The Twelve Children of Paris - Historical Fiction Novel Set in Medieval France | Perfect for Book Clubs & History Enthusiasts

No Spoilers - Strongly recommend reading about the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in Paris in 1572 prior to reading the novel as that knowledge will frame the novel beautifully.The Twelve Children continues the story of Mattias, his wife Carla, their son Orlandu and is written in the same terrific prose and visual style evoked in The Religion. Let me preface my review with the comment that I really enjoyed The Twelve Children of Paris and had it been a stand alone book, I would have given it 5/5 stars. I am only giving it 4/5 stars because 12 Children is a victim of the massive expectations set after I read the first book in the trilogy, The Religion. I first read The Religion on my return trip home after serving in the Army for 15 months in combat in Iraq. As an infantryman who was in over 50 firefights, and survived over 700 combat patrols, I found Tim Willocks descriptions of battle, and the psychological impact of seeing and dealing in death to be spot on. I found it to be cathartic to read about Mattias Tannhauser and his desire for beauty a midst so much destruction. The Religion was so impactful to me that I waited with great anticipation for many years for the next Tannhauser book, and was very disappointed to learn that only the UK publishers had picked up the rights. As I live in the States, I had to purchase the book from a vendor in the UK and it took about 3 weeks to get the book.While the writing and imagery is just as powerful, 12 children doesn't seem to have the same depth as The Religion. The Religion had a multitude of protagonists and villains whose characters were fleshed out. Willocks also did a great job explaining the "why's" and "hows" of the political ramifications for all the nations and power brokers involved in The Religion. The conflict seemed titanic. The 12 Children of Paris, however, didn't really impart the same sense of scope--and the material was there for Willocks to draw on if he wanted to. In anticipation of reading the book, while I waited for it to be shipped from the UK, I looked up the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, which is the backdrop event that 12 Children is based on. It was a true event, and as I read about it, I was horrified by the actuality of what really happened in the summer in Paris in 1572. After reading about the massacre, I finally understand why there is almost no Protestantism in France as opposed to its neighboring countries. The events of that day were just as impactful as the seige of Malta on the future of France, yet despite some initial backdrop on what was going on, Willocks seemed to leave the events and the ramifications of it behind after the first 1/4 of the book. Had I not read about the St. Bartholomew's day massacre ahead of time, I may have been slightly confused as to who all the factions involved in the story were.Additionally, one of the great features of The Religion is that Willocks spent a good amount of time on the villains and characterized them in such a way that they seemed real and their motivations were understandable, if diabolical. In 12 Children, we don't really find out who the real villain is until well into the book, and we never really understand him, or why he is even a villain at all. One of the joys of 12 Children is Tannhauser's interactions with the children he meets on his journey, but be prepared to have your senses assaulted.As another reviewer stated, this book is NOT for the faint of heart. We get blow by blow descriptions of hand to hand combat; we meet child prostitutes; we meet teen age girls who become cold blooded killers; and we read about cooks, bakers and candlestick makers who murder and rape their neighbors. The thing is... all that Willocks described REALLY happened; his characters are fictional of course, but the events he placed them in were in reality brutal and monstrous. I found it extremely refreshing to read a book where real events were depicted in a manner of how they probably happened, and political correctness is thrown out the window. Elements of this book reminded me of Lord of the Flies and deals with the similar question of 'If there is no rule of law, and people can get away with anything that their brute force and strength can bring to them, how far will their lust, greed, and blood frenzy take them?' I found the same to be true while in Iraq, so I wasn't shocked by the events that happen in The 12 Children of Paris. I would recommend this book as a cautionary tale to anyone that thinks that governments never turn on their people, or that violence isn't a part of the human condition--unfortunately.This is the goods. This is real, bonded stuff. Folks looking for a summer read, only one with hair on its chest will find it in The Twelve Children Of Paris, the second book in a trilogy. I read the first one, The Religion, about seven years ago and enjoyed that tremendously. Willocks’s nail biting, stomach churning account of the Siege of Malta had me utterly spellbound and looking forward very much at the end to the next installment. Years passed without any sign of the sequel, however. I began to think it was one of those ambitious projects that for want of interest by publishers would languish.A chance Amazon search turned up the sequel, which appeared in 2013, but isn’t available here in the USA. Willocks is British. This is a serious mistake since Game Of Thrones fans and medieval enthusiasts would simply eat this novel up. Scene, the late 16th Century with Europe embroiled in religious wars. A colossal atrocity in that internecine conflict is about to erupt, the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre of the Huguenots in Paris. Into this giant warren of intrigue and debauchery rides grim Mattias Tannhauser, Knight of St. John, former Ottoman