Book Review: ‘The Wickerlight’ by Mary Watson

The Wickerlight is the sequel to Mary Watson’s debut novel: The Wren Hunt. I really enjoyed The Wren Hunt when I first read it a few years ago; so when I discovered the book had a sequel I was excited to see what Watson had created.

Both books are low fantasy novels based on elements of Irish folklore. Prior to reading The Wickerlight all I could find out about the book was that it was set in the same world as its predecessor but seemed to feature new characters. Before I started reading I wasn’t sure what to expect – would the story take place in a different time? A different place? Would everything be different except the references to folklore?

Thankfully The Wickerlight is a much more direct sequel than I was expecting.

Set ten months after the climax of the first book, Zara and her family are trying to adjust to the loss of her sister Leila who died suddenly and mysteriously in the village of Kilshamble. Zara is torn between wanting to live as normal a life as possible and wanting to find the truth of Leila’s death. Her investigations draw her into a world of dangerous magic as she unintentionally falls into the feud between the Judges and the Augers. Zara must choose which side to trust before she becomes another victim in the conflict.

Zara, the newcomer to Kilshamble, acts as the guide for new readers to the series. The gradual explanation of this hidden magic and grudge between families means that The Wickerlight works as both a sequel and a stand-alone novel – with new readers not needing to have read The Wren Hunt to understand the events of  The Wickerlight. That being said, as a fan of the first book, it was really fun to see characters I already knew from the perspective of someone who has no idea of the history and the links between the people around her.

The Wickerlight’s other main character is the anti-hero David. David was a prominent villain in The Wren Hunt and spent much of the story terrorising Wren. This made him a surprising yet interesting choice of main character. Watson clearly had a lot of ideas for David’s backstory and she manages to provide this seemingly irredeemable character with a satisfying redemption arc as well as an in-depth explanation for his previous behaviour.

David is transformed in a fully three-dimensional character. We see the hard and cruel exterior he presents to the world which is contrasted by the vulnerable side he reveals to Zara. Despite his bravado, David’s family is out of favour with the Judges after the loss of an important artifact. His father is under pressure to restore the family’s status – even if that means using and abusing his own son in the process.

Despite the continuing threads of magic throughout the story, for me it is the characters and their relationships that make this book truly special. Watson weaves together themes of love and loss, family and acceptance. Zara and David must decide the type of people they want to be and whether to follow what they families expect of them.

The Wickerlight is an excellent sequel to The Wren Hunt; I actually can’t decide which book I like the most. From the characters, to the setting, to the folklore, this story continues everything I enjoyed so much about the original whilst also being a unique and engaging novel in its own right.

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