A HAUNTED LIGHTHOUSE
A JUSTICE ACCUSED OF MURDER
AND A SINGLE QUESTION
What is The Scour?
In the dying port town of Gdansburg, Sir Konrad Vonvalt finds the unthinkable: a fellow Justice imprisoned for the murder of a young boy. Despite the furious insistence of the townsfolk, the only evidence is a question written on a piece of paper by a dead man: what is The Scour?
The answer begins in the town’s haunted lighthouse and ends in its past–where Vonvalt may dig up more than he bargained for.
My Review
I received an ARC of this book via The Broken Binding and Grimdark Magazine. It’s signed. I have number 33 of 100. The cover is black and gold, with the full cover on the inside. It’s a lovely little book, aesthetically. I was surprised to receive it because I forgot that I’d filled in the request form that GdM sent out in one of their weekly newsletters.
In this novella, we meet Sir Konrad, Lady Resi, and Dubine in the years before their adventures in the main Empire of the Wolf series. They haven’t met Helene yet. They’re out at the western edge of the Empire, in the town of Gdansburg in the province of Grozoda. A boy is dead and a Justice is held responsible by the people of Gdansburg and the Matria of the local Neman Closter, Matria Klement, who has been running the town since the Sheriff died unexpectedly two years earlier. Other things happened two years hence – the dead boy lost his mind, a young girl ran away with a deserter, and the town’s lighthouse became haunted. Since these events, the harbour has emptied and people have left for more prosperous places.
After arguing with Matria Klement and killing a man, Sir Konrad finally gets more information. He prepares to spend a night in the lighthouse and is lead out into the saltmarsh, where the vicious storm known as the Scour uncovers secrets. After that it all comes tumbling out via a séance, multiple confessions, and a trial.
Konrad has to put his ideals to the test and Resi gives him multiple bollockings until he gets his head out of his posterior. That was entertaining. We see Sir Konrad Vonvalt as a younger, less experienced Justice, someone used to being the Emperor’s protégé in Sova, expecting instant obedience, respect, and cooperation, coming up against the reality of life outside Sova, where the Empire and its representatives aren’t welcomed, where Imperial Common Law isn’t respected, and where he struggles to receive basic cooperation, let alone respect or obedience.
This novella fills in some of the background on the relationship between Konrad and Resi, things Helene, who narrates the three novels about her adventures, wouldn’t know, even if she suspected them. We also learn more about Dubine Bressinger, a disgusting man, who mellows somewhat by the time of the novels, although that could be because Helene didn’t know about some of his habits.
I found this novella a fun addition to the world of The Empire of the Wolf, very easy to read and well-paced. The descriptions of Gdansburg and the storm were very powerful, while that of the Plain of Burden was haunting. The grief of the people, the anger of the Matria, and the absolute desolation of a dying town, pulse through the writing with a sense of longing.
I was really quite moved and also wanted to go to a cliff and stare out to sea on a windy day. Don’t ask. It’s something to do with the description of the wind blowing against them, the rough sea beating the coast, and I remember the exhilaration of that feeling from past experience.
If you enjoyed The Empire of the Wolf trilogy, you have to read this novella. If you haven’t read the trilogy, read this novella for a taste of the world and the characters in it.
The Scour is due for publication on 20th October and is available from Amazon to pre-order as an ebook, paperback or hardback. I’m waiting to see if The Broken Binding does a special edition hardback as they have with the other books by Richard Swan before I order from Amazon.
Everything Is Better With Dragons 