Raven's Banquet, The (Clifford Beal) - [Richard Treadwell 02]

Germany 1626: A War, a Witch, a Reckoning...
Richard Treadwell is a young man who dreams of glory and honour on the battlefield—and the plunder and riches that would follow. Newly arrived in Hamburg to seek his fortune as a mercenary in the Danish army, he joins the vast war in northern Germany between the Catholic Hapsburg empire and the Protestant princes of the north. But he has also brought with him an old secret—and with it the seeds of his own destruction.
A young gypsy woman foretells that Richard cannot outrun his fate, and then he is swept headlong into the terrible war. The bloodshed he witnesses among the Danes strips him of conscience and hardens his heart, as the opposing armies close for the battle to decide the future of the kingdom—and maybe his own soul. But even as Treadwell steels himself for the final contest against the forces of the Holy Roman Emperor, an unseen enemy stalks him within his own camp...
The hero of Gideon’s Angel returns to tell how his journey into the supernatural began.

'The historical fiction aspect is fantastic the use of voice and details makes this one of the most authentic I've come across. The text is easily readable, but rich and inflected enough to give a feeling of period, without causing confusion....Frankly, this is a stunning book in many ways, not least in the telling.' -- Brian Turner, SF Chronicles

'...I hope Solaris have signed Beal up for another book after these two, I d really like to read the further adventures of Sir Richard Treadwell.' --The Bookonaut

'Beal does an incredible job of finding a middle point between authenticity and readability. Raven's Banquet sounds right. This is a wonderful work of historical fiction.' --Annie Smith at Summer Reading Project

'A prequel of sorts to his acclaimed English Civil War-set debut Gideon’s Angel, The Raven’s Banquet follows callow youth Richard Treadwell as he pursues misguided dreams of honour and fortune on the pitiless battlefields of Northern Europe. It is the mid-1620s, and the vast forces of the Catholic Hapsburg empire are advancing on the bedraggled army of Prince Christian of Denmark. the sensuous texture of the period is superbly evoked, and there’s the added interest of the restless dead that an unusual faculty on Treadwell’s part enables him to see. author Clifford Beal has trained in rapier combat, which most likely accounts for the excellence of the battle scenes.' -- The Daily Mail