"Fawkes" by Nadine Brandes
“Remember, remember the fifth of November...”
A silent war rages between the Keepers and the Igniters of 17th century England.
Color powers alter the natural balance of London.
A deadly stone plague spreads throughout the streets, killing thousands at a time.
The Keepers believe the Igniters started the plague. The Igniters think the Keepers are responsible.
All Thomas Fawkes knows is he’s turning to stone.
But when his Keeper father, Guy Fawkes, comes back into Thomas’ life, he claims that joining the Gunpowder Plot can cure the stone plague. And it’s a plot involving 36 barrels of gunpowder and the assassination of the King of England.
If the plot succeeds, Thomas could be cured but the family of the girl he loves would be destroyed.
If Thomas backs out, his father and the other conspirators will be hanged for treason.
To save one, Thomas must lose the other.
Once the choice has been made and the color masks pulled on, there is no turning back and the war begins.
If you’ve ever wondered what book I will never NOT recommend, now’s the time to find out.
I’m sure you’ve already guessed but I’ll tell you anyway.
It’s “Fawkes”. (Seriously, if anyone asks me for a book rec, this book is top on my list.)
Nadine Brandes’ historical fiction fantasy invites us into a world where color powers rule the back streets of 17th century London and the Gunpowder Plot is a part of a much grander scheme.
When you wear a mask, you have the power to control the colors you see.
Red controls blood. Yellow has power over fire. Green gives you the ability to control plants. Blue manipulates water. Brown allows you to control wood and dirt. Black has power over shadows. Grey controls stone.
White has power over them all.
And that’s the problem.
Keepers stay away from White at whatever cost believing that the color that controls all is too much power for humanity to have.
Igniters believe using White is harmless, perhaps even the right thing to do.
But Thomas is willing to do anything to cure the plague slowly turning him into stone - even if it means turning his back on everything he knows.
There is a wide variety of characters in “Fawkes” but each one fits perfectly in the story. I appreciated that the relationships throughout the book are bumpy but also realistic.
I didn’t love Thomas Fawkes right away. But as I read the book, I watched Thomas grow and find his place in the world and I grew as well as I came to appreciate his conviction and courage. Emma Areben is my favorite out of all the characters. Her feistiness and kindness made her both a strong and believable female character.
Nadine Brandes has a talent for making history come alive with convincing characters, strong themes, and high risk magic. “Fawkes” is an emotional and intense read. I was swept away by the imagery and high stakes of this historical-fiction fantasy. Nadine Brandes perfectly meshes the magic system with the historical time period. Loads of treason! An assassination in the works! Magic masks! A mysterious plague! Color powers! The ending is worth every page. Everything is amazing and you should go read this book. (I’m not biased at all *sheepish grin*)
This isn’t just a story about the Gunpowder plot. This is a story about beliefs and conviction and the courage to stand up for what you believe. “Fawkes” stole my heart while I read the pages and it has yet to give it back.
I am giving “Fawkes” 5 out of 5 color masks.
Which color power would you want to have? (Other than White of course, because duh.)
Until the next book!
~ K.J. Haakenson
A silent war rages between the Keepers and the Igniters of 17th century England.
Color powers alter the natural balance of London.
A deadly stone plague spreads throughout the streets, killing thousands at a time.
The Keepers believe the Igniters started the plague. The Igniters think the Keepers are responsible.
All Thomas Fawkes knows is he’s turning to stone.
But when his Keeper father, Guy Fawkes, comes back into Thomas’ life, he claims that joining the Gunpowder Plot can cure the stone plague. And it’s a plot involving 36 barrels of gunpowder and the assassination of the King of England.
If the plot succeeds, Thomas could be cured but the family of the girl he loves would be destroyed.
If Thomas backs out, his father and the other conspirators will be hanged for treason.
To save one, Thomas must lose the other.
Once the choice has been made and the color masks pulled on, there is no turning back and the war begins.
If you’ve ever wondered what book I will never NOT recommend, now’s the time to find out.
I’m sure you’ve already guessed but I’ll tell you anyway.
It’s “Fawkes”. (Seriously, if anyone asks me for a book rec, this book is top on my list.)
Nadine Brandes’ historical fiction fantasy invites us into a world where color powers rule the back streets of 17th century London and the Gunpowder Plot is a part of a much grander scheme.
When you wear a mask, you have the power to control the colors you see.
Red controls blood. Yellow has power over fire. Green gives you the ability to control plants. Blue manipulates water. Brown allows you to control wood and dirt. Black has power over shadows. Grey controls stone.
White has power over them all.
And that’s the problem.
Keepers stay away from White at whatever cost believing that the color that controls all is too much power for humanity to have.
Igniters believe using White is harmless, perhaps even the right thing to do.
But Thomas is willing to do anything to cure the plague slowly turning him into stone - even if it means turning his back on everything he knows.
There is a wide variety of characters in “Fawkes” but each one fits perfectly in the story. I appreciated that the relationships throughout the book are bumpy but also realistic.
I didn’t love Thomas Fawkes right away. But as I read the book, I watched Thomas grow and find his place in the world and I grew as well as I came to appreciate his conviction and courage. Emma Areben is my favorite out of all the characters. Her feistiness and kindness made her both a strong and believable female character.
Nadine Brandes has a talent for making history come alive with convincing characters, strong themes, and high risk magic. “Fawkes” is an emotional and intense read. I was swept away by the imagery and high stakes of this historical-fiction fantasy. Nadine Brandes perfectly meshes the magic system with the historical time period. Loads of treason! An assassination in the works! Magic masks! A mysterious plague! Color powers! The ending is worth every page. Everything is amazing and you should go read this book. (I’m not biased at all *sheepish grin*)
This isn’t just a story about the Gunpowder plot. This is a story about beliefs and conviction and the courage to stand up for what you believe. “Fawkes” stole my heart while I read the pages and it has yet to give it back.
I am giving “Fawkes” 5 out of 5 color masks.
Which color power would you want to have? (Other than White of course, because duh.)
Until the next book!
~ K.J. Haakenson
I just read this today! Amazing story aside, I was utterly awed by Nadine's writing quality - emotion and description and pacing and everything. Also the level of historical detail, and the fact that King James the VI and I spoke with a Scottish accent made me ridiculously happy.
ReplyDeleteOoo, that's a hard question. I'd say green because that's my favorite color, but everything blue can do is just really neat in general. So /probably/ blue.