I don't read a lot of fantasy these days (of the swords,
sandals and sorcery ilk, anyway) but Drakenfeld
came well recommended so, when in the mood for something different, I decided
to give it a try. There is the traditional pre-gunpowder feudal culture in the
form of ten separate monarchies linked by a non-aggression pact overseen by the
Sun Chamber, which maintains its own army and whose officers act as
investigators. Lucan Drakenfeld is one such officer, a young man who has been
working far from home with the assistance of Leana, a female warrior from
another culture. He receives a message from the Sun Chamber to advise him of
the death of his father, the resident officer in Tryum, the capital of Detrata
and Lucan's home city, and to instruct him to travel to Tryum to tidy up his
father's affairs.
Lucan has no sooner arrived than the King's sister is found
murdered in a temple, locked from the inside. The circumstances appear
impossible so Lucan has to use his wits to work out what happened. Another
high-profile murder shortly afterwards tests his resources to their limits, and
he is not helped by discovering that his father was not the pillar of
respectability he had always believed. The rediscovery of the love of his life
is also a major distraction. He eventually solves the problems, which all prove
to be interrelated, although the finale leaves various loose ends, both
personal and political.
I enjoyed this book: it is well-written with good
characterisation, Lucan being an admirable and likeable hero although his
right-on 21st century attitudes, especially towards women, seem a
little improbable in this context. The ambivalent relationship between Lucan
and Leana is intriguing; there is no more than a suggestion of possible magic,
Lucan depending on his powers of logical analysis to unravel the plot; and the
whole story has more of an adult feel than usual (although not in the sense of
being sexually explicit, which it isn't). There is just one scene in which
gruesome events take place (curiously, that is the very first one, so there is
a risk that some people might be put off). If I were interested in writing
fantasy, this is the kind of story which I would want to be able to write. I
read it quickly and immediately sent off for the sequel, Retribution.
***************************
Retribution
continues the story of Lucan and Leana, who have now left Detrata for the
neighbouring state of Koton and specifically its capital city, Kuvash. A
mystery about a missing priest soon becomes a murder enquiry, followed by a
second and a third – and Lucan is racing against time to discover what links
these high-profile killings before there are yet more deaths, against a
background of increasing inter-state tension. So far, so much the same as the
previous book, although the story is not as gripping as the plot is less
complex and Lucan is not put through such a tough emotional mill.
What did surprise and disappoint me is the writing style,
which is distinctly inferior to Drakenfeld.
The first hint of this is on page 1, with the sentence: "The sudden deluge
delighted them and their faces creased in innocent delight." The
repetition of "delight" is a little jarring. I noticed many occasions
on which the word choice, if not incorrect, seemed inappropriate for the
context or for the speaker, and one (repeated) error in which
"vagaries" is used when it is clear that "vagueness" was
the meaning the author wanted to convey. Sentence construction can also be
rather clunky, as in this extract from pages 3 and 4:
A figure tramped
quickly up through the swamp-like gardens of the station post. As she marched
along the deck her boots thudded on the wet wood. It was my companion Leana.
She took the steps up towards me two at a time. Her wax coat was sodden, even
though the journey to the gatehouse to check for any new messages was short. A
thick leather cylinder was clutched in her hand.
All of this meant that my enjoyment of the book kept being
undermined by shortcomings in the writing. I was left with the impression that
Newton might have worked out the outline of the plot then passed it to some
less talented writer to flesh out. At the very least, the writing needed much
firmer editing to achieve the polish of the original book.
Curiously, Newton doesn't seem much interested in the
series. His own website lists Retribution
as "coming soon" (it was published in 2014), and while the conclusion
leaves various loose ends which clearly set up a third volume, there is no sign
of this appearing.
