Armed in Her Fashion

Paperback, 352 pages

Published May 22, 2018 by ChiZine Publications.

ISBN:: 978-1-77148-452-7

(3 reviews)

In 1328, Bruges is under siege by the Chatelaine of Hell and her army of chimeras -- humans mixed with animals or armour, forged in the deep fires of the Hellbeast. At night, revenants crawl over the walls and bring plague and grief to this city of widows.

Margriet de Vos learns she's a widow herself when her good-for-nothing husband comes home dead from the war. He didn't come back for her. The revenant who was her husband pulls a secret treasure of coins and weapons from under his floorboards and goes back through the mouth of the beast called Hell.

Margriet killed her first soldier when she was 11. She's buried six of her seven children. She'll do anything for her daughter, even if it means raiding Hell itself to get her inheritance back.

Margriet's daughter is haunted by a dead husband of her own, and blessed, or cursed, …

In 1328, Bruges is under siege by the Chatelaine of Hell and her army of chimeras -- humans mixed with animals or armour, forged in the deep fires of the Hellbeast. At night, revenants crawl over the walls and bring plague and grief to this city of widows.

Margriet de Vos learns she's a widow herself when her good-for-nothing husband comes home dead from the war. He didn't come back for her. The revenant who was her husband pulls a secret treasure of coins and weapons from under his floorboards and goes back through the mouth of the beast called Hell.

Margriet killed her first soldier when she was 11. She's buried six of her seven children. She'll do anything for her daughter, even if it means raiding Hell itself to get her inheritance back.

Margriet's daughter is haunted by a dead husband of her own, and blessed, or cursed, with an enchanted distaff that allows her to control the revenants and see the future. Together with a transgender man-at-arms who has unfinished business with the Chatelaine, a traumatized widow with a giant waterpowered forgehammer at her disposal, and a wealthy alderman's wife who escapes Bruges with her children, Margriet and Beatrix forge a raiding party like Hell has never seen.

3 editions

betty reviewed Armed in Her Fashion by Kate Heartfield

Review of 'Armed in Her Fashion' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This is a book that is maybe a three star book that I gave four stars because I liked it so much? It's my review, you can't stop me.

First: I should note that there's what reads to a modern reader as a closeted trans man who is misgendered by most of the people around him, due kinda to him being in the closet? It's not malicious, but if you don't want to read that, heads up.

Second: weird typesetting errors, two quite dramatic, but I got this from the library, so eh?

Finally: READ THIS BOOK YOU GUYS WHAT IS IT I DON'T KNOW BUT YOU PROBABLY HAVEN'T READ ANYTHING LIKE IT BEFORE? It's a book that's interested in the subaltern identities in twelfth century belgium? And also Hell is invading with an army of monsters? And the monster/subaltern/disabled collision is not accidental? And a major plot point is …

This is a book that is maybe a three star book that I gave four stars because I liked it so much? It's my review, you can't stop me.

First: I should note that there's what reads to a modern reader as a closeted trans man who is misgendered by most of the people around him, due kinda to him being in the closet? It's not malicious, but if you don't want to read that, heads up.

Second: weird typesetting errors, two quite dramatic, but I got this from the library, so eh?

Finally: READ THIS BOOK YOU GUYS WHAT IS IT I DON'T KNOW BUT YOU PROBABLY HAVEN'T READ ANYTHING LIKE IT BEFORE? It's a book that's interested in the subaltern identities in twelfth century belgium? And also Hell is invading with an army of monsters? And the monster/subaltern/disabled collision is not accidental? And a major plot point is the rights of widows to property?

Margriet is one of the viewpoint characters and she's a great study case for "likeable" characters, because she's mean, rude, selfish, selfless, and fascinating. She's going to get her due if she has to go up against Hell to do it, because nothing has ever come to her easily, and why should this be different?

Beatrix is Margriet's daughter who is kind of Jane Bennet from P&P. She loves her mother and also would pay any money to just get a month away from her which makes the siege kinda unfortunate.

Claude is a mercenary in Hell's army who got hit on the head and woke up to find that his rescuers were like: "Hey, we've put you in women's clothing because clearly you made a mistake with being a crossbowman?" and now he just wants to get out of here and steal some pants and also a weapon.

Hijinx (????) ensue.

plumsdeify

rated it

July 3, 2022

Paul Ralph

rated it

May 1, 2020