Mortalis by R. A. Salvatore is the fourth book in the Demonwars Saga and is the stand-alone novel that connects the first demonwars trilogy and the second demonwars trilogy. It tells the story of how the various characters handles the resurgence of the rosy plague. Jilseponie and her refusal to accept the fact that the stones seem to be unable to cure the plague. Her growing guilt as she watches the people around her die. Abbot Braumin Herde as he deals with the politics in Palmaris between the monastery and the new baron as he has to close the gates of the monastery to everyone and turn away those seeking treatment. Master Francis as he watches the people outside the monastery and decides he has to do something, even if that means risking getting the plague himself.
This novel felt a little different to me than the previous books in the series. I think, in part, this was because of the loss of Elbryan at the end of the previous book, but I think a larger part of that was how deftly Salvatore weaved in the history and events surrounding our own black plague while staying true to the characters and setting he had already created. I say this because reading this really reminded me of some of what I learned had happened during the various occurrences of the black plague. For instance, in the book Marcalo De’unnero started a group known as the Brothers Repentant who go around claiming that the plague was a punishment from God for straying too far from his teachings. In real life, there was a group known as the flagellants who did something similar, all the way down to walking around and publically whipping themselves. There were repeated references to a song that warned about the symptoms and treatment options for the rosy plague much like the song ring around the rosie is about a plague. The story is obviously fantasy, as is the way the plague works in their world due to their having magic, but there are similarities that I found absolutely fascinating. As part of this I found it interesting how this external force creates such a nice variety of internal conflicts for the different characters and how each of them ends up resolving that conflict. Jilseponie refuses to give up hope of finding a way to cure the plague while Braumin Herde resigns himself to not being able to do anything and feeling terrible guilt about that. At the same time he also struggles to accept the hope offered by Jilseponie and others as he starts feeling somewhat defeatist. Francis flourishes, in a way, as he finally comes to terms with defying the church in order to do the right thing. His prior experiences with Markwart allow him to really recognize that the teachings and actions of the church are not always right. Seeing the continued evolution of each of these characters as the saga progresses just keeps me coming back for the next installment. I would give this 4.5 out of 5 stars.
I think that, in many ways, this book is a great book to have as the middle part of the overall saga as it focuses more on the internal conflicts of the various characters. This is something that I greatly enjoy in what I read so this particular book is definitely something that I enjoyed and would recommend to others. I know this book is predominantly fantasy as is the rest of the series, but there are mild historical overtones present due to the similarities between it and various events that have happened in real life. If you happen to enjoy fantasy than I think you would like this book and the rest of the series. Just make sure you read the previous books first so that you have a good background on the various relationships between the different characters. Don’t go into it blind. As always feel free to share your thoughts on this book and the rest of the series in the comments below. I look forward to hearing what you think.