To Ride Hell's Chasm

2016 reread: This is an enticing, entertaining, thought-provoking and unpredictable adult fantasy story, brought alive with poetic prose and driven by unforgettable characters. This hidden gem, which I discovered thanks to the wonderful Goodreads Community, is also my entry point into the work of Janny Wurts who has fast become my favourite epic fantasist.

Her novels helped me define what kind of story truly resonates with me. I used to equate epic fantasy with Lord of the Rings, which I loved, but I didn’t want to invest my time in read-alikes and so my preconceptions led me to disregard a great genre. Today some of the authors I admire, along with Wurts, are Erikson, Kay, Berg and Martin, all great adult novelists -- mostly of epic show more fantasy.

I love complex, sweeping stories with both global stakes and personal drama. I revel in Machiavellian intrigue and guarded secrets. I want engaging plots and believable twists. I delight in detailed and realistic battles. I like inference and foreshadowing. I enjoy witty humor and harrowing choices. I want interesting, well-rounded and memorable characters. I want carefully-planned stories which are consistent and layered. I want top-notch storytelling and a prose that goes beyond decoration. I want an immersive experience where the story doesn’t lack internal logic and where my assumptions are upended most often than not. I want to feel, to think and be surprised, to be challenged and entertained.

Yeah, I’m an easy reader. I like several genres and I love light or tawdry reads as well, but the stories that hit me hard emotionally and intellectually are, invariably, epics with many of the above characteristics. Such stories are normally served in series format because “slow-burning and clever”, possibly with quite a number of characters to manage effectively, involves several volumes and a generous time span.

However, Anja’s, Mykkael’s, Taskin’s tale and Sessalie’s plight prove that all I love in fantasy can also fit a standalone book with a five and one-half day plot.

One of the first things you notice about To Ride Hell's Chasm is its unique prose. You either hate or love Wurts’ style, which is so her, I would recognize it anywhere. She fleshes-out her adult novels with depth and scope of language, daring the reader to dive in for an intense emotional rollercoaster of high visual impact.
This tale is no exception, and it is there, in every paragraph, in every chosen word that lay all the subtle nuances and clues which bring the story forward so richly. The first time I read it my attention was initially divided between understanding and events. The second time I simply fell into the rhythm of the storytelling and I became totally caught up in the tale.
Diversity, clash of cultures, the conflict between prejudices and effective listening, between principles and personal moral codes are some of the absorbing themes so originally (book published in 2002, when you rarely found dark-skinned protagonists) and seamlessly woven into the story.

I appreciated again the world-building and the magic system. As I followed the two unlikely investigators, I thought about tiny Sessalie’s and its citizens’ reasonable fears, about cooperative efforts and integration. I smiled at Jussoud’s patient understanding of both the strong-headed protagonists. I felt frustrated at their stubbornness and at Mykkael’s aggravating behavior, noticing how well it bears testament to the worldly experience of a scarred, foreign veteran who had an idea about the dire threat behind a seemingly mundane problem.
I liked again the second part of the book, set in the wilderness, action-filled and relentless. I loved that well-developed protagonists with personalities and attitudes don’t necessarily need a human-like ability to speak.
When I reached the powerful denouement, this time I enjoyed it unconditionally because it was so natural, I would not have wanted a different outcome. I also came to realize, contrary to my first impression, that while this tale is resolved, the setting has sequel potential.

Okay, this is probably part review, part love letter to my favorite literary genre and part shout-out to the incredibly eclectic author who triggered (and nurtured) it all.
To Ride Hell's Chasm is an innovative and forward-thinking book which holds a special place in my heart, the more so because by revisiting I recognized resonances and implications which I had missed before. While savoring again the events and developments I was better able to piece together the whole picture, and what was love with some minor gripes two years ago, has now turned into awe. The planning behind this story is impressive, every dialogue counts and not one member of the cast is willing to break character or compromise individual integrity to cater to the reader.
I had fun and knowing where this was going was just an afterthought. This, I think, it’s the power of a story which gets better every time you read it.

Warmly and forever recommended.


‘Death has no repeal. It is a brute ending that leaves us the legacy of an inscrutable silence. Therefore, I understand the voice of mercy very well.’ show less

This book came as a surprise. As always, praise be sung to the Goodreads community for their recommendations. This is the first book I've read by Janny Wurts and I'll surely look for more of her works.
To Ride Hell's Chasm is uniquely written, and at first I struggled with the complex phrasing, the subtle choice of words, and the masterful descriptions. Yet the plot, carefully unwinding in the first part of the book, and the compelling characters, fully rounded and intriguing, did not fail to make me feel for this great book, and devour page after page, craving more.

