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In this
second book of the Blackthorn and Grim Novels, the healer,
Blackthorn, and her companion, Grim, must solve the mystery
of the beast trapped in the tower and break the curse that
had kept him there.
We learn,
as the story advances, that Blackthorn has lost her husband
and child to the brutal chieftain, Mathuin, and was later
imprisoned for confronting him. Freed by a fey, she is bound
to him by a promise to help anyone who asks her, and cannot
seek revenge until seven years have passed.
Blackthorn's
resolve to comply is challenged by the arrival of a childhood
friend, Flannan, who offers her an easy way to destroy Mathuin.
So when Lady Geiléis comes asking for help to free
her lands from the beast imprisoned in a tower of thorns whose
anguished cries have caused the crops to fail and killed the
cattle, Blackthorn agrees as a first step on going South to
Mathuin.
Whether
Blackthorn will keep her promise to the elf or risk her future
by pursuing her revenge may be a moot point, because the more
she learns about the curse, the more she is convinced that
Lady Geiléis knows more than she is telling, and that
the price to break the curse maybe her life. While the story
of the Tower of Thorns is satisfactorily resolved, Blackthorn's
and Grimm's story arc moves on to the next installment of
this compelling series.
The story
is told from three different points of view. Blackthorn's
and Grimm's voices are quite distinct and their narratives
work well together to give us a complete picture. On the other
hand, I don't think Lady Geiléis's point of view was
necessary, apart from her retelling of the origins of the
curse, and this part could have been added on its own. But
this is a small complain. Overall I enjoyed this story very
much and can't wait to return to this primeval medieval Ireland
Juliet Marillier has so believably recreated for us.
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