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novellenovels's review against another edition
dark
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ecdereus's review
4.0
Een uitstekend, boeiend en prima afgerond vervolgdeel op 'Het laatste uur'.
Het is vandaag de dag onvoorstelbaar hoe de mensen in de 14e eeuw leefden: de sociale verschillen tussen de aristocratie en het gewone volk, de onhygiënische omstandigheden, maar vooral ook de enorme invloed van de kerk en de moralistisch prekende priesters met hun hel en verdoemenis, biecht, boetedoening, absolutie en Gods toorn die in de vorm van de Zwarte Dood over het ongeletterde en godvrezende volk zou zijn afgeroepen als gevolg van hun zonden.
Het is vandaag de dag onvoorstelbaar hoe de mensen in de 14e eeuw leefden: de sociale verschillen tussen de aristocratie en het gewone volk, de onhygiënische omstandigheden, maar vooral ook de enorme invloed van de kerk en de moralistisch prekende priesters met hun hel en verdoemenis, biecht, boetedoening, absolutie en Gods toorn die in de vorm van de Zwarte Dood over het ongeletterde en godvrezende volk zou zijn afgeroepen als gevolg van hun zonden.
drjoannehill's review against another edition
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Sequel to The Last Hours, it is 1349 and the plague/pestilence is running its course. Considering the opportunities (while grieving and coping with loss) that the huge population reduction might offer in terms of social order changes - many lords have disappeared, labour is in short supply - the lady of Develish and her serfs hatch their plans for freedom.
The book is quite complicated in the way it is written, I had to read back over things a lot or just accept I hadn't understood a part just to keep moving forward. The action takes place over a short time, so there is micro level detail about what people are up to and who they are talking to, which I found complex. There's no single narrator and we are supposed to keep in mind what plots and plans one person knows and another doesn't, while also knowing how that can lead to misunderstanding or subterfuge regarding another person.
But, it's informative about the Black Death, social hierarchy and what passed for heresy at the time (some really weird things to modern readers, like telling people that disease was caused by poor hygiene rather than god's judgement - that was heretical) and tells a good story of how to weave a cloak of lies.
The book is quite complicated in the way it is written, I had to read back over things a lot or just accept I hadn't understood a part just to keep moving forward. The action takes place over a short time, so there is micro level detail about what people are up to and who they are talking to, which I found complex. There's no single narrator and we are supposed to keep in mind what plots and plans one person knows and another doesn't, while also knowing how that can lead to misunderstanding or subterfuge regarding another person.
But, it's informative about the Black Death, social hierarchy and what passed for heresy at the time (some really weird things to modern readers, like telling people that disease was caused by poor hygiene rather than god's judgement - that was heretical) and tells a good story of how to weave a cloak of lies.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Miscarriage, Violence, and Abortion
helgamharb's review against another edition
4.0
While there's life there's hope.
The Turn of Midnight is the sequel to The Last Hours, the events of which take place in 1348/49 in England.
In the second book we follow Lady Anne, Thaddeus and the other survivors as they struggle to stay alive, keep their community safe and help towards its prosperity in the last stages of the Black Death.
The Turn of Midnight is the sequel to The Last Hours, the events of which take place in 1348/49 in England.
In the second book we follow Lady Anne, Thaddeus and the other survivors as they struggle to stay alive, keep their community safe and help towards its prosperity in the last stages of the Black Death.
shiveryteacup's review against another edition
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
jol69's review against another edition
3.0
Not as good as the first in the series, but a solid enjoyable work of historical fiction.
gillbrookman's review against another edition
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
mjporterauthor's review against another edition
4.0
I received an EArc from Netgalley.
The sequel to The Last Hours continues the story of the people of Develish, Lady Anne and Thurkell in particular, although the younger and older generation aren't missed.
With the Black Death seemingly on the wane, Thurkell and the five young men who accompany him, are able to move around Dorsetshire with more ease. The bleak aftermath of the plague is never far from them, and the depictions of a deserted landscape are haunting.
The suggestions of social mobility, explored throughout The Last Hours, and by the serfs of Develish, who have long worked in secrecy to buy themselves out of serfdom, are cast into stark relief when Thurkell comes into contact with different demesnes, where the Norman Lords have ruled through the threat of the Church and the whip. Perhaps more than anything, it is this which truly reveals the hierarchical society of the time and the fear with which serfs were ruled. The ideas, conveyed against the more common sense approach of those from Develish, that even when starving the men and women of different demesnes are too fearful to eat food that is freely available for fear of the wrath of their Lord's stewards, no doubt dead, even though they've tried to outrun the plague, is shocking. Time and again, I felt rage for these fictional characters, who, I hope, are a representation of what the time period was truly like when so many were oppressed.
It is a delight of the novel, that it manages to convey the coming social changes with skill that never becomes tedious.
The novel, does, unfortunately, fail to maintain the tension of the first book in the series, and the end scenes only truly work because the reader is so desperate for Lady Anne and Thurkell to succeed in their attempts.
That said, this is a deeply satisfying novel,and it was a delight to read.
The sequel to The Last Hours continues the story of the people of Develish, Lady Anne and Thurkell in particular, although the younger and older generation aren't missed.
With the Black Death seemingly on the wane, Thurkell and the five young men who accompany him, are able to move around Dorsetshire with more ease. The bleak aftermath of the plague is never far from them, and the depictions of a deserted landscape are haunting.
The suggestions of social mobility, explored throughout The Last Hours, and by the serfs of Develish, who have long worked in secrecy to buy themselves out of serfdom, are cast into stark relief when Thurkell comes into contact with different demesnes, where the Norman Lords have ruled through the threat of the Church and the whip. Perhaps more than anything, it is this which truly reveals the hierarchical society of the time and the fear with which serfs were ruled. The ideas, conveyed against the more common sense approach of those from Develish, that even when starving the men and women of different demesnes are too fearful to eat food that is freely available for fear of the wrath of their Lord's stewards, no doubt dead, even though they've tried to outrun the plague, is shocking. Time and again, I felt rage for these fictional characters, who, I hope, are a representation of what the time period was truly like when so many were oppressed.
It is a delight of the novel, that it manages to convey the coming social changes with skill that never becomes tedious.
The novel, does, unfortunately, fail to maintain the tension of the first book in the series, and the end scenes only truly work because the reader is so desperate for Lady Anne and Thurkell to succeed in their attempts.
That said, this is a deeply satisfying novel,and it was a delight to read.