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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
"The Dark Monk" is the second book in Oliver Potzsch's Hangman Daughter series and it does not disappoint. Picking up after the events of the first book, this mystery also follows the hangman Jakob Kuisl, his daughter Magdalena, and the young doctor Simon Fronwieser as they unravel the secrets surrounding the death of a local priest. The setting, characters, and plot are all wonderfully intertwined. The writing is clear and the pacing is excellent. I would highly recommend this book and series.
A really good sequel - I enjoyed the writing and the attention to detail.
This book series is pretty interesting stuff. I feel like I am learning a lot about Bavaria in the 1600s. Yes, yes, poetic license and drama interfere with actual history, but the author seems to do lots of research and the entire setting is fascinating.
I really, really like the characters of Jakob Kuisl and Simon Fronwieser. Kuisl, in particular, is a very good man with a very rough past stuck in a truly awful profession. He makes the best of it, though, and does what he can for the village and even for his victims, if they deserve it.
There's a bit of that future-sight element to the medical side of the story that I don't really like; Kuisl and Fronweiser are remarkably forward-thinking for their time, although the author is mostly saved by mentioning that these ideas about germs, etc., were out there - just not widely accepted like they are today.
If I had to pick an issue with these books, it's that I just don't care for the hangman's daughter, Magdelena. She consistently gets herself into really, really dangerous situations and somehow gets out - but I feel while I'm reading it that someday that's not going to work, and in some part she will have brought it on herself. She's not careful with her mouth and she does her best to disregard her actual standing in the community (which is maybe one level above dirt) and I don't think that in reality, she'd get away with all of it.
Sadly, I think that I'm just not feeling the relationship between Magdalena and Simon. They argue so often that it just doesn't seem that real to me. I actually was thinking how great it would be if Siiiiigh.
I also still (after two books) don't think the series should be named after her, since she is not the main character. Once again, the title for this book doesn't seem accurate, since the dark monk doesn't actually get much screen time. How about something that makes sense, such as "The Templar's Treasure"?
Anyway, it's an interesting read - there is lots of discussion of brutal subject matter (executions, torture, wartime, etc.) but I think there's less actual witnessed brutality in this than in the first book.
I really, really like the characters of Jakob Kuisl and Simon Fronwieser. Kuisl, in particular, is a very good man with a very rough past stuck in a truly awful profession. He makes the best of it, though, and does what he can for the village and even for his victims, if they deserve it.
There's a bit of that future-sight element to the medical side of the story that I don't really like; Kuisl and Fronweiser are remarkably forward-thinking for their time, although the author is mostly saved by mentioning that these ideas about germs, etc., were out there - just not widely accepted like they are today.
If I had to pick an issue with these books, it's that I just don't care for the hangman's daughter, Magdelena. She consistently gets herself into really, really dangerous situations and somehow gets out - but I feel while I'm reading it that someday that's not going to work, and in some part she will have brought it on herself. She's not careful with her mouth and she does her best to disregard her actual standing in the community (which is maybe one level above dirt) and I don't think that in reality, she'd get away with all of it.
Sadly, I think that I'm just not feeling the relationship between Magdalena and Simon. They argue so often that it just doesn't seem that real to me. I actually was thinking how great it would be if
Spoiler
Magdalena just married the Augsburg hangman; she is already enamored of his young daughter, who needs a mother, and I felt it was kind of unfair for her to stay at the house and get the daughter attached to her, and then leave again. Sigh.I also still (after two books) don't think the series should be named after her, since she is not the main character. Once again, the title for this book doesn't seem accurate, since the dark monk doesn't actually get much screen time. How about something that makes sense, such as "The Templar's Treasure"?
Anyway, it's an interesting read - there is lots of discussion of brutal subject matter (executions, torture, wartime, etc.) but I think there's less actual witnessed brutality in this than in the first book.
Again another enjoyable read. I enjoyed the Templar angle and the dovetailing of several threads without confusion. If I had any complaint it would only be that near the end I was beginning to tire a little of the red herrings in the character's understanding of what certain clues meant. But it is only a little thing and I suppose it was a device intended to keep the reader guessing to the end. With no further books from Oliver Potzcsch to continue with, I sadly have to take on another author's work for the interim. Thank you Mr Potzsch.
