Review: The Devil's Fire by Sara Bell

At the beginning of The Devil's Fire we meet Gareth who is still grieving over the death of his husband, Kiel. He is summoned to the king, Tristam, who is also his brother-in-law and told that in order to prevent Tristam's kingdom from being overtaken by their enemy Denmar, they must ally themselves to another kingdom through Gareth's marriage to prince Alric. At first Gareth is furious at being forced to marry so soon after Kiel's death, but after meeting Alric and learning of the good in him, his feelings gradually change towards the marriage. Gareth also learns of Alric's special power which is both a blessing and a curse, as Denmar would do anything in his power to get Alric for himself and exploit Alric's powers for his own ends.

My favourite thing about fantasy books is the way that the setting and characters take you to somewhere both familiar and unfamiliar. In the case of The Devil's Fire, the setting is very close to that of Medieval Britain but there are also a number of surprising and unique twists. The setting is that of a large country ruled by a High King. Within that there are several kingdoms ruled by minor kings and princes. These kingdoms are constantly vying for power and dominance over one another and so it is important for them to have strong allies formed through kinship and marriage. At first I found it a little confusing as to which kingdoms were ruled by who and whether they were allies or enemies of other kingdoms, but after a while I managed to work it all out and everything was quite simple to follow after that point. There's much to be comfortable and familiar with in the setting especially if you like Mediaeval set stories and I found it easy to picture the way that the characters lived, the food they ate and the way that they dressed.

There's much to be familiar with in the characterisation too. Gareth is a bastard son who gained a large holding as part of his father's inheritance. His power stems from his loyalty to Tristam and his skills as a warrior. As such he is your typical battle hardened man, confident in combat and the strategy of war. When he learns of Denmar's betrayal and his plans to overthrow all that he holds dear, then his lust for revenge is strong. This side of Gareth then contrasts to the gentle lover and fierce protector that is shown at first in his grief for Kiel and then later in his love for Alric. He lives by rules of honour and fealty to his king and in essence Gareth is the epitome of the Medieval Lord being both civilised and brutal at the same time.

Obviously one of the main differences between a Medieval romance and this fantasy is that the men can be wedded to each other if that is the way their sexual tastes incline. Thus I was interested to see how the character of Alric would fit into the gender roles within the book. I have to say that I was rather disappointed by this. Instead of having two warriors paired with one another seeking justice through battle with Denmar, Alric is relegated to the women's role of staying at home and waiting for the husbands to return, his gift apparently making him too much of a risk to take into battle. I found this disappointing because Alric is shown at the beginning to be just as strong as Gareth, more so perhaps having survived a horrific ordeal in the past and using his powers on a couple of occasions to save the day, and yet as the book progresses Alric seems to become weaker both mentally and physically. Gareth's overbearing need to protect Alric causes him to diminish in my eyes as he is kept 'safe' at home and then excluded from Gareth's plans later in the book. Yet Alric accepts all this when I was hoping he would stand up for himself more and prove himself as a man. Even at the end he is relegated to the role of helplessly watching Gareth fight for his life instead of taking an active role in saving him. As such, I found myself thinking that Alric's character was a bit of a missed opportunity. He could have been a strong partner for Gareth but instead he became the ideal medieval woman in all but body.

There are a myriad of other characters, all who are connected to each other either through marriage or past dealings. These characters provided a richness to the setting, as well as a complexity to the story which showed a great deal of thoughtfulness by the author. The day to day lives of the characters and the way that they interacted with each other was one of the highlights for me, showing the importance of kinship and friendship in the book. This was especially true for Gareth and Tristam, whose bond of affection and friendship was delightful to read and added toGareth's sympathetic qualities.

Despite my disappointment with Alric, this was still a very good read. There's a good mix of action and intrigue; battle scenes and quiet romance; family bonds and duty to the king. I raced through the book, keen to find out how it was going to end. If you like fantasy, like complex stories of love, loyalty, conflict, betrayal and magic; then you will love this book. I enjoyed it a great deal and it gets a grade of 'Very Good'.

Buy this book HERE.