Thursday, June 25, 2009

Company of Liars by Karen Maitland

The year is 1348 and the first plague victim has reached English shores. Panic erupts around the country and a small band of travellers comes together to outrun the deadly disease, unaware that something far more deadly is - in fact - traveling with them. The ill-assorted company - a scarred trader in holy relics, a conjurer, two musicians, a healer and a deformed storyteller - are all concealing secrets and lies. And at their heart is the strange, cold child - Narigorm - who reads the runes. But as law and order breaks down across the country and the battle for survival becomes ever more fierce, Narigorm mercilessly compels each of her fellow travelers to reveal the truth, and each in turn is driven to a cruel and unnatural death.

This book wasnt' at all what I expected ... I expected it to be more about the plague than the plague merely being a backdrop or setting for the actual story. The story itself is quite bizarre, although I did enjoy it, I wasn't really sure where it was going. There's a sort-of twist at the end that I didn't see coming ... and then it just ends, leaving you not really sure what on earth just happened. Humph. It left me with a bit of a wishy-washy feeling, to be honest. Oh, and what on earth sort of name is Narigorm anyway?

2 comments:

Tamara said...

Narigorm? Sounds like an East-African delicacy.

I hate it when books just leave off in the middle of nowhere.

Unknown said...

OH! Pity! I loved this book. It was very interesting, well-written with strong and interesting characters.

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