The Wicked by Douglas Nicholas

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DNicholas-The-WickedWicked by Douglas Nicholas, had a lot of promise and I was looking forward to reading it. I gave it a chance as long as I could, but it wasn’t able to capture my attention.

The mesmerizing and highly anticipated sequel to Something Red transports readers to the harsh and enchanting  world of thirteenth-century England, where a group of unlikely heroes battles an ancient evil.

In the critically acclaimed historical fantasy Something Red, the young warrior Hob, his mentor Jack, the mystical Irish queen Molly, and her powerful granddaughter Nemain travelled far and wide, battling shapeshifters, sorceresses, warrior monks, and otherworldly knights. Now, a new type of evil has come to reside in a castle by the chilly waters of the North Sea. Men disappear and are found as horribly wizened corpses. Warriors ride out and return under a terrible spell. Only Molly, with her healing powers, can save the people from a malevolent nobleman and his beautiful, wicked wife. As all are drawn into battle, the young Hob and his adopted family must vanquish the dark powers before they themselves are defeated.

An unforgettable blend of fantasy, mythology, and horror, The Wicked is just as chilling, beautifully written, and historically rich as Something Red, drawing readers into a world both magical and haunting—where nothing is ever as it seems.

My problem with Wicked is the style of writing, so this may be something you can get past, I just couldn’t. It was partially because there is one extremely long, oddly phrased, run-on sentence after another. One of these was an 8 line paragraph! I was constantly re-reading entire sections over again just to understand what was going on. A few run-on sentences are ok, but one after another is just confusing.

The other problem I had was I managed about 3% into Wicked and nothing had happened yet. I know that is only a couple of pages but that is plenty long enough to give you something interesting. At that point in Wickedand most novels, the world is still being set up and described in depth. This wouldn’t be a bad start if other things were going on, but there wasn’t.  Nothing is happening but describing a character and things that he has done as he sits in a chair with people waiting for him to talk. For me it was a painfully slow pace, and the information that was given wasn’t interesting enough to distract me from it.

I really did try to get past the writing style and continue reading but I just couldn’t. Sadly, Mr. Nicholas’ writing is not quick or entertaining enough for me. I’m sure there is a great story in this novel, but it’s just not for me.

About Nikki R 120 Articles
SAHM of 2, happily married bookworm, blogger and aspiring author. If I could read/write all day, every day, I would. Luckily I have a very understanding, and patient, husband who lets me get away with it as much as possible. Now if only the kids would understand my obsession, and the house would clean itself, then I'd be all set.