Tim's Reviews > Royaume de vent et de colères

In English, the title would be something like 'Kingdom of Wind and Rage', referring to, as I see it, the weather in the south of France (the mistral) and the religious war between the catholics and protestants (between Henri IV and consul Charles de Casaulx, see here, who ruled a city that refused to recognize Henri IV as king).

After the war, in 1598, and edict is signed by Henri IV. See here and here, for example.

But the story itself takes place at least two years before this edict.

Jean-Laurent Del Socorro took the history of Marseille as setting for his story. Obviously, you then also see various historic characters featured, in a large of minor role (links taken from Wikipedia, in French): Catherine de Médicis, Henri III, Henri IV, Charles de Casaulx, Pierre de Libertat, Philippe II (king of Spain), ...

Of course, it would help if you knew the background history of the story, but it's not really needed, as M. Del Socorro himself told me.



The book is divided into three parts:

1) the present (1596), with the focus on our four main characters: Axelle (former head of a band of mercenaries, now exploits an inn, La Roue de Fortune, the Wheel of Fortune, with her husband Gilles, with whom she has a common past as mercenary), Victoire (head of the Guild in Marseille), Gabriel (a knight, who didn't get that title by standard procedure), and Armand (one of the magicians, who has a relationship with one of his studens, Roland), and finally, Silas, a Turkish warrior (a Moor, to be precise).
2) the past (several tens of years before the events of 1596): in which we visit each of the four characters' past that leads to the situation they are in in part 1
3) the present (1596): continuing where part 1 left off. You might want to check back on the relevant chapters to refresh your memory and more easily understand what happens next.

It's not really a Fantasy story, but a historical fiction one with a small touch of Fantasy, thanks to the Artbon, a stone that gives magical powers to its users (like setting your opponent to fire). However, this power comes at a serious physical and mental cost. You don't control the stone, the stone controls you. You have to have a very strong mental power to resist its callings. You could compare it, somehow, to the ring in 'Lord of the Rings'.

Also, the inn that is used as operating base, so to speak, reminded me of The Inn of the Last Home in Dragonlance. This setting also features several characters who each have their own story and own battles, although they have to collaborate as well.

The book is very well and smoothly written. It's a page-turner, very hard to put down. The constant focus shift between our characters (because of the short chapters) is a little annoying at first, but you get used to it after a little while. The focus does indeed lie on the characters, less on the historical events. Del Soccoro made sure each character has his/her own identity, own behaviour, own feelings, ...

There are two bonuses:

1) A novella about Gabin (comme gamin, mais sans "aime"; this word is crucial in his story and how he experiences the events in the main story), the boy who fled his father (alcohol-addict) and stayed at the inn La Roue de Fortune, where he helps with a.o. cleaning the tables. He's an introvert, doesn't talk much, only trusts a few people, but has a great, innocent view on the world. I had to laugh a few times with the play on words in the dialogues, but also almost shed a tear for what the kid suffered and how he told about his experiences.

2) An interview with the author (which you can read on-line, see here), in which he tells about his way of writing, how this book came to be, why it's written in this way, info on the various characters, ...



Although there's room for a sequel, if only to fill some holes, I can't stress it enough: What a fantastic read! Heavily recommended!