The book opens with the sudden disappearance of the princess of a small and secluded kingdom on the night of her betrothal party, and the captains of the city garrison and show more the royal guards are tasked with the investigation. The first is Mykkael, a mysterious foreigner and an unrelenting commander burdened by a heavy past, whose fighting prowess and integrity of character divide the opinions of both his men and his employers. The second is Taskin, the long-serving right-hand of the king, a man of high moral values: just, stern and stalwart, a warrior born and nourished in a sheltered kingdom, but thanks to his intellect, not hidebound. The world-building is powerful, truly evocative in both the urban and the wilderness backdrop, and the fascinating, multifaceted magic system plays an important part in the story.

The carefully tended cast of characters is a real gem. I absolutely loved the main characters interaction, they take center stage so smoothly that I think I related to the investigation through them, and got frustrated along with them at the inevitable clash of cultures and prejudices.
Taskin didn't despise or destroy what he could not understand and I think his reliance and growing relationship with Jussoud (or the fact that he acknowledged the qualities of a foreigner in the first place) is a consequence of that: he cannot understand Mykkael but he perceives honesty behind his behavior and cannot blindly dismiss him; even when the evidence seemed to prove him differently, Taskin coherently keeps probing, and he starts to change by small degrees during the story as reaction to the events and to Mykkael's unyielding convictions. He's solid and loyal and very human: his stubbornness and hesitations were aggravating but greatly in-character for a man whose core beliefs were being so badly shaken, all things considered he behaved admirably.
I resonated with this pair and the secondary characters, while the mystery tightens and the tension grows, and then when I thought all the carefully laid details and pieces were going to click into place I was in for big surprises instead, as Taskin and Mykkael get entangled by more layers of intrigue, collisions and sudden turns of events.
The whole story unrolls in a few days, the first part set in the city and immediate surroundings, the second mainly set outside the capital city of Sessalie, and it is indeed a race against impossible odds, where there is no hewn line of action and the reader is thrown off-balance in his certainties.
I was engaged in reading about both the princess and the warrior riding in Hell's Chasm and the warded in the castle growing to realize the truth behind the disappearance of Anja, and slowly coming to the understanding that only concerted efforts can save the kingdom from doom.
I couldn't help comparing the differences in the story as the main setting changes from urban to wilderness, but I enjoyed every page of the book, and most importantly, the epilogue with its intensity, its coral quality, the possibility that selfless courage and acceptance still retain the power to redeem a tormented soul in a intense denouement. Personally I would have liked that things could have gone differently, but as they were coherence demanded no less and I appreciated the author didn't offer a complaisant solution; endings are a vital linchpin of a good story and can make the difference between a book I like and I book I love thru and thru and which will always be a favorite, like To Ride Hell's Chasm. I was left with a bitter sense of void when I reached the last page, and a slight vexation at knowing the story had truly reached its end.

I empathized with the pair Taskin and Mykkael as they tried to delineate the circumstances of the princess disappearance and the suspects parties; I enjoyed the second part of the book as well, more action-packed and fast paced, and the denouement, which, while entirely coherent, left a bit of hurried aftertaste and a longing for a less steep epilogue, particularly after the care deployed in the urban-set part of the book. I liked the princess as well, and she is not wanting for intensity, but I missed the balance of uncertainties and the keen undertones of the Taskin/Mykkael conflict.

Janny Wurts' writing style features an incredibly focused vocabulary and she literally paints the story with carefully evocative words and studied linguistic structures. Her deep poetic style is of great emotional impact, and for me it became an element in its own right, which added an uniqueness to the events narrated, the pace set and the characters portrayed, and was not only a medium of ancillary importance to convey plot and images. That's what I felt with Hell's Chasm and that is probably why I related so strongly at once, to that engaging complexity that just pulls you in and doesn't let you go (also, being English a second language, had I found this choice a simple exercise of style I would have had no motivation to go on: the language must needs fit the story). I agree it is a matter of taste and expectations, and this kind of writing may not be to everybody's taste, but I was glued to this book from start to end, and the style enhanced my reading experience.

Adult fantasy at his best, wonderfully written, thought provoking, with unforgettable characters, involving, entertaining and unpredictable. Warmly recommended. show less

Wow! Janny told me the story got really exciting during the last half. Wrong! It was really exciting all the way through. If there is any fault at all in the book, it is that the excitement NEVER slacks off & it's really hard to put down. That's not really fair when it is so long - yet seems not long enough. I'd love to read more about this world & its characters.