janissary, and the biggest ye olde badass who ever swung a battleax, hell bent on rescuing his wife, the fair Lady Carla, from a sinister, complicated revenge plot that involves the most powerful men in the Kingdom. Tannhauser’s enemies have no idea who they’re dealing with, however.Ruthless, implacable, Tannhauser battles on through overwhelming odds and leaves a trail of carnage behind him, all against the morbid tableaux of endless scenes of massacre, looting, and rape. Readers who want a quick, crash course in how godawful the Reformation was couldn’t do better than Children. Along the way, Tannhauser collects a small menagerie of damaged, lost children, waifs who prove their worth in the course of their collective ordeal. Willocks’s strength at characterization shines here. His people are individual, distinctive from the start, and always consistent. They speak in a semi-Shakespearean vernacular, which Willocks also handles excellently, leavening high flying rhetoric with humor and commonplace observations, never falling flat or coming across as pompous.This is one hell of a good read, but be warned, it’s not for those easily put off their food. Willocks is a doctor by trade. That combined with his expert knowledge of late medieval warfare, its methods and results, leads to some revolting although page turning reading. Children reads like an Alexandre Dumas Pere novel only with a Grand Guignol twist, with scenes of gore and slaughter no stage could ever simulate. This book and The Religion would both make incredible movies. Highly recommended. If you can handle GOT, you should get a big kick out of this novel.The year is 1572 and Charles IX, Catholic King of France, is about to order what history will call the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre. What will follow is the murder of thousands of Parisian Protestant Huguenot men, women and children by their Catholic neighbors. Into this maelstrom steps Mattias Tannhauser who is seeking to find his very pregnant wife Carla. This novel is the sequel to Tim Willocks' masterpiece "The Religion." Like the first book in the series it is about blood and slaughter. As a fictionalization of that massacre it probably does not succeed in painting a true picture of the horror, but it is a very worthy effort. The historical fictions are made to swirl through the lives of Mattias, his wife Carla and the euphonious children of the title like a threshing machine in a nursery. Whether the occasion calls for good deeds or evil, cruelty or kindness, Master of War Mattias Tannhauser deals those cards to any who stand between him and his goal of first finding, and then saving his wife, and those they shelter, midst the butchery. This is also a story of love of a man for his wife, and wife for husband, of overlooking evil to save those you hold most dear and of doing evil to gain a step on the devil. If you have not read the first book in this series it is recommended that you do so. If you have read The Religion you can't wait to read "The Twelve Children of Paris." As for myself, I will be rereading both of them in preparation for the final book in the Tannhauser Series.I like the author and the previous book to this, The Religion, was brilliant.This however, I found laboured and slow. Too often, it felt like it was going down blind alleys and excruciating details with some improbable action at times.Read The Religion, but would suggest that you forget this sequel, which I am disappointed to say.I've read and liked every book Tim Willocks has written, including this one. However, I struggled to keep going through the 754 pages of The Twelve Children of Paris - too many minor characters, insufficient clarity of plot, and an over-reliance on intricate setpiece engagements with their tedious succession of anatomical undoings and bloodspilling.Time already invested, and loyalty to the author's avuncular and chivalrous worldview, kept me reading, though. ‎‎If you're a Willocks fan, you won't want to pass this one by. If you fancy a swashbuckling quest through a 16th century Parisian massacre, ditto. But if you want to be left alone to read this one closely enough to absorb the detail, be prepared to mow the lawn early and often before picking up The Twelve Children of Paris.‎i enjoyed The Religion but this follow.up isn't in the same.league, Tannhauser falls.victim to a plot in Paris, the reasons for which are never explained and then proceeds to.kill lots and lots of people.in inventive gruesome ways while a sprinkling of tarot card spirituality is added from his Wife's plotline. It all becomes very samey very quickly,it's not by any means a bad book but one that could have done with a good editor. The relentless ass kicking handed out by Tannhauser brings to mind JackReacher and that's not.a comparison that is favourable toTannhauserher or Willocks.Brilliant I love Mataus and Timm Willocks. I have read The Religeon the first book starting in Mataus or Matius Tanhausers fathers forge I am praying Tim isn't going to let my hero go softly into the past, just 1or even 2 more Timm PLEASE. Avid reader and ime sure one of your true fans. Readers if you love the past when men were men, not killers from a mile away, women who didn't have to be perfect and all virgins, plots, real mad sadists , love, sex, passion and some true historical facts about the Knights of St John and The last great Sultan Zulamin read The Religeon. Then The Twelve Children of Paris. You grieve, cry, laugh but keep on reading. Don't ignore Tim Willocks. He writes about many different eras . Love it. Patricia WelshThis is grimmer than grim dark. Based around the St. Batholomew's Day Massacre in Paris, it continues the story of Carla and Mathias from the authors previous book The Religion. It's excellent, blood and gore everywhere. The only thing I didn't work out was why they had targeted Carla in the first place. Recommend to anybody who likes a gory read.