Reviews for A Famine of Horses

The average rating for A Famine of Horses based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-11-20 00:00:00 Travis Payne 5★ "'Can ye ride, sir?' Dodd asked solicitously. Carey lowered himself down in the saddle like a maiden sitting for the first time on her wedding morning, took a deep breath, held it and nodded. Dodd was sorry to see that the bounce seemed to have quite gone out of him." Trust me, the bounce would have gone out of you if you'd been as battered and bruised as Robert Carey had been, but I'm getting ahead of myself. This is the beginning of what looks like becoming a favourite historical series. I don't think you have to have Scottish blood to appreciate the raw history of the border wars that went on between England and Scotland (not to mention the Debateable Lands) for centuries. I get thoroughly absorbed in good historical fiction if it's entertaining and well-researched. I can vouch for the first part, and everything I've checked about the research seems to stand up. The author wrote an excellent forward that says what attracted her to this project. (She writes other works under her real name, Patricia Finney, and another series for Young Adults as Grace Cavendish, Grace being the young girl who narrates that series.) "This was irresistible to me. In anachronistic terms, here was this fancy-dressing, fancy-talking Court dude turning up in England's Wild West. The Anglo-Scottish Border at that time made Dodge City look like a health farm. It was the most chaotic part of the kingdom and was full of cattle-rustlers, murderers, arsonists, horse-thieves, kidnappers and general all-purpose outlaws. This was where they invented the word 'gang''or the men 'ye gang oot wi'' 'and also the word 'blackmail' which then simply meant protection money." I learned something right there. I did not know that's where the word gang comes from, and I've found no reason to doubt her. I know "gehen" in German, meaning "to go", so it's an easy jump to the men you go out with. And I must say, my experience is that the Scottish accent, or burr, seems to stick (like a burr, yes) longer than other accents. Most people seem to modify it enough that other English-speakers can (mostly) understand them, but back in the company of their own, goodness help you, as Sir Robert's servant discovered. "Barnabus Cooke had been too much of a fool to grab the offer and stay in London where he could understand what men said." But Barnabus followed because he was responsible for his young nephew Simon, who is going with him to the border country, where Carey has accepted an appointment as Deputy Warden, second to the Warden, his brother-in-law. His sister, Philadelphia, is an absolutely delightful, slightly scatterbrained, girly sort of girl, who just adores her brother. Her husband? Not so adorable. When Carey arrives, we are inundated with Scottish terms and names, but mostly I can figure them out, although Google is certainly a help. I'd appreciate some footnotes, but I'll add a few at the end for anyone who might like them. Carey is the instant enemy of Lowther, who expected to be promoted to Deputy, but Queen Elizabeth the First, yes Good Queen Bess, the Maiden Queen, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, quite fancied handsome Sir Robert and enjoyed having him around. Fortunately for him, she fancied Essex more, so he wasn't expected to grovel quite as much but could still count on support, and she needs support up on the borders. Carey's father was the son of Anne Boleyn's older sister, Mary, (The Other Boleyn Girl). Not only that, Mary had been King Henry's mistress, and Carey's father was widely believed to be their son, not her husband's. The plot thickens. He's at least a cousin to the Queen, possibly a half-brother, living in wild and woolly times. I like what the author said in her opening remarks. "As I say in most of the historical talks I give, we like to think we're terribly violent and dangerous people but really we're a bunch of wusses. The murder rate has dropped to a tenth of what it was in the Middle Ages'and they didn't have automatic pistols. It took real work to kill somebody." Of course, farming, hunting, and cooking meant knowing how to raise, kill, and skin animals. And many people died young of disease and injury, so perhaps life was a bit cheap then, as my mother used to say. Whatever, they were a blood-thirsty lot, and many's the arrow that's stuck in a limb, but we're not overwhelmed with thriller-type gore. There's plenty of derring-do, secrets, double-dealing, a murder to solve, some clever ruses, and a couple of hair-raising adventures, one of which reminds me of the film of the Shawshank Redemption which came out the same year this was published, so just a coincidence, I imagine. Eugh! I quite liked Carey's explanation of why the rule of law is needed. If a crime is committed, and a family takes it into their own hands to avenge it, that leads to an ongoing feud, much like our gang wars today, where it's an eye for an eye, even if it's not the right eye. And on it goes. However, if the accused is brought to trial, the burden of revenge is on the Queen (or the State) who is to ensure justice is done. If it's a death sentence, a family can't seek revenge against the Queen because that would be treason. I found it just right for my tastes, and I'm really looking forward to the rest. There is enough of a romantic touch here and there, which is always fun. And there are characters I look forward to meeting in the next episode/instalment/book! The names certainly take getting used to. Geordie Graham, known as Sweetmilk, youngest son of Jock of the Peartree; Cuthbert Graham, known as Bangtail; Red Sandy Dodd. The list goes on, but it's not too hard to keep track. Still, I'd have liked a cast of characters, relationships (EVERYBODY is related to each other in some way or other, even some mortal enemies), and a glossary, because I'm basically lazy. Here are a few words or phrases, with thanks to Wikipedia for some definitions: book-a-bosom man - ". . . one of the many ruined churches of Carlisle: this one had a churchman in it, a book-a-bosom man who spent most of his time travelling about the country catching up with the weddings and christenings." Of course, that's how the priest would stand, with the prayer book held open up to his chest so he could read from it. Great descriptive phrase. clyster - an enema that the surgeon offers to put in to guard against infection after bloodletting and cleaning up a wound. The offer was declined. coney, coney-catcher - a con-man, trickster and someone who might call them out. the Debateable Lands - an area between Scotland and England where neither side's rules seemed to apply jack - a kind of sleeveless doublet into which plates of steel were stitched. marches - these were areas around the border, and Carey was Deputy Warden of the West March peel tower - a defensive structure on great houses in the border country of England for warning and defence against the marauding Scots. Apparently, there was an English law that these must have an iron basket on top and whatever was needed for a smoke signal. reiver = raider, rustler, and a reived horse or cow is a stolen one riding surname roughly equivalent to a clan name shielings - huts in pastures where were the men stayed sometimes This is also available in the Omnibus collection of the first three books, Guns in the North. A few photos below of the area. Sorry they may not show up on Goodreads apps. Carey is made Deputy Warden of the West March (aqua) Carlisle Castle, Carey's base Smailholm Tower Courtesy of Dave souza - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, A leather jack, worn by all the men when they expected to see action or were travelling

Review # 2 was written on 2013-03-19 00:00:00 Gregory Tanner Tudor England of the 1590s. Chisholm steeps her story in so much 16th-century atmosphere and historical detail. The quality of the story is superb. PF Chisholm has a fine grasp of the character's traits. They are all so very human and compelling. Sergeant Dodd for one is the epitome of the dour northern with a wry sense of humour and an intelligence rivaling Sir Robert Carey's. Most of all it's a damned enjoyable romp for anyone who likes historical fiction.