Chapter by Chapter features me reading one chapter of the selected book at the time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as read-along book club.

So where were we? Alec and Black are vacationing in Florida before the start of the racing season and they decided to go for a walk in the Everglades. They were drawn to a house that just happens to be the current resident of a circus horse trainer from Europe who is plotting to get Black to mate with his mare Ghost, instead of arranging something because for some reason I’m still not being told about Alec doesn’t want Black to mate? Is he worried Black will be a deadbeat dad? Will we get the answer this chapter? I’m thinking no.

Chapter 7: Images And Omens

Not a lot happens this story but unlike our last review book, Enterprise–The First Adventure, things happen often enough to make up for it. There is also a stronger atmosphere, leading the reader along to the main event of this story.

It starts with Alec’s spider sense tingling as he gets a stronger sense of dread. There’s no chance of him safely leaving now but he can feel the danger and to his credit for his age he seems to know how to prepare himself for it. He hears a selection of music the Captain is playing, which he also heard birds singing earlier, a rather scary, haunting piece the Captain co-wrote. It’s the song that he uses to give Ghost her cues so that she can perform without a rider. He starts wondering if the music he heard were just bits of this recording but I wonder if Farley also meant for the birds to have picked up on the song and just started singing it? It would help lead to the sense of foreboding that should have given Alec and the Black a hint that maybe they shouldn’t go this way.

This ends up reminding me how lucky the Captain is that they just happened to be around the Everglades and did get drawn to his hammock. Even if he somehow found out our heroes were resting in Florida (remember, his goal is to have Black mate with Ghost) he didn’t do a thing to get close to them beyond walking his horse around. And so far there is no hint that the Captain was even using dark magic or anything, although he does keep some ugly little statuette as his good luck charm and talks about believing in the supernatural, even if Alec doesn’t believe (despite having his own good luck charm, which he only mentions in passing).

I do like these interactions between Alec and the Captain. You learn a lot about both characters, and there’s an odd (since Alec both respects and if not fears at least has concerns about the Captain) relationship between the two because of their mutual love of horses in general and their specific horse (Black and Ghost) in particular. I’m guessing we’ll see more of this in the next chapter.

Next Time: The Legend

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