[News] Blog suspension and move to Wordpress

After a somewhat brief time here at Blogger, it has come to my attention that there are bigger and better things out there--namely, Wordpress. Due to it's customization possibilities and general handling, I've decided to move the entirety of my blog and host at Wordpress instead.

Literally everything has been transferred--reviews, writing posts, info, everything!--to the new site, and all further updates will be posted to http://leocristea.wordpress.com/. 


For the time being, I'll leave this blog untouched, and merely direct traffic from this blog via the link provided, and all new traffic will find its way there through the usual channels (links, Twitter, etc). In the long run, so I don't feel like I'm repeating myself, I'll be deleting this blog and its content, since everything is already live over at Wordpress anyway. 


Blogger's been fun, but Wordpress will be much, much better, and it's ease of use will no doubt prompt far more posts and updates--especially about my writing, which I realise I long-neglected here. Please follow the link and update your bookmarks and details to http://leocristea.wordpress.com/ where all further blogging, writing, and everything-elseing, by yours truly will occur. 


Thank you! 

[Review] The Exiled Queen (Seven Realms #2), by Cinda Williams Chima

The second instalment of the Seven Realms quartet—The Exiled Queen—speeds up the sleepy plodding of the first book (The Demon King), kick starting a much pacier story with plot twists aplenty. Thankfully, it also retains the deep character development and attention that made The Demon King such an offering of ‘slice-of-life’ fantasy.

Our characters are on the move, each and every one of them, and their separate paths lead to one single place: the Academies. Mystwerk House for wizards, Oden’s Ford for soldiers; the full cast from Han Alister and his bitter rival Micah Bayar, to Raisa ana’Marianna and her childhood friend-come bodyguard, Amon find themselves in one central place. A place where their stories mesh, mingle and merge, shaping the plot and driving it forwards, sideways and sometimes around corners unseen without a mirror.

Han’s been forced into a bargain he’d rather refuse by the Clans; the very people he sought to trust. Raisa’s forced herself into protective exile, her identity a secret from all around her, save her bodyguard, who’s now more closely linked to her than she could imagine—yet still not close enough for the princess’ tastes.

Class is in session

Despite the main cast having enrolled at what is essentially either magic school, or military school, this is no Hogwarts set up. Mystwerk House schools natural born wizards, and somehow, Han’s found himself there: finally free of the cuffs that sealed his power, clamped onto his wrists by the very people who removed them. But for a price: in exchange for the very things Han needed—money, security, a life—the Clans have agreed to sponsor him through Mystwerk House, on the condition that Han returns to them once his training his complete. With little choice, yet little inclination, Han’s hands are tied and off he goes to train his magic, accompanied by his long-time friend Dancer.

Soldier Girl

Raisa ana’Marianna might not be the strongest built lass, or the tallest—or the prettiest since she lopped off her hair (she’ll never let her fellow soldiers do that again) and now sports something resembling a floppy rat—but she’s got balls, for a girl. Shirking her royal life, Raisa has no plans to return to the palace, avoiding it as one might a nest of vipers. That’s all the crown princess sees when she looks to the royal court of her homeland: machinations and intrigues develop and spawn in secret, whilst political power shifts dangerously, beginning to resemble a time when the world was once broken. A pivotal piece in the power-game, Raisa is safe from no-one. Should anyone find her at Oden’s Ford, and should Amon not be able to protect her, whomever holds her in hand could well hold the next few moves on the board.

Baying for Attention

Handed a much more sizeable role in the story this time, are the Bayar twins—Micah and Fiona—introduced in the first instalment, and with Micah receiving more stage-time than his sister. Desperate to steer Raisa towards his own subtle plans, Micah has spent the summer searching for the runaway princess. However, when term begins, the wizard son of the High Wizard—Gavan Bayar, presently worming his way into the Queen’s fancy, brushing aside all laws that would forbid him to do so—is obliged to attend Mystwerk House. Little does he know, that his would-be betrothed is soldering just across the way at Oden’s Ford, just out of his reach. For now.

