Interview with D.P. Prior

CFL: Many of you are undoubtedly familiar with the work of D.P. Prior, and you probably already know about his first book, The Resurrection of Deacon Shader. He’s a well-known figure in indie fantasy circles, not only through his writing, but also through his editing services. His latest book, Cadman’s Gambit, is a retelling of that story, but it’s much more. Here’s an edited transcript of our recent Skype interview.

Derek, can you tell us what was the inspiration behind revisiting the original work, which I thought was pretty damned good?

DPP: Well, Conrad, it wasn’t so much inspiration as necessity. I’d had a fairly good run with Resurrection and was two thirds through writing the sequel when I realized just how much I’d changed as a writer. Resurrection was very old school – way too much telling from the outside, mixed points of view, verbosity, and characters about as bland as tofu.

CFL: No, really? Didn’t I give that book 5 stars?

DPP: You did, and that’s great, but … Why the heck did you do that?

CFL: You know, I think it was the freshness. Looking back, I’d agree with what you say. It’s not in the contemporary style and yes, the characters are a bit word-perfect, but it was an enjoyable read. I think the concepts were staggering and the way you wove in all the theology was really new.

DPP: But a bit in your face, maybe?

CFL: Well, yes: if you want to send a message, use Royal Mail.

DPP: It was all there, in some shape or form. Resurrection had most of the characters and concepts I wanted to write about, but for me, what it lacked was immediacy, characters that walked off the page, believable relationships, and a fully-fleshed-out world.

CFL: So it was like a point of departure for the new book?

DPP: Exactly. It’s the bare bones. A preliminary sketch. The sequel was shaping up really well, but I was faced with the problem of who was going to read the sequel if they didn’t like the original (and by this stage I didn’t like it myself). I finally bit the bullet and sent Resurrection to John Jarrold for a fresh edit. John basically confirmed what I felt and then some. He gave me some great pointers for how I could improve the manuscript and I set to work on it straight away. Within days, though, I got frustrated with the structure, the plot, the characters, to the extent that I knew it was going to be easier to start over from scratch.

CFL: That must hurt.

DPP: Funnily enough, it didn’t at first. I rewrote the opening couple of chapters and ran them by John. He saw the improvement immediately and that confirmed I was on the right track. By the time I’d written Dr Cadman’s opening scene, I knew this was the book I wanted to write. That character literally came alive and was an absolute joy to write.

CFL: And to read, I must say. I zipped through the preview copy you sent me in a day. Cadman is such a fun character to read, always commenting on everything; wonderfully two-faced.

DPP: He’s got a whole hidden nature, which the reader gets access to via his POV thoughts.

CFL: Something you’ve not used a lot of before.

DPP: That’s right. I’ve even been quite critical of the use of first person thoughts in a third person narrative, but I gave it a shot and it seemed to work really well.

CFL: It’s well measured. Some writers have overdone it in the past. But it’s not just Cadman. All the characters have a new depth to them and they each have their own voice. I was shocked to see the developments in Lallia and Rhiannon; and Gaston – he’s gone from being fairly incomprehensible to one of the strongest, supporting characters I’ve seen in recent times.

DPP: He’s a tough one to crack. Judging by what he does, you should hate him, but he’s become a lot more human, and much harder to condemn.

CFL: And Shader himself, he’s so nuanced now. His conflicts are much more marked, but he has these new layers of personality that really pull you into his POV. You know, I think all the hard work paid off.

DPP: I hope so. Glad you liked it, but we’ll have to see what happens when it goes live. I wonder if anyone will get frustrated by the cliffhanger.

CFL: Not if book 2’s just around the corner. What was that about, anyway? Is it a shrewd marketing ploy?

DPP: Not initially! I realized it was a good move after I’d made the decision. Originally, the rewrite of Resurrection was going be an immense book of 1000+pages. When it started getting really unwieldy, I split it into two, but then the first half of the that became massive. After a long discussion with one of my readers, I decided to find a natural break, midway through the book and then reworked it to achieve a satisfying ending. I think it leads really well into book 2, and then book 2 has an even bigger cliffhanger before we get the big resolution in book 3.

CFL: So, you’re saying that if someone has read Resurrection they’ll be very much surprised by this new trilogy.

