Hour of the Octopus

D'Shai #2

by Joel Rosenberg

On the eve of a grand royal wedding, a nobleman is killed with a hunting arrow. The priceless tapestries of the bridal keep are stained with blood. And the fatal arrow bears the mark of the prime suspect--the bridegroom himself.

Only one person can solve such a crime. A man named Kami, who defied the Fifty-Two Ways of D'Shai... by creating a Fifty-Third profession.

The ancient world of D'Shai would call him Discoverer-of-Truth.

Today, we would call him one hell of a detective.

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Fiction, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

272 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1994

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Note: This is a different person than the political/thriller author, Joel C. Rosenberg

Joel Rosenberg was the author of the bestselling Guardians of the Flame books as well as the D'Shai and Keepers of the Hidden Ways series. He made his home in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Reviews

[Cera · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sequel to D'Shai picks up soon after the end of the first book, but could certainly be read on its own -- indeed, if I remember correctly it doesn't even give away the solution to the first novel's mystery, although I suppose the fact that Kami is still alive and well is a hint that things resolve more or less in his favour.

As in D'Shai, the strength of the novel lies in the world-building; Kami's social position has improved, and with it his access to the upper classes, so the reader sees a somewhat different slice of the world than in the first novel. There's a reasonable mystery, although not great, and the revelation scenes are not handed in a way that will please Golden Age fans -- but then again, it's a fantasy novel.

Kami continues to be arrogant and annoying to me as a reader, but he *is* learning, and while I found some of his beliefs about the world to be at odds with the rest of the book, the POV for the reader shifts between various limited 3rds, so the reader understands other people's motivations better than Kami does. The craft of this works well, but I don't like the way it makes me unsympathetic to Kami; I'd rather share his beliefs and then share his surprise when he's wrong.

I do wish Rosenberg could get more books set in this world published.

[Jasna Maksimovic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting premise -- that every person has the potential (or does, it's not clear) for profession-related magic in a feudal society reminiscent of Japan or China with it's rigid social caste rules and preference for indirect speech.

At the same time, there is virtually no character development, all characters are cardboard cutouts who don't go through any personal development and I won't even mention any female characters because they don't exist except as sources of gratification for the main character.

After about the umptyleventh mention of MC's favourite expression of cynicism towards the prevailing social structure the attitude begins to wear on the reader. Events seem to just happen around the MC including some pretty devastating personal developments (in the first book) but there's virtually no introspection or growth -- the MC just rolls along, occasionally expressing bitterness at one personal event and almost indifference at the second significant personal event.

Forgettable and eminently showing it's age in the treatment of female characters.

[Myra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this book in a box of old books and had to hunt down book 1 in order to read book 2. I enjoyed book 1 well enough but I wasn't sure if book 2 would really deliver anything different. You know, it wasn't terribly different and yet it was new enough to be fun. There are still the issues of the nobility versus the commoners but not quite as much. This is more about Kami trying to fit into the world of nobility, and learn more about his special abilities.

I'm just not sure why it's called the Hour of the Octopus.

I'm also not sure why there isn't a third book. Not that it NEEDS it, and yet, there's so much more of the world and magic system to explore!

[Bridget Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fantasy meets mystery meets James Bond-esqe treatment of female characters. Good writing style but pulp as pulp can be.

[Kenn Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fitting end to the story of Kami. Another murder to solve which could save a friend as well as a dynasty.

The descriptions of the feasts always made me hungry.

[Joel Flank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hour of the Octopus by Joel Rosenberg is the sequel to the fantasy mystery D'Shai. This book picks up shortly after D'Shai ends, with the hero, Kami still adjusting to his new life as a court "seeker of truth" AKA detective, and having to deal with nobles on a daily basis, without the support of his friends and family from his previous life as a traveling acrobat. Since this is a sequel, not as much time is spent introducing the world and the background of the characters, which leaves more time to explore the noble caste and all of the difficulties that Kami has trying to fit in his new role as a bourgeois. Of course, after some social manipulation, Kami finds himself in the middle of a wedding party traveling to a neighboring city, where he has to deal with nobles from all over, instead of simply those in Den Oroshti. Once there, it doesn't take long for his skills to be put to use, which gains him new enemies and allies.

