A few years ago, Clifford Beal delighted readers with his historical fantasy novel Gideon’s Angel.
This first book was set at the end of the English Civil war (mid 1650’s) with King Charles having just ‘died’ and Oliver Cromwell ruling as King in all but name. We meet an exiled soldier-for-hire to the fallen King of France and his all-powerful advisor who turn up seeking revenge against the tyrant responsible for killing the man they believe should still be alive – sitting rightfully on the throne.
When he arrives in England though, he realises that revenge is not going to be quite so easy and that his plot is not the only one in motion. An army guided by the devil’s hand and made up of demonic entities means that rather than kill Cromwell, Clifford Beal must save Cromwell to save England from a literal descent into Hell.
The title gained rare praise from Michael Moorcock who himself admits he ‘rarely reads fantasy any more’ and James Lovegrove who raved about its ‘Splendid… sweaty, superstitious, blood-soaked savagery’. In addition, Beal was able to break into the newspaper review columns (who usually snub fantasy), all of whom agreed it was a fast pace, ‘swashbuckling’ adventure that made perfect use of its historical settings, terrific supernatural set-pieces and non-heroes that all seemed to have justifiable reasons for their actions.
Well, now fans of the first novel are preparing for the second in the series ‘The Raven’s Banquet’. This time it’s a prequel novel. Here’s what we know:
Set in Germany in 1626, the hero of Gideon’s Angel – Richard Treadwell – returns to tell how his journey into the supernatural began.
As a young man he journeyed to Hamburg to seek his fortune as a mercenary with the Danish army in the vast war raging in Germany between the Catholic Hapsburg empire and the Protestant princes. But he brings with him an old secret that, as he descends into a horrific maelstrom of conflict and slaughter, quickly destroys his illusions of adventure, right and wrong, and good and evil.
Raven’s Banquet is a prequel, but it works as a standalone so it’s completely accessible to new readers, and it’s a great adventure novel that blends historical reality with dark, supernatural intrigue.
The book has just been released by Solaris in the UK and we are excited to get our hands on the first few pages (which, again, work as a standalone). Additionally, I have to say that I ‘love’ the cover art – how beautiful is that? The re-designed cover for the first novel (to your right) is well worth picking up if you can get your hands on it too. Yes… I do love eBooks, but there are some books I like to have on my shelves (and turn face facing for time to time). Enjoy!
http://fantasy-faction.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Ravens-Banquet-Chapter-1.pdf
The publishers and author have also put together a book trailer. Check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HWb1hVpPsE
Richard Marpole
Jennie Ivins