DPP: Extremely surprised. Not just in the ways the story has changed (and grown), but also in the language.

CFL: How did that come about?

DPP: Initially through discussions with my editor, Harry DeWulf. It seemed some of the well-mannered speech from Resurrection was still finding its way into a few of the lowlife characters.

CFL: The assassins?

DPP: Harry thought one or two of them sounded like Donald Wolfit or Basil Rathbone. I decided to stop trying to control them so much, and stopped worrying about who I might offend if the language got a little more colorful.

CFL: Indeed, it certainly is more colorful, but entirely appropriate to the context. Not at all gratuitous.

DPP: It’s how real people speak. I also managed to find distinctive voices for the Sahulian characters, which contrasts with the educated speech of the Nousians. The Dreamers, too, have their own idiosyncrasies.

CFL: Did your own editing work help with this process? Would you recommend a comparison of the original Resurrection with Cadman’s Gambit for new writers?

DPP: To answer the second point first, no! Actually, it would be useful for illustration if I were running a workshop; but generally, I wouldn’t want people to waste their time and money reading the original now. I think I’ve achieved what I wanted to with Cadman’s Gambit. It’s the book I would have written years ago if I’d had the writing tools I now have.

As far as editing is concerned, yes it has helped enormously. It’s increased my focus on the mechanics and the process, and it’s forced me to keep considering how every word, sentence, passage, chapter comes across to a reader. Often, manuscripts I receive are in first draft, where the writer is essentially telling themselves the story. They have all sorts of advantages: they know what they intend, they are able to fill in all the blanks. But when you put this sort of thing in front of a reader, it’s a whole different ball game. My own redrafting has been very much focused on how to present the story to the reader. It’s involved a lot of focus on pace, tension, conflict, succinctness, language. Language is the big one. It’s something I’m always simplifying these days. Unless the character calls for it (someone like Cadman, for example) it’s nearly always best to go for the familiar words that we use in every day speech.

CFL: Is it more difficult to do this with your own work than with the work of others? Is it harder to see the wood for the trees when it’s your own baby?

DPP: Are you mixing metaphors? I think it is, at least at first. That’s why I do so many read throughs of the text and seek the opinions of editors and beta readers. A writer needs distance from their work before they can really appraise it. I achieved that by sending the manuscript off to my editor and banning myself from looking at it for six weeks whilst he worked on it. I then made my revisions, left it some more, and then read it out loud. I had my proof reader go over it, which allowed me another break, before reading it again. This was meant to be the final check, but I made over 700 alterations – mostly very minor things to do with language. That meant I needed a final reading (another 200 corrections!). Even at that stage I still found a few things I needed to tweak. My biggest problem was knowing when to stop. I’m so obsessional this process could go on forever. In the end I had to send it off for formatting before I started another set of revisions!

With editing other people’s work, I immediately have the perspective of a reader and so can see the difficulties much easier. The hardest thing with editing other people is that I can’t be quite as obsessional as I am with myself. On the first sweep, I flag up all the issues as I see them, correct copy, and send the manuscript back to the writer. The writer then has to choose whether or not to implement the suggestions. If they choose to ignore my suggestions, I have to respect that. It’s their book and I’ve done my duty by making them aware of things that I see as problematic. It’s actually very rare that this happens. Mostly, writers take another look at the offending passage and apply a different perspective.

CFL: Not to ask you to be a name-dropped, but you do seem to have a list of very successful clients.

DPP: I’ve been very fortunate to work with some of the most hard-working and talented indie fantasy writers over the past year. Some of these writers were very new to publishing when I ran into them, and others had already put out a large volume of work.

CFL: Any huge egos or prima donnas?

DPP: You can’t seriously expect me to comment. But no, really, I’ve been really fortunate. I’ve had a great time working closely with writers such as David Dalglish, M.R. Mathias, Moses Siregar III, Valmore Daniels. The list goes on. I can honestly say they’ve all been a pleasure to work with. You know, the more experienced the author, the easier it is to work with them. First time writers can have a bit of difficulty adjusting to the editor-writer relationship, but I’ve only ever been impressed by how willing everyone’s been to listen to what I have to say and work out the best way forward. I think writers often get an unfair rap for being egocentric, narcissistic megalomaniacs. Maybe I’ve just been lucky, but my experience has been much more positive than that, and I’ve also learned a lot in return.

