Quillifer

Quillifer #1

by Walter Jon Williams

“Walter Jon Williams is always fun, but this may be his best yet, a delight from start to finish, witty, colorful, exciting and amusing by turns, exquisitely written.” —George R. R. Martin

From New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Walter Jon Williams comes an adventurous epic fantasy about a man who is forced to leave his comfortable life and find his fortune among goddesses, pirates, war, and dragons.

Rogue. Joker. Lover. Reluctant soldier.

Quillifer is a young man, serially in love and studying law, when a family tragedy throws him into the world to seek his fortune. A charmer rather than a fighter, he soon finds himself embroiled with a bandit gang, caught up in vicious court intrigues, and the plaything of an angry, beautiful, and very jealous goddess. While he struggles to establish himself in the capital, the country finds itself pitched into a civil war, and Quillifer, a unwilling soldier at best, finds himself caught up in the action, and able to tip the scales of fortune.

Quillifer , with its engaging hero and his exploits with lovers, brawlers, warriors, and privateers, is a book that bursts with life. It’s the first volume in a new epic fantasy by bestselling and award-winning author Walter Jon Williams.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Adventure, High Fantasy, Historical, Science Fiction Fantasy, War

544 pages, Hardcover

First published October 3, 2017

About the author

Walter Jon Williams has published twenty novels and short fiction collections. Most are science fiction or fantasy -Hardwired, Voice of the Whirlwind, Aristoi, Metropolitan, City on Fire to name just a few - a few are historical adventures, and the most recent, The Rift, is a disaster novel in which "I just basically pound a part of the planet down to bedrock." And that's just the opening chapters. Walter holds a fourth-degree black belt in Kenpo Karate, and also enjoys sailing and scuba diving. He lives in New Mexico with his wife, Kathy Hedges.

Reviews

[Liviu · Rating 3 out of 5]

had great expectations of this one as the author has written some of my big time favorite novels (Aristoi, Metropolitan/City on Fire, the Praxis series) but the book while readable, didn't quite deliver and the inevitable sequel became a "look at to see if it gets better"; light fantasy picaresque style that basically gets closer to farce/comedy than I prefer, while lacking the ironic tone that makes such tolerable; I enjoy picaresque when done well but not in the "who cares" farce style as this one skates way too close to on many occasions

this being said, the book still had enough interest for me to finish it and I will take a look at the sequel just in case it gets better

[The Shayne-Train · Rating 4 out of 5]

So you like fantasy, huh? But, maybe you read a lot of it. Like, a LOT a lot. And the tropes, while beloved, are starting to wear on you a bit. The dashing, unbeatable hero. The epic swashbuckling action for world-altering stakes.

Well how about a fantasy novel about a lawyer that likes to get laid and eat fruit? For real. Quillifer doesn't slay orcs, he debates maritime laws. He doesn't save realms, he orders pears. He doesn't wield magic, he wields an apprentices' cap and a vague charm.

On the surface, this sounds like it could be a terrible thing to happen to fantasy. Middle Earth C-Span, if you will. But it isn't. The main character is likable AND relatable (it's important, and rare, to be both). The writing is well-paced, and the world is familiar yet still smacks of 'other realms.'

This could have been a slog. This could have been a DNF at 47% that haunts you. But no, I really, really enjoyed this read. Recommended for fans of fantasy that seek a look at semi-"normal" lives, and not just those of heroes and worldbreakers.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Woof! I'm just striking out left, right and center with my reads lately. QUILLIFER it's yet another book that I just couldn't get through. Maybe it's me. I just don't know anymore.

I got about three quarters of the way through this beast before finally throwing in the towel. After the fifteenth time that I put this book down I feel l finally decided not to pick it back up.

QUILLIFER tells the story of a fop who stumbled he's way from good fortune to good fortune while making a good deal of enemies along the way. It was well written and I actually enjoyed the fop quite a bit. The problem for me was the storyline itself. It was just all over the place. For having so many enemies, tragedies and drive Quillifer's story lacks urgency. He basically drifts from plot point to plot point and for me it got old after a while.

I usually give DNFs a straight one star rating but I'm giving this an extra for Quillifer's likability.

RECOMMENDATION: Probably Pass On It.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful

I'm selfishly driven to write this review so that Williams will produce many more adventures about Quillifer. My understanding is he plans 6 books in total, I hope he gets there. Quillifer is a little bit of a rogue but one with a good heart. The world he inhabits is fully realized - a sort of analog to the Renaissance.