The plot is beautifully crafted, lovingly revealed & the resolution left me gasping (& a bit teary eyed). The characters are amazingly human, yet heroic, each in their own way. The prose is a bit dense at times. Each word was obviously chosen with professional care, so be warned if you like to quickly skim a novel - don't do it. You might get away with it with this one, but you show more don't want to. The description is too acute, the world perfectly formed & a quick read will simply dim it.

My highest praise is reserved for her handling of the horses. Obviously, she KNOWS horses. She knows their strengths, weaknesses & personalities. Yes, each horse has a personality. They're not simply hooved cars. They're not cutsey, caricatures, either. There is no anthropomorphism here. They're every bit as 'real' as the fictionalized humans. If you don't know horses, there may be a few terms that could use some definition, but not many. Most are well enough described. The 'near' side of a horse is the left side, for instance. It is a proper equestrian term.

Anyway, it's a fantastic read & I highly recommend it. I've yet to be disappointed by one of her books & this one just raised my esteem for her writing another notch. show less

A fantasy book that introduces good characters early, but only slowly reveals itself. By the end it's all tied together, and quite wonderfully.

For whatever reason, I'm obsessed with the structure of the book. The feel changes quite a bit as the book progresses. The first part comes across as really nicely written, but a bit slow. It gives the book a rich feel, with enjoyable character build up. But, it's tough going, something about the wording which I can't quite explain; in a way the words only indirectly describe what is actually happening.

At some point, that same "rich" feel became instead more like a thick feel. The story slows, the description stays the same, and things seem to go slow-motion. Then it gently picked up again, but show more with a new and very different feel. The end is total rush of story and realization - and suddenly you appreciate everything. I found myself constantly rethinking things through.

A better summary is this, from a post by LT user reading_fox:

"I found the shape of the book to be something somewhat like riding a river over a waterfall - there is a long slow period where you are in a deep moving current, you then find this is too strong to get out of but not especially fast, then very rapidly you are swept into the maelstrom battered and ripped by currents and at the far of the plunge pool you emerge shaken and into placid waters once more." show less

Its been so long since i have read a standalone fantasy book. Seems like they are so rare these days.

To Ride Hell's Chasm is a wonderful book filled with politics, suspense, action and intrigue crafted with beautiful prose and detailed world building. The author clearly explains how hard it is for peoples with different races and cultures to work together and how much peoples are blamed for things just because of their cultures and races and skin colour.

The story of this book revolves around the disappearance of princess Anja of the kingdom of Sessaile on the eve of her betrothal with the prince of the neighbouring country of Deval. The task of finding and rescuing this princes is given to the king's guard captain Taskin and the show more Lowergate captain Mykkael. This is where the problem starts, even though Mykkael was apt and excellent in his job, just because he is a dark skinned man in a country full of white skinned people, he was always blamed, doubted and questioned by everyone. The remaining story is about how these two people put away their differences and rescue the princess while maintaining the kingdom's peace and protecting it from whoever kidnapped the princess.

Like i said, culture and racism plays a bigger part in this story. Even though Mykkael was a good guy and best in his job, he was always accused and questioned. Taskin on the other hand, has his doubts and questions but he was always true to his job and responsibilities. From a readers point of view i can see and understand from both of their perspective and why they act this way but still, some decisions other characters make will make me slap them and tell them why are you making things even worse?

Regarding the world building and prose of the story, it was difficult for me to enjoy the book with this beautiful prose at the beginning of the book but i can adjust them and started to enjoy it after a couple of chapters. I think this prose is necessary for you to enjoy the story and the world building because the book is not only about the plot but also the characters and the world around them.

Being said so, i would definitely like to come back to this book in the future after some years. I really enjoyed this book and waiting to dive into the other works of this author as soon as possible. show less

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

To Ride Hell's Chasm was my first Wurts novel. I actually have a copy of the first book of The Wars of Light and Shadow saga which I started (and liked so far), but I got a bit intimidated by the time commitment (and the fact that WoLaS is unfinished...), so I decided to try this stand-alone first to get a feel for Janny Wurts' style before I leapt into a mega-epic. Along that line, I was also interested to see how she would affect an actual ending, since WoLaS doesn't actually have one yet (at least not in print).

It took me a while to get used to Ms Wurts' style. I haven't had a lot of reading time lately, so the last several things I've chosen to read have purposely been a bit...light. Like show more chocolate mousse. Wurts is not light. The prose is, in fact, heavy:

"Only small details bespoke the grave trouble slipped in through the well-guarded gates. Taskin's patrols came and went, double-file rows of neat lancers threading through the carriage traffic in the broad avenues above Highgate. In the queen's formal gardens, amid lawns like set emeralds, two dozen tiny surcoated figures enacted the midday change of the guard.

