Fawkes

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Thomas Fawkes is turning to stone, and the only cure to the Stone Plague is to join his father’s plot to assassinate the king of England.

Silent wars leave the most carnage. The wars that are never declared, but are carried out in dark alleys with masks and hidden knives. Wars where color power alters the natural rhythm of 17th century London. And when the king calls for peace, no one listens until he finally calls for death.

But what if death finds him first?

Keepers think the Igniters caused the plague. Igniters think the Keepers did. But all Thomas knows is that the Stone Plague infecting his eye is spreading. And if he doesn’t do something soon, he’ll be a lifeless statue. So when his Keeper father, Guy Fawkes, invites him to join the Gunpowder Plot—claiming it will put an end to the plague—Thomas is in.

The plan: use 36 barrels of gunpowder to blow up the Igniter King.

The problem: Doing so will destroy the family of the girl Thomas loves. But backing out of the plot will send his father and the other plotters to the gallows. To save one, Thomas will lose the other.

No matter Thomas’s choice, one thing is clear: once the decision is made and the color masks have been put on, there’s no turning back. 

Originally, Fawkes was not a book I thought I would be interested in reading. Though historical fantasy sounds good to me in theory, it's always been hard for me to get past the meddling in history that the genre requires. However, in more recent years (and strangely enough, the more I learn about history) the less concerned I've been with this. Case in point: My Lady Jane. A few misgivings aside, I thought it was a hilarious and impossibly charming historical fantasy.

Fawkes, therefore, suddenly looked a lot more appealing, even if I couldn't help a little bit of wariness as I started it. But truth to be told, I really enjoyed it. I liked how the magical elements were handled, and how they worked within the historical context Although, full disclosure...my Protestant self was satisfied by the outcome; Catholics might not be as pleased (?) The book started out a little slow for me, but it really picked up at the end and sucked me in.

Anyway, I wasn't sure what to expect with Fawkes, but I'm glad I risked trying it. I also noticed that Nadine Brandes's next book is Romanov...and while I wasn't planning on reading that one before, I definitely am now. (What can I say? It's a fantasy retelling of Anastasia's story. I hope Ms. Brandes keeps this up- I'm curious what other fantastical historical events we might get from her!)

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

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