The Red Knight

The Mercenaries of the Red Knight face the Wild more for money than for glory or God. When their captain secures a contract with the abbess of Lissen Carak it seems rather easy and with good pay too - kill a monster that terrorieses the peasants. But then an army marches on the fortress-abbey and they find themself under siege. These days I seldomly find the time to re-read a book let alone a whole series. But the Red Knight is one of my most favoured books and ranks comfortably at my top three, so when it cried out to me, I answered. I adore Miles Camerons writting in these books. Clever, intriguing and just very, very good. His knowlegde on history shines through the lines, the battlescenes are magnificent - no wonder when a man writes them, who knows how to fight in real armor. There are a lot of POVs and I mean a lot. Some readers might not like it and I understand why but I enjoyed the broad picture Cameron achieves with that. I feel it really helps to bring his world to life, be it Priests, Knights, Mages or Bears. It's a very grounded setting, almost an alternative universe to us, with Jesus, Saints, Latin and Nations that resemble our own in old times. But also with monsters, wyvern, magic and divine intervention. I just love this world. It feels real but with the fantastical lurking at the borders, just like the Wild lurks at the border of civilisation. Storywise it is very thrilling. It slowly builds itself up, to culminate in the great siege. People have their own goals and need to overcome their own obstacles. Cameron tells us, the reader something about the story and his world on every page and carefully crafts a spiderweb of connections. And clearly it is a foundation to what is to come in the next books. If you love fantasy the likes of Brandon Sanderson, Anthony Ryan or Joe Abercrombie, you NEED to read this book. It is just too good to pass on it.