Bought this on a whim for a dollar or so. It's a sort of historical fiction adventure story that I wouldn't normally have picked for myself. As a result it's rather different from anything else I've read. Although I won't search out his other books, I really did enjoy reading something outside my alley(s), and I found this a little spooky and somehow charming at the oddest moments, and overall well written. I think my lasting impression is going to be amusement that it managed to charm me. ( )

Set in and around the area of Dordrecht in Holland not too long after Saint Elisabeth's flood submerged much of the surrounding area and making the city into an island. Jan has a plan to set himself and his long-time partner (in both senses of the word), the murderous Sander, up for life and when he stumbles across Jolanda, daughter of a dye-maker from a distant village, while she is swimming in the sea then she could be the final piece that he needs to put it into action. Things do not progress as smoothly as Jan hopes.

Although I have this tagged as a historical fantasy story there really isn't that much of a fantastical element involved. It certainly isn't delved in to very deeply and reads more of a historical caper. If anything, the fantastical element leans more towards the horror genre than fantasy but it's not something I'm going to disclose in a spoiler-free review. Despite none of the three main protagonists being very nice people the author has managed to make the reader care what happens to them and when an unexpected event occurs midway through the story it is quite shocking. The setting is also very vividly portrayed and there is a very real sense of place throughout the tale. The violence and sex does get a bit graphic so be warned if you're tempted. While there are some smiles to be had along the way this is mostly a dark account which may appeal to those of us who like the grimdark sub-genre of the fantasy spectrum. I will definitely be seeking out more of this author's work. ( )

I finished this book a while back and then forgot to do a review. Be that as it may, a few things stood out strongly.

Bullington's writing is solid. There were no awkward moments in regards to syntax or diction. This is important to my enjoyment personally; I'm not always looking for lyrical or beautiful sentence construction. In this case, the author nails telling a story clearly. The details were never lacking or overwhelming.

I hadn't had so much fun reading a book in a long time. There were plenty of laugh-out-loud moments while reading, though I wouldn't necessarily say it's meant to be a humorous book. There's a lot of darkness and a couple of moments that caught me off-guard - not because they weren't set up to happen, but because I was somehow lulled into expecting differently from the characters involved. Those moments were masterful and made the experience of reading the book all the better.

There is some "foul language" and some sexual content (though nothing that struck me as graphic, and nothing that really dug into describing the acts so much as talk of such acts occurring). YMMV, as they say, in regards to what a reader might or might not find 'offensive'. ( )

Jesse Bullington's latest! With each new book, Bullington's craft improves, honed by a formidably visceral imagination and what is clearly a passion for medieval European history not to mention an affinity for the lowly rogues, cheats and outsiders skulking in the shadows. Folly displays an impressively tight sense of plotting and place. The spooky and damp floodlands of Holland where terrible secrets linger amongst the reed and the mud and the drowned farms.

Jan, the con-man, recruits Jolanda, the swimmer, to recover an item from an underwater mansion. Sander, the burly thug perpetually on the brink of a violent psychotic breakdown, is muscle, if he can keep the schizophrenic paranoia at bay. This is a heist novel, of sorts, and as often occurs in heist novels, surviving the heist, no matter how badly it goes wrong, is a cakewalk when compared to surviving what comes afterwards. And, of course, the biggest danger usually comes from your fellow heisters. That's about as much as I'll say for the plot, as I wouldn't want to give too much away.

Interestingly, Bullington dials back considerably on the supernatural horrors, always front and centre in his previous two books. Such horrors and monstrosities as do appear are ambiguous, and though they provide a growing sense of unease and unreality, they are kept peripheral to the story itself, leaving the reader with much to ponder.

As usual, the characters are skillfully drawn, sympathetic even in their ugly depravity. Sander in particular is a creature of such violence, madness and appalling contradictions, you keep rooting for a redemption you know is impossible. Jan's smooth cruelty and Jolanda's growth from impoverished daughter of a dye-maker to an intelligent, albeit still ferocious young woman are equally strong and engaging.

Excellent. ( )

I didn't finish this one. The set-up and location was interesting: the Netherlands some time ago, with a village under water from which something needed to be retrieved. Language-wise I find it a bit annoying. The author uses words that are dutch in origin, and englifies them, then uses English words with the same meaning at the same time. Plus, he's rather foul-mouthed of course. If it was just the language, I think I could have taken it, but some of the things happening are rather foul as well. Or maybe that's not true, they wouldn't need to be foul, they were just described that way.

I read this book on the train, and since I have a short commute, I was reading it in bits and pieces. I think that's the reason I lasted as long as I did. Plus, I was curious what the whole thing with the diving was about. In the end, I stopped though, because I couldn't get any connection with the main characters. The only one that was halfway sympathetic was Jolanda, the girl that has to dive up the item. Sander is crazy, and Jan is disgusting. He uses everyone around him, and tries to seduce Jolanda in a disgusting manner. Once the item was found, I lost interest, despite the weird twist in the story. I never read far past SPOILER Jan dying.

So, not for me, and I imagine not for a lot of people, so make sure to read a few reviews before you start on this one... ( )