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A review by snoakes7001
The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley
5.0
The Kingdoms starts in 1898 with Joe Tournier stepping down from a steam train and realising he has absolutely no memory of anything prior to that moment. The London he has arrived in is simultaneously both familiar and quite wrong:
"Joe wondered why the hell the train company was giving London station names in French, and then wondered helplessly why he'd wondered. All the London station names were French. Everyone knew that."
It's really refreshing to read an alternate history novel that isn't based on Germany winning WWII. In this case, the French won at Trafalgar, England is a French colony and Joe is a slave. Scotland is still at war with France and when Joe receives a hundred year old postcard of a Scottish lighthouse signed only "M", he embarks on the most incredible journey.
What follows is gloriously convoluted and time-twisty (so much so that at one point I resorted to drawing a diagram to work it out). The story is exquisitely plotted, with the consequences of the time travel elements worked out to the finest detail and ultimately all the threads are drawn together into a highly satisfying conclusion. The characters are equally as complex as the story and there are some thrilling battle scenes that bring history to life. It's an absolute must-read for anyone who likes a book you can really get your teeth into. Fabulous stuff.
Thanks to Pigeonhole for the opportunity to read this. It's the first book by Natasha Pulley that I've read, but it won't be the last.
"Joe wondered why the hell the train company was giving London station names in French, and then wondered helplessly why he'd wondered. All the London station names were French. Everyone knew that."
It's really refreshing to read an alternate history novel that isn't based on Germany winning WWII. In this case, the French won at Trafalgar, England is a French colony and Joe is a slave. Scotland is still at war with France and when Joe receives a hundred year old postcard of a Scottish lighthouse signed only "M", he embarks on the most incredible journey.
What follows is gloriously convoluted and time-twisty (so much so that at one point I resorted to drawing a diagram to work it out). The story is exquisitely plotted, with the consequences of the time travel elements worked out to the finest detail and ultimately all the threads are drawn together into a highly satisfying conclusion. The characters are equally as complex as the story and there are some thrilling battle scenes that bring history to life. It's an absolute must-read for anyone who likes a book you can really get your teeth into. Fabulous stuff.
Thanks to Pigeonhole for the opportunity to read this. It's the first book by Natasha Pulley that I've read, but it won't be the last.