Ubalblog

[  Mood: Sick ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC Radio ]
A while back, the Roundtable looked at the topic of Race in Fantasy Fiction. During the discussion, author Ika Koek mentioned this book as one we all should read if we are interested in exploring the topic.

So off to the library went I.

This book definitely falls into the big, fat fantasy fiction category. At 672 pages, even its paperback edition could cause injury if dropped from a height. It is also a book that would be perfect for that long bus ride to the con or the forced family beach vacation.

To Ride Hell’s Chasm tells the story of Mykkael is an outsider in the kingdom of Sessalie. He won his position of Captain of the Garrison through a stunning victory in a tourney, but that doesn’t mean he is trusted by the general populace. His skin colour points him out as different to everyone around him. His refusal to play politics only serves to grind his rise above his station into the faces of the minor nobility. Yet, he is supremely competent in his job and has earned the respect of his superior and the king.

Then Princess Anja disappears right before her betrothal banquet. Mykkael, along with the rest of the city guard, is charged with her recovery. But Mykkael sees sorcery at work, and given that he is an outsider, he is the most likely suspect. Now he must fulfill his pledge to the king and find the princess while keeping one step ahead of those who would lock him up for being the guilty party. And let’s not forget those who would stop him before he uncovers their plans.

Author Janny Wurts has written an exploration of race set in a traditional high fantasy world. She explores what it means to be different in a suspicious society. This book could have easily been about a Muslim special forces member post 9-11 or a Japanese cop in WWII San Francisco. And this is the strength of the book. Through Mikkael’s eyes we see the slights and insults, the constant questioning of his abilities. And it makes the reader uncomfortable.

But it is also Mikkael that is the weakness of the story. He is the archetypical action hero, able to continue after most people would have succumbed to injury and exhaustion. He is the only one that has the protective marks that, paired with his first hand experience of fighting sorcerers that can ward off the impeding black magic empire. And that gets a little tired after awhile, especially in a book of this length.

In some ways, this book is two books. The first half is the long, slow burn as Mikkael tries to figure out what happened to Anja as suspicion builds against him. The second half of the book has much more of a breakneck speed, as Mikkael is forced to flee the city, all while still trying to find Anja. This half of the book flies by as Wurts ramps up the action.

Not an easy book to read, but worth the time.