Book description
An independent island state in the North Atlantic has fallen under the
sway of Rolph Mylchraine, a landowner who has gained ascendancy by
stage-managing witchcraft orgies and purveying cheap liquor. Opposing
him is Keig, a peasant of extraordinary physical strength who gradually
emerges leader on the grand scale. Through their developing struggle,
which becomes a guerrilla war in the classic mould, echoes the sombre
theme of the fatal tendency of power to corrupt. Mr Keating, already
acknowledged as a writer of distinguished crime novels, has produced at
perhaps the height of his powers a book that is not only a new departure
for himself but also genuinely original. An independent island state
in the North Atlantic has fallen under the sway of Rolph Mylchraine, a
landowner who has gained ascendancy by stage-managing witchcraft orgies
and purveying cheap liquor. Opposing him is Keig, a peasant of
extraordinary physical strength who gradually emerges leader on the
grand scale. Through their developing struggle, which becomes a
guerrilla war in the classic mould, echoes the sombre theme of the fatal
tendency of power to corrupt. Mr Keating, already acknowledged as a
writer of distinguished crime novels, has produced at perhaps the height
of his powers a book that is not only a new departure for himself but
also genuinely original.
