A Dark Inheritance by H. F. Askwith
Jun. 11th, 2023 09:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Once I had four brothers, three of them are dead. I am next.
Felix Ashe is sure of only one thing. In thirty days, on his eighteenth birthday, he will die. The gruesome deaths of his three brothers have convinced Felix that he and his family are under a terrible curse - one doomed to stop anyone inheriting his family’s incredibly fortune.
When an opportunity to break the curse appears to present itself, it’s impossible not to heed its dark call. And bound to everything is a deadly secret society who will either be Felix’s downfall … or his one chance at redemption.
It’s 12th November 1920.
17-year-old Felix Ashe lives in a mansion called Pitch House in Long Island, New York with his mother and 7-year-old younger brother, Nick. His father, Alfred Ashe, was born into poverty in Brooklyn but worked his way up and made his fortune in the steel industry. His mother was a promising tennis player from an old New York family who became a socialite on marrying Felix’s father and together they became famous for the fabulous parties they hosted in Pitch House.
But the family fell victim to tragedy. Felix’s oldest brother, George, died on the day of his 18th birthday - falling off the roof of the house in an awful accident that Felix witnessed. Then a couple of years later, Felix’s twin brothers Scott and Luke also died in two separate accidents on their 18th birthday - Scott thrown from one of his horses and Luke in a car accident. Alfred’s response was to pack his bags and volunteer for the war effort in Europe, transporting the wounded from the front where he suffered a very serious facial injury. He’s been in a sanatorium in England ever since, kept under the care of Dr Leery, and the family have no idea if he will ever return home.
The fact that the eldest 3 boys in the Ashe family died before they could take their inheritance, led to intense press speculation that perhaps Alfred was responsible for their deaths. Felix himself believes that the family is under a curse and ever since the deaths of Scott and Luke has had a crushing sense of fear and anxiety. He’s so convinced that he too will die on his 18th birthday that when his close friend, Lois Bouwmeester (who plans to be a psychotherapist) pressed him on his plans for the future and suggested that talking to a psychotherapist could help him, he argued with her and has been estranged ever since.
Today is 30 days before Felix’s 18th birthday and he’s just learned from his mother that his father is finally coming home together with 3 other patients of Dr Leery. For the first time, he has an opportunity to speak with his father about the curse but what he learns will set him on a search for those other patients as he digs into the macabre world of death magic and a secret society that could give Felix all the answers he seeks for beating the family curse, but at a price that may cost him everything he holds dear …
H. F. Askwith’s debut YA historical dark fantasy novel is a lively, fast-paced affair with some genuinely chilling imagery. The magic at the heart of this book is different and disturbing and I believed in Felix’s anxiety. However while it draws on the beginnings of Prohibition and the Jazz Age, I wanted more of a sense of the period and I found the love interest, Lois, to be underdeveloped and suffers in comparison go the far more complex Violet.
I picked this up because I am a sucker for books set in the 1920s - I love the fashion, the sense of change and especially the impact of World War I. One of the things I really enjoyed about this book is how Askwith works with the impact of the War on returning soldiers and especially the soldiers who returned with terrible injuries. The way she incorporates the jaw injury suffered by Felix’s father with a sinister ticking noise works really well and I think she does a clever thing where Alfred’s trauma at what he has done to his family also matches with the trauma he has suffered from the war. If I had a criticism, it’s that I wanted to see more between him and Felix - especially in respect of the Collection of objects that Alfred developed but Felix took over when he went away - but the way Askwith continues the theme with the other returned soldiers is well executed.
Although all the elements are there for the period - there are speakeasies, fast cars, telegrams and ocean liners - it was all a bit superficial and I didn’t feel quite embedded enough. That’s a shame because a lot could have been made of the contrast between the highest echelons of New York privilege and the seedy speakeasies - especially given this is set so close to the introduction of Prohibition.
Felix himself held my interest as a character. Askwith has a note at the beginning of the book talks about how it is about anxiety (and encourages readers experiencing anxiety to speak with their GP) and anxiety is the big driver for Felix. I think Askwith does a good job of conveying what that kind of pressure and despair and panic is like and the fact that it comes about because he is certain that he will die when he turns 18 makes it very easy to sympathise with his problem. The problem, for me, is that once he starts tracking down the other soldiers and the adventure part gets going the anxiety does fall by the wayside a bit and I wish that it hadn’t disappeared so quickly.