The sun, angle shifting, sparkled off the polished glove of a flag spire. The slate and lead roofs of the palace precinct dropped in gabled steps downwards, in cool contrast to the terracotta tile of the merchants' mansions, crowded in rows like boxed gingerbread above the arched turrets of Middlegate. There, the tree-lined streets ran like seams in patchwork, jammed by the colors of private house guards helping to search for the princess. Their industry seethed past the courtyard gardens, scattered like squares of dropped silk, and stitched with rosettes where the flowering shrubs adorned the pillared gazebos.

Farthest down, hemmed by the jagged embrasures of stone battlements, the lower town hugged the slope like a rickle of frayed burlap, the roofs there a welter of weathered thatch, and craftsmen's sheds shingled with pine shakes. Mykkael's garrison troops kept their watch on the outermost walls, the men reduced as toys, bearing pins and needles for weaponry."

When I first started reading, I felt like my dainty dish of chocolate mousse had suddenly been replaced by a 20 oz sirloin, and I had some initial trouble digesting it. It probably didn't help that I wasn't finding the time to sit down with the book before midnight. By the time I got to it, I was about as alert as if I actually had consumed that 20 oz sirloin. But, I liked the story and characters immediately, so I started reading earlier in the day, and by the time I was about 1/3 of the way through the book, my pace had picked up significantly. By the time I was 1/2 way through, the language was no longer a barrier and the story was so gripping that I actually could stay up past midnight and read. In fact, I stayed up reading until 2 am for the last two nights without any trouble at all. I actually had to force myself to go to bed. At first I thought that as the pace of the story got faster (it flies for the second half of the book), Ms Wurts writing had become more succinct. But, I went back and read some of the first half again to check my theory: No. It hadn't changed -- it was me. I just got used to the writing style and had learned to appreciate it. Ms Wurts is an artist (she does her own cover art and maps) and she uses words like she uses her paint. They put us in the scene; they show rather than tell.

This book is finely crafted in other respects, too. The plot is interesting, original, and tight. There are moments of horror, grief, and humor. There are no clichés, unbelievable romances, plot holes, stereotyped characters, or deux ex machina. The plot is unpredictable, too. In fact, there were a few times that I thought "how are they going to get out of this mess?" and I had no clue, and even if I'd had a clue, I would have been wrong. The ending, also, is unexpected, realistic (realistic for a fantasy novel, that is), and satisfying. And, importantly, Ms. Wurts writes knowledgeably about all those little details of ancient lifestyles that we love to read about in high fantasy -- sword fighting, horses, war strategies, servants, weird food, boiling laundry, dressing wounds -- at no time did I suspect that she was bluffing.

The system of magic that Janny Wurts creates is unique and fascinating. There's an explanation of it at the back of the book that I wish I had seen before I finished the novel. And, speaking of the actual physical book, it was well-crafted, too. There's a glossary and maps, nice cover and interior art, and I found NO spelling or other editorial errors in this edition. It's too bad the publisher -- Meisha Merlin -- has gone under. (And too bad I dropped this copy in a puddle when I jumped up to pull my 2 year old out of the pool.)

So, now that I've finished To Ride Hell's Chasm, I think I have a small idea of what I've been missing by not reading The Wars of Light and Shadow. A long epic by Janny Wurts sounds like a very good thing.


Read more Janny Wurts book reviews at Fantasy literature. show less

To Ride Hell's Chasm is an epic tale with many elements of classic fantasy - evil sorcerers, a strong sworded warrior, and a princess in peril. What would seem cliche however is woven into a fresh and exciting story under the expert pen of Janny Wurts. Her sorcerers wield demonic power instead of magic wands; the warrior is a foreigner mistrusted and suspected of evil; and the princess is a strong willed fighter and horsewoman.

At first I was intimidated by the expanse of To Ride Hell's Chasm. However, Wurts artfully handles a magnificent world and paints a rich setting for readers. Her characters are complex and multi-faceted and while reading the book I got the sense of making new friends - at first I wasn't sure about some but as show more more dimensions of their personalities were revealed, they grew on me and I was almost sad to part with them at the end. One of the very unique features of this book was Wurts's use of horses - that sometimes stole the spotlight from their human companions. The descriptions were so well written that I could almost hear them galloping in my head.

As noted in other reviews, some of the exposition in the beginning of the book slowed the pace slightly but for me, all the details served to solidify the characters in my mind. Especially on reflection, I think the characters were more realistic for having back stories and their early interactions revealed a lot of dimension to them. Also, once the action really took off it was a thrilling journey that concluded as brilliantly as it began. show less