CFL: And so we come full-circle to how you’ve impacted on their work and how they’ve had an effect on yours.

DPP: You might need to ask them that question! I suspect I’ve helped a lot of writers with point of view issues, immediacy, word usage. I am quite pedantic about these things and won’t let something go without at least flagging it up. I hope I’ve also been encouraging; I want writers to feel enthusiastic and energized after going through an edit with me. The last thing I want is anyone getting disheartened.

In return, I’ve been inspired by the hard work and productivity many of these authors show. I’m sure I’ve picked up on little bits of style from them, as well as from mainstream writers I’ve been exposed to. Looking so closely at other people’s work reveals the mechanics of their style to me and hopefully makes me more aware of my own craft than before. It’s a very rewarding relationship, one that I hope has been mutually beneficial.

CFL: I’m sure it has been. Thanks for talking with me, Derek, and good luck with the launch of Cadman’s Gambit. I know I enjoyed it very much and can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel. You are sending me a copy, right?

DPP: My pleasure. Thanks, Conrad.

The Ant-Man of Malfen by D.P. Prior

This is a very strong introduction to a fantasy romp in the tradition of Sword and Sorcery. There’s a difference, however, in that it also has the sophistication of a modern fantasy. There are complex characters here, consistent poins of view, and the hint of a long story arc that promises much menace.

I particularly like the Nameless Dwarf – tough, deadly and manic-depressive! He fluctuates from bawdy humour, singing and drinking vast amounts of beer, and episodes of profound depression during which he becomes paralysed (there’s a terrific scene where he has to cut himself in order to move).

He’s joined by the mysterious scholar, Silas Thrall who seems to have opened a bit of a Pandora’s Box (a sorcerous tome written by an ancient Liche Lord), and Nils, a young rogue from one of the guilds in the city of New Jerusalem who thinks of himself as a big fish in a little pond but proves to be little more than a boy.

The prose is fluid and very well measured. I zipped through this in no time at all and enjoyed the scenes from differing points of view, the contrast between action and reflection,and the pathos of the encounter with the Ant-Man.

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

“Best Served Cold” is set in the same world as “The First Law Trilogy” and features some cameos from that series. It reintroduces the characters of Shivers the barbarian and one or two other notables. It is the tale of Monzcarro Murcatto’s quest for revenge, divided into sections for each of her victims.

There is tight point of view writing throughout, each scene jumping from one character to the next, sometimes dancing between three or four characters in more complex scenes. Abercrombie does this well but sometimes overdoes it for my taste. Just when I settle into a character I’m bounced off into another’s head. This makes for a lot of stopping and starting. The other issue I sometimes have with POV is that I am more interesed in some characters than others. This is down to the quality of writing and characterisation. I found Murcatto bland, Shivers a pale imitation of Logen Ninefingers, Cosca less likeable when inside his head, Friendly utterly unbelievable. Morveer the poisoner was great fun. He’s over-the-top and a comic stock type but accessible due to his glaring flaws, which come across best in his thinking.

Abercrombie has created some great characters in the past, but here I found many of them overblown and far too broadly sketched. The story unfolds from the motivations of the characters, princupally Monza, and for this reason it is repetitive, a collection of murders of varying degrees of interest. The violence (and of course torture) fails to make up for this (as does the lapse into pornography during one scene). It struck me as a cynical attempt to score sensational hits without really developing the story.

Whilst I was reading “Best Served Cold” I watched “Kill Bill” for the first time and was immediately struck by the similarity (even the title is quoted at the beginning of “Kill Bill”; obviously its a line famous to the point of cliche but it seemed a little too similar for my liking). The plot is virtually the same too.

There are some great moments in the book — Abercrombie is a gifted writer — but I couldn’t enter into the characters or the world as well as I could with “The Blade Itself”. I wonder if the book was rushed off to fill a contractual agreement. It did seem rather formulaic at times; there was a lot of repetition of descriptions (“smudges of cloud” seemed to occur rather a lot), and there are way too many typographical errors and awkwardly phrased sentences. There have been too many errors in Abercrombie’s other books, which makes you wonder at the quality of the editing.

