An epic historical tale, this book takes the characters through Europe during the Thirty Years’ War of the 1600s. The story is told in three distinct sections, Jack’s childhood after he is orphaned, the events leading up to their deaths, and Jack as a soldier on his quest to find their killers. The book is full of historical details, it is clear how much research has been carried out. Although this is set during a time of war, there is so much put into the people living through and fighting it and not those in charge making the decisions, their lives and loves are given the focus, not the people wanting power
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I found the first section tricky to get into, mostly because there are a lot characters. The perspective shifts between so many people it was hard to keep track of them all, but it does get easier from the second section. There’s also a character list at the beginning which helped!
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Jack is an interesting character, but I didn’t feel like I knew enough about who he is, even at the end. Readers are often told about him through other characters, but as he’s quite closed off and cool it’s hard to get a read on him or feel a connection to him. I felt more time with his point of view would have helped with that. This is book one of a trilogy and there are some great supporting characters in it, that I hope come back in the next novel. Paola and Magda in particular
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It’s a chunky book, and could maybe have been tightened up a little in places, but I enjoyed it as a whole. It sets the scene for book two of the trilogy, but also leaves a satisfying ending to this one.
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I found the first section tricky to get into, mostly because there are a lot characters. The perspective shifts between so many people it was hard to keep track of them all, but it does get easier from the second section. There’s also a character list at the beginning which helped!
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Jack is an interesting character, but I didn’t feel like I knew enough about who he is, even at the end. Readers are often told about him through other characters, but as he’s quite closed off and cool it’s hard to get a read on him or feel a connection to him. I felt more time with his point of view would have helped with that. This is book one of a trilogy and there are some great supporting characters in it, that I hope come back in the next novel. Paola and Magda in particular
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It’s a chunky book, and could maybe have been tightened up a little in places, but I enjoyed it as a whole. It sets the scene for book two of the trilogy, but also leaves a satisfying ending to this one.