Goodreads Ireland discussion

Its certainly catches you out. Up to that point its a delicate balance of superstition and mystery , leaving more up to you imagination.
I wonder if she wrote the book with a bit more experience would the ending be different. It was shaping into a sedate but good ending without the shock factor.

Narigorm was certainly an awful girl. The ending for me also made me wander what happened to the other people left in the group.

The ending was a bit of a shock. I don't really like endings like that because it's as if the book is unfinished.

Narigorm reminded me of the female character (Rosalind) out of In The Woods who manipulated her family and people around her.

I agree with you Paul. The ending was shaping up to a good but sedate ending. The ending was really left field for me. I just wasn't expecting it.

Her later books flow a bit better to the end I think. A lot of debut authors fudge their ending a little but a good editor should jump in.
Its a bit of a shame here as the book itself is generally so well written with a very decent cast, all well developed, some unlikeable but mostly all memorable

For all intents and purposes it was her debut. She had a short book published 14 years before hand by a tiny local press , the equivalent of a self published book.
This was her first novel.

I was surprised when I realised it was her first as well. Her style is very polished in this and her character development is very good

It's funny because I really liked the ending. It came out of left field and really tied the book together. Did we really think it was going to end on a pleasant note? I, too, wondered about the other characters but I think this is the ending that really tied all the loose threads together for me.

Thats why I'm curious . I've read some rants on how bad ending is. I dont think it bad at all just a suprise.

By the way for any interested there is spinoff novella set on the journey called Liars amd Thieves that came out late last year if you want to revisit the characters ( Its quite short)

She definitely smudges the genre lines in this and other books moving between historical fiction , horror and thrillers sometimes all on a few chapters .

I agree it was a mixture of genres but that's why it was appealing to me. There was enough historical fiction to make it quite interesting to me and just a touch of horror that made it palatable. I wouldn't have liked any more horror than it was. I thought it was a great combination that certainly won me over to Paul's side, at least for one book. :)

We'll always have thos Susan ;-) ( don't forget Bernard Cornwell as well :-))

Oh yes. And I think we both liked the Genghis Khan series too.

Thats very true.

I saw you were reading The Raven's Head so I looked it up. I think it is a little too supernatural for me. At least The Company of Liars is set in real history. Am I wrong on that, Paul?

So far I think you are right Susan. I'd say try Owl Killers which is more superstition than supernatural.

I agree. I don't think I would have liked the book as much if it had had a happy ending which is what it looked like it was going to do.

But the ending really does leave it up in the air as to what happens next. I'm not sure if it would be a good thing if the author wrote another book or not. I'm not that keen on sequels generally.

I really liked the way it was a mixture of different genres. I wasn't expecting it to be a thriller.

So far there is no indication of any sequel to the book so it may just be a case of the author leaving it up to our imaginations.

Emma wrote: "I really enjoyed this except for the ending. When I got to the end it was a definite case of what the f*#k!! The ending really changes the tone of the book. I think it turns it from a dark historic..."

I agree! It seemed to me the author was setting herself up for a sequel. The character of Naigorm (?) really annoyed me.

I also was bothered by the liberty the author took in describing attitudes towards homosexuality which she admits were not historically accurate. Attributing so much of Jofre's behavior to his interior anguish seemed very modern. And a bathhouse- really??? As I said in my review historical fiction should be accurate or it's not historical. Anachronisms bother me the most. Many writers do extensive research into historical periods to assure accuracy.

I'd say its common enough to apply modern feelings to a character in popular Historical fiction. Whats the bathhouse issue. I can't remember if there was a bathhouse in the book but it would be reasonably fair if there was as England was peppered with them.
I didn't think she was too bad with the Historical content, taking some liberties but nothing screamed out at me.
Naigorm was a bit irritating but I felt that was her purpose so it didn't get to me.

I also didn't like Naigorm but I don't think you were supposed to. She was, I thought, the center of the evil in the book. So manipulative like one of the female characters in In the woods.

Not sure if I would like to read a sequel to this book as I don't know where the author could take it.

As for the history for me know knowing much about how homosexuals were viewed in those times, I thought it was fine. I would think there would be significant hostility towards them mainly due to the religious fantasism and also the superstition. Fear of the unknown.