Ultimately it is the plot — or lack of — that lets the book down. Revenge is a great theme for a short story, or to underlie a broader story in a novel, but by itself it grows rather tedious and does indeed leave you cold.

CFR rating: 2/5

Elfhunter by C.S. Marks

Elfhunter is an unusual fantasy in that it strays from the current obsession with action and pace. It ambles along at its own pace, sometimes frustrating but often delightful, like languishing in a warm bath. C.S. Marks obviously has talent both as writer and artist (she illustrates her own work). She also displays the courage to do things her way — there are swathes of italicised speech to indicate the characters are talking in Elven; line breaks between paragraphs; illustrations in the text and great reams of exposition and back story that take us in and out of the action.

It took some getting used to, but by the time I did I rather enjoyed the omniscient narration, the flitting in and out of everyone’s heads (even the horses), the obsessional attention to detail. The issue, for me, was with Marks’s refusal to conform to the expectations of contemporary fantasy. She’s clearly not interested in what the big-hitters are doing and I can’t say I blame her. Despite Marks’s admisison to the contrary, this is an original work that carves out its own style. Undoubtedly she is indebted to Tolkien, but more so for inspiration, a point of departure, than slavish imitation. She has a style, and a cheekiness, of her own which is at times utterly engaging.

It’s also refreshing to find a newish fantasy that doesn’t feel the need to adopt the language of the ghetto. Marks is always eloquent and respectful. You won’t find any expletives in this book and it’s all the better for it.

My main criticism is that the plot is sometimes laboured and repetitive. Characters often dither and take an inordinate amount of time to act. There are one or two moments when the main plot (involving the Elfhunter, Gorgon) peters out and seems forgotten. This is countered somewhat, however, by the incredible depth of background, the breadth of the world of Alterra and the quirkiness of the characters. Marks may not make the same use of “unexplained vistas” that Tolkien does  (she tends to explain them), but they are impressive nonetheless.

This is an engaging work set in a fully fleshed-out world. It is beautifully formatted and illustrated and has near faultless editing. The issues I have raised are matters of style and taste. All in all this is an exemplary work of independent publishing and deserves the success it has enjoyed.

CFR rating: 4/5

The Weight of Blood by David Dalglish

The Weight of Blood is a fast-paced, character-led fantasy by a promising independent author. It’s a tale of two brothers, children of an orc mother and elf father, who were separated and raised differently. They come back together as young adults both wrestling with their mixed blood but the developmental experiences they’ve had leading them in gradually divergent directions.

David Dalglish doesn’t mince his words and gets straight down to the story, sticking with it throughout and avoiding the pitfalls of lengthy exposition, back-story and repetition. He’s a gifted story-teller who succeeds in drawing the reader in. Towards the end of the book it becomes a real page-turner with a relentless build of tension.

There are some minor problems at the start – a little blurring of characters, which is swiftly remedied; an absence of any tangible setting or credible politics. These issues are soon forgotten once the characters begin to engage though.

There are some typographical errors, a smattering of awkward sentence constructions, some stylistic inconsistencies and the occasional outbreak of fantasy-speak. Nevertheless these issues rarely detract from a strong tale well told.

The Weight of Blood is the first book of five in the Half Orc series. It’s a strong start to an interesting series. There are already emerging themes of redemption which lift it beyond the usual formulaic drudgery in the genre.
A damned enjoyable read from an emerging fantasy author with great potential.

CFR rating: 4/5

Clash of the Titans

I always expected the remake of the old camp classic to be a matter of borrowing a popular story as a peg to hang the increasingly dull CGI that directors appear to think makes up for poor writing and equally poor acting. Sadly, I was right. Clash of the Titans has all the problems of Avatar but even fewer redeeming features. Actually, the only redeeming feature was the brief cameo of Bubo — the annoying robot owl from the original (included in the film to cater to the R2D2 loving kids of the era). It was like seeing an old friend (or a dehydrated man being offered a glass of water, only to have it snatched away after the first sip).