He makes lots of friends and enemies, gains fortunes and loses them. But at the end of the day what makes this book so affecting is that he really seems to grow as the book goes on from a somewhat callow lad to a man who appreciates that his actions have consequences. All of this before we get to the ongoing battle of wits with a goddess.

Truly an excellent book if you like people who make their own way in the world or appreciate how strange medieval and Renaissance times were. Interesting stuff and well worth a read.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sits somewhere in the part of the Venn diagram where the circles for K.J. Parker and Jack Vance overlap.

The setting feels ... maybe a little bit later than Elizabethan? There are flintlock pistols and sailing ships with multiple decks of cannon. Plus swordplay and a soupçon (and yes, I chose that word mostly because of the ç) of magic.

As things begin, our eponymous narrator Quillifer, 18, the son of a butcher (himself well-respected and one of the town Aldermen), studying to be a lawyer, doesn't have much of a care in the world beyond wine, pleasant dalliance with nice ladies (even if that does occasionally entail leaping naked out of one of those ladies' bedroom windows, angry husband in hot pursuit) and personal advancement. Well that won't last long. Within the first few chapters, his hometown is sacked by raiders (Quillifer missing most of the excitement because of yet another pleasant dalliance) and he'll find himself captured by bandits while en route to the capital to plead for aid; assisted by persons of a very mysterious nature; and caught up in courtly intrigue, rebellion and out-and-out war (and more dalliances) when he finally does reach the capital.

The Parker feel comes from the very specific historical (well, it's an imaginary world, but you know what I mean) period used for the setting, with a plethora of precise terminology for various types of weapons, armor and other bits of gear (although WJW doesn't ever delve quite as deeply into the actual processes of technology as does Parker); the Vance feel comes because it's a picaresque tale of a charming rogue whose opinion of himself may be slightly higher than it deserves to be (although Quillifer is not nearly as much of a monster as some of Vance's protagonists) and who seems to really like the sound of his own voice. Which, fair enough; I also like the sound of his own voice.

Fun, even in the grimmer parts, and I'm looking forward to the sequel.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initially, I thought $12 New Zealand dollars was too much for a kindle book. But I read the sample, and it hooked my interest, so I went ahead.It is a longer book than the page count indicates and I think now the price is higher but not unreasonable.

Good:
- Fast, consistent pacing
- A high performing but realistic hero, who can be identified with
- I haven't read many books set in this technological stage, and learn't quite a few things
- The characters all act true to their nature, and the story unfolds in an organic way. There are no obvious inconsistencies (that I could pick)
- Although there are plenty of women in the book, they are fully functional characters, not romance interests
- Although there are some fimilar themes, overall this was a departure from the standard formulas

Bad:
- I have no complaints, except that it's not a cheap book. But then it's a very good story, and I would pay it again.

[David Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could barely manage to put the book down once I started.

Much better than some of the reviews indicated. A very "Flashman-esque" hero (although arguably more honorable and likable).

[RG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this in short bursts. Its a strange fantast novel for a few reasons. The main character a sort of in and out of law school type is not the most capable of anything. However as the novel develops we do see improvement in this side of things. The humour was well placed and laced throughout the authors writing although I felt like his words really didnt get out of 3rd gear for any scene. Whether it was a conversation or fight scene or general adventure, it just felt like the main character wasnt in any rush.

The plot also didnt exist. It just felt like there was no direction. It was here he is in room 1 oh theres a door to room 2 and now theres a window to room 3. I never felt like he was part of something larger. More so this is our normal type of character within a fantasy world, he isnt special but he has small adventures throughput his lifteime.

Will probably appeal to some readers but at 500 plus pages its a mammoth to get through especially because theres really no consistent plott.

[Joe Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

Five star book. Wonderful prose and wonderful characters. I am richer for having read this novel. Please consider your time allotted for reading this book as I could not put it down.

[Clyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this story. You can always count on Walter Jon Williams for a good read; this is no exception.
Quillifer is set in a fantasy world. However, there seem to be very few fantastical elements. There is one point where he has a problem with some fire-breathing beasties, and a demi-goddess makes an occasional appearance. But other than that, it seems more like a historical novel set in something resembling Tudor England.
This is basically an action/adventure novel. At the start, Quillifer is a young man who grew up working with his father in the butcher's guild but has now been apprenticed to the lawyer's guild. The story starts slowly, building the world and giving a feel for Quillifer and his situation. Then all hell breaks loose and things are never the same again for Quillifer.
He is a well-built fellow, but doesn't think himself a fighter or brave. He prefers to live by his wits and has considerable success with the ladies. I would call him a rake except that he genuinely cares for the women/girls he consorts with. As he moves from adventure to adventure, he finds he must be both a fighter and brave.
We get raider attacks, privateering, deadly encounters with brigands and murderers, do or die military action, a bit of romance, and a considerable amount of humor.
I listened to the audiobook version. Ralph Lister's narration is very good.
Good book. I hope for more adventures of Quillifer.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been somewhat hesitant to start another epic fantasy series comprised of big, blocky books, but I'm glad I finally took the plunge. Quillifer is a charming rogue of a protagonist who suffers tremendous setbacks but always seems to bounce back through bravery and his clever wit. He likes to make up words, too! He's the son of a butcher who was studying to be a lawyer when his city is sacked by pirates, and he sets forth to make his way in the world. The fantasy/magic element is secondary throughout as he falls into one adventure after another, meeting many stalwart companions and a lot of beautiful young women along the way. He reminded me of Cabell's Jurgen, with perhaps a little Leiber's Fafhrd & The Grey Mouser thrown in. The world is very meticulously and convincingly designed; Williams' first books were a series of historical nautical adventures, and he makes good use of that research here. One of the later chapters is the story of the deciding battle in a war and is in very strong contrast to the playful and witty tone of the other sections. It's a big, sprawling epic fantasy, but a lot of fun, too. I look forward to the next one.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, dear. Yet another big ol' fantasy novel (and just the first in a big ol' planned series, at that), wrapped in a faux-distressed parchment-look dust jacket, with a charmingly crude map in the front, a plot replete with gold and guilds, street toughs and lords, fisticuffs and swordplay, and frequent frolics with milkmaids and mermaids, all set in a conveniently anachronistic, semi-feudal, maybe-magical, vaguely-quasi-sorta-British realm... Walter Jon Williams' novel Quillifer might as well have "Extruded Fantasy Product™" stamped on the cover in shiny gold foil. And I've been on such a streak of reading really good books recently, too. Would this be the one to end that run?

Nah... this is Walter Jon Williams we're talking about, after all, one of the relatively few authors whose work I'm willing to pick up on sight. And, while Quillifer didn't quite knock my socks off the way, say, This Is Not A Game did, back in 2010, I was still taken in, and taken along, by this rather enjoyable ride.

Quillifer is Our Hero, a strapping young butcher's son studying law—occasionally, anyway—in the prosperous coastal town of Ethlebight. We meet him in embarrassing circumstances—dangling, literally bare-assed, from a beam projecting from the second story of a wealthy merchant's home, as the merchant in question angrily questions his daughter about her recent visitor. This encounter sets the tone for much of what follows... although Quillifer (and Ethlebight) are in for some extremely dark times, the overall thrust (heh) of Quillifer is light-hearted, self-deprecating, and more than a little risqué.

This dynamic range—from dark to light, from tragic to comical—is a big part of what keeps Quillifer from being mere EFP™. Quillifer's quick wit, sly (and often underhanded) schemes, and raffish, likeable personality are characteristics that have a long line of literary antecedents, going back to all the way to Homer's Odysseus, and reading about Quillifer's adventures here ends up being a lot of fun. Williams does not disappoint.

You'll find yourself reaching for a dictionary—either literally or by typing in search terms—more than once, though. Williams obviously did a lot of historical research about bygone cultures, architecture, agriculture, warfare, et cetera. I have seldom (probably not since embarking upon Stephen R. Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series, in fact) encountered so many terms that were new to me in a single novel. Personally, I enjoyed this, but your mileage, as they say, may vary.

