Wolf Wood

Part One,The Gathering Storm

Fiction - Historical - Event/Era
324 Pages
Reviewed on 02/24/2016
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Paul F. Murray for Readers' Favorite

Wolf Wood (Part One The Gathering Storm) by Mike Dixon is an excellent period piece set in 1436-1437 in late medieval England. The story is based upon the conflict over ownership and use of a baptismal font, with the two sides being All Hallows Church, the parish church, and the local Sherborne Abbey. The events leading up to the final confrontation take up most of the novel, providing readers with a clear picture of the state of affairs involving church and society in the decades leading up to the Protestant Reformation. Nothing is held back. The hypocrisy of lecherous monks and friars gets particular emphasis, especially in the maypole scene. Along the way, readers meet the Gascoignes, the Knowles', the Barets, churchmen such as the misanthropic Abbot Bradford, master mason Hulle, and Alice de Lambert, a one time prospective nun who now saw getting pregnant as her main goal in life, along with many others - such as the summoner - who played their roles in medieval society. The summoner was particularly intriguing as a medieval character, with his ability to extort money from individuals who would otherwise be accused of immorality or witchcraft and face a local inquisition as a result.

Wolf Wood by Mike Dixon will take readers interested in the Middle Ages on an exciting you-are-there tour of medieval times. The book was extremely well researched on the mindset of people living in late medieval times when religion was their primary diversion in life, including a subject, a baptismal font, that would seem minor today but which was of paramount importance to people living in a time before television, movies, recorded music, the internet, and social media. Readers interested in medieval history and life will get their fill of their favorite subject with this novel.