Fiona on the other hand has her own games in mind, and upon meeting Han, also a first-year, she quickly includes him and his power in her schemes; even if that means going against her own brother. Of course, Fiona doesn’t wish Micah ill, but neither does she support his father’s view to make him King at Raisa’s side. After all; what’s the harm in a new Queen in a Queendom in need?

Young as they are, barely seventeen, the Bayar twins’ machinations might just outplay the defter games their father has in play. They might also outplay each other.

A Deeper Game

Not everything at the Academies is happy lessons and drilling in the yard: at the very places where Raisa and Han believe they’ll be safe, danger lurks close enough to hear it breathing in the dark. Whilst Raisa must do all she can to remain hidden as herself, ever posing as Rebecca Morley, Han finds himself in the tutelage of two wizards, both flaunting better, brighter power than his own, and invariably better and brighter futures that what the Clans have offered. Unable to refuse one, and unable to identify another—whom only appears in dreams—Han’s options aren’t as open as he at first thinks.

Farther afield, back in Fellsmarch, the Queen is quiet: with Gavan Bayar close, and his game playing out differently to he expected, he begins to set his sights on Raisa’s sister, petitioning to make her the Queen’s heiress in Raisa’s stead, claiming her running away as contrary to the interests of the Queendom. A single letter from her mother is all Raisa receives in return for her correspondence; a letter that serves only to confuse the princess heir further as to who she can and cannot trust.

In this game of power, influence and magics—both natural and intrinsic—Raisa, like Han, would do better to trust only a few honest friends.

Not so sleepy, but still not awake

Although the plodding pace of The Demon King has been nudged to a slow trot for The Exiled Queen there is still little action and little clear development of a real and world-influencing plot. The synopses for both books claimed dark, dangerous powers and spoke of the title-cited ‘demon king’. There is still little sight of this great wizard, and whilst it could be suggested that this second novel—and subsequently the two final novels to follow—chart his rise to the power his birthright suggests, this answer falls a little short and something is still lacking.

Why should I read this book?

Nevertheless, The Exiled Queen is an excellent and enjoyable read. The series has solidified itself in this second instalment as being a ‘growing up’ sort of story. Much like Harry and his friends come of age, and grow into strong teens-then-adults in the Harry Potter series, the same can be said of our friends from Fellsmarch.

Whilst the plot lacks the punch of more epic fantasy settings/stories, this doesn’t do The Exiled Queen enough of an injustice that it matters. The story is fun, better-paced than The Demon King and overall, better delivered. The character development—the best part of the series so far—continues strongly and by the end of the book, the cast has matured considerably. They have struck out into the world against all rules and wishes, setting up The Gray Wolf Throne to be an exciting and different style of novel considering what we’ve seen of the Seven Realms series thus far. aHarr

[Review] The Demon King (Seven Realms #1), by Cinda Williams Chima

Although The Demon King isn't strictly Chima’s debut, it feels like it, as previous fantasy novels by Chima were set in our real world. This appeals to some, however the leap from the real-life set Heir series to the Seven Realms quartet feels like a first foray into a medieval-esque fantasy setting. The Demon King opens the quartet, followed by The Exiled Queen, The Gray Wolf Throne, and a fourth, currently unnamed novel.

The Demon King takes the reader to the Seven Realms, and to Fellsmarch; a queendom long ruled by women, and up to the Clan-inhabited Spirit Mountains. The Clans with their gentle, subtle magic, are at constant odds with the Wizards of the realm, whose deft, dynamic power offends. This great power, in the hands of a dangerous and reckless wizard, almost broke the world.

Nonetheless a fragile peace exists in the Fells: the Wizards are banned from the Spirit Mountains, and the Wizards—advisors to the queen in the shape of the Wizard Council—loathe the intervention of the camps in queendom affairs.

Further afield, despite the neighbouring lands’ princes warring between themselves upon their father’s death, the peace stretches to Oden’s Ford, the military training school, and Mystwerk House, the magic school.

