From Publishers Weekly
The Black Death has decimated Europe, the Hundred Years War is at a turning point and the English and French peasantry are in open revolt—but is this revolution simply a change whose time has come, or is it due to something far more sinister? In this passionate first volume of a new trilogy by Australian author Douglass (The Wayfarer Redemption), evil is afoot in medieval Christian Europe. The archangel St. Michael has given Brother Thomas Neville, a Dominican friar, a mandate to repel evil and restore order. A difficult man at the best of times, Thomas now believes he's above church strictures and secular control. On top of that, Thomas is trying to forge his way through Europe as it self-destructs, and he can't trust the people around him since the evil that's stalking the world can shift shape and take the form of anyone at anytime. Douglass has again brilliantly blended detailed research with religion and magic to reinterpret actual historical events, here the shift from extreme spiritualism to humanism that began in 14th-century Europe. And as in her Troy series (Hades' Daughter), she manages to make the reader care about self-absorbed, flawed characters who often act out of fear, greed or stupidity. This captivating historical fantasy ranks with the best in the subgenre. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
By the late 1300s, the plague that decimated Europe is finally abating, but not before it claims one more victim: Brother Wynken, an unassuming monk whose dark and sacred responsibility it is to safeguard the gates of Hell. Fortunately, the archangels grant the dying brother the means to pass his responsibility to an unsuspecting newborn. When repentant former soldier Thomas Neville, now joined in the Dominican order, finally matures and makes his way to Rome, the archangel Michael appears to him in a vision and formally passes the baton. Neville's obligations carry an extra burden, however; as Wynken lay dying, a tribe of cherubic demons slipped from his grasp and infiltrated normal human society. Neville's job, which tempts the mercenary element of his soul, is to round up those demons before they wreak havoc on Earth and launch an attack on Heaven. Captivatingly written, this first installment of a planned trilogy should win fans of fantasy and historical fiction alike. Carl Hays
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
The Nameless Day is a departure of sorts for Australian fantasy author Sara Douglass (The Wayfarer Redemption, Enchanter, Threshold, et al.). This offering is an alternate history that takes place in 14th-century Europe, an age of unprecedented catastrophe that included plagues, wars, political and religious upheaval -- and the unleashed minions of Hell!

The story revolves around Thomas Neville, an English nobleman turned Dominican friar. While studying in Rome, Neville is visited by the Archangel Michael, who sends him on a quest to find a book of incantations stored in a casket that belonged to a long-dead friar, Wynkyn de Worde, a man whose life was shrouded in mystery. The angel enlightens Neville about de Worde's secret task: to journey twice a year to a remote place known as the Cleft, the gateway to Hell, where the friar would send wayward demons back to the netherworld. In the decades since the friar's death, evil has run rampant. Neville must find the book and rid the world of the demons before humanity is irreparably corrupted. It may already be too late.

Fans of epic historical fiction adventures like Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle and Stephen R. Lawhead's Celtic Crusade saga (The Iron Lance, The Mystic Rose, et al.) will undoubtedly enjoy The Nameless Day, which combines historical characters and events with the supernatural forces of God and Satan. There are nightmarish demons and awe-inspiring angels aplenty in this masterful tale of good versus evil. (The second volume of the Crucible trilogy, entitled The Wounded Hawk, is scheduled for release in January 2005.) Paul Goat Allen

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"The Black Plague. The Pestilence. Disease and death haunt every town and village across fourteenth-century Europe, and none are immune from its evil. Some see the devastation of their world as a sign of punishment from God for Man's wickedness." "But Brother Thomas Neville sees this swath of death as something much more. Neville is a man beset by demons. Or is it angels? He has had a visitation from none other than the Archangel Michael, who commands Thomas to undertake a mission. This mission will take Neville across the length and breadth of the continent in a desperate bid to find the means to stop the minions of Satan, who have found a doorway out of Hell and are preparing to venture forth to try to seize the world in preparation for an assault on Heaven itself." "As Thomas Neville encounters angels and demons, saints and witches, he comes to realize that the armies of God and Satan are arraying themselves for the final battle...and that his soul is to be the battleground." The question is, has Neville picked the truly good side?

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The Black Death has decimated Europe, the Hundred Years War is at a turning point and the English and French peasantry are in open revolt-but is this revolution simply a change whose time has come, or is it due to something far more sinister? In this passionate first volume of a new trilogy by Australian author Douglass (The Wayfarer Redemption), evil is afoot in medieval Christian Europe. The archangel St. Michael has given Brother Thomas Neville, a Dominican friar, a mandate to repel evil and restore order. A difficult man at the best of times, Thomas now believes he's above church strictures and secular control. On top of that, Thomas is trying to forge his way through Europe as it self-destructs, and he can't trust the people around him since the evil that's stalking the world can shift shape and take the form of anyone at anytime. Douglass has again brilliantly blended detailed research with religion and magic to reinterpret actual historical events, here the shift from extreme spiritualism to humanism that began in 14th-century Europe. And as in her Troy series (Hades' Daughter), she manages to make the reader care about self-absorbed, flawed characters who often act out of fear, greed or stupidity. This captivating historical fantasy ranks with the best in the subgenre. Agent, James Frenkel. (July 24) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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