and best-selling multi-genre author. He made his debut in the post-apocalyptic genre and quickly became known as a must read with his award-winning and best-selling hit The End Time Saga. His deep passion for history has inspired him to tackle the historical fiction genre with launch of the best-selling Northern Wolf Series.

 

He is an avid traveler and physical fitness enthusiast. He fulfilled a quest of iron by worshipping at the shrine of Arnold Schwarzenegger, in Graz, Austria, an experience he will never forget. If he isn’t working on his next book, you can find him training to survive the impending rise of the dead. 

 

He is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association and the Historical Novel Society. Although a Midwesterner for life, he’s lived long enough in Virginia to call it home. 

 

Connect with Daniel:

 Website • Facebook •  Goodreads.

 

 

Book Review: Miami Days, Havana Nights by Linda Bennett Pennell

Miami Days, Havana Nights

By Linda Bennett Pennell

 

Sometimes our biggest debts have nothing to do with money.

1926. When seventeen-year-old Sam Ackerman witnesses a mob hit, he is hustled out of New York under the protection of Moshe Toblinsky, A.K.A., the mob’s bookkeeper. Arriving in Miami with no money, no friends, and no place to hide, Sam’s only choice is to do as the gangster demands. Forced into bootlegging, Sam’s misery is compounded when he falls in love. Amazingly, the beautiful, devout Rebecca wants only him, but he cannot give her the life she deserves. When Prohibition ends, Sam begs the mobster to set him free. The price? A debt, as Toblinsky puts it, of friendship. A debt that will one day come due.

Present Day. History of American Crime professor Liz Reams has it all—early success, a tantalizing lead on new info about Moshe Toblinsky, and a wonderful man to love. Life is perfect. So what’s keeping her from accepting her guy’s marriage proposals? Confronting a long-standing personal debt sets her on a journey of self-discovery. While she delves ever deeper into Sam’s and Toblinsky’s relationship, her understanding of her own relationships increases as well, but the revelations come at a price. The emotional and physical dangers of her dual journeys may prove too big to handle.

 

"Why had he thought two dollars extra a week made working for gangsters worth the risk?"

 

Because his family needed the money, that was why. It was hard enough keeping his siblings in shoes, let alone anything else. So what choice did seventeen-year-old, Sam Ackerman, have? When his father died so unexpectedly, he became the head of the house, and they desperately needed the income he earned from working in Josef Monza's speakeasy. 

 

Liz Reams is determined to hunt down the mysterious man with the scar on his face in the photograph she has seen of Moshe Toblinsky and his mob. But the man is proving to be somewhat elusive. Liz is determined to discover the truth, however as she does so, she learns a few things that she did not know about herself as well.

 

Miami Days, Havana Nights by Linda Bennett Pennell is a book that is as impressive in its sweep as it is in its brilliance. 

 

Pennell's use of two timelines was inspired, and it worked so incredibly well with this story. It gives this novel a real sense of movement. The historical detail of 1920s America was exquisitely portrayed, but so was modern day America as well. Pennell, it seems, has a visceral understanding of what makes history worth reading.

 

Sam Ackerman very quickly won my heart. He is this very honourable young man who takes his responsibilities seriously. Unfortunately, he finds himself caught up in the most terrible of situations and although he desperately desires to be released from the mobs’ clutches, he is pragmatic enough to understand the need for cooperation and to bide his time. He ends up doing things that he would never have dreamt he would have done, but he retains this air of goodness that makes him impossible not to like. I thought Pennell's depiction of Sam was sublime. This was a character that helped to drive this book forward.

 

The other protagonist of this tale is Liz Reams. While Liz's research takes her on a journey of discovery, she also unexpectedly discovers something about herself as well. Liz spends a great deal of time in this book trying to figure out who she actually is, and what she really wants out of life. Liz is a protagonist that is relatable to the modern reader, and I think that is what makes her character so successful and a pleasure to read about.