That is until machinations from within the palace and council spill across the realm, spreading to the Spirit Mountains and filtering into the city and beyond. But there is never only one selfish scheme at play in a story; the Clans too harbour secrets that could change the course of magic and power.

Amidst the chaos stand two people, worlds apart, distanced by more than just status.

Ragged “Cuffs”

Han "Cuffs" Alister is a streetlord gone good, or he would be, if his past would leave him in peace. At just sixteen, Han's reputation precedes him; he's feared throughout the city and despite quitting the Raggers, he knows neither his old friends nor enemies will let him leave the rough trade that easily. And to make matters worse, when members of a rival gang start turning up dead, who gets the blame? Something strange is going down in the city, and Han’ll be damned if he gets the swing for it.

With a mother and little sister to care for, Han is tempted to return to his old ways when money runs dry and Mari starts getting sick. If he could, he’d pawn the silver braces he’s worn since he can remember—but they won’t come off, and his mother refuses to speak of them.

Instead, making odd money here and there from jobs that trickle in, Han takes solace in the Spirit Mountains, favouring the company of his friends Fire Dancer and Digging Bird to the gritty existence awaiting him in the city.

Demonai Princess

Fathered from a Demonai Clan royal in an arranged marriage, Raisa ana’Marianna has always been different: she’s hot-headed, determined and not at all the blushing flower her mother—Queen Marianna, monarch of the Fells— is content to be.

Determined to be a good queen, Raisa accepts she has a lot to learn, but refuses to believe the palace, pampered and cushioned, is where this education will blossom. Raisa wants to live, to learn and to become a strong queen. However with the natural tensions between the Clans in the Spirit Mountains and the Council of Wizards, Raisa herself is a tool for continued peace, as well as an asset towards tipping the scales of power. Raisa will soon realise she is a very powerful piece in a very dangerous game of magic, power and lies.

A gentle introduction

Whilst the title and the blurb hint that there will be the appearance of a “demon king”, the manner of which once broke the world, this instalment of the Seven Realms series grossly disappoints. The “revelation” of the Demon King’s identity is too late in the book for it to feel as though it was given an introduction at all, and readers might feel as though the story progresses with little attention to that side of the plot. It’s easy to forget when reading through that there is a great power lurking, and a man with the potential to wield it. The story revolves entirely around Han and Raisa and the relationships they forge with the supporting cast on either side.

Han’s story is that of his struggle to escape his rough past, as he grows closer to his Clan friend, Dancer, whilst eluding blame for murder and dodging persistent wizards demanding the return of an item in his possession.

 Raisa’s story sees her growing confidence in herself and her thirst for a real, worldly education. Disguised, she heads out into the city with her bodyguard and childhood friend, Amon. Trouble ensues when she and Han cross paths, and then proceeds to dissipate when they part ways.

A sleepy adventure

All said, not much actually happens in The Demon King: the world is explored, characters are built and machinations from all sides are set in motion by the end (some only at the very end). There are murders, dangers and secrets and yet the plot seems very sleepily delivered. It feels very “young adult”. Not necessarily a negative point, but the YA-crossover style does the novel few favours in helping it deliver a gripping story.

The story is good, but not enough happens. Too little of the book is spent gripping the reader, and far too much spent literally following Han around from the city to the mountains. It feels like Kvothe’s (The Name of the Wind) time in Tarbean delivered badly: where Patrick Rothfuss had the skill to keep the reader entertained merely with his writing, Chima doesn’t quite pass the bar, and where Kvothe’s day-to-day struggle in the city is entertaining, Han’s simply isn’t.

Why should you read this book?

Readers who appreciate most fantasy should give this a try. The Demon King succeeds in drawing you into the lives of the characters, and if you like reading a good story with decent writing, and a “slice-of-life” approach as the world and writer find their feet, then give Han and Raisa a try. 

