M. F. W. Curran

I used to be a big fan of Bernard Cornwell's historical novels. You know the sort of thing, all Napoleanic wars and heaving bosoms, usually ending up with our hero taking on most of the enemy forces on his own..and winning of course. The problem was that they all got a bit samey, you could really predict what was going to happen on the basis of what had already happened in the other books. What they really needed were, let me think........demons!!

Enter, historical fantasy, a sumptuous blend of all out action in historical settings with various fantasy/horror tropes chucked into the mix, surely the best of both worlds..or is it?

M.F.W. Curran's debut novel, "The Secret War" starts off in traditional historical fiction mode. We meet our main characters on the battlefield of Waterloo in 1815. Scenes of carnage and the horrors of war abound but everything seems perfectly normal, until a strange brass pyramid is found.

What follows is intense fast paced action as the pyramid and it's powers are sought by the evil side whilst our heroes (the good side naturally ) try to prevent it falling into the wrong hands. We get land based battles, ship based battles and the evil forces are revealed in all their horrific glory.

To read more please visit www.highlandersbooks.com… (more)

First of all, I love the top part of this cover. I admit the bottom section of battle is kinda cheesy, but the top section is awesome, really creepy.
In The Secret War, Captain William Saxon and his friend discovered that there are stranger more terrifying enemies than the French and became drawn into the war against Hell.
Te Hoard of Mhorrer picks up seven years after the events of The Secret War. Saxon is still fighting for the Vatican against daemons and vampyres, whilst carving out some kind of a life for himself. Now he takes on his biggest challenge leading the monks who serve under him into Egypt. He faces betrayal, local militia, language barriers and harsh conditions, as well as supernatural enemies and an exceptionally skilled warrior cult, in order to destroy the potential for hundreds more daemons to be brought into the war.

Curran's writing is tighter and his sense of character stronger than the first novel, I really enjoyed The Secret War, but The Hoard is a superior offering.
The author's sense of pace is flawless, drawing the reader in with a mixture of intriugue, flight and battle, maintaining a relentless onslaught towards the climax to ensure the reader is as commited and exhausted as the monks. The desert setting along with William's confidence and knowledge give it different tone from the previous novel. Where Saxon was new to command and uncertain of the supernatural, now he accepts both, but he has a different dilemma. Knowing all that he does and after everything he has done can he continue to leave Adriana to go on missions from which he may not return? This doubt and the relationship with his nephew Marco ensure that Saxon remains human and accessable.
Well balanced, beautifully paced and extremely entertaining , it's a satisfying read.… (more)

The book revolves around Captain Saxon and his best friend Lieutenant Harte, who coming back from battle with the French find themselves drawn into a different, much longer war. The war between good and evil.The main characters are not explored as deeply as they perhaps could have been, but the book loses nothing for that as they are consistent and their choices feel natural for them.

The first sign that this really isn’t normal war fiction is the Daemon who draws them into the secret war in the first place. Interestingly the supernatural battles are drawn through the book often enough to remind you of their presence, but without dominating the story. The battle scenes emphasise the battle aspect rather than the supernatural and in spite of the involvment of monks and the basic good and evil nature of the secret war Curran resists the temptation to push the religious aspects.

It's well written and well paced with the mud & blood of battle coming through strongly without obsessing over the gore. I tink the only thing about the book that is a little misleading is the blurb, which definately suggets a stronger fantasy element than the book contains, but it's an excellent read and thoroughly absorbing.… (more)