Feast of the Dead (Mon Dieu Cthulhu! Book 2)

4.8/5 ( ratings)

It is 1810 and as autumn turns to winter, Napoleon's Armee Iberian settles down to its winter siege of Wellington's "accursed earthworks" at Torres Vedras. After his exploits in the adventure of the Crystal Void, dashing French Lieutenant, Gaston d'Bois, returns to the XIIIth Imperial Death's Head Hussars and given his first independent command: leading a detachment of these "thieves on horseback" into the Spanish interior, in search of intelligence, supplies and plunder.

After a bloody skirmish, d'Bois and his troopers are forced to take refuge to the Monasterio de St Cloud, an ancient ruin standing at the crossroads of this war-ravaged land, which now serves as a field hospital to soldiers of all nations. There, he encounters the unworldly Doctor Malfeas and the beautiful but fierce nurse, Mademoiselle Brockenhurst, who seem to offer temporary respite from the harsh realities of war.

Yet this former house of the holy holds many outré secrets and d'Bois faces fresh battles on all fronts. In his own ranks against the surly, disgraced Sergeant Sacleaux, his resentful second-in-command, and externally, by a hostile countryside where every hand is turned against him.

Yet most sinister of all is the malevolent mystery which lies at the heart of the Monasterio itself, an ancient and terrible enigma which threatens both the lives and souls of all who encounter it.

Alone, deep behind enemy lines and beset on all sides, can d'Bois survive his first real command and prevent the horrible unravelling of the feast of the dead?

"An epic, swashbuckling Napoleonic adventure expertly blended with chilling Lovecraftian horror" - Sci-fi and Fantasy Reviewer