I don't think there is any sign of a sequel anyway. There is a spinoff novella but its short enough.

Late to the conversation here, but I think the ending worked. It was a little bit of a surprise to see Narigorm standing there at the doorway, but if Maitland hadn't put something in about her, that would have seemed more odd and anticlimactic to me.

The two parts that seemed more like hiccups to me were Camelot's (apparently) seamless re-integration into her family and that the healer was the only person who sensed that Camelot was a woman.
I really, really liked her writing style and her plotting of the novel--and the way she used superstition, mythology, religious tradition to play with the idea of identity.

I live Maitlands writing style and her plays on superstition and mythology. Her last book The Ravens Head was as good but so much darker.

I'm going to read more of hers. What would you recommend next, Paul?

To follow I'd say try the Owl Killers. Its all about superstition again surroundung a pagan cult and a convent.

Thanks, Paul. And more good news--it's at my local library.

Its not one of her most recent ones so I thought it may be easier to get .

I really enjoyed Company of Liars another brilliant choice by Goodreads Ireland, I have picked this book so many times in the library but put in back down. It took me a while to read, I'am I admit not the fastest reader. I totally enjoyed the many characters and the historical depth of the novel. It really must have been a very scary time to live in, such a challenge to survive! I now want to read all of Karen Maitland book's, more to add to my ever increasing 'to read list'

I've read most of her books ( two left to go) and its worth it :-)

I am relieved so many people liked this book. I nominated it for my in person book club and I can't wait to hear what those little old ladies think. It makes me smile just thinking about it.

Susan wrote: "I am relieved so many people liked this book. I nominated it for my in person book club and I can't wait to hear what those little old ladies think. It makes me smile just thinking about it."

And hopefully the little old ladies won't have nightmares about Narigorm ;)

Hi Susan I am going to get the ladies and one gent to read it in my book group, they will really enjoy it and it will give us lots to talk about, so many characters to love and hate!

The trick is to find a kid willing to dress up as Narigorm and get her to jump out at the end of the meeting. That'll get the old dears going ;-)

Paul, there are times when you really make me laugh.

But seriously if you do try it I never said nuffin ;-)

I enjoyed this book for the most part. I agree that it feels more like historical fiction only to change to horror/thriller. I had a big dose of the heebie jeebies reading the last few chapters.
Infelt it was so predictable that narigorm was the curse. So predictable that i began to wonder was the answer going to be something completely different.
As for the ending, i thought it was a bit incongruent and not really all that good. It was ok. A disappointing ending.
Overall, an enjoyable book.

I knew the ending of this would divide the crowd .

Over a year later, I just have to add my comment that I liked the ending. I just couldn't believe that Naigorm would allow herself to be captured and killed as she as such a sneaky B**ch. So her arriving at the door for me felt almost inevitable.

I, on the other hand, would have ended the novel differently as I would have given one or more of the characters the plague. I like my dark endings!

Maria wrote: "Over a year later, I just have to add my comment that I liked the ending. I just couldn't believe that Naigorm would allow herself to be captured and killed as she as such a sneaky B**ch. So her ar..."

Perfect Karma.

Maria wrote: "Over a year later, I just have to add my comment that I liked the ending. I just couldn't believe that Naigorm would allow herself to be captured and killed as she as such a sneaky B**ch. So her ar..."

You cruel woman Maria!! This is one of my all time favorite stories and I wouldn't change a thing! I loved the sense of inevitability
of the ending. I liked the fact that the characters escaped the the plague but couldn't escape the consequences of their lies. The novel combined 2 of my favorite genres, historical fiction and a bit of dark magic.

Hello, just joined your little group. I will post in the introductions thread later today when I'm not sneaking 5 minutes at work.

Where in the book (if there are any) are the clues that Camelot is a woman? At the end she states that 'You have probably already guessed' but I honestly had no idea..

There are very few anyway. Only on rereading did I notice anything and only because I already knew.

I guessed, didn't the blind lady in the cottage mistake her/him for a woman? Though I had already guessed at that point, can't remember why, i just remember thinking so that confirms it then. I think I went in expecting everyone to have a lie - from the title - so was looking for the clues to their lies.