Review: More Bachiyr intrigue served up at a blazing fast pace
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 20, 2011
My grandmother, in her homespun country wisdom, used to say, "Some time even a blind hog finds an acorn" to describe good fortune that was as much dependent on luck as it was on skill. As much as I enjoyed 33 A.D., David McAfee's first book about the Bachiyr, I approached his follow-up book in the series, 61 A.D., with a bit of trepidation. Could McAfee avoid the "sophomore slump" of writers and produce a sequel that was as original as the first?The answer, I'm happy to say, is 'yes.' Not only does McAfee's latest effort equal the first book in the series, but it many ways it surpasses it with a surer hand and a better feel for pacing and juggling multiple plot lines. In 33 A.D. the plot placed members of the Bachiyr, a secret society of vampires, in the midst of Christ's crucifiction. As potentially disastrous as that plot could have been in the wrong hands, McAfee pulled it off. Now several of the characters from that novel have returned in a second novel set mostly in London (or Londinium) shortly before and during an attack by the Iceni queen Boudica.Returning characters include Taras, the reluctant Bachiyr who was a Roman legionaire in Judea at the time of Christ; Theron, the former enforcer for the Bachiyr's Council of Thirteen; Ramah, the council's Blood Letter; and in a few key scenes, Herris, the head of the council. Joining them this time around is a new character who is as facsinating as she is deadly, Baella, who is as old as the oldest members of the council but who is a renegade to the council's rules. Baella makes a great addition to the Bachiyr mythos. Without her in the story, much of 61 A.D. would consist of the conflict between Taras, who lost his love and his life to Theron, and Theron, who lost his high position in the Bachiyr because of Taras. Baella (and, to a certain extent, Boudica and her two daughters) gives 61 A.D. the strong female figures that were lacking in 33 A.D. But I don't blame McAfee for his lack of female characters. During that time period it was definitely "a man's world." That he manages to bring strong female characters into the second novel in the series is a reflection of his talent.McAfee shows he has mastered the art of pacing in this book. Theron, Taras and the others are literally put through their paces as events unfold around them. Once Boudica and her army start attacking Londinium, events unfold at a break-neck pace that make the book all but impossible to put down. The only part of the plot I found a bit heavy-handed and overly melodramatic was the story of Boudica's daughter's pregnancy (the result of her rape at the hands of the Romans) and her choice to die in battle rather than face a "shameful" birth.To sum up, I thoroughly enjoyed 61 A.D. In fact, by the time I finished the story I immediately went searching for more information on Boudica and the Iceni revolt in Roman-era Britain. Now what's next, Mr. McAfee? At what point in human history can we next expect the Bachiyr to show up? The fall of Rome? The court of Charlemagne? The Dark Ages? I've got my literary bags packed and ready to go wherever you take me next!