The Wild Hunt: Vengeance Moon Review
The Wild Hunt: Vengeance Moonby Jocelin Foxe
Eos, September 1998.
Paperback, 312 pages.
ISBN: 0380799111.
Lady Richenza, whose family has suffered greatly at the hands of the present cruel regime, takes the drastic step of summoning The Wild Hunt: a legendary group of cursed and immortal men who, when called, will undertake the bidding of the summoner. From all walks of life, the men have all been cursed by the three goddesses. They have one full moon cycle to accomplish the summoner's task, or they will be consigned to a fiery hellish death. But there is an "out" clause in the curse. If any one of the men can find true love which can keep him from heeding the summons back to sleep at the end of the mission, he will be set free of the curse. Leading the Wild Hunt is Walter of Jacin. Hidden princes, noblemen, a thief and commoners compose the other members of the Wild Hunt during this summoning. The story follows the group's mission to revenge the death of Lady Richenza's brother and topple the present ruling regime. They will encounter betrayal, intrigue, battle and the possibility of a love great enough to set one of them free as they pursue their quest.
The premise of The Wild Hunt is an intriguing one. The adventure is exciting and the main characters are interesting. However, the bewildering number of characters and the lengthy digressions into past history and genealogical issues at times threaten to derail the story. Some judicial editing and tightening would have helped immensely. Linda Reames Fox and Joyce Cottrell (writing as Jocelyn Fox) show great promise, however; their next outing should be interesting to read.
Ordering information: Amazon.com.
Return to the January 1999 issue of The IWJ.