[Review] A Darkness Forged in Fire (Iron Elves #1), by Chris Evans

Evans’ debut novel A Darkness Forged in Fire—the first instalment in the Iron Elves Trilogy—shows off Evans’ passion for military history and fantasy, by joining the two in a gritty, imaginative marriage where army life and Napoleonic era tactics coexist with fantasy staples. The trilogy continues with The Light of Burning Shadows and will be completed by Ashes of a Black Frost, due for release in summer 2011.

Konowa Swift Dragon has led his regiment into shame and exile: he murdered a Viceroy and now the honour of the Iron Elves is as bloodied as his hands. A shamed regiment, stripped of everything—including their leader—the once glorious elves are but a stain on the Calahrian Empire’s colours. Konowa, court-marshalled and banished, has had plenty of time to dwell on his predicament as he wanders the dense forests he despises so fervently, with only his loyal bengar, Jir, to keep him sane.

But with a darkness on the horizon blacker than Konowa’s mood, the former commander is wrenched from his misery and thrust back into the fray. With a new draft of soldiers to fill his beloved Iron Elves—and not a single elf amongst them—Konowa must face not only the rising elf-witch, the Shadow Monarch, as she vies for domination, but also himself. Deep in the forest, ordered to find the scattered original Iron Elves, under the constant scrutiny of an inexperienced, adventure-seeking prince, charged not only with defeating the rising evil with which his destiny intertwines, but restoring order throughout the Empire, Konowa will soon realise that his black ear-tip—the Shadow Monarch’s mark on her chosen soldiers—along with his fate, cannot be forgotten.

For the Empire

Whilst it is the grander scheme of the Shadow Monarch that underpins the series thus far, without the innovative and insightful details into the Iron Elves as a living, breathing branch of the Imperial army, the notion of a powerful sorceress bent on world destruction would come across too clichéd. Instead, the Calahrian Empire’s struggle to maintain order as she struggles to promote her own brand of progress—as equally important as defeating the Shadow Monarch—coupled with the raw mechanics of a regiment on the move, actively fighting the forces of the elf-witch, whilst dealing with its own problems, brought by injury, death and obligation, present the old cliché in brand new colours: the colours of the Imperial army. Everything is in the name of the Queen, whether Konowa and his men like it or not.

Dwarves need not apply

A regiment smells, and A Darkness Forged in Fire captures this scent in every page. The soldiers of the Iron Elves are diverse and it is through them that the regiment is given life: a religious zealot, a single grudge-bearing elf of the original Iron Elves, a sly trouble-maker and a mismatched pair whose camaraderie invites the reader deeper into the unit.

Reluctantly sworn into the Iron Elves, is Alwyn; a bespectacled young man, whose eyesight is as bad as Yimt’s manners (a veteran dwarf whose stories will make your hair curl) and whose courage is always shaken, but never shattered. Together, Alwyn and Yimt—the only dwarf in the unit and sworn in by pure cheek alone—pull the reader to the level of the soldiers, away from the lofty, tense world in which Konowa—at the side of the prince—exists in the unit, and through their friendship a real taste of what their life in the cursed Iron Elves is like is offered.

Green magic

As a counterpart to the grit of the Iron Elves, the side of those opposed to the Empire is given, though not as the Iron Elves’ adversaries, rather, as companions and allies. Visyna Tekoy—high-born noble from Elfkyna, sent to drag Konowa from exile—wields a gentle magic and even gentler respect for nature that clashes with Konowa’s strong detestation of the forests of his birth, despite the seeds of turbulent romance planted between the two. Another female seeks to balance out the thick macho cast—or would, if she weren’t brasher than most of the men combined. Rallie, official reporter for the Queen, is a cigar-smoking old crone, who whilst she is more than she first seems, remains a constant oracle, doling out guidance and advice to Konowa and to the unit, delivering both wit and wisdom as she sketches her way through trouble, chain-smoking all the while. Although brash, Rallie’s subtle gentility and mysterious powers make her a close confidant for Visyna and a solid pillar to which to wine about Konowa and the Empire.

