“Red Country” is one of the stand-alone sequels to the “First Law” trilogy, which, for those of you who have been keeping up with my blog, I just finished. There are two main POV characters, with a few extra added here and there when needed. This creates a tighter storyline that is a lot easier to follow. Shy is the eldest child of three, and since her mother died, she has taken it upon herself to take care of her two younger siblings, Ro and Pit. She does have a father-like figure in her life, but as she says multiple times, he is not her father. He’s just some big Northerner man who helped raise her. Temple is a lawyer for the Company of the Gracious Hand. Or, I should say, currently he is a lawyer. But he has some experience in other trades, like priest, or carpenter, or whatever was easiest at whatever time of his life. He is a self-titled coward. He always chooses the path of least resistance, even when his conscience is yelling at him.
The novel starts with Shy in town selling her crop with Lamb, her not-father father-figure. When they return to their farm, they find it burned down. Their friend, who was watching the kids, is hanging from a tree, and Pit and Ro are missing. There is no trace of them anywhere, so they figure they were stolen. Thus they embark on a journey to the Far Country to rescue them. And along the way, Shy learns things about her nine fingered father that she never wanted to learn. And he never wanted her to learn. Lamb, appropriately named, as someone who knows him said, because he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s not so submissive as he has led Shy to believe.
Meanwhile, Temple’s conscience gets the better of him, so he takes the path of resistance for once in his life, and flees the company. He barely survives an attack in the wild, and gets rescued by Shy. She ostensibly saved him for a fee, and it takes him the entire trip to the Far Country to pay her back.
This is a book of hope and betrayals. People love and hate, sometimes the same people. Sometimes at the same time. Twists and turns abound. We meet old friends from “The First Law” trilogy. Sometimes by a different name, but still recognizable. A great read.
But we see Logen Ninefingers again. And there is no Ferro. He has obviously given up on her. We never get a Logen POV, so we never know if he still thinks about her. But I do. I miss her a lot. But Shy is great too!
Booktastik Reviews 