King of the Dead

Nazhuret, of such innate decency that he tends to give everything he owns away, is sent to forestall a war. Grieving at a loss caused by an assassin's attack, he and Arlin track across grasslands populated by savage tribes to the earthquake-ridden mountains beyond, haunted by Nazhuret's double, aided, somewhat, by a magician, to where Nazhuret's grandfather is emperor. Encountering magic and prophecy, which he despises, Nazhuret tries to mkake sense of an alien world and survive deadly intrigue, but it may already be too late to stop the war.

It seems pointed to claim Nazhuret's decency and humane principles and scientific rigour make him an unusual fantasy hero. Even at the time of original publication, he was no callow farm-boy off to show more find his destiny, and he's definitely not the kind of cynical amoral character of modern grimdark, but everything about these books so far feels unique. Nazhuret is like a Renaissance hero in a setting that hasn't quite entered its Renaissance but is, perhaps, getting there. Fiercely independent and self-sufficent (except for Arlin, naturally) he'd happily live out his life in obscurity and squalor if his talents and honesty and heroism weren't occasially required to save the day. He spends most of his time being rather hard on himself and exasperated by circumstances, but can be remarkably forgiving of human foibles and failings, with one or two notable exceptions, and even then, he's hard on himself because of it.

A character that you can admire and respect - now isn't that rare enough? And that's to say nothing of the formidable figure of Arlin. Add to that adventures and excitement, mysteries and strangeness, and all under 200 pages - absolutely perfect. show less

I wish I knew why I liked this book (and the series) as much as I do. It's not for the plot; while there was nothing wrong with the plot, it wasn't the main attraction.

Perhaps it is the writing. The prose is perfection: simple, elegant, clean, minimalistic, and not flashy or distracting. The descriptions are understated, and somehow it sets a tone and an atmosphere. RA MacAvoy is a writer's writer, and has a great command of the language.

Or perhaps it is the characters. There are only a few characters, and they are sketched in just a few strokes, but they are different and interesting in their own way.

In any case, the book is not like most other fantasies. In some sense, not a lot happens. But in an another sense, a lot of little things show more happen, each of them a mini-story in their own right, and just like a travelogue, you have fun along the way. show less

Nazhuret continues his adventures and travels to the homeland of his mother in an attempt to stop a war. Oddly this was almost too well written. I occasionally would get knocked out of following the story by my admiration of some perfectly written gem of a sentence that I'd just have to stop and admire for a minute. Not that the language is elaborate, it was the perfection in simplicity that was catching me up short.

Horses and visions and earthquakes. What's not to like?

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