Highlander's Book Reviews

“Path Of Revenge“

by Russell Kirkpatrick

Format: Paperback, 654 pages.

Publisher: Orbit, 2008.

Book 1 of the broken man trilogy arrived on my doorstep with a satisfying thump, clearly this was going to require a fair old investment of time, at 654 pages any book needs to be good to hold a readers attention and to repay the readers investment (both in time and money). The fact that I am now writing the review shows that it worked but the journey was not always a smooth one.

Russell Kirkpatrick is a geographer who makes maps for a living, real maps for real people. Luckily he has also turned his Slartibartfast talents to fantasy and has created maps of such detail and quality that I almost logged onto google earth to try to find these places. Now I know there are debates raging in the fantasy world about the need for maps (one example here) and there appear to be those who either love or hate them. I love maps, as objects in their own right but frankly I don’t really have a preference in fantasy novels. In “The Blade Itself” Joe Abercrombie used no maps but his world was still a strong vibrant place but I have found myself referring to maps time and again as I have been reading George R R Martins’ tomes. What is clear here is that the maps are only the tip of an iceberg in the world creation process used by Russell Kirkpatrick.

The book takes place in the same world of “Faltha” as Kirkpatrick’s recent “Fire Of Heaven” trilogy, a series which I have not read. It even has some of the same characters and the story is a continuation of the previous arc. Now I am sure if you had read these previous novels then you will be in a better position to judge this book in a deeper and more meaningful way than I am but this seemed to work fine as a standalone novel albeit with references to previous events which seemed slighty obtuse.

The book charts the progress of three interrelated quests, that of “Neotos” the fisherman, “Lenares” the cosmographer and “Stella” the Queen. Whilst all have different reasons for their journeys they are all being drawn towards the lands of the undying man by “Husk” a once-powerful magician, defeated by the undying man and now seeking revenge. So far, so fantasy, solid characters, some magic, bit of a quest and some nice maps, what it really needs now is lots of action to sustain the reader through the 650 pages…ahh, now we might have a bit of a problem there.

First of all, let me say, that I found the world within this novel immensely satisfying. Elevated beyond mere fantasy stereotypical landscapes into a living breathing world, the small details contributing to large scale panoramic vistas of fascinating places. The characters too were interesting and clearly many have back-stories which will be developed and revealed as the series moves on. Hell, even the plot, despite being basic fantasy meat and two veg is nicely introduced and I think will open up nicely. No, there is only one thing wrong with this book, it’s far, far too long. I think this book at 400 pages or so it would have romped along, retaining all the good points and losing the bad. Interestingly Russell Kirkpatrick almost identifies the problem in his own interview included in the extra material (thanks Orbit, I love these bits) at the back of the book when he says :-

” I’m never impressed by fantasy where the characters buzz around with no regard for the crushing distances and obstacles thrown up by the world”.

He may well have a point but when the reader has to experience these crushing distances through a monotonous travelogue then I think the writer has failed to achieve a balance and I’m afraid this is the case in this book, the action takes place, we experience a long journey and another bit of action takes place.

Having said all that, the book recovered enough to draw me back in just when I though about giving up. the glimpses of “Husk”, the tales of the Undying Man, the evil recruiters and the world politics were all enough to keep me going. I think this series has potential to improve, I just hope Mr Kirkpatrick can be persuaded to liven up the journey next time round, a bit of buzzing (now and then) may make it a bit more exciting for all concerned.

Rating 3 out of 5