 

The antagonist in this story is the Jewish mob's CEO, Moshe Toblinsky. Toblinsky is not a historical figure, but Pennell certainly seems to have drawn inspiration from the likes of Bugsy Siegel, Lucky Luciano and of course, Al Capone. Pennell gives her readers a wonderful sense of what it must have been like during this era when gangsters ran racketeering, bootlegging, and many other criminal activities. And although we are given only the briefest of explanations as to who he is and where he comes from, it is Toblinsky that controls the narrative of Sam's story. Toblinsky is a villain, in every sense, and when he offers friendship, there is always a catch. I thought his relationship with Sam was very one-sided, but it does demonstrate the power that such a man could have had during this era.

 

Respect, as one would perhaps expect from a book about American gangsters, is a theme that runs throughout this novel. However, there are several different kinds of respect. The mob expects to be respected because of its reach and anyone who dares challenge them, or tries to move in on their territory, are dealt with brutally. But on the other hand, when Sam sees something he should not have seen, Top Monza, who is incredibly unforgiving, calls in a favour to make sure that Sam is never in a position where he could become problematic for them and would therefore have to be killed. It could have been very easy for Monza to dispose of Sam in a more brutal and permanent way, but he decides not to – why, the reader asks? Maybe it is because of Sam's age, or it is perhaps because he sees someone who can be easily manipulated. Nevertheless, whatever the favour was, Toblinsky honours it. Unfortunately for Sam, his respect is not earned, but it is demanded. Sam respects Toblinsky out of fear for his own life rather than because he deserves it. And it is this fearful respect that allows Toblinsky to become so formidable. Taking a step away from the gangsters, the reader also watches as Sam desperately tries to earn the respect of the parents of the woman he wants to marry. This ongoing theme makes this book a compelling read indeed.

 

Another theme that runs through this book is that of guilt and unrealistic expectations. I thought the depiction of Liz's mother was particularly well-drawn and demonstrates how very unhealthy it is to make your child meet impossibly high expectations, and it also shows the devastating consequences of trying to live your life through your child. Lillian is a rather formidable dragon who has to be in control, and who has to remind Liz at every opportunity of all the things she gave up to be a mother. I found this, at times, challenging to read, because as Liz achieves wonderful things, her mother criticises her for them – she should have become a constitutional lawyer rather than a professor in her chosen field. This double bind on achievement is incredibly destructive, and it means that they can never have a close and productive relationship. Add to this volatile situation, Liz's dad, who has Alzheimer’s Disease, means the emotional exhaustion that Lillian feels makes the situation even worse. I thought the relationship between these two women was extremely moving, but at times it was also very distressing. Their relationship also mirrored the mob in a way because everyone has to bow down to Lillian's demands — she always wins the argument, she always has the last word, and everyone else is terrified by her sharp tongue and her use of emotional blackmail. I thought Liz's response to her mother was very telling, and it certainly added a layer of despair and tension to this story. It also demonstrates very clearly that Pennell has an intuitive and empathetic understanding of the human condition in all of its greatness as well as its ugliness.

 

Pennell has also given her readers an insight into the widespread segregation and social antisemitism during this period in American history. This discrimination meant that the Jewish residents were restricted in not only employment, but they were also denied access to many residential and resort areas as well. Even Moshe Toblinsky, with all his influence and wealth, could not book a room in The Biltmore. Although antisemitism is a theme that runs throughout this book, it is not the most pressing concern in the protagonist's plight. However, if there had not been the antisemitism and Sam had more opportunities, then would he have taken a job with the Mafia in the first place? Circumstances are everything, or so it seems in this book.

 

Miami Days, Havana Nights by Linda Bennett Pennell is an astonishingly good read. It is undoubtedly a book that will stay with me for a very long time, and it is one that deserves to be read again and again.

 

I Highly Recommend.

