[b:La Guerre des trois rois|53768340|La Guerre des trois rois|Jean-Laurent Del Socorro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593522445l/53768340._SY75_.jpg|84089419] (translated: The War of the Three Kings) is special for a few reasons:

* It marks the start of a new line of books at Éditions ActuSF: graphic novels (well, this one's not really a novel, more a novella, but that's of trivial importance here)
* It's a return to the world of [b:Royaume de vent et de colères|25090639|Royaume de vent et de colères|Jean-Laurent Del Socorro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1425723523l/25090639._SX50_.jpg|44779717]; in fact, it's a prequel to the events in Mr Del Socorro's debut novel. I highly recommend/advise you to read that novel (no matter which edition) first before reading this novella.
* It contains wonderful sketches and coloured drawings by Marc Simonetti (his Facebook-page)

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The events in this "war" - well, there was an actual War of Religions at that time - take place in the years 1588 and 1589. Current king of France, Henry III is to fear for his position, especially since the city and population of Paris doesn't favour its current king. There are, as a matter of fact, two contenders to succeed him, each of them named Henry as well, hence the "War of the Three Henrys": Henry of Navarre (leader of the Huguenots) and Henry of Lorraine, Duke of Guise, leader of the Catholic League.

To protect his position, Henry III appeals, via his lieutenant, Agnès de Loignac, to the Company of the Chariot. Why? Because Henry III only has his personal guard left, The Forty-Five. The Company of the Chariot is led by a woman, Captain Axelle. There's also N'a-qu'un-œil (who's the provost of the Company, the main storyteller and keeper of the Company's journal), Tremble-voix (a stutterer who likes to draw/sketch soldiers, buildings, etc. - and no, he's not a "spy", not really), Quitte-ou-double (the newest member, a female Moor with multiple functions: barber, surgeon, and... smith, surprisingly), Tourne-en-rond (sergeant), Une-chance-sur-deux (the company's doctor), and others.

Schemes are plotted to overthrow the throne. Especially Henry I, Duke of Guise, is eager to become the new rules. At some point - well, after the Spanish butt was kicked -, the Estates-General was called. After having allied with Henry of Navarre - in light of the Salic law -, Henry III realised he'd have to negotiate with Henry of Guise (the strongest contender), offer him a position in return for the keeping of the throne. That's how political negotiations usually work: it's game of give-and-take. As you can imagine, such negotiations always occur with a hidden agenda. Prior to this meeting, Henry III had an audience, so to speak, with a specialist in the creation of Artbon (the result of an alchemic process) to produce a weapon of silent destruction, but with consequences for the wielder of the weapon, too. (Said weapon, a dagger in this case, would have to contain the emotions of the instructing party, here Henry III, to be effective. At the end of the story, Quitte-ou-double, the Moor who forged the dagger on her own initiative so that the Company wouldn't have to seek and pay an external smith, admitted to having added a bit of her blood to the mixture, for reasons of her own. She also made sure the dagger was not found and no trace would lead to her. After the tragic events, she would leave the Company to chose a new direction in her life: she had joined the service of Henry IV aka Henry of Navarre. Oh, and let's not forget Victoire and Silas - also a Moor and Quitte-ou-double's brother -, who will both take up a prominent role in the later story/ies.)

Henry of Guise and Henry III met up, but no all went according to plan and both would bear the consequences of their own schemes. Like in any good thriller, evidence would magically disappear, thus making it difficult to point the finger. Or was there a third party with a hidden agenda, who wanted the evidence to disappear?

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This new publication wouldn't have been a good story if there wasn't an "all's well that ends well", but our Company of the Chariot would be freed from their contract and thus able to seek out new endeavours. New endeavours that would present themselves sooner rather than later, as described in [b:Royaume de vent et de colères|25090639|Royaume de vent et de colères|Jean-Laurent Del Socorro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1425723523l/25090639._SX50_.jpg|44779717] and [b:Le vert est éternel|34837954|Le vert est éternel|Jean-Laurent Del Socorro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1491899278l/34837954._SX50_.jpg|55973749].

Returning to this setting by presenting a prequel to the events in the aforementioned novel was a very good idea. Like before, but perhaps more than before, the style is very accessible (influenced by his previous offering, [b:Les Chevaliers de la raclette|53422867|Les Chevaliers de la raclette|Jean-Laurent Del Socorro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589640578l/53422867._SX50_.jpg|75970956]?), allowing for a smooth, yet entertaining and informative reading experience, because of the historic elements.

A recommended read, but again, you must first have read [b:Royaume de vent et de colères|25090639|Royaume de vent et de colères|Jean-Laurent Del Socorro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1425723523l/25090639._SX50_.jpg|44779717] (any edition) to better understand/appreciate this "War of the Three Henrys".

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Other works I've read:

Related:
* [b:Royaume de vent et de colères|25090639|Royaume de vent et de colères|Jean-Laurent Del Socorro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1425723523l/25090639._SX50_.jpg|44779717] - my review
* [b:Le vert est éternel|34837954|Le vert est éternel|Jean-Laurent Del Socorro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1491899278l/34837954._SX50_.jpg|55973749] - my review

Others:
* [b:La Mère des mondes|28803058|La Mère des mondes|Jean-Laurent Del Socorro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1454112019l/28803058._SX50_.jpg|49015451] - my review
* [b:Boudicca|34514050|Boudicca|Jean-Laurent Del Socorro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1489001283l/34514050._SX50_.jpg|55642248] - my review
* [b:Utopiales 2017|36427232|Utopiales 2017|Dominique Douay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1508229613l/36427232._SX50_.jpg|58126781] - my review
* [b:Créatures - Anthologie des Imaginales 2018|40131137|Créatures - Anthologie des Imaginales 2018|Stéphanie Nicot|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1526470147l/40131137._SY75_.jpg|62247823] - my review
* [b:Natures - Anthologie des Imaginales 2019|45696056|Natures - Anthologie des Imaginales 2019|Stéphanie Nicot|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557406463l/45696056._SY75_.jpg|70463164] - my review

Currently on my TBR-pile:
* [b:Je suis fille de rage|51565213|Je suis fille de rage|Jean-Laurent Del Socorro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1568574974l/51565213._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73384741]
* [b:Utopiales 2019|48920993|Utopiales 2019|Christian Léourier|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574534343l/48920993._SX50_.jpg|74319149] ( )