Court of the Midnight King

[Mark Robson]

Have read the first quarter of Court of the Midnight King and so far it's not at all what I was expecting. There again, I'm not sure what I was expecting, so I suppose that should not be too surprising.

This book feels very much as if it's been heavily influenced by Barbara Erskine's 'Lady of Hay', and possibly to a lesser extent 'Daggerspell' (Katherine Kerr?). As I thoroughly enjoyed Erskine's book, it's fair to say that I'm really getting into this story quickly. I love the way the characters from the past have come alive to the person in the present. The intertwining of plots is clever without being so complicated that it becomes difficult to see what's going on. In some ways I feel it would help if I had some background knowledge of this period of English history, but I'm quite enjoying the way that what few facts I do know are being expanded and incorporated into a fantasy that is both fascinating and compelling. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions by the end.

 

[nixie]

Its an excellent book, I like the way her fascination with Richard affects the history student's other studies.

 

[Trey Greyjoy]

Interesting. The title caught my eye while I was looking through the "new posts". Sounds interesting.

 

[Mark Robson]

Well I've finished it now, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Court of the Midnight King is the most compelling book I've read by Freda, and there are plenty of posts around where I have extolled her earlier writing. The characterisations and the time shifting are what made this book for me. I found the nebulous contact between present and past tantalising, as if I really wanted the characters from both time frames to interact, but at the same time didn't want to break the tension that Freda had carefully built up.

I would be intrigued to see what others felt about the ending to this book.

Spoilers:

I would have preferred it if Richard had died at the end, thereby making history unalterable.

What do you think?

 

[nixie]

Spoiler

Spoiler

I liked the ending,it makes you think how the course of English and even UK history would have changed if Richard had surived

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Well, it's an alternate time-line, isn't it? And if history were unalterable, the whole setting of the story would fall apart.

 

[Mark Robson]

Spoiler

Spoiler

I liked the ending,it makes you think how the course of English and even UK history would have changed if Richard had surived

Now I disagree here. If the book had shown a glimpse of modern day as it would be in the event of your comments, then I would see your point, but to leave it open-ended without any follow up didn't quite fulfil that sort of promise.

Well, it's an alternate time-line, isn't it? And if history were unalterable, the whole setting of the story would fall apart.

I take your point about the alternate time-line, but I still feel that this critical point in English history would have felt more right if the outcome was broadly similar. Maybe it's my bloodthirsty side coming out but I still feel the whole point of the Richard III story was that he had to die. For me, the ending felt just a little convenient and romantic ... and they all lived happily ever after sort of thing. Don't get me wrong - I loved the book. For me, though, Richard should have died. End of spoiler!

 

[Mark Robson]

Something I forgot to say was that I loved the little historical details around Warwick, Northampton and York. Living, as I do, near Warwick, I visit the castle regularly and have enjoyed walking through the rooms there many times. This added a whole extra dimension to the book for me, as I could see much of the scenery in my mind's eye - adjusted for the period, of course - much more clearly than I normally can. Being able to picture the views from the windows in the main living area of the castle (which are beautiful) gave me great insights into Kate's experience there.

I also did all my flying training in Yorkshire, so I know the countryside up there as well. Freda really did herself proud with the descriptions in this story. The attention to detail was really quite remarkable.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

That was one of the things I liked so much about the book, that it evoked a real sense of time and place. To my mind, it gave the book greater depth than her earlier writing.