 

 

Pick up your copy of

Miami Days, Havana Nights

Amazon UK • Amazon US

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Goodreads

 

 

Linda Bennett Pennell

After being named a finalist in the Writer's League of Texas 2009 Manuscript Contest, Linda Bennett Pennell set her heart on becoming a published author. She experienced the thrill of that dream coming true on July 10, 2013 when her debut novel, Al Capone at the Blanche Hotel, was released by Soul Mate Publishing. She is delighted that the novel has been well received by readers and reviewers alike. 


Linda would like to thank those who have read and reviewed Al Capone at the Blanche Hotel. Your wonderful support and generous praise have meant more than mere words can express. It is a great joy that her second and third novels, Confederado do Notre (2014, Soul Mate Publishing), Casablanca: Appointment at Dawn (2015, The Wild Rose Press), Miami Days, Havana Nights (2018, Soul Mate Publishing) have been warmly received, as well. Providing a good experience for readers is what makes all the hard work worthwhile.

Linda is active in writer's groups including the Writer's League of Texas, the Historical Novel Society, Author's Guild, International Thriller Writers, Romance Writers of America, and Northwest Houston RWA. 

When she is not busy tapping away on the keyboard on behalf of her latest work-in-progress, Linda enjoys spending time with family and friends, volunteering with various local non-profits and her church, singing with the Texas Master Chorale and church choir, and researching future projects. She resides in the Houston area with her husband and their German Shorthaired Pointer, a dog who is quite certain that he's a little boy.

 

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Book Review: The Fire of Winter by DK Marley

 

The Fire of Winter

By DK Marley

 

She is known as Lady Macbeth.

What leads her down the path of murder?

What secrets fire her destiny?

Gruah, the granddaughter of King Cìnéad III of the Royal Clan Alpin, marries two men in less than six months, one she loves and one she hates; one in secret, the other arranged by the High King of Scotland. At the age of eighteen, she lays her palm upon the ancient stone of Scone and sees her destiny as Queen of Scotland, and she vows to do whatever necessary to see her true love, Macbeth macFindlaech, beside her on the throne. Amid the fiery times and heated onslaughts from Denmark and England, as the rule of Scotland hangs in the balance, Gruah seeks to win the throne and bring revenge upon the monsters of her childhood, no matter the cost or amount of blood tainting her own hands; yet, an unexpected meeting with the King called the Confessor causes her to question her bloody path and doubt her once blazing pagan faith. Will she find redemption or has the blood of her past fire-branded her soul?

The story weaves the play by William Shakespeare with the actual history of Macbeth and his Queen in 11th-century Scotland. “...a woman's story at a winter's fire...” (Macbeth, Act III, Scene IV)

 

"'Twas what we wanted, remember?"

But as the army, led by Malcolm Canmore, the Earl of Northumbria, and MacDubh march ever closer, it is difficult to remember why they had wanted this power, this responsibility, for it had brought them nothing but heartache.

 

Determined to marry her true love, Macbeth macFindlaech, Gruah, daughter to Boite MacCinead and distant kin to King Mael Colium, risks the wrath of the king. But with ambition in her heart and the pagan gods by her side, Gruah fears no one. But she is not satisfied to just marry the man she loves. She wants more, she wants Scotland, and she will stop at nothing to be crowned queen.

 

Do you think you know the story of Lady Macbeth? Think again!

 

From a child's desperate suffering to nights filled with nightshade and poppy induced dreams, The Fire of Winter by DK Marley is the untold story of Lady Macbeth. A woman's whose crown, like her hands, would be forever stained with the blood of her enemies.

 

When ambition goes unchecked by moral constraints, and when one decides to use violence to further one's quest for power, the results are a kingship that is forged in tyranny. For those who love Shakespeare, then one would be familiar with his infamous Scottish play. Marley has taken this story one step further and presented her readers with a book that is rich in historical detail, mythology, pagan rituals, and fatalistic violence.

