Fire Witch by Matt Ralphs

The figure swivelled towards her. Hazel's firelight illuminated  a long beak-like nose and two flat, unblinking eyes. Before she could decide if what she was seeing was even human, it unbent to its full, obscene height. Up it rose, slender, menacing, taller than Titus, taller than any man she'd ever laid eyes on.

Three years ago (it doesn't seem that long) I discovered Fire Girl by Matt Ralphs. I described it as horror fantasy and I loved it!  I have now emerged from reading the second installment Fire Witch. This volume can stand alone but I highly recommend you try to read Fire Girl first.

Hazel Hooper is desperate to rescue her mother from the underworld. She is travelling with an elderly demon hunter called Titus. He proves himself a loyal friend but in the end it is Hazel who must face the Matthew Hopkins, the Witch Hunter General, and his prisoner Nicholas Murrell.  It is Nicholas Murrell, the demonologist, who can help Hazel find her mother but he is a prisoner and he is undergoing the most gruesome torture at the hands of Matthew Hopkins.

Hazel needs to disguise herself, join the Grand Order of Witch Hunters, get inside the stronghold jail where Nicholas is being held, retrieve the Necronomicon which contains the circle spell she needs to open the underworld and hopefully, also, release 364 witches who are held captive in a hulk on the Thames prior to their mass burning.  Luckily she has Titus and her wonderful familiar - the mouse called Bramley - to help her. She also has tremendous determination and courage.

You will feel as though you really are in Cromwell's London with all the smells and sounds and terrifying dangers. The creature I described at the start of this review is killing young girls across London and yes it is another demon which Hazel and Titus must defeat.

Here is a scene from the London of the 1600s.

"Southwark High Road struck a straight line between handsome timbered houses all the way to London Bridge and the Thames. It was market day, and a swirling sea of people flowed around stalls and handcarts, bartering for everything from hats to honey bread. From her vantage point ... Hazel saw a water-seller struggling under the weight of his tanks; a printer with ink-stained fingers hawking pamphlets; two noblemen in frock coats and wigs walking arm in arm out of a haberdashery, and a beggar child behind them with her eyes fixed on their pockets."

As we saw in the first book, Matt Ralphs gives us brilliant chapter titles with quotes from various fictitious but historically plausible characters.

Here are some as examples:

"The wall between our world and the demons' is paper thin and the tears are beginning to show. (From) Divinations of Oblivion by Brentford Hinds."

"One witch can be made to give up another and she another, and she yet another. (From) A forest of Gallows by Albrecht Prinz."

"Ward off plaguey vapours by chewing tobacco, rue or angelica. (From) Cures for common Folk by Rachel Kellehar."

Sadly I do need to warn you - this is not the final book and I cannot find any details of the next installment. Here is a terrific review from The Book Bag.  Here is an interview with Matt. You could follow these two books with the series Barnaby Grimes by Paul Stewart. I would also recommend A most Magical Girl by Karen Foxlee and A very unusual Pursuit by Catherine Jinks book one in the City of Orphans series.

Fire Girl by Matt Ralphs

Here is the perfect book for fans of Skulduggery Pleasant and the Catherine Jinks series which began with A very unusual Pursuit.

Before reading this review take a look at the trailer.  It is utterly enthralling as is this book.

Hazel watches as her precious mother is kidnapped by a demon. Her anger brings her own powerful magic to life - the magic of fire.  With the help of her familiar - a dormouse named Bramwell, Hazel sets out on an extremely dangerous journey to find and free her mother.  The world is an especially dangerous place because witches are being caught and killed all over England.

One of the ways I can explain this book is by quoting some of the chapter headings :

"After the Witch War, England's witches fled to the wild parts of the land. It is best to avoid such places, unless travelling with adequate protection."

"Demons are unholy creatures in endless forms most foul."

"When prosecuting a witch, Witch Hunters are encouraged to use fear and intimidation to extract information."

 Fire Girl is not a book for the fainthearted.  There are some really gruesome scenes in this book especially when the demon consumes the woodsman.  I read this book quickly but I did need to stop when the action became quite harrowing.  On the other hand, characters like Bramwell will give you plenty to smile about and the bravery of Hazel will make you cheer.

Here is an extract from the scene with the demon :

"The tentacles whipped round, and in the time it took for a heart to beat twice they were on him. ... The fifth tentacle - thicker than the others - reared up like a cobra and swayed hypnotically from side to side.  There was a wet tearing sound as its tip peeled open like a flower, revealing a round, toothless throat.  The woodman wen rigid as it descended towards his head."

Here is an interview with the author.  Here is a review by an eleven-year old.

After reading this book - and I really do recommend you read it -  especially if you are a fan of this horror fantasy genre, you might also like the Chain of Charms series of books by Kate Forsyth which have the same setting of Cromwell's England for a slightly younger audience.

I should warn you this book is the first in a series, many things remain unresolved at the end and the second installment is not yet published.