Sam Worthington was once again totally miscast as the lead. His lack lustre performances — piled high with over-acting and straining to convey sentiment without having the slightest inkling of what that might mean — have hammered the final nail into the coffin of two other dire films of late: Avatar (which I’ve already expressed my opinions about) and Terminator: Salvation. I can only assume that Worthington’s agent has a deal on at the moment — three films for the price of one, otherwise why would the studios keep using him?

In summary: the Olympian gods were even more camp (if that’s possible) than in the original. Liam Neeson made a good effort, but even Olivier would have failed miserably in the plastic plate armour. The script was more tell than show, particularly at the beginning with the lame attempt to show us Perseus’ humanity through the example of his father (well enough acted, but with those lines who could really succeed?)

Charon looked like one of those models on a ghost train — growing out of his barge and moving like Sir Killalot from Robot Wars. The scorpions were ok, although they out stayed their welcome. The supporting characters were generally bland and obviously there as Medusa-fodder (and cast to make Worthington shine — which didn’t happen).

Besides Bubo, the only thing that marks this film a little above Avatar was that it wasn’t entirely boring. The fighting brothers were initially quite funny (but then had nothing to do and were swiftly dispatched to Argos); Hades had a nice swirling  entrance (but I only needed to see it once), and the pathetic attempts at characterisation and dialogue were hilarious.

A travesty of a film, a cynical leap onto the 3D band-wagon in an attempt to cash in until we realise the Emperor has no clothes.

CFR rating: 2/5

Before They Are Hanged — by Joe Abercrombie

The second installment of The First Law trilogy sees the First of the Magi leading his mismatched band of adventurers to the edge of the world in search of a devastating ancient artefact. Meanwhile, Inquisitor Glokta must root out treachery as he defends a city against the Gurkish hoards and Colonel West goes north with the army to face Bethod’s barbarians.

The early pages stutter along with rather more errors than I’m comfortable with. Mercifully the are absent from the rest of the book.

The style is once more one of shifting points of view, glimpses of intimacy with the chief characters and the building of familiarity with their idiosyncracies of speech and thought. In the main this is well done, although it works better with some characters than others. Jezal is never quite satisfying – but then he is an unlikeable narcissist in the process of self-development. Glokta is always fun but sometimes a bit heavily painted, thick with melodrama. He mitigates this, to some extent, through irony and sarcasm. I was always relieved to slip into Logen’s POV – also the Dogman and Ferro.

Threetree’s crew of hardened fighters became more likeable the more I got to know them – even the thoroughly nasty Black Dow. Their internal conflicts are unforced and — to each other — reassuringly familiar. Threetrees himself comes into his own in this book, a leader to walk the hills with.

We are also given another view of the frightening and seemingly invulnerable Feared, with the mouth-watering prospect of a match-up with The Bloody Nine in Book 3 (unless I am hugely mistaken).

Like the first book, this one alternates between the mediocre and the sublime. Abercrombie’s strength is his characterisation, which more than makes up for the often vague descriptive passages and his hit and miss pick of images. More hit than miss, I’ll concede, as he does have the knack of finding unusual but effective words, often in the idiom of the POV character.

I loved the development of the relationship between Ferro and Logen. There’s also a nice quashing of expectations, a deepening of political intrigue, and the gloomy feeling that this won’t end happily ever after.

A compelling, character-driven read that is a notch above many of the new additions to the genre.

CFR rating: 4/5

The Blade Itself – by Joe Aberbrombie

True to form for a contemporary fantasy, The Blade Itself plunges us straight into an action scene, a desperate bid for survival and a literal cliffhanger. The mechanics were initially arresting to my cycnical take on novel craft, but Abercrombie pulls it off well. He is never verbose and always seems to come up with simple words that convey the greatest image.

Perhaps the biggest strength of the book, for me, is Abercrombie’s use of voice and point of view. The principles have little idiosynracies of speech – sometimes action – which makes them instantly recognisable without a surfeit of speech tags (he said, she said…) There is the “say one thing for Logan Ninefingers…” and “you’ve got to be realistic” of Logan the barbarian, the italicised thoughts of Inquisitor Glotka, always commenting dryly but giving nothing away to his interlocutors), and the preening narcissism of Jazal dan Luthar.