 

This novel is epic in the telling, and I was immediately enchanted with the compelling narrative and the emotional prose that kept me turning those pages long into the night. This is a story that is filled with cliff-hanger tension and historical controversy. The Fire of Winter is a novel that does not just threaten to mesmerise — it does.

 

The Fire of Winter is the story of one woman who is determined to never again be in a position where she is vulnerable and open to attack. But Marley asks her readers what you would do if you found yourself in a similar situation? Would you seek revenge, or would you try to forget, move on with your life? The latter is not an option for Gruah (Lady Macbeth), for fate plays her a ruthless hand. She has to act, or she will be forever lost.

 

The fire that burns in Gruah's very soul, the passion in which she approaches life at the beginning of the book is the very thing that leads her onto a road that takes her to her own predestined damnation. Gruah is the perfect example of an anti-hero, and although the reader can sympathise with her plight, she becomes, later on in the novel, someone who is unrecognisable even to herself. There were times when I lost all sympathy for this character, but at the same time, as she spirals out of control, I could not help but remember the young, innocent girl at the beginning of the book. The tragedy of this story is not the many lives that Gruah sacrifices to get what she wants, but it is the knowledge that perhaps, in the end, she gets what she deserves. I thought Marley's portrayal of Grauh was fabulous. This is a character that both appalled and impressed in almost equal measures. 

 

The "witches" in this novel, are not of the supernatural kind but are instead the daughters of a man who used their mother very poorly and treated them even worse. With an explanation as to how these sisters came to meet with Macbeth on that fateful day at Forres, one cannot help but sympathise with them because, along with Macbeth, they are used to further one woman's ambition. Marley has wavered slightly from the interpretation that Shakespeare presented to his audience. They may be disfigured and shunned from society, but these women are not hags, nor are they evil. They are a product of their time and the circumstances of their birth. Marley does, however, give the nod to Shakespeare by using excerpts from his play to depict the mythical women that one has, after almost four hundred years, come to associate with the story of the Scottish king whose throne was saturated with the blood of the innocent. I thought the depiction of the sisters was very vivid in the telling.

 

Macbeth is a man swept up in his desires for Gruah, but he also fears that the king is leaning away from the tanistry rights of old, in favour of leaving the throne to his son. Macbeth is a strong contender for the throne, but he is wary. It isn't until he becomes infatuated with Gruah and then allows himself to be so cruelly manipulated that he begins to follow a path of savagery that will ultimately lead to his ruin. Macbeth is a man who promised much, but whose actions haunt him until the day he dies. At times Macbeth is blinded by his love for Grauh. He is a good man, but he is misled. Does that make him a weak man, incapable of thinking for himself? Perhaps. But it also made his story shamelessly compelling. I thought Macbeth was fabulously portrayed. He was a character that I enjoyed reading about.

 

The battle between Christianity and paganism is also played out between the pages of this book. As Gruah seeks forgiveness for her sins, she looks to the Church, but her pagan beliefs and her shame stop her from receiving the absolution that she so desperately needs. Marley has a clear understanding of how Christianity managed to take hold in a country that was ripe with superstition and pagan practices, and I thought the comparison between the two vastly different beliefs was vividly portrayed. 

 

The Fire of Winter by DK Marley is a novel of exceptional scholarship. This is a novel that will hook a reader in from the opening sentence and will not let go until that final full stop. 

 

I Highly Recommend.

 

 

Pick up your copy of

The Fire of Winter

Amazon UK • Amazon US

Add The Fire of Winter to your 'to-read' list on

Goodreads

 

 

DK Marley

DK Marley is a historical fiction writer specializing in Shakespearean themes. Her grandmother, an English professor, gave her a volume of Shakespeare's plays when she was eleven, inspiring DK to delve further into the rich Elizabethan language. Eleven years ago she began the research leading to the publication of her first novel "Blood and Ink," an epic tale of lost dreams, spurned love, jealousy and deception in Tudor England as the two men, William Shakespeare and Kit Marlowe, fight for one name and the famous works now known as the Shakespeare Folio.

 

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