Of course, what would a mystery be without a murder? Eventually, there is one, and Kami has to prove himself once again or his life is forfeit. Along the way, Kami must deal with treacherous nobles, twice the number of wizards as in D'Shai (that would be 2), and the seductive fiancee of his only friend in the noble caste. Rosenberg again brings light humor to the book, without taking away from the dramatic tension, as well as plenty of mind twisting conundrums of who committed the murder and how did they accomplish it. Up until the very end of the book, not all is as it seems, and the reader is kept guessing. I especially like how this book raised the stakes from the previous one by making the plot revolve around multiple noble factions compared to life of commoners from D'Shai. I would really enjoy another sequel, which raised the stakes again by involving the royal court and visiting dignitaries of the smelly foreigners who are referred to a few times in the series, but never seen. Considering that this was published back in 1994, I'm guessing I'll have to live without a third book in the series, but the fact that I wish there was more shows just how much I liked this book.

[Sbuchler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Fantasy (with a strong mystery bent)

Exactly the sort of light read that is great for reading on the treadmill. The main charactor's voice is very strong (it's mostly a first person narrator) and the blinders he wears are equally strong, and are only really pointed out to the reader at the end - which is a twist I liked. I'm not much of a mystery reader, but the plot is a murder mystery; however, mystery fans may feel a little cheated - so much of the resolution seems to be intuited... but mayhap I just missed the clues.

[Macha · Rating 4 out of 5]

my first book by this author and i'll look for more. i like this subgenre anyway, but this one's nicely executed: the world-building was elaborate, the characters sprightly, and the puzzles actually qualified as well-constructed mysteries.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first picked this up at a garage sale umpteen years ago; I can't believe that anyone who's actually read the book would sell it to a fourth-grader, but I'm glad they did. Loved it then, love it now.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am SAD that there are no more books in this series. I like it very much.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detective story, Oriental setting. Well-narrated. The first book in this series is pretty good, too.

[Not-just-yeti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but has lost the new-world sheen of the original. (Also, the mystery component is less in this sequel.)

[Taddow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book on my way to Army Basic Training and I thought that it was good read though not as enjoyable as Rosenberg's Guardians of the Flame series. It was an interesting setting.

[Howard Brazee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the first book in the series, the magic system is wonderful. I find the beloved leaders to be too much like reality though.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent fantasy mystery mesh from Rosenberg

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

January 6, 2002

[Carol]

good read.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved, loved, loved this! I picked this up in a used bookstore and began it without realizing that it was the second in the duology; I couldn't put it down long enough to wait for the first to come by mail. Kami is a character of great intelligence and wit. His scorn of "our beloved ruling class" (a saying he uses privately and constantly to great humor) is balanced by his constant awareness of the dangers of angering or overstepping with them. Obviously having solved a thorny mystery in the first book, he was elevated to become the first of his class/profession "The Discoverer of Truth". Now he is handed a second, a locked room kind of mystery. There are many political forces at work and countless eyes on the murder and his handling of it. Kami treads oh so carefully, afraid for his life regardless of outcome. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and didn't even come close to solving it--the twist was great! But apart from the mystery I was hugely entertained by the descriptions of the workings of this world. Everything was imagined from the food to the class system, even down to the names of the hours of the day. All of this is conveyed very richly and never in a tiresome or overdone way. I fell into the world and Kami's character and couldn't put the book down. There are small twists along the way and a surprising end to the mystery but the end of the book took my breath away it was so stunning. I am supremely sad that not only are there only two in the "series" but that Rosenberg has passed away, meaning there will never be another--or a chance to ask his motivations! I only give 5 stars to life changing books, but this is surely a 4.5 easily.

[Jared Manning]

I finally gave up on this book after trying to read it for six months. The pacing and dialogue were simply too bland for my tastes. That's not to say that the book was written poorly; it wasn't. This was just a case of a book not being for me.