Logan and Glotka in particular are extremely strong memorable characters – at times pantomimic but great fun. Many of the characters are caricatures, broadly brushed and stock types. This in no way hinders the comedic elements of the book but occasionally distances the reader from full engagement with them.

The plot is at times lumbering, a slow coming together of the principle characters. There are elements of intrigue, detective work, sword and sorcery (shades of Gene Wolfe at times, particularly in the House of Questions scenes). Abercrombie creates a hotch-potch of parody and tribute that nevertheless has moments of brilliance. He is at his best with action and character but occasionally lulls into mediocrity.

Language is also a slight inconsistency. Often it is used effectively, particularly when he remembers the point of view. There are, hovever, some incongruities and a smattering of contemporary expletives that don’t always fit the moment.

Whilst point of view is a definite strength in the book, I felt Abercrombie over did the changes of point of view. We often get a chapter from Logan’s perspective followed by a shift to Glotka, then to Jezal, back to Logan, off to Ferro. I found myself being drawn into a character only to be spat out and forced into another induction. I would have prefferred a little more balance and pacing here.

Nevertheless there are great things in The Blade Itself, the odd sublime scene, cruel wit, and (most of the time) a deceptively simple and utterly effective use of language. It is a refreshing read and stands out from the heap of turgid mush that the genre has been spilling onto the bookshelves for the past few decades.

CFR rating: ***

The Resurrection of Deacon Shader by Derek Prior

 

I reviewed the first edition of The Resurrection of Deacon Shader when it was first released on Lulu. At the time Derek Prior was virtually unknown outside of a select genre circle. At CFR we were fortunate to be sent a review copy and it instantly hit our top 10 independent fantasy books list. Since then, Shader has entered its third printing (via Create Space/Amazon). More significantly, late in 2009, it was released on the Kindle. This is where it once more came to our attention as – for a couple of days in January 2010 The Resurrection of Deacon Shader was a best seller in Kindle fantasy (sandwiched inbetween Piers Anthony and Neil Gaiman). As a subscriber to Kindleboards I keep tabs on all my favourite authors and sometimes stumble upon useful bits of information like this. I also learnt that Prior has now released Shader on Smashwords in all Ebook formats, has entered it into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award and now lists it on Authonomy, where it is rapidly soaring up through the ratings. With all this activity (not to mention C.F. Levy’s recent interview, the transcript of which will appear on CFR shortly) I figured it was about time I took another look at the book with a view to cutting it down to size.

The reading experience starts with the cover, and in this case it’s a win-win situation. The cover art is so strong, so evocative that buyers are likley to splash out on the book purely for the artwork. If they like the story within as well then so much the better. The cover is a dark atmospheric piece that was produced by fantasy artist Mike Nash. The image captures the protagonist in exquisite detail battling the amorphous, shifting shape of the Dweller, a demon from the Abyss. The backdrop arch is suggestive of a church interior and the billowing smoke not only hints at incense but also contains a myriad demonic faces. The Dweller itself is sprouting human limbs as it moves to smother Shader. It is a compelling action piece, one to which I found myself frequently returning as the action unfolded. Prior’s writing is equally compelling. We are thrust straight into an action prologue full of mystery and then immediately into a scene set in the sweltering city of Sarum and a young woman tearing along corridors as she goes to collect a mysterious visitor. The action in Shader is cleverly tempered by passages of reflection, back stories and sublime poetic prose describing the harsh environment of Sahul (which approximates to Western Australia) and the dream world of Aethir. Perhaps the finest example of these moments of purple prose comes in the first chapter of part two when we are introduced to a relam that may or may not be Heaven. Prior is at his best in these moments. He is also a master of melee – my favourite example being the confrontation between the Sicarii assassins and the shamed youthful knight gaston Rayn. The scene was a masterwork of point-of-view with scintillating sword fighting that was reminiscent of David Gemmell. Prior is very assured during combat scenes and passages of reflection and description.