I actually found Violet (a former member of the secret society Imperium Mortis who wants to help her lover, Lachlan, escape them and bring the society down) the most interesting character in the book. She’s used to provide a lot of exposition about the backstory, but she’s determined, confident and important to a couple of plot twists. Also, what happens to her at the end of the book was really interesting and grabbed my attention and as the book offers up the possibility of a sequel, I would absolutely want to see her return to find out what happens to her.
Certainly I found her more fascinating than Lois, who is little more than a love interest who is along for the ride and that is such a shame because there are a couple of moments when she is quite strong and stands up for self and the fact that she’s set up as someone from a very well-to-do family and who is fascinated by psychotherapy and wants to go to college and do a Phd offered a huge amount of promise. Given the set up for a sequel, I would like to see her grow a bit more and become more rounded in her own right.
The fantasy elements here with the death magic concept is simple but well executed and chilling. I liked the idea of each use of death magic carrying a price to it and also how people are able to use it, although the pay off for how Felix end the family’s curse was a bit of an anti climax. I also wasn’t completely sold on the Imperium Mortis elements and I think that more could have been made of the relationship between Ada and Hugo Leery because as it is, Ada was a bit too two-dimensional as an antagonist.
Despite my criticisms, this is a pacy read and there’s a lot of plot going on here, which did hold my attention and I did want to find out if Felix could beat the curse. The story finishes with a potential set up for a sequel and I would definitely want to check that out because there are some good ideas at play here.
The Verdict:
H. F. Askwith’s debut YA historical dark fantasy novel is a lively, fast-paced affair with some genuinely chilling imagery. The magic at the heart of this book is different and disturbing and I believed in Felix’s anxiety. However while it draws on the beginnings of Prohibition and the Jazz Age, I wanted more of a sense of the period and I found the love interest, Lois, to be underdeveloped and suffers in comparison go the far more complex Violet.
A DARK INHERITANCE was released in the United Kingdom on 19th January 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Felix Ashe is sure of only one thing. In thirty days, on his eighteenth birthday, he will die. The gruesome deaths of his three brothers have convinced Felix that he and his family are under a terrible curse - one doomed to stop anyone inheriting his family’s incredibly fortune.
When an opportunity to break the curse appears to present itself, it’s impossible not to heed its dark call. And bound to everything is a deadly secret society who will either be Felix’s downfall … or his one chance at redemption.
It’s 12th November 1920.
17-year-old Felix Ashe lives in a mansion called Pitch House in Long Island, New York with his mother and 7-year-old younger brother, Nick. His father, Alfred Ashe, was born into poverty in Brooklyn but worked his way up and made his fortune in the steel industry. His mother was a promising tennis player from an old New York family who became a socialite on marrying Felix’s father and together they became famous for the fabulous parties they hosted in Pitch House.
But the family fell victim to tragedy. Felix’s oldest brother, George, died on the day of his 18th birthday - falling off the roof of the house in an awful accident that Felix witnessed. Then a couple of years later, Felix’s twin brothers Scott and Luke also died in two separate accidents on their 18th birthday - Scott thrown from one of his horses and Luke in a car accident. Alfred’s response was to pack his bags and volunteer for the war effort in Europe, transporting the wounded from the front where he suffered a very serious facial injury. He’s been in a sanatorium in England ever since, kept under the care of Dr Leery, and the family have no idea if he will ever return home.
The fact that the eldest 3 boys in the Ashe family died before they could take their inheritance, led to intense press speculation that perhaps Alfred was responsible for their deaths. Felix himself believes that the family is under a curse and ever since the deaths of Scott and Luke has had a crushing sense of fear and anxiety. He’s so convinced that he too will die on his 18th birthday that when his close friend, Lois Bouwmeester (who plans to be a psychotherapist) pressed him on his plans for the future and suggested that talking to a psychotherapist could help him, he argued with her and has been estranged ever since.
