Fawkes: A Novel

by Nadine Brandes

Guy Fawkes’s son must join his father’s plot to kill the king in this magical retelling of the Gunpowder Plot that will sweep you back in time to a divided England where plagues turn victims to stone.

In 17th-century London two forces rule the people: the color powers and the Stone Plague. Brown masks can manipulate wood. Black masks control the night. And red masks . . . Well, red is the color of blood.

Thomas Fawkes’s Color Test is upon him, and he is sure his father, the infamous Guy Fawkes, will present him with a mask and Thomas will finally bond with a color. He desperately hopes for a gray mask so he can remove the stone that has invaded his body and will ultimately take his life.

But when Guy refuses to give Thomas his mask or even his presence, Thomas has no place in school or society. His only hope is to track down his father and demand a mask to regain what he’s lost. But his father has other plans: to kill the king.

Thomas must join forces with his father if he wants to save his own life. When his errands for the cause bring him time and again to Emma Areben, a former classmate, Thomas is exposed to a whole new brand of magic. And Emma doesn’t control just one color—she controls them all.

Emma wants to show Thomas the full power of color magic, but it goes against everything his father is fighting for. If Thomas sides with his father, he could save his own life—which would destroy Emma and her family. To save one, he must sacrifice the other. No matter Thomas’s choice, one thing is clear: once the decision is made and the color masks have been put on, there’s no turning back.

Praise for Fawkes:

“An imaginative, colorful tale about choosing for yourself between what's right and what others insist is the truth.” —Cynthia Hand, New York Times bestselling author of My Lady Jane

“Hold on to your heart as this slow burning adventure quickly escalates into an explosion of magic, love, and the truth about loyalty.” —Mary Weber, bestselling author of the Storm Siren Trilogy and To Best the Boys

• Full-length young adult historical fantasy
• Includes discussion questions for book clubs
• Also by Nadine Brandes: Romanov and Wishtress, coming September 2022

• ISBN10: 0785217142
• ISBN13: 9780785217145
• Publish Date: 23 August 2018 (first published 10 July 2018)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 23 February 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Thomas Nelson Publishers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[phyllish]

Fawkes by Nadine Brandes

Once the masks are on, the war begins

Masks and magic and mayhem. In a society that drew power from hiding behind masks given to them by their parents, Thomas Fawkes desired nothing more than to receive his mask and the color magic that would come from it.

Fawkes is a fascinating blend of historical fiction and fantasy. The author took the details of the Gunpowder Plot and made them into an allegorical story where the conflict isn’t over religion but over color magic and light.

I really loved the analogy of God being the pure color from which all other colors get their being. I also appreciated the way that everyone knew that the White Light talked to everyone, attempting to woo them in the way that God woos us to Himself. There were no specific references to God or religion, yet the parallel drawn was evident to me. Non-Christians would not be offended by anything in the book.

Thomas was an interesting hero. He was wonderfully flawed and weak, not even having received the mask that would provide him with power. His Spiritual journey as he sought the love and approval of his father was touching.

Emma was wonderful! She was feisty, strong and wholly committed to following the White Light. Her relationship with it allowed her to accomplish amazing things. Her mask completely hid her face yet she radiated a beauty that was unmistakable.

While I did enjoy the story and the way the allegory was handled, there were places that things seemed to move slowly and I didn’t find myself riveted to the book.

If you read this book, be sure to see the author’s notes at the back to see what parts are based on history and which are entirely fantasy. I found that interesting as well.


This review was originally posted on Among the Reads

I would like to thank JustRead Tours for giving me a copy of this book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.

[Danielle Ackley-McPhail]

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Original, moving, fun, despite the seriousness of the subject matter. I cared for the characters deeply and I was fully immersed in their story. I would gladly follow this author through the tales she tells.

[tweetybugshouse]

Publisher provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy through BookLook Bloggers.
Fawkes is the perfect history buff and fantasy lovers dream.  Fawkes is based on a real person named Guy Fawkes.  I have no knowledge of this character but the author takes this character weaves a magical tale set in london, with a devasting plauge that changes people to stone and weaves in color magic.  If that doesn't intrigue you then maybe you should pick up another book. 