The bottom line is that Quillifer is not your typical EFP, after all. Walter Jon Williams has done the work to make Quillifer and his world believable, relatable, and above all enjoyable... and yes, I'm looking forward to Book 2.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not easy to sum up Quillifer. It's a fantasy, there are supernatural forces at play in this novel and some fantasy creatures play a minor role or even just name-checked, but at its heart, Quillifer is an old-school adventure tale in the vein of Alexander Dumas or Walter Scott. The protagonist is a type favored by Williams - that of a social climber making his way in the world, coming from a humble background to stake his claim to fame and power during a time of crisis. Here we have the son of a butcher, surviving a terrible disaster that forces him to leave his home and find his place in the world during an era of civil war. Along the way he contends with highwaymen and supernatural beings, takes part in court intrigue, survives duels, conspiracies, battles on land and sea, and meddles in affairs of the heart.
the novel is entertaining, mostly because of the character of Quillifer, who wields his wit better than he does his sword. It's also quite enlightening; even though this is a fantasy, the world-building is based on 16/17th century Europe (more specifically, I would say, the English civil war), and Williams has done his homework. The descriptions of urban, court and country life are vivid and full of little details of life in that era, but it is the battle descriptions that shine the most in my mind. military tactics involving the use of cavalry and infantry in the time of muskets, flintlocks and cannon are underused in fantasy and reading about this type of warfare felt fresh.
All in all, Qullifer may not be sublime literature, but it's a rollicking great read.

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh. Barely got 20 pages into it and profoundly disliked the title character. I have better things to do than waste my limited reading time on a total jackass.

[Mjhancock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quillifer seems to be the living proof of his family's rise out of lower class; the son of a butcher, he's being trained to take on the prestigious job of a lawyer. But when disaster takes out his family, his master, and his home city, he is suddenly left destitute. Suddenly the target of bandits, spurned goddesses and angry noblefolk, will the wily Quillifer be able to eke out his way in the world?

After being impressed by a Williams short story, I thought I'd give one of his novels a try. Results are mixed; while it rises above the standard fantasy fare, it was also less impressive than the short story. The tone hearkens back to earlier period of fantasy, but that's probably because it even moreso hearkens back to the 18th c English novel. Like a fantastic Tom Jones, Quillifer's life is less an overarching plot to vanquish some evil or accomplish a main task and more just a series of adventures, varying in scale: the destruction of his home, his meddling attempt at being a playwright, his capture by bandits, his participation in the intrigue of a royal hunt, and so forth. That part I found pretty entertaining; the fantasy world Williams presents is right on the cusp between 17th and 18th century, and that's a really interesting point in real world history (in terms of rooting for the characters, it helps that the fantasy kingdom in question is undergoing a civil war rather than a colonial expansion), with a dab of wildness being reined in by law and bureaucracy.

The book also takes an approach to fantasy that I usually find interesting: the minimalist fantasy world. It's not entirely without magic--at least one of the characters depends on it--but mostly, it's absent. Instead, the fantasy part comes from a world that is based on our own, but isn't our own, which allows for a sort of randomization, a best of hits that can take elements of court intrigue, early law, swashbuckling adventure, and pick and choose what it wants to use. It fits nicely with the episodic approach. And frankly, I'm in favour of this; I'm a little tired of fantasy stories where the only look we get at their world is the great battles or something. I was talking with a friend a while back that the best part of Daniel Abraham's The Coin and The Dagger is the part where one of the main characters builds herself a small financial empire. That sort of action is the best of Quillifer too.

I suppose the worst part of Quillifer for me is, well, Quillifer. He's very much in the mode of that 18th c novel lead: industrious to a fault (his ambition generating friction with the established noble class is a constant theme), a ladies' man, jack of all trades, always ready with a bon mot, yet somehow always frustrated by more powerful but more petty people. He's never quite as annoying as Tom Jones and never as hypocritical, but at the end of the day, he's also kind of bland. He's certainly not as entertaining in his roguish aspects as, say, a swords and sorcery hero, or a Flashman. I think this is a point where the source material fails Williams, because he is more or less as surface level as the figures he's modelled on. I'd much rather read the story from the point of view of almost any of his female conquests than from him. It's a testimony to Williams being able to craft compelling characters, but also kind of a problem.

[Chris Bauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, the absolute best part of the latest work by Walter Jon Williams is found on the cover. Just below the giant Q, in small font, it states - BOOK ONE.

I don't think I've ever read a novel quite like this one. Williams borrows from multiple conventions and mixes them all together with a master's touch to create something completely NEW. I'll likely be trying to decipher many of his methods for months to come.

"Swashbuckling Shakespeare?"
"Swordspoint Meets the Three Musketeers?"

I can't really think of single A+B analogy as the work is that original.

World-building: Absolutely iron-clad and fascinating. A distorted mirror image of Europe with other influences...but not quite. Rich in exquisite detail.

