PotsandPlots

The Son of the Serpent is the fifth book in the Gael Song series and the second in its second era. (There’s a closure of sorts after book 3.)

Obviously, then, you should not start here. Go back to the beginning, with The Children of Gods and Fighting Men. You will not be disappointed. The first volume takes a while to build to a steam, but once it does, you’ll be hooked.

With The Son of the Serpent, Shauna Lawless continues in the same vein. Her blending of myth and history is pitch-perfect. Book after book, she creates stories that demand to be read.

Growing Information:

Plant With: Irish History, Folklore, Family Ties.

Grows Into: The Empire Strikes Back of Gael Song’s second arc.

Rating: Vibrant Annual 🌻🌻(Check here for rating information.)

Available now in hardback (affiliate link).

The Review:

We are now in the 1100s. Ireland is still in turmoil. The Normans have definitely arrived, and Henry II sits on the English throne.

Readers of previous books will know that the Gael Song characters love to weave webs within webs. Treachery and skulduggery are never far away.

The Descendants are still dwindling, and the Fomorians are biding their time, waiting to reveal themselves and reclaim rule of Ireland. Yet, no matter how subtle the plan, things have a way of not working out the way Gormflaith and her family want them to. Not least because they spend almost as much time trying to outmanoeuvre one another as they do manipulating local politics to suit their design.

Against this backdrop sits the doomed love of Isolde and Cuan. A Descendant, who knows little about her abilities and a Fomorian who knows even less about his. The two are separated from each other, but both yearn to be in the other’s company. One imagines that if they do finally get together, it’s going to be one awkward wedding breakfast.

Perhaps the strongest character in this book is Angelo. A minor player thus far, but I’m guessing the titular Son of the Serpent of this second act. He’s a charming but malicious psychopath who will have you seething with rage as he wends his merry way through the country, causing mayhem and carnage. He’s a villain you love to hate, and sometimes that’s all a book needs to propel you through it.

Much as Isolde can wield many Descendant magics, Shauna Lawless too is a writer of many talents. Whilst I enjoy the folklore shenanigans of Gael Song, I find her pacing and descriptions of the saga’s historical influences even better.

The internecine politics of the Irish clans and their kings draws the reader in, as you read each punch and counter-punch. The addition of Norman intrigue and the enigmatic Henry II add further strings to the narrative.

Partway through The Son of The Serpent, I was struck by just how good a writer Shauna Lawless is. There are no particular gimmicks or tricks here. Just solid historical storytelling. Page after page of meaningful character interaction and political intrigue combine to make a compelling whole. And she does it time after time.

In her acknowledgements, Lawless mentions that The Son of The Serpent is bringing the Gael Song closer to its end, and that she is “drafting the final book in the series.” This is sad news, as I would like the series to run and run, though I guess all good things have to come to an end and it’s better to go out on a high.

Overall, the book feels like The Empire Strikes Back. Which probably fits for a second novel in a trilogy. The pieces are all on the board; there’s been the odd feint and sacrifice; an exchange of pawns here and there, but as we head into the final book, it’s all to play for. I can’t wait to read the endgame.

I’ve said in a previous review that the way Shauna Lawless has constructed her Fomorian/Descendant rivalry, she could keep the flames alive through centuries of history, but whatever she decides to do as Gael Song closes, I’m right there for it. It feels like Lawless flies a little under the fantasy radar, but I think she is building a truly impressive body of work.