Thursday 20 February 2014

Company of Liars by Karen Maitland

 Reviewer: Liza Perrat, author of Spirit of Lost Angels and Wolfsangel (www.lizaperrat.com)

What we thought: A cliché perhaps, but "unputdownable"!

1348 and the Black Plague disembarks on the English shores. The narrator, Camelot – itinerant peddler of bogus holy relics – is making his way north and inland to try and outrun the plague. Along the way, believing in safety in numbers, Camelot is joined by various other misfits. Each group member has a story to tell, a secret to hide, a lie to conceal. Over the months they travel, eat, sleep and face disaster together, they learn more about one another until each secret is revealed in turn, often with dire consequences. Finally, it is revealed that one of them masks the darkest secret of all; a curse far worse than the pestilence they are struggling to flee.

You’ll enjoy this if you like: tales of medieval intrigue, mild fantasy and plain good storytelling.

Avoid if you don’t like: violence, squalor and death.

Ideal accompaniments: A hearty mug of ale with freshly slaughtered and baked swan.

Genre: Historical Fiction

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