I loved how much is packed into this one story, you get historical references and the magic system is weaved into perfectly.  The magic system in this story is based on masks which are made by fathers and given to sons or mothers given to daughters.  We have two sides fighting against each other all in the farce of believing in how they fell magic should be used.  Those who are loyal to one color or those who wield all colors and follow the white color.  

The author did a amazing job of pacing this story out and keeping me entranced that almost wish their was more story to read.  Pick this one up right now. 

[readingwithwrin]

*Mini Review*
This book is definitely going on my favorite list.
History, fantasy, a strong female character, and seeing things from a young man's perspective and him actually learning and changing along the way! It was amazing! I have no words just OMG! I need more books like this pronto.

*Full Review*
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for a free digital arc in exchange for my honest review.



I read most of this book in a day! This hasn't happened since winter break.


Fawkes is a novel that not only tells the historical story of the plan to blow up parliament but also has a fantasy twist on it that deals with color power, and a plague.




Thomas Fawkes is one of those characters that I wasn't sure if I was going to like or not. I ended up loving him! Seriously he's my new book boyfriend (he's passed Creswell from Stalking Jack the Ripper). Why do I love him so much? Well because not only does he grow and change throughout this book, he's not obsessed with being the hero, all he wants it to be free, and he's good-hearted and doesn't let other people make decisions for him or sway his opinion one way or another. He goes out and finds his own truth, and does what's right even if it harms the people he's grown to care for.


I'm not a romance person, but this relationship that happens in this book. OMG! So natural, so caring, and I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP!!


Now time to talk about the history in this book. I'll fully admit that I don't know a lot about the plot to blow up parliament, okay let's be honest, I only knew the song. That's beside the point though. What is the point is that you can tell Brandes did a lot of research for this book to get everything right. From start to finish I was enchanted by this book, and how even though it is a fantasy novel, the history in it was real and yes a few things were changed, but most of it is true.


As for the fantasy color power ability. I loved it! Fantasy can sometimes take me a little while to get into and understand the complexities of it. A quarter of the way into this book I understood what the colors powers were and why they are so important. Brandes did such an amazing job of letting us know what was happening, without it being too much info at once. The beauty and the intricacy of the masks and the color power were so amazing sounding that I cannot wait to see all the fanart that comes from it.


This book has so many intense moments that had me on the edge of my seat, having to know what was going to happen next. I cannot wait to see how everyone else reacts to certain moments because they were just so so good.



I want to read this book again already. I cannot wait for it to come out so I can own a physical copy!


Fawkes is a novel that not only tells the historical story of the plan to blow up parliament but also has a fantasy twist on it that deals with color power, and a plague.




Thomas Fawkes is one of those characters that I wasn't sure if I was going to like or not. I ended up loving him! Seriously he's my new book boyfriend (he's passed Creswell from Stalking Jack the Ripper). Why do I love him so much? Well because not only does he grow and change throughout this book, he's not obsessed with being the hero, all he wants it to be free, and he's good-hearted and doesn't let other people make decisions for him or sway his opinion one way or another. He goes out and finds his own truth, and does what's right even if it harms the people he's grown to care for.


I'm not a romance person, but this relationship that happens in this book. OMG! So natural, so caring, and I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP!!


Now time to talk about the history in this book. I'll fully admit that I don't know a lot about the plot to blow up parliament, okay let's be honest, I only knew the song. That's beside the point though. What is the point is that you can tell Brandes did a lot of research for this book to get everything right. From start to finish I was enchanted by this book, and how even though it is a fantasy novel, the history in it was real and yes a few things were changed, but most of it is true.


As for the fantasy color power ability. I loved it! Fantasy can sometimes take me a little while to get into and understand the complexities of it. A quarter of the way into this book I understood what the colors powers were and why they are so important. Brandes did such an amazing job of letting us know what was happening, without it being too much info at once. The beauty and the intricacy of the masks and the color power were so amazing sounding that I cannot wait to see all the fanart that comes from it.


This book has so many intense moments that had me on the edge of my seat, having to know what was going to happen next. I cannot wait to see how everyone else reacts to certain moments because they were just so so good.


Blog Twitter Instagram Facebook