We return to a magical mystical alternate version of the French Revolution in A Radical Act of Free Magic by H. G. Parry, book two of The Shadow Histories. It picks up not long after the end of the previous book with the death of Robespierre. The mysterious stranger has now decided to support Napoleon Bonaparte in his bid for military victory for France overseas. As he does so he is discreetly monitored and watched by Fina, a former slave from Jamaica now fighting for freedom in Saint Domingue alongside Toussaint. Fina is convinced there is more going on with the stranger than either she or Toussaint is aware of. In England, Wilberforce is still fighting for the end of slavery and pushing for peace with France even though doing so also strains his friendship with William Pitt. Things become easier for him personally when he falls in love and gets married though none of those help him to forget the dark underpinnings of the war in Europe. The secret of the Vampire War going on between the stranger and William Pitt. A war which becomes even more dangerous when Bonaparte enters center stage by mesmering a kraken to attack English ships and invading Egypt for unknown reasons.
Honestly, this book is every bit as grand and epic as the first book was in terms of general scope and events. I found myself rather enthralled with watching as Wilberforce, Pitt and Fina fought back against the mysterious stranger, each in their own unique way. It was also just as entertaining to see how Napoleon functioned with the stranger in comparison to Robespierre in the previous book. I think that Napoleon was definitely the stronger of the two and much more assertive about his ability to survive and even thrive without the help of the stranger. Robespierre was much more reliant on him and the dynamic had a different feel to it because of that difference. I think all of the characters were stronger in this book than they were in the previous books though that is because most of them have grown considerably due to the events that they have faced. The one thing I am not sure about is how accurate the history of events is in this book, though I am curious enough to potentially go research and learn more about the events surrounding the French Revolution. I know the broad strokes are fairly accurate and it is accurate enough that you still get a pretty good sense of how things were even if you know some of the details are not accurate. The one thing I know for sure is that Admiral Nelson did not die from a kraken attack even if he did die at the battle of Trafalgar. It was still a great read and thoroughly enjoyable though. I am happy giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
This is a great example of fantasy with a bit of alternate history thrown in so it would probably appeal the most to readers who enjoy fantasy and are not opposed to books set in the past. It might also appeal to readers who would like to get a better feel for the events surrounding the French Revolution though I would caution readers to verify the information about the Revolution before accepting it as fact. This is the second book in the set so I would heavily recommend reading the previous one before this one. If you don’t you will quickly become hopelessly lost in the events of this book. There is just too much backstory from the previous book. As you might imagine this book is definitely on the dark and gruesome side from time to time and does include both violence and gruesome and gory details from time to time though neither tends to be overly frequent or overwhelming. I would be fine recommending the series to readers as young as fifteen or sixteen without any major problems though I would recommend caution for them if it is needed. It is worth the read though and if you do consider it feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.