THE WEIRD TALES OF SILAS FLINT (THE FLINT ANTHOLOGIES BOOK 1)
Review by
I dove into this anthology book with no idea of what it was about. The author simply invited me to give it a read and review it. I was honest with him and told him that I would only commit to review the first tale and then take it from there. Now that I finished reading it I am excited to announce that I plan on reviewing the remaining tales, and here is why!
The Ruin of Witches finds our main character, Knight Templar Captain Silas Flint, and his associate, Supernumerary Ricardo Navarro, on the road, heading to their Chapterhouse. An unscheduled stop by a small town sees the duo getting involved in some strange affairs which have plagued the town for about 20 years. Flint, being a bona fide witch hunter, can’t just move on without ‘poking his nose where it don’t belong,’ and this is how we get dragged along for one wild ride!
The action takes place over 400 years in the future from present time, in a world that has seen dark magic try to take over the world yet eventually defeated. Witches are still a threat, but seem to be scattered and live in hiding. The Knights Templar are constantly on the hunt, ready to take to trial and even burn the remaining witches or those who still deal with sorcery.
Why do I think this is worth featuring on VP?
- The main character: Silas Flint, was highly inspired by R.E. Howard’s Solomon Kane and I for one appreciate that! What that means is that he is not just a man with extraordinary skills and abilities, but also a God-fearing man with unwavering convictions and beliefs. You can’t corrupt or coerce his moral standards, you can’t have him strike deals with the devil, you can’t bribe him or offer him power for he is willing to die while doing the work of the Lord!
- The supporting character: unlike iconic pulp fiction character Solomon Kane, Flint has a helping hand in the person of Ricardo Navarro. This very much reminds me of other historical duos: Don Quixote and Sancho Panza; Batman and Robin; Captain America and Bucky. Navarro offers some comedic relief but don’t be fooled! He is game when push comes to shove!
- The Witch: she is beautiful, evil, dangerous… But also, she shows signs of her former humanity by trying to spare her husband’s life in a glimpse of desire for a normal life (it is a fact that the happiest women are not the single independent women in charge but those who are in a long-term committed marriage with a godly man).
In addition, the action scenes are explosive (literally!), the prose is captivating, the plot line is direct while avoiding to get too stale or predictable.
Yes boys and girls, I now want to know about Flint’s next adventure!
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Tale #2: The Witch’s Repentance will be featured next month!