Flux Reviews: Henry VIII: Wolfman by A.E. Moorat
8:35 pm
Title: Henry VIII: Wolfman
Author: A.E. Moorat
Publication Date: March 30, 2014
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton
Format: Paperback pocketbook
Price: ₱ ??? (Philippines) - $ ??? (Amazon)
Plot Synopsis:
Five hundred years ago Henry VIII was known for being larger-than-life, with had a fearsome temper and bloodthirsty reputation to match; more beast than human, some might say
Henry VIII was the bloodiest king ever to have sat on the throne of England. This fast-paced, exciting, and inventive retelling of his reign will bring to light the real man behind the myth. Be dragged back kicking and screaming to the paranormal world of Tudor England . . .
Henry VIII was the bloodiest king ever to have sat on the throne of England. This fast-paced, exciting, and inventive retelling of his reign will bring to light the real man behind the myth. Be dragged back kicking and screaming to the paranormal world of Tudor England . . .
The Review
King Henry VIII of England is probably most well known for: (1) Being fat. (2) Beheading (Two of) his wives when they couldn't bear him a male heir. (3) Basically giving the Holy Roman Church the bird when he made his own church. (4) Actually being king of England.
But what the history books didn't tell us is the hidden aspect of his reign, that he's actually like, a literal fricken' beast. So yeah, your history professor lied to you guys.
He's basically that cool uncle you have over every Thanksgiving, with hunting for turkey and stuffings, except Henry fucking hunts deer and boars and shit.
Set in an alternate history in the 1560's-70's(?) during the reign of King Henry VIII, where werewolves or out in the country, demons are making pacts with humans, Seal Team 6-like elite cardinal special forces, witchfinder generals, the Sweating Sickness, and the ever-lovable Henry VIII, this is actually a great book, sure to fill you with suspense and give you a few chuckles over the sheer British humor in it, full of twists and turns, betrayals and discoveries.
Did I mention Cardinal commandoes? Nn the command of the Pope? Yeah, fuckin' Cardinal Commandoes, part of the Protektorate, which is basically a group of demon hunting priests who's job's to make sure Hellgate: London IRL doesn't happen.
And if the Wolfmen weren't trouble enough for the country, the Sweating Sickness is also ravaging the land, killing thousands. And the mysterious Wagon Men, the Scourge of the Countryside, who come into homes to carry them off, supposedly to cure them, hundreds, maybe thousands of the sick bastards to God knows where . . .
When you look at a picture of Henry VIII you usually saw this portly grim monarch who kills his wives when she doesn't give him a boy, but actually he's like one of us, his first thoughts are of breakfast and his wife, Katherine of Aragon, and how to avoid responsibility and hunting. He actually makes some funny jokes here. Just imagine a less loud and lewd Robert Baratheon. Both men used to be muscular, strong men back when they weren't king and when they weren't fat, both of them enjoy drink and food and feasts, both enjoyed hunting. The politics of King Robert's court was very closely tied to King Henry VIII's, that because they liked to hunt, they needed to delegate power. And as such, the courtiers would think that they can get more power.
A bookish "Witchfinder General" and his bad-ass wife (Who I imagined was played by Helena Bonham Carter) who has a knack for being almost comedically cruel and for being theatric, their parts were almost like a Mummer's farce, I couldn't take the action-y bit seriously! I kinda expected that Monty Python made a skit of this in one of their their Flying Circus or something!
The author tried to emulate the historical events very closely while making it his own with his own plot, alternately, he also uses some speech and phrases and situations that we may commonly encounter in the modern UK to make this more relatable and not like a textbook or a Shakespearian novel (Which I have no animosity towards.)
This is clearly a very good alternate-history/I-Dont-Know-What-Genre book for history buffs, fantasy lovers, and supernatural readers, genuinely a good read! Some chapters feature the POV of some other characters, minor and major. This is one of the books that me paranoid whether this character or that will live or die, (Just like A Song of Fire and Ice), if you haven't read up on your history, you won't know who kills who, which characters survive and so on and so forth.
If you're gonna read this because you watched Tudors or just because you want to find out more facts about the king, you might be disappointed because it would appear that this book is more focused on the monsters and the affairs that sprout from them than facts like the fact that King Henry VIII was a great composer.
Did I mention Cardinal commandoes? Nn the command of the Pope? Yeah, fuckin' Cardinal Commandoes, part of the Protektorate, which is basically a group of demon hunting priests who's job's to make sure Hellgate: London IRL doesn't happen.
And if the Wolfmen weren't trouble enough for the country, the Sweating Sickness is also ravaging the land, killing thousands. And the mysterious Wagon Men, the Scourge of the Countryside, who come into homes to carry them off, supposedly to cure them, hundreds, maybe thousands of the sick bastards to God knows where . . .
 |
| See? Totally legit |
A bookish "Witchfinder General" and his bad-ass wife (Who I imagined was played by Helena Bonham Carter) who has a knack for being almost comedically cruel and for being theatric, their parts were almost like a Mummer's farce, I couldn't take the action-y bit seriously! I kinda expected that Monty Python made a skit of this in one of their their Flying Circus or something!
The author tried to emulate the historical events very closely while making it his own with his own plot, alternately, he also uses some speech and phrases and situations that we may commonly encounter in the modern UK to make this more relatable and not like a textbook or a Shakespearian novel (Which I have no animosity towards.)
This is clearly a very good alternate-history/I-Dont-Know-What-Genre book for history buffs, fantasy lovers, and supernatural readers, genuinely a good read! Some chapters feature the POV of some other characters, minor and major. This is one of the books that me paranoid whether this character or that will live or die, (Just like A Song of Fire and Ice), if you haven't read up on your history, you won't know who kills who, which characters survive and so on and so forth.
If you're gonna read this because you watched Tudors or just because you want to find out more facts about the king, you might be disappointed because it would appear that this book is more focused on the monsters and the affairs that sprout from them than facts like the fact that King Henry VIII was a great composer.
Historical note
(From the Author)
Tudor enthusiast will hopefully note two things from my alternate readings of king henry's reign: Firstly that the action sticks very closely to real-life history and character; secondly, that I've taken some liberties with it. The most obvious 'cheat' is that I've compressed time--decades into seconds in some instances--while elsewhere I've used certain anachronisms for comic effect. *Excerpt Removed because of spoiler purposes*. . .Because if the accused died during questioning, then it was a sure sign of witchcraft; if she displayed taciturnimnity, then it was a sure sign of witchcraft; if she passed out, then it was the devil putting her out of her misery, and a sure sign of witchcraft; if she should not admit her abominations, then the tortures would be increased unil such a time as she did. And if the accused confessed to witchcraft, then it was a sure sign of witchcraft, too.
My Rating:
4 out of 5 Fallen stars
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