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Title: Flawed second novel
Review: Set during the English Civil War, this novel lacks the craftsmanship of both Sabatini's first novel and of his mature works. The setup (treachery, revenge, and an unsurprising surprise revelation) has the potential for classic Sabatini treatment, but from that point on the plot collapses. The main dramatic interest from that point on is how Sabatini will get himself out of the corner he's painted himself into. Minor spoiler warning: He doesn't. The ending, driven by coincidence (as is not uncommon in Sabatini) fails to satisfy the reader, and is completely unsatisfactory by Sabatini's later standards.
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