There’s a lot in the story that many will recognise: indeed, Richard’s postscript admits his homage to Moorcock, Karl Wagner & Poul Anderson. And by the end of the 400+ pages, I was very pleased about the journey taken.
On the arrival of the full book, I continued. And I would have continued further had I got more. However, what won me over here was that it was one of those increasingly rare (but wonderful) events where I sat down initially to read the first couple of pages but ended up reading seventy-five. Normally such things don’t sway me – though I am always grateful, I don’t let such things affect my review. I will admit straight away that I did get a sneak preview of the first five chapters. Richard’s reputation for fast-actioned, violent SF has now been transmutated into a book worthy for any Fantasy reader with a strong stomach. And in a genre area currently filled with diamonds amongst the rough, it is one of the best books I’ve had the fortune to read this year. Richard Morgan’s first foray into Fantasy (previously known for his SF) is all of this, and more. Reading the current successes – Erikson, Lynch, Gemmell, Barclay, and Abercrombie are often mentioned around at SFFWorld, not to mention the bigger names, (Martin, Jordan, Feist etc) – if I had to pick a trend in many of those tomes, it would probably be that Fantasy has become nastier, dirtier, more violent, more complex and yes, perhaps more adult in the last few years. I’m reminded of this again whilst writing this review.
Yes, indeed amongst the bland, the repetitive and the dross, there’s actually a lot of great stuff out there. We seem to be on a roll: older authors getting recognition from newer and broader areas of interest, new authors gaining their laurels and plaudits… It’s been a rallying cry around SFFWorld for a while now, (and certainly something I’ve gratefully mentioned before), that now is an interesting time in Fantasyland.
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