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When We Were Executioners (Dogsland #2)
J. M. McDermott returns to Dogsland in the stunning novel When We Were Executioners, book two of a sweeping fantasy series that revels in the small details of life.
Corporal Jona, the demon-stained Lord of Joni, died in the woods. His lover, the Senta Rachel Nolander, is a demon-tainted fugitive, running from the wolfskin-clad priest and priestess of Erin, who track her thr...more
Corporal Jona, the demon-stained Lord of Joni, died in the woods. His lover, the Senta Rachel Nolander, is a demon-tainted fugitive, running from the wolfskin-clad priest and priestess of Erin, who track her thr...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
February 7th 2012
by Night Shade Books
(first published February 1st 2012)
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Warning: review contains necessary spoilers for book 1, Never Knew Another
When We Were Executioners is the sequel to Never Knew Another, one of my top 10 books of 2011. This trilogy follows an unnamed narrator and her husband, both Walkers and priests of the Goddess Erin, as they investigate the death of a demon-child, the soldier named Jona, in the city of Dogsland. The narrator has formed a connection with Jona’s memories and through them, is able to follow in his footsteps and perform their m...more
When We Were Executioners is the sequel to Never Knew Another, one of my top 10 books of 2011. This trilogy follows an unnamed narrator and her husband, both Walkers and priests of the Goddess Erin, as they investigate the death of a demon-child, the soldier named Jona, in the city of Dogsland. The narrator has formed a connection with Jona’s memories and through them, is able to follow in his footsteps and perform their m...more
I was swept away by the first book, with its demon-hunters who wore wolf-skins and dreamed their prey's dreams. And I absolutely plan to read the next one. That said, I'm confused by this one exists as a standalone novel. It felt like a continuation of the previous one, with very little in the way of its own arc, and no new revelations about the characters. I closed it feeling a little bereft of something solid to have held on to.
I'd say: wait until We Leave Together comes out and judge based on...more
I'd say: wait until We Leave Together comes out and judge based on...more
I don't write many reviews, but I felt compelled to write one here. This is one of the great fantasy books of our time and it's a shame that it's not reached a wider audience. If want plot driven, easily understood magic systems (whenever I read this on a cover, I run away), or fast paced action yarns, then avoid this book. If you want to find beauty in bleakness, intense thematic ground, or feel completely engrossed in a foreign world, you might actually enjoy When We Were Executioners. I wish...more
Huh. I enjoyed the writing in the first book of the series, so I gave this one benefit of the doubt and bought it. But it continues just like the first book: Most of both books are told in flashback, and I continue to sympathize with the "bad guys" and to be horrified by the ethics of the woman shapeshifter who is the protagonist of both books.
I think I must not be the intended audience for this series. If you liked the first book of the series, you should like this one too.
I think I must not be the intended audience for this series. If you liked the first book of the series, you should like this one too.
The world is still fascinating, and the story isn't over. I don't know that this would stand as well on its own as the prior novel Never Knew Another but I plan to continue with the promised third installment when it comes out.
I hate it when a book in a series spends too long recapitulating what happened in previous books. This book was the exact opposite, which was good, but also bad because it had been a while since I read the first book and I had forgotten most of the players involved and what their alignment was. Halfway into the book, I finally got into the groove, as they say, but by the time I was really into the groove, the book had ended. Not much really happened in this one other than reveal the nature of Jo...more
I dug it. Full review over at Strange Horizons: http://www.strangehorizons.com/review...
In the slums of Dogsland, two demon-stained lovers face bigotry, betryal and the servants of the goddess Erin who will stop at nothing to cleanse the world of their presence. A fantasy ripe with descriptions of the moral and physical decay of a city as well as the tragedy of the two protagonist. This a series to savor if you love lyrical writing, characters with depth and fantasy that has a dark, sharp edge.
Why did it take me so long to read this slim volume? I've been pretty busy lately, but that's not it. I think it's because I didn't want it to end. The fact is, if you're not reading everything by J.M. McDermott, you're missing nothing short of a revolution in fantasy.
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His first novel was plucked from a slush pile and went on to be #6 on Amazon.com's Year's Best SF/F of 2008, shortlisted for a Crawford Prize, and on Locus Magazine's Recommended Reading List for Debuts. His short fiction has appeared in Weird Tales Magazine, Fantasy Magazine, Apex Magazine, and Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, among other places. He has a BA in Creative Writing from the Univers...more
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“Do you know anything about hearts, Jona? The Senta know hearts. Hearts are not one organ. Inside a mother's womb, two pulsing bags of blood seek their eternal mate."
Her hand reached out to his. She opened his palm, and traced a finger down his lifeline, then his loveline. She lifter it up to her own face. She placed it on her cheek.
"Lungs are fine apart," she said, "Hands do not need another but to clap. Brains gnarl like roots in the nothing of soul, and guts spin in knots around the nothing of hunger. But hearts are made by two complete parts merging together. Once the two pieces sense each other in the blood flow, they cross every bloody cliff inside of us. The arteries bind the halves close. The veins make love to each other in the life pulse that makes all life from love entwined.”
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Her hand reached out to his. She opened his palm, and traced a finger down his lifeline, then his loveline. She lifter it up to her own face. She placed it on her cheek.
"Lungs are fine apart," she said, "Hands do not need another but to clap. Brains gnarl like roots in the nothing of soul, and guts spin in knots around the nothing of hunger. But hearts are made by two complete parts merging together. Once the two pieces sense each other in the blood flow, they cross every bloody cliff inside of us. The arteries bind the halves close. The veins make love to each other in the life pulse that makes all life from love entwined.”
Dec 17, 2012 02:41pm