 Marching narrative

The style is straightforward, without droning on, and whilst details about the setting are presented, they’re not as important to Evans’ as the plot. The setting is explained as the story progresses, and little time is devoted to the background of the situation: enough is divulged and explained meticulously to allow the reader to continue happily and immerse themselves in the world, although readers expecting a military-standard, encompassing description of the Empire’s rise will find themselves disappointed.

Keep it moving

The weakest point of the book is movement, especially during battles: it appears at times that Evans’ has completed forgotten to move his characters as they fight. This is especially true of the final battle of the book, where it seems Konowa and another officer observe the fight from stationary places, like cardboard cut outs, when in fact, the narrative and dialogue suggest they actively participate. Furthermore, the descriptions of both the elf-witch’s magic and its effects, especially during battles, bring down the overall excellence of the book, as sometimes it is just too difficult to grasp precisely what is transpiring, and the reader needs to grasp at the following narrative to understand the resulting situation.

Why should you read this book?

A Darkness Forged in Fire is a different take on commonplace fantasy elements, combining both sorcery and military conquest, with classic sword-clashing and a struggle to save the world from death and darkness. It is a vivid and gripping debut, by an imaginative and strong writer, whose strengths far outweigh his weaknesses, and whose original, vibrant characters bring the world to life in place. If you’re a fan of elves, but fancy something grittier, something different, then give Konowa and his Iron Elves a try.

4/5

[Writing] Writing with Depression (aka: Why My Books Aren't Finished)

After Scott Lynch (author of The Gentleman Bastard sequence) posted about depression earlier this week over on his Live Journal, I thought it was a good opportunity to describe how depression affects an aspiring writer’s life and work. Mainly the work.

I’m twenty-something, I’ve studied for degrees at Bachelor and Masters levels, and I’m also writing a trilogy. Or would be...if I wasn’t still stalling on the first book. I say “stalling”: this doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s in the book—hell, I know what’s in the trilogy and the trilogy after that, and so on and so forth. Basically, it’s not that I don’t know what to, or how to write, on the contrary. I know precisely how to do both, and I get irked if I don’t manage to write in a day.

I am a writer; if I do not write, I start to develop sociopathic tendencies. Alright, that last part was an exaggeration. Either way, I get very, very cranky if my mood prevents me from writing.

And here’s where we get to the “mood” part.

I am depressed. It’s lot better than it was when studying for my MA, when I essentially took up the role of a well-dressed zombie, shambling about the house daily, hardly doing anything but staring meaningfully at an open blank page, almost hoping my novels would just splurge themselves onto the awaiting spaces. In fact, I tried this for two years, whilst plodding along with my postgraduate studies, working on trite nonsense dressing itself up as science-fiction, but in plain enough clothes to pass as “normal fiction” for the genre-hating lecturers at my university.

I got precious little done, in the end. Oh, I might have gotten a Masters Degree, but who’s counting that? Certainly not me.

Now?

Things are better.

Marginally.

 I don’t think depression ever goes away, I merely think we learn how to cope with it. Coping mechanisms are what enable us to actually plod the hell on, and take a moment and think “right, I’m sitting here like a zombie; I’m frustrated and upset—oh! It’s a blip, that’s what it is”.

Unsurprisingly—yet it took me some time to actually realise it—my mechanism is reading. I’ve been reading fantasy for years, however, it’s only in the last two years I have been eating books. I’ve found that when I read, I can write, and when I can write; I’m happier (happy, some days).

It seemed as good a time as any to blog about this, because I really am getting better: it’s not as hard as it used to be, and once you identify triggers and the pitfalls of your own moods, you can begin to overcome the depression on a level you previously never could. So, I can pretty much understand everything Lynch talks about in his blog. Not all depression is the same, but, I think we can at least understand each other a little.

Depression is the single reason I am plodding through The White War; the first book in my trilogy. (Well, that and the reasons discussed in a previous post.) It’s coming along, now, and the whole series is planned out: everything is merely waiting to be written. It’s frustrating, really, that my head and plans are so far ahead of my fingers on the keyboard. 

