Lord of the Hunt

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the first book in David Craig's Sooty Feathers series, Resurrection Men, almost exactly a year ago now, so I was thrilled when Rachel's Random Resources also announced this tour for its sequel, Lord Of The Hunt. The first chapters do include quite a few nods back to the first novel, but I think Sooty Feathers is going to be a series best read in the right order. Despite my usual disorganisation when it comes to reading series chronologically, this is one I'm glad I'm doing 'properly'!

Although much of Lord Of The Hunt takes place in 1890s Glasgow, the storyline also transports readers to the beautiful Highlands as well. Of course, the natural world takes second place to the unnatural vampires and demons, each determined to thwart each other as well as those humans unfortunate enough to be drawn into their political power struggles. There's a lot of violence in this novel and some scenes get sickeningly gruesome! I appreciated that David Craig also observed the real-life social situation at the time, especially the vast gulf in living conditions between rich and poor. This added a realistic depth to the story so I felt more as though I were reading historical fiction that just happened to focus on vampires.

I did sometimes get overwhelmed by the sheer number of characters, particularly those that ended up with multiple names or were members of aristocratic families who repeat names across generations. I probably also would have benefited from knowing the biblical story of The Fall because, while Craig does briefly explain the differences between the different types of angels and demons, the information didn't lodge strongly what with everything else that was going on. That said though, I spent several hours completely engrossed in this story and am feeling a little bereft now that it is finished. I love the intricate world Craig has created for this series and I hope I won't have to wait another year for the third instalment.