Gorse by Sam K. Horton
Dec. 31st, 2024 11:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Cornwall, 1786.
For years, the villagers of Mirecoombe have turned to their Keeper, the old and battle-scarred Lord Pelagius Hunt, mediator between the worlds of men and fey, for help. But this is a time of change. Belief in the old ways, in the piskies and spriggans, has dimmed, kindled instead in the Reverend Cleaver’s fiery pulpit. His church stands proud above the mire; God’s name is whispered, hushed, loved. And now, death stalks Mirecoombe on the moor. There are corpses in the heather. There is blood in the gorse.
Nancy Bligh is determined to do what Pel will not: maintain the balance between the fey and the human world, be the Keeper that he refuses to be. Blessed with natural sight, friend to spriggans, pinkies and human locals of Mirecoombe, Nancy has power that Pel never had and never lets her use. But as Mirecoombe falls into darkness, perhaps her time has come.
A poignant and lyrical examination of faith, love and grief, Gorse asks what do we choose to believe, and how does that shape who we are?
It’s 1786.
Mirecoombe is a small village in Cornwall. It’s a traditional place that always used to respect the old ways, its residents carrying charms to warn off the spriggans that would like to attack them on the moors and the piskies that would take them off the safe paths or leaving food for the brownies that help keep their homes in good repair. Order is maintained by the Keeper, Pelagius ‘Pel’ Hunt, who mediates between the villagers and the old god of the High Moor, who controls the fey entities and helps Pel to enforce the bargain between men and fey.
Recently, though, something has gone very wrong. Villagers are being killed and it’s not clear by what (or who) or why. Desperate for answers they turn to Reverend Cleaver, the local cleric, who urges them to put their faith in God and turn away from superstition. Cleaver and Pel used to be friends until 5 years earlier when Cleaver’s son, Callum, died in the Fellmire. Callum had always wanted to know more of the old ways and Cleaver blamed Pel for his death.
With Cleaver turning the villagers against Pel, the old man is reluctant to investigate the deaths. It’s up to Nancy Bligh, a young woman who’s become like a daughter to Pel ever since he helped her mother when the fey tried to swap her for a changeling. Both Pel and Nancy have power but whereas Pel’s comes from books and learning but Nancy can see all the magical creatures naturally and she has a Murmur that gives her abilities that frighten Pel.
As Mirecombe tears itself apart and the body count rises, Nancy and Pel must find a way to identify what is responsible and stop it before the balance between the old gods and the new is destroyed forever …
Sam K Horton’s debut dark historical fantasy novel (the first in a series) is richly written with well drawn main characters and detailed world building. Horton handles the book’s main themes about faith, tradition and finding your own identity in an intelligent way and although I have some nitpicks (there are a couple of historical anachronisms and at times the writing too much), the ending has a neat set up for a sequel that I’d definitely read.
I wasn’t sure what to make of this book when I started it. It opens with a prologue that I found a bit difficult to get into mainly because of the lack of information about who the character is (although that becomes clear later) but also because Horton has a very rich writing style, almost maximalist in terms of using similes and metaphors and that isn’t normally my thing. However I’m really pleased that I stayed with it because the style works with the story that Horton is telling.
The story revolves around 2 relationships - Pel and Reverend Cleaver and Pel and Nancy. Although both relationships are broadly drawn (Pel and Cleaver are friends to enemies while Pel and Nancy have a father/daughter relationship), Horton takes care in setting each up and the way in which he show their respective developments is both sensitively and intelligently done. One of my favourite scenes involves Nancy using Pel’s coat to fashion her own outfit and take ownership of her own powers is done in a particularly smart way.
Nancy makes for an interesting protagonist and Horton gives her a definite arc as she looks to reconcile her relationship with Pel and find a role for herself. If I’m being nitpicky then in some ways she is a little anachronistic in terms of her place within the village and her attitudes towards men in authority but that is offset by the fact that she was taken by the fairies at birth and has abilities, which would give her a different perspective. Her kinder view towards the fairies contrasts with Pel’s more authoritarian and rigid approach and I enjoyed the way Horton depicts him as a man who has outlived his prime but who is haunted by mistakes he made in his treatment of Cleaver’s son, Callum, and who is frightened to properly train Nancy to take over from him. I did want to see more of his friendship with Cleaver as all we really see on the page is the antagonism between them and the brief glimpses of rapprochement aren’t quite enough to give weight to the schism.
Horton makes great use of Cornish folklore and its creatures. I enjoyed the sense of menace that he gives some, e.g. Cutty Soames a vicious spriggan who has been released back onto the moorland after being banished by Pel and the shyness of the brownies who look after the bar and Pel’s houseboat. Equally good are the scenes in the alter-world as Pel tries to get to the bottom of what has happened to shake the balance. I would have liked more scenes with the Wild Hunt given the build up that they get but what is there on the page works well in terms of providing both threat and drama.
There are some anachronisms within the book, e.g. a reference to zoetropes, which weren’t invented until the 1830s and I’ll admit to being a little confused as to which villager was which at certain times (something which could be resolved with a character sheet). However there is a lot to enjoy within the story and the book ends with an intriguing set up for a sequel promising another threat to Mirecombe’s residents and on the strength of this book, I’m keen to read it.
The Verdict:
Sam K Horton’s debut dark historical fantasy novel (the first in a series) is richly written with well drawn main characters and detailed world building. Horton handles the book’s main themes about faith, tradition and finding your own identity in an intelligent way and although I have some nitpicks (there are a couple of historical anachronisms and at times the writing too much), the ending has a neat set up for a sequel that I’d definitely read.
GORSE was released in the United Kingdom on 12 September 2024. Thanks to Rebellion Publishing for the review copy of this book.
