Alex James's Blog: AlexJamesNovels Blog - Posts Tagged "grim"

Pure Dark Fantasy Adventure of the grim, vulgar, comical, and morally ambiguous character. Blackfeather has ugly depths, rounded off by superb characterisation. For those familiar with the genre: witch, curses, hardship, pagan gods, zealotry, and brewing vengeance.

The Red Eyed Witch’s abominable curse will be avenged by young misguided Rook, who will take leave of his village, and perhaps his senses, to hunt her; an undertaking that repeatedly appears beyond his capabilities. Rook’s grim memory of past wrongs committed to him has shaped him into a cold icy man with aggressive impulses, especially when he feels threatened.

Servant to a wealthy family, trained to become a swordsman, and learning of the whereabouts of the witch, Rook desperately requires “city skills”. Solmourne itself was an incredible feat of writing; with diverse dark characters lurking everywhere, murky canals, “clean” prostitutes, and just that extra bit of the unusual. A variety of obscene and hilarious sub-characters gave the setting personality and contrast. Superb characterisation; it’s Game of Thrones without raising characters’ hopes. Nobody pretended life was going to be much more than the dung-heap it was.

Criticism: The flashbacks of the witch’s curse were chilling, and though I thoroughly enjoyed Rook’s adventure in Solmourne, I felt as if the original quest was sometimes forgotten or sidelined. It would have been nice to have a few more battles or tests for Rook because his observations or those of other characters seemed more important. Rook grew as a character, mostly reacting rather than acting.

Overall, Blackfeather was an astounding accomplishment. The writing, setting, characterisation, and the plot will blast you into a vivid medieval world that would have been difficult to otherwise imagine. Wow!

“Your letter is paramount, Falnir Aasberg”. “Elsillore will remember our ancient ties”. “And do not falter”.

The Messenger is a dark epic fantasy adventure that centres on Falnir Aasberg’s duty as messenger to deliver a message to secure support. The Nameless have breached the wall at Thune, spreading horror and evil wherever they go, revelling in the torture and suffering of innocent human families. They have spilled across the southern reaches, escaping past the guards of Rangers to kill indiscriminately across the plains. Atrocity, distrust, and violence will greet Falnir as he, often accompanied by Rangers, must make his way past the habits of his enemies for the survival of the Seven Kingdoms.

Falnir’s deep regret and guilt at having devastated his marriage with infidelity comes back to haunt him when his wilful wife Annas is adamant that she will accompany him to deliver his message, as an act of retribution. Concerned for his wife’s welfare across the Nehme Plains, Falnir will need more than Rangers to see him through to Elsillore: seeing death, bandits, and encountering the Nameless’ feline monsters (fios). It soon becomes clear Falnir is not a paragon of virtue, indeed he despises those (Rangers or Maidens) who see themselves as such. As a result, he does not appear to be a reliable choice for the survival of the kingdoms, but one thing I did notice was his instinct for survival, considering immoral choices and running away when he knew the odds were not in his favour.

The second part of the adventure was probably the most vivid and exhilarating, and that is when we are introduced to charismatic axe-wielding ranger leader Rado, who is of impressive width strength. Falnir saw something of a role model in Rado and his fellow rangers, and for a time it allowed him to protect people, love a woman, forget tormenting thoughts, and fight against evil in its purest form. You won’t be disappointed with the action in this part of the story, I assure you! There is another chase at the end, which made me read far more than I thought I could of this epic. I should probably, ahem, mention that The Messenger is not for the faint-hearted, having its share of the grim, gruesome, horrible, and quite disturbing.

I liked the grim medieval atmosphere, which was rich in detail, and this led me to conclude that the genre and setting were well-researched. I did sometimes enjoy the banter and interplay between Falnir and other such undesirables, which was foulmouthed, dirty, grim, and utterly filthy. I would say more than a few passages were very elegantly written, which combined with what I suspect was superb editing or proofreading, really gave The Messenger a literary quality. Third person point-of-view and tenses were used confidently and the ebook was remarkably clear to read. Falnir’s tribulations; combined as they were with heroism, suffering, monsters, friendship, and unconscionably deeds; made for a startlingly disturbing and revelatory read that really hit Falnir hard.

Criticism: There were some scenes that had too many place names or were otherwise riddled with overly descriptive passages of hills, woods, horses, and mountainsides. The detail was rich, but I suppose I can’t have it both ways. Some themes repeated a bit too often and noticeably, such as Falnir made to feel guilty for acts others could not prove, being sent with new groups of rangers, and waking up in a healing hut.

Falnir’s tribulations; combined as they were with heroism, suffering, monsters, friendship, and unconscionable deeds; made for a startlingly disturbing and revelatory read that really hit Falnir hard. The reader saw the full roster of good and evil, and in many guises. The Messenger is a terrific read, put simply. Every time it slowed down or dipped into description, it would rise yet again with confrontation, intriguing scenarios, and terrifying hunts. Were you impressed with the beginning of this read, and with all the blood, gore, and action? The setting changes, but at its core is Falnir and a journey that makes Bilbo Baggins’ seem quite trivial. The author has worked a grand piece of fiction here, and anybody looking to dip into some real dark fantasy that tests the body and mind of its character should look no further.