Douglas Nicholas
"During the thirteenth century in northwest England, in one of the coldest winters in living memory, a formidable yet charming Irish healer, Molly, and the troupe she leads are driving their three wagons, hoping to cross the Pennine Mountains before the heavy snows set in. Molly, her lover Jack, granddaughter Nemain, and young apprentice Hob become aware that they are being stalked by something terrible. The refuge they seek in a monastery, then an inn, and finally a Norman castle proves to be an illusion. As danger continues to rise, it becomes clear that the creature must be faced and defeated—or else they will all surely die. It is then that Hob discovers how much more there is to his adopted family than he had realized.
An intoxicating blend of fantasy and mythology, Something Red presents an enchanting world full of mysterious and fascinating characters— shapeshifters, sorceresses, warrior monks, and knights—where no one is safe from the terrible being that lurks in the darkness. In this extraordinary, fantastical world, nothing is as it seems, and the journey for survival is as magical as it is perilous." -Amazon description
It always baffles me a little that so many world-building Fantasy books are written by old men with white beards*. And folks, Douglas Nicholas is an old man with a white beard.
That being said, let me just say that this book is not terribly exciting. I was bored by it in the beginning; it takes quite a while to get into. But the small details are there. This man knows his 13th century Britain.
But other than that, there's honestly not a lot I can say without giving the book away. I wasn't surprised by much, and the climax comes sooner than you imagine, allowing for it all to be wrapped up nice and tight by the end. Also, there's never any statement that they're near Scotland, so the first time dialog comes around and you're completely baffled by all the dropped letters and words that are spelled the way they're being said, you have to dig out (or google) a map of mountains in Britain and deduce their location for yourself before going back and re-reading the dialog in a Scottish accent.
The one thing that did bother me was the protagonists lack of reaction to some life shifting events. I mean, if the lady you've been traveling with suddenly turns out to be someone else entirely, I feel like you'd feel a little more emotion.
All in all, a well written novel that made me glad I live somewhere were it's 70 outside in January and my breath isn't forming icicles of the rope of the Ox that I'm leading, but not one that kept me wholly entranced.
*note on hyperlink: Granted, I've never actually read anything by Terry Pratchett, but since he has a beard, he might be next on my list!
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