Blurb
It is 1761. Prussia is at war with Russia and Austria. As the Russian army occupies East Prussia, King Frederick the Great and his men fight hard to win back their homeland.
In Ludwigshain, a Junker estate in East Prussia, Countess Marion von Adler celebrates an exceptional harvest. But this is soon requisitioned by Russian troops. When Marion tries to stop them, a Russian Captain strikes her. His Lieutenant, Ian Fermor, defends Marion’s honour, but is stabbed for his insubordination. Abandoned by the Russians, Fermor becomes a divisive figure on the estate.
Close to death, Fermor dreams of the Adler, a numinous eagle entity, whose territory extends across the lands of Northern Europe and which is mysteriously connected to the Enlightenment. What happens next will change the course of human history…
Goodreads
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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49615465-the-coronation
Buy Link
https://amzn.to/30gasrX
My Review
Thanks to Kelly for organising the blog tour and to Justin for sending me a copy of the book.
Marion Grafin von Adler has to look after her land and people from the depredations of the Russians. Ian Fermor is an engineer in the Russian army. When his troop arrive during harvest festival to raid Marian’s stores he’s injured for protecting Marion and Hans, her son. Close to death, Ian has a vision of the Adler, the two headed eagle of Northern Europe, leading him to a religious conversion. He becomes sexton in the village chapel, assisting the elderly Pastor Leopold. Marion becomes ill with migraines, the village doctor dies, the war rumbles on.
Through two years of difficulties the twin stories of Ian and Marion revolve around each other as the political climate changes. The Adler tries to encourage them to change the world for the best. But nothing goes quite the way it should, for anyone.
The Industrial Revolution, the Enlightenment and the seven-years war between Prussia, and the Russian and Austrian Empires are the background for this novel, with it’s changing social and political environment. The old world of aristocratic rule and land-based economy was fading, while the new world of industrial and commercial magnates, and the factory system, is rising.
Justin has a way with intertwining historical events, mythology and fiction into an engrossing story, with characters that you really root for. I wanted them to make the right decisions and for them to become friends.
I was really disappointed with the outcome, but that’s because I’m generally disappointed with the way the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution went. Seriously, how the hell did we much it up so badly?
Author
Justin Newland writes history with a supernatural bent. His novels are The Genes of Isis, an epic fantasy set under Ancient Egyptian skies, and The Old Dragon’s Head, a historical fantasy played out in the shadows of the Great Wall of China. He lives with his partner in Somerset, England.
Everything Is Better With Dragons 