Cornwall, 1786.
For years, the villagers of Mirecoombe have turned to their Keeper, the old and battle-scarred Lord Pelagius Hunt, mediator between the worlds of men and fey, for help. But this is a time of change. Belief in the old ways, in the piskies and spriggans, has dimmed, kindled instead in the Reverend Cleaver’s fiery pulpit. His church stands proud above the mire; God’s name is whispered, hushed, loved. And now, death stalks Mirecoombe on the moor. There are corpses in the heather. There is blood in the gorse.
Nancy Bligh is determined to do what Pel will not: maintain the balance between the fey and the human world, be the Keeper that he refuses to be. Blessed with natural sight, friend to spriggans, pinkies and human locals of Mirecoombe, Nancy has power that Pel never had and never lets her use. But as Mirecoombe falls into darkness, perhaps her time has come.
A poignant and lyrical examination of faith, love and grief, Gorse asks what do we choose to believe, and how does that shape who we are?
It’s 1786.
Mirecoombe is a small village in Cornwall. It’s a traditional place that always used to respect the old ways, its residents carrying charms to warn off the spriggans that would like to attack them on the moors and the piskies that would take them off the safe paths or leaving food for the brownies that help keep their homes in good repair. Order is maintained by the Keeper, Pelagius ‘Pel’ Hunt, who mediates between the villagers and the old god of the High Moor, who controls the fey entities and helps Pel to enforce the bargain between men and fey.
Recently, though, something has gone very wrong. Villagers are being killed and it’s not clear by what (or who) or why. Desperate for answers they turn to Reverend Cleaver, the local cleric, who urges them to put their faith in God and turn away from superstition. Cleaver and Pel used to be friends until 5 years earlier when Cleaver’s son, Callum, died in the Fellmire. Callum had always wanted to know more of the old ways and Cleaver blamed Pel for his death.
With Cleaver turning the villagers against Pel, the old man is reluctant to investigate the deaths. It’s up to Nancy Bligh, a young woman who’s become like a daughter to Pel ever since he helped her mother when the fey tried to swap her for a changeling. Both Pel and Nancy have power but whereas Pel’s comes from books and learning but Nancy can see all the magical creatures naturally and she has a Murmur that gives her abilities that frighten Pel.
As Mirecombe tears itself apart and the body count rises, Nancy and Pel must find a way to identify what is responsible and stop it before the balance between the old gods and the new is destroyed forever …
Sam K Horton’s debut dark historical fantasy novel (the first in a series) is richly written with well drawn main characters and detailed world building. Horton handles the book’s main themes about faith, tradition and finding your own identity in an intelligent way and although I have some nitpicks (there are a couple of historical anachronisms and at times the writing too much), the ending has a neat set up for a sequel that I’d definitely read.
I wasn’t sure what to make of this book when I started it. It opens with a prologue that I found a bit difficult to get into mainly because of the lack of information about who the character is (although that becomes clear later) but also because Horton has a very rich writing style, almost maximalist in terms of using similes and metaphors and that isn’t normally my thing. However I’m really pleased that I stayed with it because the style works with the story that Horton is telling.
The story revolves around 2 relationships - Pel and Reverend Cleaver and Pel and Nancy. Although both relationships are broadly drawn (Pel and Cleaver are friends to enemies while Pel and Nancy have a father/daughter relationship), Horton takes care in setting each up and the way in which he show their respective developments is both sensitively and intelligently done. One of my favourite scenes involves Nancy using Pel’s coat to fashion her own outfit and take ownership of her own powers is done in a particularly smart way.
Nancy makes for an interesting protagonist and Horton gives her a definite arc as she looks to reconcile her relationship with Pel and find a role for herself. If I’m being nitpicky then in some ways she is a little anachronistic in terms of her place within the village and her attitudes towards men in authority but that is offset by the fact that she was taken by the fairies at birth and has abilities, which would give her a different perspective. Her kinder view towards the fairies contrasts with Pel’s more authoritarian and rigid approach and I enjoyed the way Horton depicts him as a man who has outlived his prime but who is haunted by mistakes he made in his treatment of Cleaver’s son, Callum, and who is frightened to properly train Nancy to take over from him. I did want to see more of his friendship with Cleaver as all we really see on the page is the antagonism between them and the brief glimpses of rapprochement aren’t quite enough to give weight to the schism.
Horton makes great use of Cornish folklore and its creatures. I enjoyed the sense of menace that he gives some, e.g. Cutty Soames a vicious spriggan who has been released back onto the moorland after being banished by Pel and the shyness of the brownies who look after the bar and Pel’s houseboat. Equally good are the scenes in the alter-world as Pel tries to get to the bottom of what has happened to shake the balance. I would have liked more scenes with the Wild Hunt given the build up that they get but what is there on the page works well in terms of providing both threat and drama.
There are some anachronisms within the book, e.g. a reference to zoetropes, which weren’t invented until the 1830s and I’ll admit to being a little confused as to which villager was which at certain times (something which could be resolved with a character sheet). However there is a lot to enjoy within the story and the book ends with an intriguing set up for a sequel promising another threat to Mirecombe’s residents and on the strength of this book, I’m keen to read it.
The Verdict:
Sam K Horton’s debut dark historical fantasy novel (the first in a series) is richly written with well drawn main characters and detailed world building. Horton handles the book’s main themes about faith, tradition and finding your own identity in an intelligent way and although I have some nitpicks (there are a couple of historical anachronisms and at times the writing too much), the ending has a neat set up for a sequel that I’d definitely read.
GORSE was released in the United Kingdom on 12 September 2024. Thanks to Rebellion Publishing for the review copy of this book.