Today is 30 days before Felix’s 18th birthday and he’s just learned from his mother that his father is finally coming home together with 3 other patients of Dr Leery. For the first time, he has an opportunity to speak with his father about the curse but what he learns will set him on a search for those other patients as he digs into the macabre world of death magic and a secret society that could give Felix all the answers he seeks for beating the family curse, but at a price that may cost him everything he holds dear …
H. F. Askwith’s debut YA historical dark fantasy novel is a lively, fast-paced affair with some genuinely chilling imagery. The magic at the heart of this book is different and disturbing and I believed in Felix’s anxiety. However while it draws on the beginnings of Prohibition and the Jazz Age, I wanted more of a sense of the period and I found the love interest, Lois, to be underdeveloped and suffers in comparison go the far more complex Violet.
I picked this up because I am a sucker for books set in the 1920s - I love the fashion, the sense of change and especially the impact of World War I. One of the things I really enjoyed about this book is how Askwith works with the impact of the War on returning soldiers and especially the soldiers who returned with terrible injuries. The way she incorporates the jaw injury suffered by Felix’s father with a sinister ticking noise works really well and I think she does a clever thing where Alfred’s trauma at what he has done to his family also matches with the trauma he has suffered from the war. If I had a criticism, it’s that I wanted to see more between him and Felix - especially in respect of the Collection of objects that Alfred developed but Felix took over when he went away - but the way Askwith continues the theme with the other returned soldiers is well executed.
Although all the elements are there for the period - there are speakeasies, fast cars, telegrams and ocean liners - it was all a bit superficial and I didn’t feel quite embedded enough. That’s a shame because a lot could have been made of the contrast between the highest echelons of New York privilege and the seedy speakeasies - especially given this is set so close to the introduction of Prohibition.
Felix himself held my interest as a character. Askwith has a note at the beginning of the book talks about how it is about anxiety (and encourages readers experiencing anxiety to speak with their GP) and anxiety is the big driver for Felix. I think Askwith does a good job of conveying what that kind of pressure and despair and panic is like and the fact that it comes about because he is certain that he will die when he turns 18 makes it very easy to sympathise with his problem. The problem, for me, is that once he starts tracking down the other soldiers and the adventure part gets going the anxiety does fall by the wayside a bit and I wish that it hadn’t disappeared so quickly.
I actually found Violet (a former member of the secret society Imperium Mortis who wants to help her lover, Lachlan, escape them and bring the society down) the most interesting character in the book. She’s used to provide a lot of exposition about the backstory, but she’s determined, confident and important to a couple of plot twists. Also, what happens to her at the end of the book was really interesting and grabbed my attention and as the book offers up the possibility of a sequel, I would absolutely want to see her return to find out what happens to her.
Certainly I found her more fascinating than Lois, who is little more than a love interest who is along for the ride and that is such a shame because there are a couple of moments when she is quite strong and stands up for self and the fact that she’s set up as someone from a very well-to-do family and who is fascinated by psychotherapy and wants to go to college and do a Phd offered a huge amount of promise. Given the set up for a sequel, I would like to see her grow a bit more and become more rounded in her own right.
The fantasy elements here with the death magic concept is simple but well executed and chilling. I liked the idea of each use of death magic carrying a price to it and also how people are able to use it, although the pay off for how Felix end the family’s curse was a bit of an anti climax. I also wasn’t completely sold on the Imperium Mortis elements and I think that more could have been made of the relationship between Ada and Hugo Leery because as it is, Ada was a bit too two-dimensional as an antagonist.
Despite my criticisms, this is a pacy read and there’s a lot of plot going on here, which did hold my attention and I did want to find out if Felix could beat the curse. The story finishes with a potential set up for a sequel and I would definitely want to check that out because there are some good ideas at play here.
The Verdict:
H. F. Askwith’s debut YA historical dark fantasy novel is a lively, fast-paced affair with some genuinely chilling imagery. The magic at the heart of this book is different and disturbing and I believed in Felix’s anxiety. However while it draws on the beginnings of Prohibition and the Jazz Age, I wanted more of a sense of the period and I found the love interest, Lois, to be underdeveloped and suffers in comparison go the far more complex Violet.
A DARK INHERITANCE was released in the United Kingdom on 19th January 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
