The Tower of Fools

From the New York Times bestselling author of the legendary Witcher series--the books that inspired the Netflix show and the hit video games--comes the first in an epic new trilogy.

Reinmar of Bielawa, sometimes known as Reynevan, is a doctor, a magician and, according to some, a charlatan. And when a thoughtless indiscretion finds him caught in the crosshairs of powerful noble family, he is forced to flee his home.

But once he passes beyond the city borders, he finds that there are dangers ahead as well as behind. Strange mystical forces are gathering in the shadows. And pursued not only by the affronted Stercza brothers, bent on vengeance, but also by the Holy Inquisition, Reynevan finds himself in the Narrenturm, the Tower of Fools.

The Tower is an asylum for the mad, or for those who dare to think differently and challenge the prevailing order. And escaping the Tower, avoiding the conflict around him, and keeping his own sanity might prove a greater challenge than Reynevan ever imagined.

Title: The Tower of Fools

Original Title: Narrenturm

Author: Andrzej Sapkowski

Translated: David French

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Paperback:  576 pages

Publication Date: 10/27/2020

Publisher: Orbit

Language: English

ISBN: 0316423696

ISBN-13: 9780316423694

My Review

The Tower of Fools is a historical fantasy that is set in Silesia around 1425 at the time of the Hussite Wars. It follows a main protagonist who, as in many other fantasy novels, is skirmishing through landscapes on the run and on a mission, hovering around Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany, never being able to stay out of trouble. This novel was first published in Polish in 2002 and has now been translated into English by David French, who also translated Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher series and was published in 2020.

This book is not the easiest of feasts to be had. For one, it is very historically detail-oriented with only smattered elements of the fantastical such as non-human characters, artifacts, witchcraft, and some magic. Secondly, there are a multitude of characters mentioned from historical times that most non-historians and leisure readers would never even have heard of and require in parts the interest in track-keeping, plus processing the foreign names of most of them. Some more well known real persons such as 'Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg' finished with his studies in Erfurt and who is in search of funding for his Gutenberg Press is mentioned, or Ptolomy and his geocentric Theory.

Here are a few that were mentioned on Goodreads:

Johannes Gutenberg, Nicholas of Cusa, Reynevan, Szarlej, Samson Miodek, Birkart von Grellenort, Dzierżka de Wirsing, Urban Horn, Tybald Raabe, Zawisza Czarny, Konrad Kantner, Bishop Konrad IV the Older, Grzegorz Hejncze, Ambrož Hradecky, Nicoletta, Katharina Biberstein, John of Ziębice, Zbigniew Oleśnicki, Elencza von Stietencron, Jan z Kravař, Hayn von Tschirn, Adela von Stercza, Otto Beess, Euphemia von Baruth...

Overall, the atmosphere in this novel reflects that of the darker time it represents: Disease, heretics, witchcraft, poverty, prostitution, the Papacy, European monarchs, and the Holy Roman Empire, which suppressed the religion of the Hussites, which continued to spread. Throw in the attempt of a crusade and we have a protagonist in an uphill battle.

His name is Reinmar of Bielawa, also referred to as Reynevan. Besides his charm, intellect, and good looks, he finds himself in a pickle, when he gets caught bedding the married Adele of Stercza by her brother in law. In his act to escape, one of his opposing forces is accidentally killed, which marks him now a wanted murderer.

On the run, Reinmar, who is a physician and a sort of an apprentice-level mage, encounters all kinds of folks in forests and alehouses; and so, word of his affairs precedes him wherever he goes. If it wasn't for other mage folks like him, and solid friendships he forms on his trip, he'd end up in the Tower of Fools much sooner than he actually does.

Reynevan's adventure is fueled by his weakness for Adele. He dreams of her, misses her, and wants to go back for her. Whenever he finds himself safe, he acts against the advice of others; and therein lies his trouble. Caught between the factions of the church and internal conflicts of the Hussite War, he becomes witness to information he tries to use in his favor.

When he realizes that someone murdered his brother to get back at him for what we perceive as an act of revenge for his affair with Adele, he becomes determined to follow suit. When he finally has the chance to meet face to face with his enemy, Adele does the unthinkable and his entire life takes a spin in the wrong direction.

Small Excerpt:

When I first heard of this novel, I knew this would be one of a kind. However, I did not anticipate the immense amount of detail and amount of persons with titles and foreign language that were contained in this story. This made the text more challenging and took away from the enjoyment of the fictional plot for me. Reynevan's character is likable and easy to connect to. His foolishness is endearing and his personality develops slowly along the way of the entirety of the novel. Somewhere along the middle, when Adele pulled the plot in a 180-degree direction, it became a bit more drudgerous through the politics and events. Luckily, some of the characters that stuck around and Reynevan himself were able to reign me in every time, though at the expense that I didn't care as much for the constant shower of new names and titles.

This novel is an investment of time and speaks of the brilliance of the author. It had me look up all sorts of places and persons and I learned that liberties must have been taken to fit it all in the exact timeline, so one can say this is a more alternate history.

Though there were some funny and clever moments, there were also some darker aspects of the novel. Most of them appear as medieval practices, beheading, rapes, burning at the stake, sword fights, torture etc. The brooding atmosphere of dark forests, wet paths, grimy kids, little towns, nomads, and gypsies, and open hillsides create an eery sense and perfect atmosphere. Sapkowski absolutely nailed that.

The Tower of Fools lays a great foundation for the books to follow in the Hussite Trilogy. As Reynevan's narrative has changed from where it had begun, it is up to one's imagination where this will go.

If you have enjoyed books by Ken Follett or Edward Rutherford and like lots of detail, then this might be a book for you.

Happy Reading and Enjoy :)

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

All opinions are my own.

Thank you!