Author: Nadine Brandes
Pages: 448
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Goodreads Rating: 4.03 stars
Published: July 10th, 2018
Source: Hardcover/bought
Description:
Thomas Fawkes is turning to stone, and the only cure to the Stone Plague is to join his father’s plot to assassinate the king of England.
Silent wars leave the most carnage. The wars that are never declared, but are carried out in dark alleys with masks and hidden knives. Wars where color power alters the natural rhythm of 17th century London. And when the king calls for peace, no one listens until he finally calls for death.
But what if death finds him first?
Keepers think the Igniters caused the plague. Igniters think the Keepers did. But all Thomas knows is that the Stone Plague infecting his eye is spreading. And if he doesn’t do something soon, he’ll be a lifeless statue. So when his Keeper father, Guy Fawkes, invites him to join the Gunpowder Plot—claiming it will put an end to the plague—Thomas is in.
The plan: use 36 barrels of gunpowder to blow up the Igniter King.
The problem: Doing so will destroy the family of the girl Thomas loves. But backing out of the plot will send his father and the other plotters to the gallows. To save one, Thomas will lose the other.
No matter Thomas’s choice, one thing is clear: once the decision is made and the color masks have been put on, there’s no turning back.
My Thoughts:
Historical fiction is my first love. And historical fiction with some fantastical, magical elements is quite possibly my first love, returned and looking like something I could have never imagined. You know when you see a character in a movie reminiscing about their first love from childhood, and suddenly that person shows up and its like WHOA, this person is more than they could have even dreamed of!
Nadine Brandes is a word wizard, and her novel Fawkes is a spell she's cast over all of us lucky enough to read it. I love how she takes things from history, twists them up so tightly and perfectly with her fictional world, and presents them in the bindings of this book. While I have her Out Of Time trilogy, this is actually the first book of hers I've read. I plan on rectifying that soon.
Thomas Fawkes is such a complex character with so many things going against him... but one thing that ends up being the best thing for him {don't worry, no spoilers as to what that is!}. Thomas does all he can think to do to help rid himself of the Stone Plague and get his color power. He befriends an Igniter, and slowly starts to question everything he's known was true and right.
I love the Lutheran twist this story takes with the color powers. I don't want to give too much away, but its fun to read through and know some of the history that Nadine ties in with her magical fantasy.
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