Frustrating as it is, there’s little point in forcing or rushing things: it’ll merely disrupt whatever progress I’ve made through my depression. So, instead, you have to work day-to-day. It’s awkwardly annoying for a control freak like me, but, it’s all I have. (And it appears to be working.)

In essence, I’ve given myself a very harsh deadline for The White War: I won’t say when it is, but, by hook or by crook, it will be done by this date. Then I have the joy of beginning on The Black Rebellion. Being a writer is fun, isn’t it?

I’m hoping for a productive summer; I’m hoping to make a lot of progress both with my writing, and with my depression.

And one can but hope. 

[News] The David Gemmell Legend Awards (2011 3rd Annual)

The David Gemmell Legend Awards were held this Friday gone, and whilst I didn't have the pleasure or honour of attending them—next year!—I wanted to blog about them nonetheless.

The DGLA might be a pretty new thing (the 2011 awards are the 3^rd run) but that’s part of their charm. At the heart of the DGLA is a simple, manifesto, if you will:

§  Raise public awareness of the Fantasy genre

§  Celebrate the history and cultural importance of Fantasy literature

§  Appreciate & reward excellence in the field

§  Commemorate the legacy of David Andrew Gemmell and his contribution to the Fantasy genre.

That aside, they’re also a pretty exciting set of awards. Aside from the Legend award itself—awarded for Best Novel—are the Morningstar and Ravenheart awards for Best Debut and Best Cover. The tickets for the awards—held at London’s Magic Circle venue—are a mere £20 (perhaps a smidgeon more next year) and therefore are an absolute steal. 

This year, the finalists looked something like this:

LEGEND AWARD FOR BEST FANTASY NOVEL

BRETT, Peter V - The Desert Spear (Voyager)
HEITZ, Markus - The War of the Dwarves (Orbit UK/US)
JORDAN, Robert and SANDERSON, Brandon - Wheel of Time: Towers of Midnight (Orbit UK/Tor US)
PEVEL, Pierre - The Alchemist in the Shadows (Gollancz)
SANDERSON, Brandon - The Way of Kings (Gollancz/Tor US)  (WINNER)
WEEKS, Brent - The Black Prism (Orbit UK/US)

MORNINGSTAR AWARD FOR BEST DEBUT

CHARLTON, Blake - Spellwright (Tor US)   
HINKS, Darius - Warrior Priest (The Black Library)   (WINNER)
JEMISIN, N.K. - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Orbit UK/US)   
PEHOV, Alexey - Shadow Prowler (Tor US)   
VICTORIA, Mary - Tymon’s Flight (HarperCollins Australia)

RAVENHEART AWARD FOR BEST COVER

EINARSDOTTIR, Olof Erla - Power & Majesty  (WINNER)
LOCKWOOD, Todd - The Ragged Man (Pyr)
NIELSEN, Cliff - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
SULLIVAN, Jon - Shadow King (The Black Library)
VICTORIA, Frank - Tymon’s Flight (HarperCollins Australia)

The winners of each category are emboldened, highlighted, and otherwise made to look pretty in the lists above. Honestly, I was rooting for Blake Charlton's Spellwright to win the Morningstar, and Brent Weeks' The Black Prism for the Legend award itself. As for the Ravenheart, I'll be honest: the winner, by far (and yes, I did vote!) should have been the art for The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. It's a beautiful, stunning cover. A few people have voiced their disbelief at what actually won, and I don't blame them, considering what else was nominated. Still, credit to who won.

The full lists are available on the DGLA website.  

[Review] The Book of Transformations (Legends of the Red Sun #3), by Mark Charan Newton

The penultimate book of the Legends of the Red Sun series, by Mark Charan Newton—The Book of Transformations—is set to make the same kind of waves as the previous two instalments, but in entirely different areas. Whilst Newton’s work still exhibits a subtle political flavour and raises questions about life, humanity and the world view, The Book of Transformations delves even deeper than his previous work, boldly addressing issues that are too often ignored.

