Something Red by Douglas Nicholas

Title: Something Red
Author: Douglas Nicholas
Format: Paperback, 336 pages
Pub. Date: September 1st 2012
Source: Goodreads First Reads.

★★★★

Four stars.

I received this book through Goodreads First Reads.

Something Red is a novel that beautifully blends myth, magic, & mystery, & probably other words that start with "M" as well. It centers around a group of travelers. Molly is the leader- a tough but kind, skilled middle aged Irish woman. With her is her strong but silent lover, Jack, her granddaughter/protege Nemain, & the main character Hob, a boy who grows to manhood through this book's journey. They travel from place to place, stopping to wait out the awful snowstorm that bites at them. But both females are uneasy- Something is out there, stalking them, & it may be closer than Hob ever even imagined.

This book was slow to start. Extremely slow. To the point where I almost abandoned it. However, I'm glad I stuck around. From cover to cover, this book is at the very least beautifully written. The author's writing is poetic & detailed, to the point that I very easily pictured this world. And more than that, I wanted to be *in* this world. All of the characters are well thought out, & I felt a need to cheer on this little gypsy troupe. Plus, Mr. Nicholas sir, you gained incredible favor from me when you put a glossary in the back for the Irish words. With no exaggeration, the last three books I have read that involved foreign language italicized the words, but never gave a definition. But I digress. This book is perfect to read on a fall or winter day by a fire, & though it was slow, I found it enjoyable to the point that I would read a sequel, were one to arise. I give this a 3.5/5 (rounded to 4) because of the aforementioned slowness, mixed with a bit of a let down at the climax of the story.

I recommend it to adult fans of mythology or historical fiction.