Characters: Deep, transitory, ever-changing. The protag of our tale, Quillifer himself, is a complex being with various drives, flaws and gifts - things get messy time after time. Simply put, not your typical tropey hero. Clever, compassionate, action-oriented, leap-before-look and numerous other adjectives describe the PT. Wish I had a good word to "make up just now."

Plot/Story: The entire progression and escalation, rising tension, resolution cycles are executed perfectly. Quillifer transformed into a "soldier of misfortune" time and time again.

Dialogue: Laugh out loud, coffee-spitting humor throughout.

But the thing which kept me up well past my bedtime night after night were the WORDS. Yes, the words. Williams is incredibly knowledgeable about topics such as military history, ALL things naval and general customs of the "time" and he uses that information as a weapon in the novel. Jaw-droppingly strong exchanges of slurs and invectives, derogatory duels of words rage within these pages. Just every word in the novel is selected and inserted with precision and impact.

The next time some varlet cuts me off in traffic I shall roll down the driver-side window and unload a series of insults I guarantee they have never heard before. Can't wait to call somebody a lolly-gagging ragamuffin, a bawdy and base tatterdemalion or other choice insults. : )

Engrossing, demanding, HUGELY entertaining novel. Amazing to see a master at work. I sincerely hope Williams had at least half as much fun writing the novel as I did reading it.

[MD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adventure fantasy! This book reminds me of the books I used to read to my (reluctant-reader) son - adventures like Treasure Island and Beau Geste. And also a little of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Princess Bride. Updated for the modern age, I suppose, by the addition of s*x-- but it's offscreen so PG. I'd have had no problem with my son reading it, but might have felt a bit awkward reading it to him.

The book begins with a tragedy (well, after an adventurous escape from a young woman's bedroom), and we see Quillifer set out completely on his own now to make his own way in the world. Many adventures ensue as Quillifer encounters pirates, bandits, royalty, and more. The author's descriptions of sea voyages, sea battles, land battles and Quillifer's various escapades really make the action come alive. I also enjoyed his discussions of tactics - both social and military.

This is definitely Book 1 of a series. As one set of adventures draws to a close, the final chapter sets up the scene for what is to come next.

[Peter Tillman]

Paul Di Filippo review:
http://www.locusmag.com/Reviews/2017/...

"In Quillifer, Williams has presented us with a picaresque novel in the grand tradition of Fielding’s Tom Jones, big as life and three times as amazing and affecting. ... by the book’s end, Quillifer has attained a certain precarious security and measure of fame. Yet his adventures are just beginning, and we bid a temporary farewell just as he is on the doorstep of a new kind of untried lifestyle. It does not take the prophesying powers of Orlanda to predict hilarious, frightening and scandalous events ahead in volume two."

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. I'm about 25% of the way through and just decided it's going back on the shelf for a bit--I judge a book by how quickly I want to get back to it, and so far, the story is so 'meh' I find myself not looking forward to reading. I pick up my kindle and think, "Oh yeah, it was that very wordy story about the guy I really don't care about." Reading this is not fun or funny. If I find I care enough to come back to it, I'll edit this review at a later date. For now, it will gather the ether-dust until I pick it up again.

[Redsteve · Rating 5 out of 5]

This answers the question, what if Rafael Sabatini wrote a fantasy novel? OK, I will admit that no one (including myself) was asking that question), but that pretty much describes this novel. The technology, society, and politics are HEAVILY influenced by Elizabethan England (and done very well indeed), but it is set in a different world, with some "alien" animals (including fire-breathing wyverns), at least one non-human race, and fae-like beings. While magic and alchemy ARE mentioned, the story doesn't actually show any and the people of this world seem to be split as to whether they really believe in it or not. Religion and philosophy seem to be heavily influenced by classical Greece, and, thus far, people seem to be spared the Wars of Religion, which is one of the major departures from Elizabethan "canon." I'm giving QUILLIFER a tentative five stars - It's not groundbreaking but I really enjoyed it and I was exceptionally impressed by Williams "alternate Elizabethan" setting.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Williams is one of my favorite authors and rarely disappoints. This fantasy is more an alternate medieval history than standard fantasy - no elves, vampires or monsters. One interfering goddess is about all you get. Williams is a wonderful wordsmith and has written everything from cyberpunk to space opera to post-apocalyptic settings. Highly recommended as usual.

[Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of those books I thought would be a lot better than it was…..I actually didn’t even get through all of it. I just lost interest in the story…..I actually enjoyed some at the beginning and then it just fizzled. Too much else out there I want to read to force something I’m not enjoying. On to the next!

[Leif · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a pleasant surprise to find this fully realized, well-plotted, and deviously addictive book. Williams' prose is lively and intelligent, and perhaps as importantly the kind of light-hearted humour mastered by great fantasists such as Terry Pratchett or Jack Vance (who occupy various ends of the scale between farce and satire). I was in a bit of a reading drought and found myself utterly compelled by Quillifer from start to finish.

If you are looking for a great new character in a fantastical series in the old mode of competency and challenge, Quillifer is for you! Strongly recommended.

[Strangeattractor · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this one, but I didn't.

I think the main issues are that the author is playing with tropes that are presumably fun for him and some readers, but feel tiresome to me, and that we aren't far enough inside the character's head to care about his choices.

If the story had continued more along the lines of the beginning of the book, I might have liked it. I could have gone for a feel-good book about an aspiring law student who has sex with lots of people and plays word games.

Just as I was settling in for that sort of story, the author decided to burn down the guy's entire city.

I was like "Really? You're going to go there?" It reminded me of those animes where it shows a main character having their village burnt down at the beginning, making them an orphan, then skipping to 20 years later.

But then, the story didn't skip to 20 years later, he actually had to deal with the aftermath, and I thought to myself this could be interesting.

Then he learns that there might be a civil war, and he and his companions get taken by bandits, and then he escapes the bandit camp with the help of a goddess, who he then refuses to marry.

I might have been able to go along with that if he had even considered for an instant to accept her proposal, or if the author hadn't just cut off most of his ties to the world including making him an orphan.

I'm not even sure why that scene was in the book. Just so he could have bragging rights later? It doesn't do anything for me. It's a trope that's not fun for me.

Like, really, I'm supposed to understand how the character is like "You know, I'm probably about to be killed by bandits if you don't help me, and pretty much all of my ties to the rest of the world are gone, including my family, and my mission to get help for my city is likely futile because of the impending civil war, but I'm SUPER OFFENDED that you are offering me awesome sex and a long life far away from here. How could you? Clearly, I must stay in the world because...um...I have an errand to run for my friend Kevin."

Why Quillifer, why?

If there was an actual answer to that in the book, I might have kept reading past his subsequent letter to Kevin, but he didn't even consider the decision, just glossed over it.

Someone else might find this book fun. I didn't. I just felt like eye-rolling, a lot.

The one star rating is because Goodreads has a scale of
1 star - did not like it
2 stars - it was ok
3 stars - liked it
4 stars - really liked it
5 stars - it was amazing

In terms of general quality of writing I'd give it about 3 stars.

I like other books by Walter Jon Williams. My favourites are his Drake Majistral stories, and I like the Dread Empires Fall series. If you're looking to read some of his books, I'd recommend starting with either of those series.

[David Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a refreshing "fantasy" story. I use "fantasy" in this way because, similar to GRR Martin, the world of Quillifer isn't very magical. Actually, it's even less magical than Westeros, with only one overtly magical thing happening throughout the entire story. Not only that, but the magical event in question could just have easily been a hallucination or dream and the effect would have been roughly the same. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

This is a great book that I definitely recommend.

I'm sparing you all the synopsis - other reviews will have one, doubtless - and going straight into what works with this one.

The story is expertly told and well paced. Quillifer's first person narration carries us from point to point without wasting time, and yet giving us enough exposure to really settle into this well thought out world. The world itself is a bit of a hodgepodge of Medieval and Renaissance characteristics, but it feels cohesive enough that you can understand how it works.

Characters in the story are extremely well done, with believable personalities and motivations. Best of all, no character, Quillifer included, can really be called good or evil. They're all just people muddling about in the world, each trying to go for what they want. Quillifer himself is quite the lovable rogue. He's no saint, yet if you just read his narration straight you might mistake the point. While his narration tries to be a bit self-effacing and chivalrous, its clear from his actions that he thinks quite well of himself, and isn't afraid to step on someone's toes to get what he wants. Yet he's no villain or anything either. Like everyone else in the story, he's a human being. And that gives him charm.

