DESTINY

The latest in Taylor’s Second Son series finds the king dealing with rogue lords and malicious cardinals.

Taylor’s series follows Alfred, a 14th-century nobleman, on a host of adventures—including seeing his brother rise to the throne, surviving a plague, war with other kingdoms, and becoming king himself. In this latest installment, Alfred has returned from war in the Kingdom Across the Southern Sea. There, King Charles had been tortured as the Teutons’ prisoner. Alfred helped forge a truce with the Teutons and replaced Charles with the young Denis of Aleffe. Now back home, he faces the problem of the greedy Lord Hugo Meriden, who’s been raising rents and driving people from their homes. The most feasible solution is to find “any other possible heir to the estate with a legitimate claim.” A dilemma closer to Alfred’s heart involves his eldest daughter, 15-year-old Juliana. While it would benefit the kingdom for her to marry a neighboring prince, she’s in love with Lord Ernle’s son Rainard. Meanwhile at the Christian monastery, Prior Dunstan rules with an obsessive hand, bringing oppression to the order. As always, Alfred meets these challenges with the aid of his grandfather’s wisdom, learned years ago when nobody suspected Lord Edward’s second son would sit upon the throne. But what happens when Alfred makes an enemy of God? The seventh installment of Taylor’s historical series ably addresses aspects of medieval rule rather than warfare. Alfred juggles several problems in this swiftly moving narrative in which even tertiary characters, like the stable hand, are well imagined. The writing consistently suits the scene; here, Alfred recalls his grandfather’s warm advice: “Don’t neglect...the things that calm your mind and soothe your soul.” Taylor uses the final third to limn a timeless issue—corruption in the church. In the end, the resolutions satisfy while hinting at further complexity on the horizon.

A fascinating series entry that focuses on complicated but bloodless intrigues.