Firstly, though, I’ll start by saying just how much more fun than the other two books The Book of Transformations is: whilst Nights of Villjamur rocked that “city noir” vibe, tossing in mystery and political machinations, and City of Ruin brought to the table all the tension and atmosphere of a ruined and corrupt city and its inner cogs, readying to face the onslaught of an advancing war, The Book of Transformations brings superheroes to the table.

Fitting, really, that with a summer of comic-book adapted movies ahead, we should be treated to a very new kind of fantasy. It’s been said before that new genre labels may well need to be created for Newton’s work, and this latest offering does nothing to quieten that thought. Describing The Book of Transformations as “superhero fantasy” perfectly conveys the flavour of the book: a team of super-human citizens of Villjamur become the blurb-mentioned Villjamur Knights.

But, as this is Newton we’re talking about, there is so much more.

It’s no secret that Newton decided to write about a transsexual lead. There was much speculation (alright…I know I speculated) as to which “way” the transsexual lead would be changing. I got what I hoped for: Lan is an MtF transsexual. She essentially used to be a man. She now is not a man. It’s as simple as that. (And it really is that simple.) I hoped it would be this sort of change, for two reasons: 1) because the notion of a woman binding her chest and passing herself as a man is a little too close to cliché in the realms of fantasy literature (I believe there’s even a Terry Pratchett joke about this in one of his novels, where a whole regiment turns out to be women in disguise?), and 2) because it would be far, far more interesting to read about.

Simply put, Lan was one of my favourite characters. Not only was she fascinating, but she was also exceedingly normal. That was the point. Newton had to force the issue that Lan is a normal character, and he does this remarkably well. Her transition features briefly, and following this, Lan is Lan. Her change is not the focus of the story. It’s not important. What is important is her new life and her role in the events transpiring in the city—a city facing destruction from inside and out.

Following the loss of Rumex Jeryd in Villiren, Investigator Fulcrom takes up the Inquisitor medallion for this instalment. His role in The Book of Transformations is a pivotal one, as much of the plot unfolds around him and his actions. Placed in an awkward position of direct service to the Emperor—the same Emperor he knows to be corrupt, and responsible for the wrongful arrest and subsequent fleeing of the Empress Rika—Fulcrom must conduct himself carefully under the order of a man he knows to be untrustworthy and excessively ruthless. In addition, the freshly formed and enhanced Villjamur Knights are placed under his jurisdiction. The Emperor expects results, and if these are not produced, Fulcrom’s life may well be forfeit.

At the heart of The Book of Transformations is change: Villjamur is changing; characters undergo changes; the world itself it set to change, should the wishes of one fugitive priest come to pass; the pressure of power weighs heavily; and forces from other worlds set the game-pieces in play, preparing for something even bigger than war.

As a standalone novel, The Book of Transformations works better than Nights of Villjamur, or City of Ruin, neither of which I think work as well independently. Of course, being part of a series, there are strands which link all three books. However, there are more new plot points and characters introduced here, and the way in which the story returns to Villjamur simply flows well enough to be considered in isolation.

Still, as I’ve maintained throughout, the books work far better as a series.

As a whole, the Legends of the Red Sun series becomes more powerful with each book. Showcasing science-fiction, science-fantasy, and ‘new weird’ as well as classic fantasy ideas, the final book is shaping up to be something entirely unique again. The way in which the war between the two factions revealed in City of Ruin is developing very much reminds me of the Vorlon-Shadow war in Babylon 5: this isn’t a bad thing, as the series is my favourite science-fiction series of all time, and as well as being politically and philosophically deep, it was incredibly original and boasted unique methods of storytelling.

Much like Legends of the Red Sun.

The Book of Transformations isn’t my favourite of the series—entirely because I am an unashamedly Brynd Lathraea fanboy and he’s obviously absent, busy in Villiren as he is—but it is definitely my second favourite. It’s an extremely fun and exciting read, filled with all the political awareness you expect from Newton. In fact, The Book of Transformations is one of the most thrilling, fun books you’ll read this summer: its excellence is surpassed only by its sheer scope and imagination. Once again, Villjamur comes to life in the pages of this book.

A winner. Read it.

5/5