The story itself is perfectly illustrative of this point. It almost defies simple categorization. It's not your usual fantasy fair (world ending calamity, ancient evil from the forgotten past, hero's journey) but instead focuses on Quillifer's ultimate goal of trying to make money, perhaps the most human of endeavors. A civil war has begun within his homeland, and his home town is ransacked by pirates. Yet Quillifer isn't on some insane quest for revenge or conquest. All he wants is to try and sway the royal court to send aid to his ravaged city. And yet the adventure that unfolds makes that simple wish feel grand and even epic.

I would call this book a light read. While there are some moments of drama, the wit and levity of most of the tale means that even the grimmest moments will ultimately be tempered by some merry capers. But for the kind of story being told, this tone works perfectly.

For those looking to read a pleasant medieval adventure with a lighthearted tone and charming story-telling, this is a must read.

[Tim Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neil Gaiman, or someone else, said, "Write a book you'd want to read." This may be it from WJW.
I liked this as much as I disliked the previous WJW I read recently.

Marty Stu hero? Nope. He's good, smart, flexible ... but not good at some things.
Ridiculously powerful players on both sides? Nope. Just a bunch of soldiers and pirates and nobles and businesspeople, doing the best they can. Some honest, some not. Some kind, some not.

He certainly is a character that things happen to, but for a change he's the one who drives the reaction. He discovers heroism when it is forced upon him, as does Lord Utterback. That was well done.

We're placed in a credible world, with certain political and economic rules that drive everyone's behaviour.

Quillifer responds quite well to a series of challenges, but in the process he gains as many enemies as friends, because that's how it is in realistic worlds. I like that Williams made sure he at least had some money to work with.

The friends-and-enemies thing here reminds me a bit of Brust's Jhereg books.

Some of the shine came off with Lord Wenlock. I find such characters intensely annoying wherever they turn up (for example, about half of the Father Brown rural mystery episodes have a fact-ignoring choleric how-dare-you rager). Except for Wodehouse's Roderick Spode, who is perfect.

I will read the next one because I want to see how it comes out with the two, three, maybe four women who all have the power to change his life 90 degrees with the slightest of effort.

I liked Quillifer's inventions of new words, some of which already exist but he doesn't know it, and his narratorial wordplay, Near the end, Q ascends to a roof by a series of architectural things you never knew the names of, and then down the other side by three more of the same. This is clearly an author having fun.

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think i liked this book more than the 2 stars I gave it, but I also think I enjoyed it only because it was...unique; unique in the way that Williams leverages his mastery of vocabulary & style to tell his tale.
The story was cute, although it was set in more of a renaissance than fantasy world (I don't know why i was expecting more of a fantasy romp, to be honest), and our Hero, Qualifier, enjoys a fraught journey of love, fortune, loss and camaraderie that is interesting.
Interesting, but not a world of character I feel I would need to revisit in a series.
So it was a nice read that had me using the built-in dictionary in my Kobo more than I ever have for any book, which was at times amusing, enlightening and...humbling.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful romp in a fantasy lite, pseudo-Elizabethian world. Young Quillifer is studying to be a lawyer and at 18 is already quite the lady's man. All is well with the world until pirates attack and take his city, killing his family and enslaving other citizens. This starts his series of adventures, escaping from bandits, fighting battles and having affairs. One of his dates, turns out to be a supernatural creature, who's not happy about being dumped, and proceeds to mess with his life.

Reminds me a bit of K.J. Parker and other grimdark authors, though thankfully not quite so dark as that crowd. I do like the portrayal of war, confusing and nasty and not a glorious game. A Worldcon panel recommendation.

[Jefferson · Rating 3 out of 5]

“a gift for showing mortals as they really are”

Walter Jon Williams’ Quillifer (2017) is a picaresque fantasy novel set in a secondary world that parallels late-Renaissance Europe: gunpowder, firearms, and artillery are replacing heavy armor on the battlefield; the rivalrous countries are monarchies with aristocrats atop the social and political pyramid; the printing press has expanded education to commoners; poets and playwrights are in demand; guilds run the labor sphere; and age of sail sea power for trade and privateering is vital. An unmarried, untested princess even becomes Queen after the death of her father. The differences between Williams’ Duisland and Elizabethan England are the existence of fantastic creatures like dragons (though in the novel only a few small wyverns play a cameo) and the persistence of polytheism alongside the dominant religion worshipping “the Compassionate Pilgrim.” Oh, and an absence of exploration and colonization and of people of color as they are in our world (there is a humanoid race of gold-skinned and strange-eyed Aekoi, remnants of an “Empire” whose glory days are long past but whose literature and language are still studied in the white countries).

