‘The Righteous' – David Wragg (Harper Voyager)

Where does the time go...? I can't believe that it was November of 2019 when I read 'The Black Hawks' but it was. Apparently, time flies when you’re in a pandemic, but anyway… If you were around when I read ‘The Black Hawks’, you’ll have a good idea about how much I’ve been looking forward to reading ‘The Righteous’. If you weren’t, that’s ok, here’s my Review. I was really excited to get going then and I’ve spent the last couple of weeks getting reacquainted with Chel, Prince Tarfel and the Black Hawks. Was it time well spent though? Of course it was, why would you even ask? It was awesome from start to finish, and what a finish…

Bound by oath and honour, Vedren Chel found himself drawn to the heart of a deadly rebellion. With him stood the mercenaries of the Black Hawk Company, who were only ever in it for the money.

But the uprising failed. Now, Chel and the sell-sword Rennic languish in prison, watching as their comrades are taken one by one for execution.

A daring escape will set them free, but with the combined forces of vengeful church and voracious crown arrayed against them, Chel and the Black Hawks must embark on a desperate search for new allies.

Thanks to Lemon’s handy ‘catch up’, getting into ‘The Righteous’ wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be (it has been a while since I read ‘The Black Hawks’). You might want to read the last couple of chapters of ‘The Black Hawks’ though, just to get all the names in order again; I didn’t and I probably should have done. That’s on me though, not the book.

Once everything is up and running… Well, it’s like ‘The Black Hawks’ never finished and you’re still reading it. The stakes are suddenly a lot higher though and it shows in the frenetic pace. If our heroes stop for just a minute, they’re suddenly having to fight their way out and Wragg uses these moments as springboards for more action down the line. The plot doesn’t let up for a moment and if that’s your thing, you’re in for a treat here with battles and lethal politicking taking equal billing. There’s so much to see here and it’s all good, all of it.

What I was really into though was seeing how all this impacts on an already dysfunctional mercenary company having to deal with a ‘money vs doing the right thing’ dilemma while escorting a Prince that they really can’t stand (and with very good reason). I figured that was where the real meat of the story was to be found and Wragg didn’t let me down. The horrors of war are on full display here and Wragg treats the Black Hawks in the same way that he treats his readers; shit happens in the story and we all just have to deal with it in the best way that we can. Lets put it this way, you won’t realise how much of a family the Black Hawks are until that unit is forced to fracture and split. It’s pretty heart wrenching actually, especially for Rennic, but that’s the way it should be and it would have been a disservice to these characters, that I’ve come to love now, if it had been done any other way. This approach also leads the reader into what is one hell of an ending, just not for the reasons that you think…

The whole book (and ‘The Back Hawks’ as well, come to think of it) has been about ‘doing the right thing’ and what that means to different people. This argument comes to a head and fair play to Wragg for leaving it the way he does; it’s not an easy question to answer anyway but the way it is handled shows real character development in Chel in particular. Plus it makes for some incredibly powerful reading, just at the right time.

Does it leave things open for one more book though? I think that the answer is ‘possibly’ while my own answer would have to be ‘please make it happen!’ Families do fall apart but families can also come back together if the need is great enough and I suspect that could be the case here. Or it might not be, Chel deserves a rest after all. Either way, I had a lot of fun reading ‘The Righteous’ and if you enjoyed ‘The Black Hawks’, I think you’ll enjoy this one too. Highly recommended (even though it has been pretty much confirmed that I’d stand no chance whatsoever with Lemon…)