I knew something of what I was getting into when I chose to read this
book. Within the first couple of chapters, there are zombies, ogres,
goblins and dragons. And panzers. That’s panzers as in German WWII
tanks. Heading each chapter is a snippet of seemingly modern-day
technology-heavy action. This is a doozie of a tale. It’s as if the
author wrote a checklist of all the fantasy elements he liked and threw
everything into the mix. Wizards? Check. Golems? Check. Magic swords?
Check. Cannons, rifles, pistols... Yep, let’s have all those too.
Crusaders, troglodytes, gargoyles, unicorns, giants, werebeasts,
elemental spirits, ogres? Why not?
Well, why not is an
interesting question. This is certainly a book where anything can
happen, and most likely will. There are long - very long - battle
sequences where one evil thing after another appears, and just as our
heroes appear to have triumphed, something even more horrible appears,
yet the eponymous Flank Hawk, a farmboy having no special skills,
improbably survives everything. For anyone who likes high-octane action,
this is definitely the book for you. But it does mean that a lot of
other things get lost by the wayside. There’s no subtlety or depth to
the characters, for instance, they are mostly just a succession of
names, most of whom will become (literally) cannon fodder before too
long. There’s little time for introspection or thoughtful addressing of
deeper themes. There’s not much background or world-building or detailed
history, although what there is is nicely done. There’s no sense of
unique time or place. And there’s no sign of complex motivation. There
are just a lot of unspeakably evil things trying to wipe out everyone
else and take over the world because - well, just because, I guess.
But
interspersed with all the zombified mayhem, there are, eventually,
moments of greater interest, to me at least. In fact, almost everything
beyond the battlefield is intriguing. The encounter with the seer in the
King's City is fascinating. The dragons are cool (but then, dragons are
always cool). I liked the whole hierarchy of wizards, and the
differences between them: “... the elemental magic of wizards left no
trace, while that of an enchanter could linger for hours.” I have a
suspicion that the principles were inspired by either online or tabletop
gaming, but still, it felt nicely complex. And towards the middle of
the book, when Flank Hawk sets out on his Impossible Quest (tm) and
forms an unlikely alliance with two passing characters, the story opens
up nicely to become something much more interesting.
The writing
style is unsophisticated, and there are clunky moments (“Ha ha,” he
laughed...) and times when things were clumsily phrased and could have
been clearer. The Crusader's pseudo-medieval language grated on me a
lot, and there are a few mistakes in it. I would have liked some more
information about the wizardly hierarchy - Grand Wizards and Lesser
Enchanters and Imperial Seers are a bit hard to sort out without some
kind of guide. And a map would have been very useful. Throwaway
references to Milan and the Alps are mixed in with talk of the Faxtinian
Coalition and the Vinchie Empire and the Reunited Kingdom.
It's hard to imagine any of the bigger traditional publishing houses picking up a book like this. Only a small independent would take a chance on this sort of off-the-wall book. To
say it's original doesn't even come close. I would love to be a fly on
the wall if the author ever has to pitch this to one of the big six publishing executives. "Well, it's got every fantasy idea
you can think of in it.[*] And Nazi technology. And a nuclear holocaust.
And an Ebola outbreak. And Crusaders..." Frankly, I love the ideas more
than the execution, as the writing perhaps isn't quite up to the
ambition of the plot, but it rattles along at a frenetic pace, and in
between the overlong battles, there's a nice little story with an
interesting backdrop. There were moments when I laughed out loud at the
sheer craziness of it - for instance when the trio face down a giant,
armed variously with rocks, a spear, a rifle with bayonet, a prayer and
an evil magic sword. This is just not your average fantasy book.
Ultimately,
it really didn’t work for me. There were too many zombies for my taste,
too many mindless and weird creatures altogether, and I would have
liked more depth to the characters and less fighting. The interesting
combination of the mercenary, the werebeast and the Crusader was one
which, had the story slowed down enough to let the characters blossom a
little more, could have been very powerful. Although I like a story to
surprise me, this is one where there appear to be no constraints at all
on what might turn up next. It reminded me a little of my only encounter
with the imagination of China MiƩville (an encounter I lost, I might
add; I just don’t have the right receptors in my brain for that kind of
weird). So for me it was no more than two stars. But for those made of
sterner stuff, or who like rip-roaring action from start to finish, this
is an interesting book with a nicely worked out ending and some clever
ideas. There are some really neat details tucked in there which show a
great deal of careful thought. I commend the author for his fertile
imagination.
[*] There were no fairies, pixies or prophecies. I
didn't notice any vampires, either. But pretty much everything else.
Even the farmboy turned hero.
[Edit: the author has posted a link to this review on his own blog, which has attracted an interesting comment on my 'gender bias'. You can read it here.]
Pauline,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading a couple of reviews, I'm really hoping that I'll be able to convince you to read mine when I release it. I'm dying to know what you think of it.
Thanks.
Brian