Sometimes, I get in the mood for a Medieval mystery. And, of course, with the coronavirus raging, S. D. Sykes’s Plague Land checked all the boxes. This is the first book in the Somershill Manor series. Oswald de Lacy, the youngest son of Lord Somershill, is called back home from the monastery where he was placed after his father and two older brothers die of the Black Death.
The 14th Century was a grim time and Sykes shows the lack of medical knowledge and the grip of superstition on the villagers of Somershill Manor. Oswald has to deal with his conniving Mother and scheming sister. Fortunately, Oswald has his Benedictine Brother, Peter, as an older and wiser companion. Oswald has no idea how to run an estate or how to deal with disgruntled villagers. But Peter does.
In addition to the post-plague problems, the politics of rural life, a murder committed has been committed. As Lord Sumershill, Oswald feels that he must solve the crime and prevent the murderer from striking again. All in all, Plague Land is an entertaining Medieval mystery. GRADE: B+
Sounds interesting. May have to get it through the library whenever it reopens. I like medieval era mysteries such as The Name of the Rose.
Trying to think of other plague related novels and off the top of my head the only one I can come up with is The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis.
Steve, I have a stack of Plague books so you’ll be seeing them reviewed in the coming weeks.
I should have mentioned Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend. Forget the crappy movies made from it though.
Steve, I read Matheson’s I AM LEGEND a few years ago. I’m a big fan of Richard Matheson’s work.
Funny how this is the last thing I could make myself read now and for you it’s sort of comforting. I have always steered away from apocalypse books. You would too probably if you had the dreams I do.
Patti, my dreams usually involve Marilyn Monroe, Diana Rigg (as Emma Peel), or Scarlett Johansson.
I’m with you, Patti. I just want cozies, funny ones and historicals, from WWII era preferably.
Publishers are not able to send physical arcs now, so when I run out of books to review, will probably start on PG Wodehouse.
I also have some Henry Cecil books I’ve been meaning to get to (humorous British legal mysteries) Maybe even some Manning Coles and Craig Rice.
I’m also working on getting my dvr down from current 35% to 22%
Maggie, we’re at 33% on our DVR but much of that consists of HALLMARK movies Diane watches. I have some Henry Cecil books, too. I’ll have to dig them out and read one. Wodehouse is wonderful to listen to on audio discs. I’m tempted to reread the Bertie and Jeeves series.
What’s crazy to me is, I have had a hard time reading your ordinary mysteries, yet I am (so far) being drawn into Ling Ma’s Severance, which I missed when it came out two years ago (and won the Kirkus Prize for Fiction). I found it on a list of Best Pandemic Novels. Shen Fever sweeps the globe (sound familiar>) and office drone Candace Chen is one of the few apparent survivors, hooking up with a small group heading from New York to Chicago. Intuitively, you’d think you would keep far away from a book like this, but so far it is at least holding my attention.
Your book made me think of Steve Martin doing Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber on SNL.
Jeff, I have a stack of Plague books, some historical like PLAGUE LAND and others Science Fiction novels. I plan to feature one of these books per week until the coronavirus pandemic ends.
Uh oh.
As well as I can recall I haven’t read a plague novel since “The Stand” (both versions) and am really not looking to find one during the current mess, not unless I decide to read “I Am Legend” for what would probably be the fourth time. How many movie versions of this are we up to now? Four? Five? There is actually one pretty good one, probably the least seen–the 1964 B & W Italian version, “The Last Man on Earth”,with Vincent Price.
Michael, I read THE STAND when it first was published. I know King revised it a couple of times, but I have no urge to reread that 1000-page whale of a book. I do have a number of books that deal with plagues waiting to be read over the next few months.
There are 3 versions. The Last Man On Earth. The Omega Man. I Am Legend. All three are pretty bad.
Steve, I remember THE OMEGA MAN did well at the Box Office. All three versions strayed from Matheson’s novel.
Don’t forget A JOURNAL OF THE PLAGUE YEAR by Daniel Defoe. There were still survivors of the last major plague living when Defoe was writing the book and he interviewed some of them to get an idea of what it was like. I understand Kathleen Windsor used Defoe’s book for the plague scenes in FOREVER AMBER. I recently read Jordy Rosenberg’s CONFESSIONS OF THE FOX which includes a plot point about how authorities use plagues and pandemics to over-police poor and minority neighborhoods. (It’s a great book—sort of David Foster Wallace crosses with The Beggar’s Opera.) Another pandemic novel I liked was Peter Heller’s THE DOG STARS.
Deb, I’ll have to root around in my basement to see if I have CONFESSIONS OF THE FOX and THE DOG STARS. I know I have A JOURNAL OF THE PLAGUE YEAR around here somewhere. Thanks for the recommendations!
I’ve been reading Pepys’ daily diary and besides having his way with as many women as would let him, I am struck by how many bad dreams he has about the Great Fire of London, even six months later.
He moved in some pretty high circles and acted out sexually much like the King and other big shots of the day.
Jeff, I have Pepys’ diary in various versions including a complete set. I might pick one of the abridged versions.
Why on earth would ANYONE want to read books about plagues and pandemics in a time like this? You want to wallow in it? Isn’t the news bad enough?
No, thank you.
Rick, it’s always interesting to me to see how people handle a crisis. Imagine a pandemic like the Black Death where medical practices were primitive…or non-existent!
I used this book for a bookstore book group selection.
I really enjoyed it but have never followed up on the rest of the series.
Beth, you’re in luck! I have THE BUTCHER BIRD and CITY OF MASKS, the next two books in the series. I’ll be reviewing them on this blog over the next couple of months.
I totally forgot THE PLAGUE by Albert Camus. I defy anyone to read the death scene of a young boy in the hospital, a boy the doctor has desperately been trying to save, without crying.
Deb, you’re right about that death scene in THE PLAGUE by Camus. Heart-rending.