Heart's blood

Marillier, Juliet ~ Heart's Blood~ Roc, 2009 ~ 402 pages ~ Audience: adults, some teens ~ Rating: Very Good.

Opening:

"At a place where two tracks met, the carter brught his horse to a sudden halt. 'This is where you get down,' he said."

Publication History:

Heart's Blood seems to be a stand-alone novel.

Setting:

Ireland during the time of the Norman invasion/consolidation is the setting. Most of the story takes place at the ancient steep hill of Whistling Tor where a somewhat fallen castle remains nearly hidden by thick forest that has grown up around it. Due to a major black magic episode, the hill is haunted by a partially-alive, half-dead host of formerly human beings. The present Lord of Whistling Tor is haunted and crippled. His household consists of but one human besides himself, a last reminant of an ancient race, and three of the partially alive. The castle is very much in decline and the nearby villages have only fearful memories of the Tor and its inhabitants.

Language is Irish and Latin, but few speak or read Latin. Very few are literate.

Plot:

Caitrin's father, a noted independent scribe, has died, her sister has married a traveling musican, and she is devastated by the loss of her father, especially since they worked so closely together. An unknown relative and her son arrives to take over and Caitrin is treated most poorly. In desperation, she runs away and finds herself at Whistling Tor where she has a temporary position transcribing journals and letters, including some magical tomes. Caitrin must find her true self and banish her many fears in a most challenging environment, including facing black magic.

Anluan is the crippled lord. Somehow, he must control the magical and sometimes evil host that occupies the Tor even though his father and grandfather died in attempting to do that. He has lost all hope for his future and the future of Whistling Tor. Caitrin hopes to change that. Perhaps she can find the secret to eliminating the terrible curse that binds the Tor.

Characters:

Besides Caitrin and Anluan, Magnus is the one human at the Tor and primarily responsible for raising Anluan and protecting him as well as keeping the castle in some kind of order. Olean, the forest man is the last of his kind. He knows the Tor, has protection from the magical host, and protects Anluan as best he can. Rioghan is one of the half-dead but is alive enough to appear to be human and serve as Anluan's steward/chancellor. Brother Eichri is similar in nature but is a very much lapsed monk. His sense of humor lightens what is a very dark story. Lady Muirn, another of the half-dead,  is a mystery and we learn little about her until the latter part of the story. There are several minor characters including a nicely done dog and a mysterious little girl spirit.

Physical Book:

There are 15 longish chapters and a brief afterword.  Print is comfortably dark and of average size. See-through is average.  The front cover illustration by Melanie Delon shows Caitrin in the library looking at an image in one of the magical mirrors. It is nicely done but may not clearly communicate the genre..

Recommendation:

Marillier's Celtic fantasy stories, especially the four Sevenwaters novels have been both a critical and a popular success so this new story should be an automatic selection for most fantasy collections. The Celtic setting is well developed and persuasive. Both of the two major characters are trying to find themselves in a most difficult situation. Will Caitrin have the hidden strength to redeem Anluan and save Whistling Tor? Interactions between characters are insightful and well-done. The magic is certainly dark and its consequences most evil. The story focuses on the search to learn enough about the spells to counter them. There is little action except toward the end and that is described briefly. The theme of the story is self-discovery. Caitrin should appeal to female readers who enjoy historical romance. The ease with which she later enountered strangers who became good friends and quickly helped her with legal and other problems was not persuasive to this reader because it happened too quickly.