Today I’m reviewing No Man’s Land by Richard K. Morgan, a new historical fantasy novel. I was drawn in by the cover on this one and just couldn’t say no to an ARC. 😊 Did the story live up to its beautifully eerie wrappings? Read on to find out!
The Great War was supposed to be the war to end all wars-and maybe it would have been, had an even greater, otherworldly foe not arisen to extinguish the conflict. Overnight, as guns blazed away in France and Flanders, village after village in the quiet British countryside were swallowed by the Forest. And within the Forest lurk the Huldu ‒ an ancient fae race, monstrous in their inhumanity, who have decided that mankind’s ascendency over the world can endure no longer.
Enter Duncan Silver. Scarred by the war, fueled by a rage deeper than the trenches in which he once fought, Duncan is determined to show the Huldu that the world is not theirs for the taking. Armed with a cut-down trench gun filled with iron shot and a deadly iron knife, Duncan will stop at nothing to return the children the Huldu have stolen from the arms of their families. No matter how many Huldu he may have to slaughter along the way.
But when he is hired by a mother to return her four-year-old daughter, Miriam ‒ taken by the Huldu six months past and replaced with a Changeling ‒ all hell breaks loose. Miriam is a pawn in a much bigger game for dominance than Duncan ever expected, and several long-buried secrets from his past are about to be violently resurrected.
***Thanks to Del Rey for providing an advanced copy of the book via NetGalley. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***
No Man’s Land is such a hard book for me to review because there were so many things I liked about it but also a ton of stuff that made me uncomfortable despite it making sense in the context of the story. As such, I’m not really sure how to go about discussing it all in a coherent way. So, I’m just going to jump right into it…
At the start, the plot of No Man’s Land was deceptively simple. The first world war had seemingly triggered the return of the fae to prominence, and they had started stealing children at a more rapid pace because of it. Duncan, a grizzled war veteran, had taken up the occupation of woodsman and endeavored to steal the children back in order to return them to their families. That plot alone would have been really cool, but things became much more complicated pretty quickly. Government conspiracies, fae politics, and Duncan’s own mysterious past all collide into a perfect storm of trouble that kept me intrigued. The pace at the start was a bit slow and focused heavily on world-building, but things ramped up in major ways after the first quarter or so of the story.
I did not enjoy the writing style in No Man’s Land. It was choppy and abrupt, often using incomplete sentences for dramatic effect. A lot of the dialogue was difficult to read, as well, because the author chose to write it in ways that conveyed different accents. It took me a while to get through the book just because of how much I disliked the writing. That being said, the style matched the main character’s personality perfectly and did set the gritty no-nonsense tone of the story well. So, even though I didn’t love it, the style somehow worked for the story it was trying to tell. Hopefully, that makes sense. lol.
The main character, Duncan, was incredibly gritty, crass, and unapologetic about using whatever means necessary to achieve his goal. He was also a decent guy who had been through so much horror. His experiences in the war were traumatic and left deep scars in his psyche, as did his childhood. For much of the story, he was running from his past while being troubled in the present by a myriad of PTSD symptoms. By the end, he had to confront the experiences that forged him head on. I didn’t particularly like his character because I don’t usually get along with the man’s man stereotype, but he had enough depth that I did respect him.
My favorite thing about No Man’s Land was the portrayal of the fae. I love stories that don’t romanticize them. This story showed them in all their horror. They were relentless, terrifying, and otherworldly. The way they were written solidified them as a true threat. The world-building of their culture was so interesting, and the author did a great job of walking the fine line between explaining enough for the story to make sense without giving so much detail that it destroyed their mystique.
My biggest issue with No Man’s Land was its treatment of women. There was a preoccupation with sex in this book that honestly made me a little uncomfortable. I’m not squeamish when it comes to steamy stuff. I read a lot of smut after all. However, this book didn’t feel steamy. It just felt like the women were being used. Every single woman in this book immediately wanted to have sex with Duncan, and most of them did. It became redundant and more than a little unsettling after a while. Maybe that was the point? I don’t know.
All in all, my feelings were mixed on No Man’s Land. The writing style wasn’t for me even if it did fit the story well. I did enjoy the portrayal of the fae, and the plot was engaging. I just wish the women in the story had been used for something more than as a prop for the main character. If you are looking for a historical fantasy with terrifying fae and the gritty noir vibes of the Dresden Files, this story might work for you. I rate the book 4 out of 5 stars.
There you have it! My thoughts on No Man’s Land by Richard K. Morgan. Have you read this book yet or plan to pick it up? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments!