In this “sublime work of dark fiction” set during WWI, werewolves roam the trenches and the Catholic Inquisition continues its grim work in the shadows (Intravenous Magazine). When a priest is brutally murdered in the French city of Arras, Poldek Tacit–a brutally efficient Inquisitor–arrives on the scene to investigate the crime. His mission: to protect the Church from those who would seek … from those who would seek to destroy it, no matter what the cost. As Tacit strives in vain to investigate the murder, he must also uncover the reason why other Vatican servants seek to undermine him. Meanwhile, a beautiful and spirited woman, Sandrine Prideux, warns British Lt. Henry Frost of a mutual foe lurking beneath the killing fields–an enemy that wreaks its havoc by the light of the moon.
Faced with impossible odds and struggling with his own demons, Tacit must battle the forces of evil–and a church determined to achieve its aims at any costs–to root out a dark conspiracy that seeks to plunge the world into even deeper into conflict.
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3 stars
Warning: There is much gore in this book. So if that bothers you…
It is 1914 and the Nazis have overrun France. The British are making a valiant effort to hold them back, but their losses are great and the men are losing hope. And strange things are going on. A stronghold of Germans are literally torn apart. The Brits are puzzled.
When Father Andreas is murdered in a similar fashion as the Germans, the Catholic Church send their most talented Inquisitor to investigate. His name is Poldek Tacit. He is the sole survivor of the murder of his entire family. It is Poldek’s mission to protect the Church from all threats and enemies.
When British Lieutenant Henry Frost is warned that there is something unnatural stalking the men on both sides of the war, he doesn’t know what to believe. A beautiful woman named Sandrine warns Frost to stay indoors at night for beasts of the night roam the area.
Enter Tacit who is also stalking the as yet unnamed threat.
This is a horror story set during WWI. The reader soon becomes aware of just what the creatures are and it is absolutely terrifying. This book is fairly well written, but the transitions are poor. The author switches scenes without warning or break. It is jarring and very easy to lose one’s place. The book turns rather mundane and falls flat in some areas. If I had but known that the book was about werewolves…well, I wouldn’t have requested it.
I want to thank NetGalley and RedDoor Publishing for forwarding to me a copy of this book for me to read and review.
Whilst predominately set at the very start of World War One, the back story weaves between the thirty years (or so) before the outbreak of war and the life of the central character, the troubled Inquisitor Poldek Tacit. One of the beautiful things about the book (and there are many) is the way in which it continually keeps you on your toes as to thinking you understand how this damaged individual became as unhinged as he is, the revelations as tangible as they are shocking for the reader.
Some of the phrases and the use of words are just wonderful, the passages about the war and conditions within the trenches as good as any I have read in all forms of literature.
Whilst it does have ‘werewolves’ in it (and I’m not spoiling the story by saying that – as there’s one on the front!), this shouldn’t put off the lycanthropic-wary. They are handled brilliantly, a foil to the soldiers toiling in the trenches. The author has done his research well into werewolf folklore and this really comes alive in the pages. You finish the book utterly believing in their existence and how they came into being!
So, is it a horror book? Is it a thriller? Is it historical fiction? Is it a love story? I think it is in fact all these things. It’s certainly the best book I’ve read in a long while. Tarn Richardson has managed to meld these genres into something which is deeply affecting and which deserves a place on any discerning book lover’s bookshelf.