Book Review: Scourge of the Black Gold by Ton van Reen (The Bokkenrijders Gang #3)

 

   Note: This book isn't available in English (yet). The original title reads De Bende van de Bokkenrijders #3: De gesel van het zwarte goud.

Book three time! Let's take a gander. Spoilers ahead.

Mathijs, now advancing in his studies as a doctor, gets involved in helping the exploited mine-workers fight for their lives. Meanwhile, he and Kirchhoffs are still Bokkenrijders and have to avoid the wrath of the law.

Yeah, this one was, like the others in the series, really solid. I don't know what it is, but Van Reen really manages to just make me as a reader feel involved and engrossed into this world of 1700s Limburg. The characters, the locations, the events, the culture and ways of life at the time; they all feel real. I know that, of course, these books are based on reality, but it really requires a lot of skill to bring these events to life this vividly and engagingly. 

I do have to say that this book has a bit less action and "Bokkerijder-ing" than the previous installments, as this time the focus is mainly on the conflict with the mine-workers an less so on the Bokkenrijders trials. The last third of the book does have more Bokkenrijder stuff going on, but the first two thirds are a bit more mellow in their execution.

However, that didn't bother me whatsoever. I am just so engrossed into this story that even the more down-to-earth chapters that are just about fighting for laborer rights or Mathijs and his studies are just as engaging as the more action-oriented ones. 

Solid book, this one is. One more left in the series!

Rating: 5/5