Review by Booklist Review
Duncan Silver is a woodsman, well versed in navigating the fae-infested forest that has overtaken parts of Great Britain after WWI. An ancient fae race called the Huldu kidnap human children, and Silver must use his military expertise and guile to rescue them from their merciless captors. During one excursion, though, Silver discovers deeper and more unsettling machinations that require him to delve into secrets of his own past. Along with a band of eccentric, lewd, and sometimes indecent cohorts, Silver battles and maneuvers his way through an unsettling new kind of war with a supernatural enemy that threatens the future of humanity. Using post-WWI Scottish and British vernacular, extensive research into weaponry, and historical references accurate to the period, Morgan immerses readers in a prurient and supremely entertaining world. Whether it's reluctant fantasy heroes (Land Fit for Heroes trilogy) or brooding killing machines like Hakan Veil in Thin Air (2018), Morgan excels at creating dark, conflicted characters and immersive and atmospheric settings that drip with menace and harm.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Like many a classic Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe tale, this addictive hardboiled fantasy from Arthur C. Clarke Award winner Morgan (Altered Carbon) takes its attitude from the disillusionment triggered by WWI. Here the horrors of the trenches haunt the sleepy streets of an alternate post-war Britain that is being rapidly overgrown by a wickedly enchanted forest. Veteran Duncan Silver is a successful "woodsman," a hunter who retrieves children stolen into this forest by the Huldu, elven beings who leave magical changelings in place of kidnapped infants. Hired to retrieve Mimi Rush, Silver soon runs afoul of the Forest Commission, the government department working to fight the encroaching tide of sprite-infested trees. Still, he manages to quickly dispose of the changeling left in Mimi's place, track down the time and place of substitution, and then raid the forest to find her. But Mimi is a captive of Mebhuranon, a queen of the Huldu, and Silver has many other Huldu enemies seeking revenge on him, making his mission especially dangerous. Morgan pits the forces of ancient magic and modern warfare against each other and studs the plot with clever clues leading up to the successful if bitter end of Silver's quest. Readers will be hooked. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
In post-World War II Britain, peace proves fleeting as an ancient and otherworldly threat emerges. The Huldu, a powerful Fae race, begin stealing children, casting a new shadow over an already fractured land. Duncan Silver, a hardened war veteran burning with anger, is hired by a desperate mother to find her missing daughter Miriam. Armed with little more than his trench gun and old scars, he enters the Forest to retrieve Miriam, but the rescue mission quickly turns personal, and perilous, when he crosses the wrong Fae. This stand-alone grimdark fantasy marks a shift from Morgan's (Thin Air) usual works, yet retains his signature hardboiled edge and gritty intrigue. Whether writing science fiction or fantasy, Morgan creates atmospheric, lived-in worlds with flawed, complex characters. Duncan is a flinty and relentless protagonist, and through his brooding resolve, the story unfolds with unflinching violence and moral corruption. Though the pacing can be slow at times, the sleek prose and distinctive take on Fae mythology lend the tale allure. VERDICT An absorbing, brutal read perfect for fans of C. Robert Cargill.--Andrea Dyba
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