Not much of a mystery novel, as the main characters follow a bunch of riddles left behind by the Templars that might or might not lead to treasure. The hangman is still the most interesting and fully developed character, but other than that, not that great a followup to the first book.
I would love to give these books more stars, but am held to three (three and a half if I had the option) by the fact that they all need a strict application of red pen. I don't mind a longer novel, but if it's going to be close to 500 pages they'd better all be necessary, and once again I think this was over-long by about 100. Nevertheless, I found it a fascinating and original story and I continue to love the characters.
The plot of Pötzsch second novel in this series was a bit more elaborate than the first and the mystery was certainly a page-turner. It suffers a bit from being the zillionth book this decade to involve the Templars, but at least it had a more unusual premise. The hangman's daughter continues to be ever-present but secondary to the plot. I almost get the feeling that she was intended to be more of a focal character in the novels but in the writing it didn't quite turn out that way, but instead of cutting down her part the author built hers up almost as a parallel story, which I think detracts somewhat.
This is very minor, but I found myself annoyed at the overuse of the word "medicus". The characters are very (like, VERY) often referred to by their occupation - "the hangman", "the hangman's daughter" - and in the first novel the young doctor, Simon, was often referred to as "the physician". For some reason in the second book they changed this to "the medicus" and even if that might be a more accurate term, it sounded too formal and grated on me almost every time.
This all sounds very critical but it really is a fascinating book and I turned each page eagerly. It even managed to surprise me with a few twists I didn't see coming. I'm going to take a break before reading the third book in the series, but I am definitely looking forward to it.
The plot of Pötzsch second novel in this series was a bit more elaborate than the first and the mystery was certainly a page-turner. It suffers a bit from being the zillionth book this decade to involve the Templars, but at least it had a more unusual premise. The hangman's daughter continues to be ever-present but secondary to the plot. I almost get the feeling that she was intended to be more of a focal character in the novels but in the writing it didn't quite turn out that way, but instead of cutting down her part the author built hers up almost as a parallel story, which I think detracts somewhat.
This is very minor, but I found myself annoyed at the overuse of the word "medicus". The characters are very (like, VERY) often referred to by their occupation - "the hangman", "the hangman's daughter" - and in the first novel the young doctor, Simon, was often referred to as "the physician". For some reason in the second book they changed this to "the medicus" and even if that might be a more accurate term, it sounded too formal and grated on me almost every time.
This all sounds very critical but it really is a fascinating book and I turned each page eagerly. It even managed to surprise me with a few twists I didn't see coming. I'm going to take a break before reading the third book in the series, but I am definitely looking forward to it.
I enjoyed "The Hangman's Daughter" so I was looking forward to "The Dark Monk". As a mystery it is pretty good. As far as historical goes... meh. Honestly, I don't know enough about Bavarian/German history to judge the factual history, but I am pretty sure the historical language is not accurate. There are just too many modern idioms to transport the reader into the 17th century. I don't know if it is a lack of research or a function of the translation, but I suspect it is a little bit of both. I also got tired of being constantly reminded of how "dishonorable" the job of hangman was. I got it.
Overall, I would recommend "The Dark Monk" as an entertaining read.
Overall, I would recommend "The Dark Monk" as an entertaining read.
I really wanted to like this book more, but it went on way too long and sometimes the translation from the orginal German was terrible. It's supposed to be set in 16th century Bavaria and the characters would stay stuff like "snap out of it". There's a mystery and puzzles that the characters solve, but the reader doesn't have enough info to solve along.
Where the first Hangman's Daughter wasn't about Magdalena much, in this one she has a lot bigger role, although the star of the novel is still the Hangman. There are so many bad monks in this novel, not just one as the title suggests, lots of corruption. Lots of grisly deaths. I'm very grateful to have been born in modern times.
Where the first Hangman's Daughter wasn't about Magdalena much, in this one she has a lot bigger role, although the star of the novel is still the Hangman. There are so many bad monks in this novel, not just one as the title suggests, lots of corruption. Lots of grisly deaths. I'm very grateful to have been born in modern times.