If he suffers from any weaknesses I would suggest it sometimes lies in the dialogue – there are a few needless speech tags and the odd irrelevant adverb. I noticed on my second reading that these disappear largely towards the latter part of the book – presumably as the writing becomes more assured. There is also a little bit of exposition – more than I would have expected. It appears that there was some attempt at keeping down the length of the book by occasionally telling rather than showing. I actually enjoyed some of these passages and felt they kepts the pace up. A couple of short chapters, however, gave me the impression that they were fillers, buffers between scenes designed to slow the pace and explain to the reader. They were barely noticeable and did actually serve their purpose, but I think the book would have been even better without them. Prior’s language is a great strength of the book – although I wonder how many readers will have to refer to their dictionaries now and again. He has a deftness for using archaisms intelligently in order to promote atmosphere and voice.

The action scenes are kept much simpler – as they should be – affording a nice contrast in pace.

Characterisation is one of the major keys to fanatsy novels. Often fanatsy characters are bland and indistinguishable, othertimes they are too broadly sketched, caricatures (I found this the case with Joe Abercrombie). The principle characters in Shader are strong and memorable. Many are iconic. The best ar ethose who admit us to their inner minds – Shader, Rhiannon, Maldark, and most especially the nefarious Dr Cadman. Perhaps my favourite example is when Cadman – afraid for his soul – resumes his illusory disguise of a fat librarian (he is a skeletal lych) in the manner of a comfort eater. I would have liked to have seen a few more idiosyncracies of voice (Brother Hugues is good here) but that’s a minor point.

Prior makes excellent use of foreshadowing throughout Shader, to the extent that it is very satisfying for the reader to start to piece things together. There is also a good deal of foreshadowing relating to the sequels. There are mysteries left unexplained too, and characters with unclear, or shifting motivations which adds to their depth and realism. Thematically the book is very strong, drawing upon mystical theology, Nietschean philosophy and the Faustian myth. There is a pleasing coherence to the plot elements – even the darkest hours of the principles. This is no simple fight between good and evil.

I still find this one of the most promising new fantasies out there – it is light years ahead of much of the slush currently published by the major houses. Judging by comments made to C.F. Levy in his recent interview, Prior has fine-tuned his skills further for the sequel “The Archon’s Assassin”, which is set to be pacier and much more character driven. The Resurrection of Deacon Shader is a must have for any Kindle fantasy library. The paperback is a hefty $11.99 but well worth it if this is your style. Check out the free samples on www.smashwords.com first and then you’ll know if it’s for you.

CFR rating: ****

(thanks to Nathan Sugbury for permission to post his review on CFR)

The Shadow on The Dial by Andrew Cable

Andrew Cable’s debut novel fearlessly crosses a number of genres with a great deal of success. The book is aimed at young adults but has enough depth to appeal to mature reader. There are clever references to the age-old tradition of SF time travel along with the characteristic “chappiness” of the England that Americans still believe exists and that bears no resemblance to the Disunited Chavdom of the 21st Century.

The writing style evokes Enid Blyton, with a dash of G.K. Chesterton and the narrative voice of a David Niven or Terry Thomas. Belying the current obsession with “show don’t tell” which is reducing writing to cinematography, Cable is not afraid of narrative summary and ruminative asides. This all adds to the enjoyability of the book and reminds us of why we choose to read and not simply soak up televisual images.

The book is thoughtful and multi-layered but always light, charming and utterly engaging. It tells the tale of Elias Maccobi, a Jewish religion school teacher who prepares his students for their rites of passage by taking them back in time to key moments in their history. Maccobi also works as a time agent, ensuring the integrity of the time line. Before long, the school outings clash with the machinations of some rather unpleasant time travellers…

Cable writes with wit and charm. His vast knowledge of the history of religions and the ancient unobtrusively enriches the story, rewarding the reader with knowledge as well as pleasure.

The strongest passages in the book are at the very beginning and towards the end when the writing picks up pace and flows seamlessly. The chief strength, for me, is in the distinctive narrative voice which manages to remove the book from the ranks of tedious formulaic and immitative works that enjoy popular acclaim. Cable’s imagination is also a big plus point. Ideas as common as time travel are given a new and ingenious slant and there is a depth to the SF concepts that is effective in cementing the mise en scene.

I read the first edition, first printing which lacks a strong cover design and could benefit from type-setting and a tweak or two in the editorial department. Nevertheless this is a strong debut and one worthy of attention.

CFR rating: ***