‘The Dead Men’ by JC Harvey is a rattling good tale set during the Thirty Years War. The best I’ve read for a long time.
Second in the 17th century series about adventurer Jack Fiskardo that started with ‘The Silver Wolf,’ in which we see the boy Jack become a man, the action in ‘The Dead Men’ takes place between July 1630 to November 1631 when fighting was at its most brutal. There’s a useful Author Note at the beginning with a historical background to the period, which was gratefully received, as was the cast of characters. The scope of this series is huge and so needs large personalities to populate it. Jack Fiskardo is that man. Scarred, fierce, loyal, thoughtful and yes, a little intimidating, he is a fantastic hero. Yes, a romantic hero too. Harvey takes him and his band of ‘discoverers’, advance scouts in today’s military terms, across Eastern Europe to some of the most deadly fighting in the war. They stay alive, some of them, by their skills, their instincts, bravery and camaraderie. Many characters are familiar from ‘The Silver Wolf’ – Zoltan, the Gemini, Ziggy, Kai as well as Mungo Sant and his ship the Guid Marie – plus new faces including Rafe Endicott, an English writer who sends reports back to London to be published in the coranto or newsletter ‘The Swedish Intelligencer.’ People at home are hungry for information about the war, the bloodshed, the victories, the murders and atrocities. And the heroes and legends.
Staying one step ahead of the front line, scrounging food, living wild in the woods from Northern Germany to Bohemia, the band of spies are on the trail of Jack’s sworn enemy Carlo Fantom. On the way, they meet friends and enemies, lovers and liars and even a pack of English actors, the Pilgrim Players who are rehearsing a much-redacted version of ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ Jack and his discoverers are present at the scenes of some of the worst fighting of this period, including the destruction of Magdeburg in 1631. Along the way, Fiskardo kills many men and makes many loyal friends.
Harvey has a light hand at putting her mostly fictional characters into the historical war setting. Many of the myths really existed, including Carlo Fantom, and a horde of gold really did disappear in the middle of war.
The cast of characters is long but each is a rounded personality, a real person, from pig boy Pyotri in the Giant Mountains, on the border between Bohemia and Poland, to Victor Lopov, the timid former archivist of the Prince-Bishop of Prague.
A real joy to read.
As with the first book I found it paid to stop trying to remember all the characters and towns and allow myself to be carried along on the emotion of Jack Fiskardo’s quest. I’m now awaiting the third instalment, ‘The Wanton Road.’
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

My thanks to Atlantic Books for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Dead Men’ by J. C. Harvey.

This is Book 2 in Harvey’s Fiskardo's War trilogy set during the Thirty Years War in Europe. It follows her 2022 debut, ‘The Silver Wolf’. While accommodation is made for new readers, as this is a trilogy the books are best read in order.

Harvey again opens with an Authors’ Note that provides the historical context along with a map and a very much appreciated Cast of Characters, divided into the novel’s four parts, including locations. She also advises what aspects of her tale are based on historical fact and what is the product of her imagination.

While ‘The Silver Wolf’ covered a twenty year period charting Jack Fiskardo’s journey to manhood, ‘The Dead Men’ has a tighter timeline opening in July 1630 and concluding in the winter of 1631.

During the summer of 1630 Jack Fiskardo and his company of scouts are fighting a guerrilla war through Germany ahead of the main advance of the Swedish army. There have many adventures along the way along with finding new allies and encountering enemies, old and new. There is a great deal going within its pages and there’s plenty of characters, which is why that opening list is so useful.

One new character is Rafe Endicott, assistant to bookseller Nathaniel Butter, a historical figure involved in the evolution of the newspaper. He is sent from London as a correspondent for Butter’s new English publication, the Swedish Intelligencer. Rafe provides a new perspective on the ongoing war as well as of Fiskardo and his men.

‘The Dead Men’ is superb historical fiction. I found J. C. Harvey’s storytelling skills excellent and felt completely transported in time and place. As I noted in my review of ‘The Silver Wolf’, these first two books in the Fiskardo's War trilogy evokes for me the classic adventures of Alexandre Dumas.

I will be looking forward to the conclusion of the trilogy in due course.

Highly recommended.

The Silver Wolf was a very entertaining and gripping story, this one is even better and Jack is back, fighting in a war ravaged Europe.
The plot is tightly knitted and compelling, vivid historical background, interesting characters.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Jack Fiskardo is now a captain in the Swedish army, leading a group called the Discoverers. As the army presses into Germany, Jack is still bent on vengeance and suspects that colleague of his superior is not totally trustworthy. His team travel to a village seeking a letter that will prove treachery and witness the destruction of Magdeburg. Jack now seeks revenge on the Prince-Bishop of Prague as well as Carlos Fantom.
It is difficult to actually precise the plot in this novel as there are so many strands that interweave mirroring the complexities of politics in the 17th century. The story romps along at a pace and criss-crosses the continent, introducing new characters and the return of old ones. The set pieces are visceral but there is a broad streak of humour running through the book which only enhances the sense of time and place. I loved the first book in this series and I streaked through this one because it is brilliant historical fiction!

Review for The Dead Men by JC Harvey

Spending time with Jack Fiskardo and his men as they continue navigating the 30 years war across Europe, is to spend time with the best and bravest, the wiliest, sometimes funniest group you could wish for. Having read The Silver Wolf, and followed Jack from childhood into adulthood, from France to Amsterdam and into the battlefields of Germany and the chaos of the Thirty Years war, I knew a little of what to expect - a delicious banquet of characters, storytelling, vivid descriptions and the quality of writing you wish for but so rarely get. I have already read sections out to students as examples of what they should be aiming for.
In this second book of the trilogy we rejoin Jack and his men in the Summer 1630. The Swedish army is fighting its way down through Germany, Jack Fiskardo and his varied and unique group of men, acting as scouts and fighting their own style of war. We meet villains and unsuspecting heroes, a writer from London seeking his fortune, a group of theatre players, the Roma, a laundress and many, many others. Jack negotiates his way through them all, still seeking to unravel the mystery of his father’s death and searching for answers, still playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse with his sworn enemy, Carlo Fantom, still righting wrongs wherever he sees them, sometimes at huge risks and personal loses.
Reading this book has been one of my absolute joys. I was lucky enough to get an advance copy and now I can’t bear it to be over, I have savoured every single page. It has been like spending time with old friends. I sobbed when I read the last page, having already wept, grimaced, laughed out loud, raged and bitten my nails to the quick. This book has taken me through every emotion imaginable. The descriptions are sublime, the voice is beguiling, the storytelling is everything you could wish for, but as I turned that last page I couldn’t help but wonder what this ending will mean next for Jack.


It is subtle, clever, intriguing story telling at its best.