The Holly King
'Fast-paced, entertainingly creepy, laugh-out-loud funny, and genuinely moving' Michelle Paver 'Full of magic and delight' Rowan Coleman The Holly King is coming, and you’re on his list . . . It's December 1940, and Christmas has come to Woodville. Faye Bright is looking forward to a good old knees-up after a year of supernatural mayhem and Luftwaffe air raids, but it seems glad tidings are in short supply. Already contending with food rationing and sky-high beer prices, the village is upended by the arrival of the Holly King, an ancient power bent on reclaiming his woodland domain. No mortal magic can stand in his way. As the winter solstice draws in and the villagers fall under the Holly King’s spell, Faye, Bertie and the witches race to prevent his sinister Feast of Fools from reaching its deadly conclusion. But when terrible truths threaten to tear them apart, can they confront the mistakes of the past to save the village from destruction? Or has Woodville seen its last Christmas? *** For fans of Lev Grossman and Terry Pratchett comes the fourth novel in this delightful series of war, mystery and a little bit of magic . . . Don't miss the other magical books in the WITCHES OF WOODVILLE series! #1 The Crow Folk #2 Babes in the Wood #3 The Ghost of Ivy Barn
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The fourth Woodville book continues the story of young witch Faye Bright and her Kent village in World War II. This one has a slightly darker edge than the others, with a returning soldier's PTSD driving one of the main plotlines. In my last review of these I described them as Terry Pratchett writing a Dad's Army novelisation, which holds even truer here, as alongside the jokes, the author has tapped into the same vein of anger and empathy that made Pratchett great. There's also a strong streak of pagan folk horror in the book, which for me is great as I'm a sucker for anything with antlers walking upright through an ancient woodland. As before, this book isn't going to revolutionise your life, but it's going to make it better for a couple of hours.