I was part-way through Ellis Peters’ The Pilgrim of Hate when I took the romance detour. Coincidentally, when I went back to it, I discovered that the ObYoungLovers of this book broke a rule so basic I didn’t think I had to write it down: Thou shalt not strike one’s beloved in anger. They also reminded me of a corollary: “for his/her own good” is not one of the acceptable rationales for deception.
Besides those, which are fairly minor parts of the book and not egregious in any event, this is a pretty good one. The plot has a nifty concept at its core, and we get to see Olivier again. I do wonder, though, how much tension would be lost in reading these if you happened to know the ups and downs of the civil war between Maud and Stephen; for me, it’s another layer of what-happens-next from book to book.
Hmm. No more posting at midnight.
I meant to add that this is also the first book with a miracle. Surprisingly, this doesn’t bother me; I think it’s been cordoned off in my mind under “historical recreation of a world that isn’t necessarily ours, or at least mine.”