Bringer of Dust (The Talents, 2)
In Victorian-age Europe in 1883, monstrous and well-concealed evil is perilously afoot completely under the noses of most of the populace. A group of unique children of varying backgrounds and supernatural powers, known as “talents,” are sometimes guided by adults and scattered around the continent including Scotland, England, Sicily, and France. Since their former residence at the Cairndale Institute outside Edinburgh has been destroyed, they seek haven elsewhere.
But a new threat has arisen from the ashes of the Institute and a new center of evil in the form of the mysterious “Abbess,” who seems to be a uniting and leading figure among the hordes of hideous monsters and mutants hunting them. The children and their few protectors must use their own wits and talents to ensure their world does not become the world of the dead.
This is the second book in a planned trilogy, and readers are strongly advised to read the initial one first to comprehend the plot. It is exceedingly long with a myriad of exotic names, characters, and creatures. The creatures include “glyphics,” “bonebirds and bone witches,” “litches” “keywrasses,” (which are fond of mutilating the locals’ dogs), “drughrs” and more.
I found the novel, billed as a historical fantasy, to be more akin to a never-ending graphic horror/slasher movie where children and others are not only butchered in grisly fashion, but the “urchins” are sometimes themselves the perpetrators. The descriptions of the marauding creatures resemble the monsters in some of the worst of the cheap and cheesy 1950/60s sci-fi films. The first book was a bestseller, for reasons I do not fully understand. Still, there will be fans for this.
