Mimus by Lilli Thal is translated from German into English by John Brownjohn. It is a fantasy/adventure book set in medieval times.
There are many characters but the central character is Crown Prince Florin of Moltovia, son of King Philip. A character of interest is Mimus, King Theodo of Vinland’s court jester. It is from him that the book gets its name.
At times Mimus is kind and earns some sympathy but at others he is cruel to Florin. Sometimes it is hard to understand Mimus’ thoughts and actions but that is what makes him interesting.
There is an ongoing war between Vinland and Moltovia but finally it looks as if the war is to end. King Theodo of Vinland calls King Philip out to Frankenland, neutral territory. They sign the peace treaty and Crown Prince Florin is invited to the celebration banquet only to find that he has been cruelly betrayed. With his father and his father’s party sent in chains to the dungeons he is forcibly adopted by Mimus the wily old court jester who is slightly mad. Nonetheless Mimus helps him get by, as well as helping Florin, now “little Mimus”, make his escape along with his father.
The book is written in the third person with formal speech and is written with sentences of reasonable length: “The image of that iron door never left him, and when at last he fell asleep it accompanied him into his dreams.”
Lilli Thal is a German author who has a degree in medieval history, art and archaeology. She has wriiten more books in German such as: Kommisar Pillermeier, a joint project with Franziska Biermann (also the illustrator) and Vialla und Romaro. Mimus is just a single novel and there are no plans to continue it into a series, even though it leaves you wanting more.
I picked this book up from the library without very high expectations as it is not the typical book I would read, but it kept me turning the pages and wanting to know more about Mimus. It is a book that I am more than happy to recommend as it looks fairly plain on the surface but once past the first few chapters, the madness of Mimus and the whole Vinlandian castle starts to reel you in. I would recommend giving it a go at any rate.
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