Historical Novels Review - February 2008

TERRITORY
Emma Bull, Tor, 2007, $24.95/C$31.00, hb, 336pp, 0312857357

Territory is a western murder mystery with magic at its core. Jesse Fox left his Eastern college to travel West, where he meets the physician Chow Lung, who insists that Jesse has a talent for magic. In Tombstone, Jesse meets and falls for Mildred Benjamin, a young widow and newspaper reporter - and also meets Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp, whose talents and power seem to be an echo of his own. When a failed stagecoach holdup results in two dead, Tombstone explodes with speculation about the attempted robbery: the truth could destroy Earp's plans for wealth and glory. The sources of power in the Territory court Jesse as an ally as they struggle for control - by the barrel of a gun, and by means more supernatural.

The real strengths of this book are the strong, direct style and the little historical details that make you feel as though you're walking the busy streets of Tombstone. Both Jesse and Mildred are engaging, likeable protagonists and the fantasy and magical elements are appealing, if at some points maddeningly vague.

However, the story feels somewhat disjointed, and the convoluted plot and full cast of characters served to keep me from following the story closely. This can make for either an exhilarating gallop or a frustrating meander. Though the ending was disappointingly abrupt, especially given the many well-drawn characters, it does leave the door open for a sequel.Overall, the story is unique and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys an unusual take on historical events.

CALLIGRAPHY OF THE WITCH
Alicia Gaspar de Alba, St. Martin's Press, 2007, $24.95/C$28.95, hb, 370pp, 0312366418

Calligraphy of the Witchexplores the horrors of the Salem witch trials through the eyes of a Latina slave. Concepci�n Benavides spent her early life cloistered in New Spain learning calligraphy as an indentured servant to a poetic nun. Upon escaping, she's captured, raped, and sold into slavery by pirates. She is renamed Thankful Seagraves by her new mistress, a Boston merchant's wife, who is jealous of Concepci�n's pregnancy. Concepci�n fights to preserve her cultural past and her relationship with her daughter, only to watch as both slip away. Before long, Concepci�n finds herself a target of the witch hunt madness, thanks to a shocking act of betrayal.

Overall, the plot is complex and the characters well drawn, and the time and place (late 17th century Massachusetts) rendered convincingly � though, at the beginning, the details feel somewhat shoe-horned in and a bit contrived.The book gets off to a somewhat rocky start, whipping the reader around with point of view shifts and multiple flashbacks, but settles in about 50 pages in and achieves a good, steady pace. The dialog throughout, however, is somewhat stilted, feeling expository rather than natural. Though the themes of fear of the Other and man's often cruel dominion over women sometimes seem a bit pedantic, Gaspar de Alba does a good job of making me care about Concepci�n and her story, and offers an intriguing new view of the Salem witch trials.

THE LAST TROUBADOUR
Derek Armstrong, Kunati, 2007, $24.95/C$26.95, hb, 375pp, 1-60164-010-2

The year is 1240, and Ramon Troubadour has returned to his beloved Carcassonne. The once beautiful town, a cultural center of the Occitan, has been reduced to slums and ruins thanks to the Cathar crusades of the French and the fear and horror of the Inquisition. Ramon has returned to rescue The Jewel of the South, the key to the secret holy relic of Montsegur - for which a dying pope will kill, and a king will go to war.  Helped by a nameless one-eyed knight, a fighting damsel, a witch, and a circus of colorful entertainers on dancing horses, Ramon must use his famous voice and sense of humor to make new allies and rescue The Jewel �  and prevent a new crusade.

The plot is complex and the action, once it gets going, moves quickly.  The conceit of associating characters with the Major Arcana of the tarot is an interesting one, but I found it confusing in the beginning as I was trying to get to know the plethora of characters.  That said, he does a good job of weaving character lines and points of view together well, and Ramon is a winning protagonist.  The combination of historical thriller and fantasy elements was seamless and engaging, and the historical details of life in Carcassonne during the Inquisition realistic.

However, this book would have benefited from another pass across the copyeditor's desk, and a stronger editorial hand.  The number of typos, and the repetition of salient plot and historical points, was distracting.  However, if you can overlook these issues, the story is engaging and the characters interesting and clearly drawn.

This book is the first in a trilogy, Song of Montsegur; the next book, The Last Quest, will be out in Fall 2008.