Our first-person guide to this world is Quillifer (his only name), an eighteen-year-old butcher’s son apprentice lawyer crackling with charisma, confidence, intelligence, humor, and folly. Williams uses a creaky and excrescent conceit for his narrative, having Quillifer tell his life story (which takes nearly nineteen hours as an audiobook!) in one sitting to a new lover who remains passively and fragrantly listening, nearly forgotten, and unidentified until the end of the novel. Because of his youthful energy, ambition, joie de vivre, and recklessness (“Content is not for the young and dauntless, those who wish to brand the world with their mark”), Quillifer is repeatedly doing something clever and foolish and getting into and out of a fix, all with increasingly higher stakes, including scenes in which he flees an interrupted tryst bare-arsed over city rooftops, serves a writ on a sharp practicing knight among his hounds and servants, gets captured by bandits, enters the world of a goddess, enhances the comedy of a play, arranges a sea battle, fights in a land battle, and much more. He ever evinces a gift for making enemies in high places and friends in lower ones. Throughout his (mis)adventures, he wonders how much of what happens to him is due to “necessity” (fate), to “divine malevolence,” or to his own ambition.

Quillifer says he’s no swordsman, assassin, spy, or equestrian, but then, what is he? He starts coming across as a protean Johnny-on-the-spot entrepreneur dealing in military contracts, stolen treasure, prize ships, and pillaged deeds. He should be an actor in his friend Blackwell’s troupe, for when trying to persuade people he assumes a number of faces, from learned-advocate and exasperated-bailiff to attentive-courtier and innocent-choirboy. He is surely a lover of teenage girls and young ladies unmarried or married (one senses a goaty author enjoying Quillifer with mermaids and milkmaids and pregnant 17-year-old duchesses) who can’t understand why their men-folk should so oppose young people enjoying life (the novel is heteronormative--even his friend the Duke of Roundsilver, who is rumored to be a “degenerate” and affectedly says r like w is happily married and never comes on to Quillifer).

Williams writes all of the above things with panache, enthusiasm, and attention to historical detail--he must have researched the late Renaissance quite a bit, from the many different weapons and armor and ships to the poets and dramatists and language of the era. He loves language, so he has Quillifer (and a bandit and a goddess) indulge in coining new words like baseless, logomania, poetastical, credent, and unhoused. He writes colorful insults like “soulless mechanicals” and savory vintage dialogue like “Perhaps you should restrain your impulse to hurl yourself so whole-heartedly into situations fraught with ambiguity.” Indeed, the best moments in the book probably consist of Quillifer talking about philosophy, politics, love, war, chess, gunpowder, gods, plays, laws, and the like.

And Williams writes many vivid descriptions, whether of ships, war, food, clothes, people, buildings, or action. Numerous neat touches, like an old man whose “voice sounded like a blind mouse scrabbling in its nest of paper” or the hail shot fired from a cannon making “wild wailing cries in the air.” He’s everywhere exuberant, even in a throwaway detail like the following that illustrates the Elizabethan vibe, Williams’ realism, and Quillifer’s character: “On my return to the quay I tarried by a barber’s shop, and there sought a preventative for parturience. My last packet of sheaths I had left with Annabel Greyson, and I could but hope her father hadn’t found them, proof of her perfidy.”

Ralph Lister reads the audiobook professionally and enthusiastically, though I found his manner and voice for female characters grating, turning almost all of them into nasal shrews.

Through the course of his misadventures Quillifer matures, coming to a “healthy to laugh at ourselves” appreciation of “mortals as they really are, scheming and blundering in their vain useless way to catastrophe,” and so because I enjoyed Williams’ language and hijinks, I intend to read the next book in the series--and not only to find out what his hero will do next. But if you don’t want to read a very white, very heterosexual, very male, and very European historical fantasy with plenty of verbal play and physical action, you might want to pass.

[J. Griff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think i liked this book more than the 2 stars I gave it, but I also think I enjoyed it only because it was...uncommon. Uncommon for the mastery of vocabulary & writing style to share this adventure.
The story was cute, although it was set in more of a renaissance than fantasy world and our Hero, Quilifier, enjoys a fraught journey of love, fortune, loss and camaraderie that is interesting.
Interesting, but not a world of character I feel I would need to revisit in a series.