'The Wanton Road' is the fourth, and final, instalment in J C Harvey’s stunning series, 'Fiskardo’s War'. And this is a fitting conclusion to Jack Fiskardo’s story.

The novel stands on its own for readers unfamiliar with the story and characters from the earlier books. Harvey provides deftly woven details of earlier events to assist any new reader, but without this being intrusive or irritating for fans of the series. For those who have read the earlier books, the chance to become reacquainted with familiar faces is irresistible.

The novel opens in 1620 with the introduction of a new character, Pris Holland, depicting her inauspicious discovery as a baby abandoned in the Crossbones Cemetery in London. The scene then moves to 1637 where Jack has just lost his wife, Mirelle, in childbirth, described in all its poignancy and anguish. The depth of Jack’s pain leads him to abandon his home and two children to rejoin his Dead Men to fight in the Spanish Netherlands. Although he subsequently returns to create a new life in England, he then finds himself in a country on the brink of Civil War.

The plotting is superb and, while Harvey takes us to a range of locations and introduces us to numerous characters, it is all done with skill and clarity. Harvey manages to take the complexities of the Thirty Years' War, with its shifting allegiances, loyalties and betrayals, without once losing the reader, even where spies, coded messages and double agents abound. Every situation is portrayed with suspense and historical realism; and every character fully realised with warmth and vivid detail. Jack Fiscardo is a fabulous hero: decent, courageous, honourable and fierce – and Pris Holland provides a perfect female foil for him, feisty and independent, yet loving and loyal. Carlo Fantom is a chilling and almost other-worldly villain who, like T-1000 in 'Terminator 2', seems impossible to kill. He reminds me of Anton Chigurh in 'No Country for Old Men' – cold, ruthless and psychopathic. One of the most powerful scenes (in a novel full of powerful scenes) is told from the perspective of one of Fantom’s victims as Fantom murders him.

Although it would be impossible to escape politics during this time (the wars of religion, the uncertain balance of power between France, Spain, England and the Netherlands, the king versus Parliament etc) this is always more a novel about people than ideologies. Many of the characters certainly have deeply held beliefs; but most are simply pursuing their own self-interest and taking advantage of opportunities as they arise. It is about how people live and make their happiness in an uncertain and ever-changing world. And, like a Dickensian novel, we uncover hidden relationships and kinships, lies and secrets, as the story progresses.

And, finally, mention must be made of the role that animals take in the story, the many non-human characters who support their human owners: the dogs, cats and horses – particularly Fiskardo’s horse, M’sieu, an equine version of his strong, resilient master.

It’s a fabulous read, totally gripping and utterly engaging. I didn’t want it to end and want to go back to the beginning and start all over again.

The Wanton Road is J C Harvey's fourth book in the Jack Fiskardo series and follows Jack to London in 1639 on the eve of the English Civil War.
Those who have read the previous books will know that we have followed Jack from childhood to middle age by this stage and across an embattled Europe during the 30 Years War. Grieving, widowed, and war-weary, he is rejoined in The Wanton Road by his band of followers, The Dead Men, Zoltan, Ulrik, Thor, Luka, et al., who feel like old friends to the reader. Cornelius and Rafe return, of course, and a whole range of new characters. There is a helpful list of characters at the start of the book, but to be honest, I didn’t look at this until I’d finished. This new cast of characters includes rich and poor, soldiers and princes, 17th-century mobsters, children, dogs, horses, and even characters who may or may not be of this world. Every new character, so beautifully and thoughtfully drawn, adds to the story and is woven in with a deft touch. There is, of course, the emergence of one new character who stands out - Pris Holland, a fiery redhead who jumps onto the page and into our hearts – spirited, courageous, indomitable and deeply selfish, but a heroine more than equal to Jack Fiskardo.

The skill of aligning the plot with the known history of the period never wavers. I don’t know how Harvey does it; there are threads within threads, a web of intrigue overlaid with battles, politics and real-world events, family ties and allegiances, new relationships and old hurts, battle scars and healing. Through all this, Harvey guides us with an unerring hand, whether along the banks of the Thames or into the streets, hidden alleyways and byways of London and beyond to Oxford and the countryside of England.

The writing is deft, confident, superbly in control of its subject and beautifully illustrative. Here, you can see both Harvey’s skill with language and her background in Art History because the writing is powerfully visual. When, and I don’t say if, someone makes these books into a series of movies, they will find the text has provided all they could need to make this an exciting cinematic experience.

Jack Fiskardo is a hero not just of his own time but who speaks to something in all of us. We are all looking for a hero, and in a time when they are so scarce in real life, Harvey has provided us, here at least, with a fictional one worthy of the title.