A review of
The Ravenmaster’s Revenge
By
Jacob Sannox
The Ravenmaster’s Revenge: The Return of King Arthur as the title suggests is a re-working of the classic Arthurian tale but instead is set mostly in modern day England. The main plot is about an old apprentice of Merlin who schemes and plots behind the scenes with the aim of maintaining the ancient bloodline of the English kings, but at any cost. In the present day he has become the Ravenmaster of the Tower of London and wields his supernatural ravens to subtly achieve his aims even if it means doing great evil to do so. Arthur finds himself, quite rightly, on the side of good and justice, and with his knights must stop this ancient sorcerer and let history take its course.
The story skips through important dates in history and reveals how Arthur took part in those historic events. In fact, the entire story is very cleverly entwined with English history which is probably the thing I enjoyed the most. Sannox shows us the fictional “real” story which was not recorded in the history books as Arthur, Merlin and his knights struggle against the schemes and dark witchcraft of the Ravenmaster. Arthur’s extreme longevity is explained really nicely as the man lives from 5th Century to present day, I won’t spoil it but it all makes sense. All the classic names from Arthurian canon are there too but have been cleverly re-worked into interesting characters. We also discover Arthur’s story from the 5th Century and the original legend of Arthur, as he battles Mordred, through to the English Civil war and the fate of King Charles and the Stewart family, we also get to see him take part in the Great Fire of London, the Battle of Waterloo and World War One, as Arthur continues his fight to protect the England he once ruled.
I really enjoyed this book. It is relatively short and makes for a quick enjoyable read. I would very much recommend it for history fans and fans of alternate history or Arthurian canon. There is also a sequel that I look forward to reading as soon as possible.
Thanks for reading
Lee