Thomas may have won his castle…but can he keep it?
A fast paced first book, The Orphan King, saw Thomas coming of age, setting off to reclaim his fortress, Magnus, and successfully recapturing the legendary keep. I expected this second book to have less action and focus instead on the two conspiracies that still remain hidden in the shadows around Thomas. While these opposing forces certainly came into play, much of the story still revolved around battles and the question of Thomas’ right to the throne.
The first thing that really struck me about the second book was the rampant magical use. All right. I jest. However, Mr. Brouwer is clearly in the “magic is science we don’t understand yet” camp. We learned a great deal more about Thomas’ hidden library and how it is the key to his claiming and holding Magnus. In a move very reminiscent of Mark Twain’s Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Thomas begins introducing technology to his kingdom that is centuries before it’s time. While we saw a bit of this with the powders and herbs in the first book, I had no idea that the knowledge in those books is so powerful and pivotal. You can definitely see both why the common people would perceive these things as magical and why the two societies are hell bent on obtaining them.
As for the two shadow groups, I thought they managed to be both the best and weakest part of the book. We learned a great deal about them during this entry in the series. We know that one side, presumably the bad guys, are the druids. And we know that both sides really want Thomas’ books. In many ways the sneaking and the disguises feels like a medieval Mission Impossible episode. I truly enjoyed watching them plot and pull at their various webs, trying desperately to trap Thomas. I adore this take on the druids and can’t wait to learn more about them. I genuinely felt Thomas’ frustration as he tries to learn who to trust. And that there is part of the problem. I’m literally as frustrated as the main character over the lack of information. I can see the benefit to leaving the reader somewhat in the dark, but by now I think we should have learned a lot more about the “good guys.”
Based on the little we’ve gleaned, they are in opposition to the druids, but who they are and their purpose in seeking the books is unclear. (As is, I might add, the origin of all this amazing knowledge.) If I were trying to bet on the outcome of the series simply based on these two books, I’d say that both sides are evil and playing Thomas. I don’t actually think that’s true, and I’m sure we’ll learn more about the Light Side down the road. However, that is the impression the group is giving at the moment. I admit it’s possibly a knee jerk reaction on my part to the fact that both sides are using young women to get at Thomas. It’s an element that seemed fitting for the evil druids, if still uncomfortable, but for the good guys to be using it just seems wrong. I would far rather have the Templar Knight be their lesion with Thomas.
Where does that leave me with the Fortress of Mist book and the Merlin’s Immortals series itself? Cautiously optimistic is probably the best phrase. There’s a lot of good in these books and heaps of potential for the series. But there’s enough questions needing answers right now for the jury to be out on the series as whole. If you really love tales of Arthur and alternate histories though and are willing to give an in-progress series a shot, definitely check these books out at: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/tag/merlins-immortals-series/ Even you don't end up loving the whole series these first two books do provide fun reads with lots of swords and legends.
My thanks to Waterbrook Multnomah for providing me with a copy of Fortress of Mist in return for my honest opinion of the book.