To The Last Page

The second book in Peter McLean’s grimdark fantasy War for the Rose Throne series continues on much as expected from Priest of Bones . In the first book, it was very much a case of Tomas Piety and his warriors, the ‘Pious Men’ returning from the wars to reconsolidate their power base in the city of Ellinburg that had been lost in his absence. He’s had to make certain sacrifices and commit some heinous murders to do that, but Peter McLean’s Ellinburg is a brutal world and you’re not exactly going to appealing to the authorities to regain control over the drug and prostitution establishments in the city. One of those necessary sacrifices to be made has been his marriage of convenience to Ailsa, a resourceful secret agent, a spy for the crown, a ‘Queen’s Man’, with influential connections in Dannsburg. He has consequently had to be less involved in hands-on activities, since he is trying to give the appearance at least of a respectable businessman as well as a priest, although there is ve...

The world of Peter McLean’s Priest of Bones is a harsh and brutal one and there aren’t too many good people to be found there. Thomas Piety might be a priest but that doesn’t mean much here, and the first few pages alone quickly make it apparent that he can be as ruthless and quick to use his swords as any man. And he’s going to need to be. Piety, his brother Jochen and his small band of soldiers have just returned from the wars and he has business affairs to take control of again back home in Ellingburg. And it’s not God’s business. Not to put too fine a point on it, the family’s business involves running whorehouses, taverns and a protection racket for the small businesses in the district of Ellingburg known as the Stink. The ‘Pious Men’ are gangsters. Much has changed since they went off to fight in the war, changed in relation to the horrors they witnessed during the war, but also in Ellingburgh where the families ‘interests’ now lies in the hands of others. That’s not a good comb...