Bloody Books Review: Briardark

It is a well known fact that I adored the first of the Gothgul Hollow books, and when news broke of a different author taking on a different set of characters as the follow-on, there was some trepidation on my part. I will now take this moment to say two things.

1) I really should not have been worried whatsoever

2) CL Werner is a goddamn workhorse and deserves a medal for being able to constantly turn his hand to whatever is needed.

That being said, there are elements at play here that may have done with another run by an editor. Whilst there is nothing I could ever classify as “bad”, I am very aware that a cat is bigger than a flower and that a gryphhound is larger than a cat*. The first half of the book does have a tendency to repeat information that isn't needed. It’s not a deal breaker by any stretch of the imagination, but the repetition did pull me out slightly.

However, there is much to enjoy here. the characters of Cicely Helmgaart and her family are very well rounded and draw you in, and when events begin to take place there is enough to have an emotive response to the horror of the experiences. I was very pleased going in to find that the Gothic of Gothgul Hollow** was replaced in Briardark with a more personal horror, introspective and a horror of self discovery rather than the creeping shadows. Cicely herself is a creation of duality, being both sympathetic and despicable, often in the same scene and sentence. Her father, Samuel Helmgaart, the Beasthunter of the local town has a lot of the heavy lifting to do, being the link to the rest of the town and a volatile relationship with it’s corrupt Mayor (and his son, who also holds the dual characteristics of deeply sad and infuriatingly arrogant). Samuel’s narration and thoughts sometimes come across as a little heavy handed in order to keep the story moving but once the truth is revealed his heartbreaking choice is writ large across the page. Samuel begins the book in frustration, travels across grief and rage and ends in fury and despair, and we as the reader feel each emotional stab. I hope he returns in some manner. In a much smaller role is physician/necromancer Verderghast whom I am desperate to know more about.

It’s in the second half that the book truly takes off, making connections to the first of the series in was that work beautifully other than a question about the difference in wealth between Hepzibah and her brother, bringing back the wolf imagery of the first book, and whilst it does not give any answers to the deepening mystery of Mhurghast*** it brings more questions and shows the scope of the threat that is coming.

Bring on Book 3

*trust me, it makes sense in context

**clue’s in the name really

***If it’s not Drachenfels, I will riot