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A review by secre
A Wind From the Wilderness by Suzannah Rowntree
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A Wind From the Wilderness is one of those books that is undeniably excellently written and researched, but just didn't quite do it for me. And whilst it is historical fantasy, I would say that the historical is the focus here rather than the fantasy. There are elements of fantasy including time travel, sorcery, magic communication bowls and spiritual aspects, these take a definite backseat to the descriptions of the crusades of the time period.
And that may have been part of my issue. I'm all for historical fantasy, but I like my fantasy elements to take the front seat unless I am already an avid fan of that period/cultural history or I know enough about the time period to easily immerse myself in it. Neither can be said for Syria in 636 or Constantinople in 1067, if I'm honest. And it just didn't resonate with me. Which is a me issue, not a book issue.
The other issue that I definitely had was with the pacing. This is a slow read. It's a mid-sized book at 400+ pages and it just didn't go anywhere fast. The opening was strong and caught my interest, but as you then follow the Pilgrimage through the journey, I just wanted things to get moving and they never really seemed to. If I'd have been able to immerse myself more in the setting, this might not have been such an issue, but as it stood it felt like there was a lot of politicking to no real end, journeying, and occasional fraught battle scenes that rarely actually brought the narrative forward.
What I did enjoy were the characterisations; both Ayla and Lukas are strong characters that you can see grow and develop as the novel progresses. There are a whole host of secondary characters, but they were largely individualistic enough that I never found myself confused by who was who. I particularly liked Count Saint-Gilles from the supporting cast, a strong-willed, battle-hardened, aging General who sees it as his mission to free Jerusalem from the heretics.
All in all, this is one of those novels that my head says is strong, but that I struggled to engage with on a personal level. If historical fiction is your forte, then I would definitely recommend this. It's certainly well written, if slow paced. If you're looking for a novel that is more fantasy though, this may not work for you.
And that may have been part of my issue. I'm all for historical fantasy, but I like my fantasy elements to take the front seat unless I am already an avid fan of that period/cultural history or I know enough about the time period to easily immerse myself in it. Neither can be said for Syria in 636 or Constantinople in 1067, if I'm honest. And it just didn't resonate with me. Which is a me issue, not a book issue.
The other issue that I definitely had was with the pacing. This is a slow read. It's a mid-sized book at 400+ pages and it just didn't go anywhere fast. The opening was strong and caught my interest, but as you then follow the Pilgrimage through the journey, I just wanted things to get moving and they never really seemed to. If I'd have been able to immerse myself more in the setting, this might not have been such an issue, but as it stood it felt like there was a lot of politicking to no real end, journeying, and occasional fraught battle scenes that rarely actually brought the narrative forward.
What I did enjoy were the characterisations; both Ayla and Lukas are strong characters that you can see grow and develop as the novel progresses. There are a whole host of secondary characters, but they were largely individualistic enough that I never found myself confused by who was who. I particularly liked Count Saint-Gilles from the supporting cast, a strong-willed, battle-hardened, aging General who sees it as his mission to free Jerusalem from the heretics.
All in all, this is one of those novels that my head says is strong, but that I struggled to engage with on a personal level. If historical fiction is your forte, then I would definitely recommend this. It's certainly well written, if slow paced. If you're looking for a novel that is more fantasy though, this may not work for you.