The Steel Remains (A Land Fit for Heroes, #1) by Richard K. Morgan

Dec 11, 2009 Ceridwen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Ceridwen by: Morgan's other stuff, esp. Thirteen

Shelves: dragons, fantasy, omg-were-all-going-to-die, zombies, sexy-nihilists, lgbt, sci-fi, tolkien-uber-alles

If what you feel has been missing from your average Tolkien-clone is hot, gay sex, then this is the book for you.

No, j/k, I'm being immature, and I've never been one to let a one-liner lie. What I have been missing from your average Tolkien-clone is hot, gay sex. While I love Tolkien, his far-reaching over-shadowing influence on later fantasists results in an awful lot of heraldic bullshit and courtly fol-de-rol, with wide-eyed teenage boys who are Ken-like from the waist down pining for perfec...more If what you feel has been missing from your average Tolkien-clone is hot, gay sex, then this is the book for you.

No, j/k, I'm being immature, and I've never been one to let a one-liner lie. What I have been missing from your average Tolkien-clone is hot, gay sex. While I love Tolkien, his far-reaching over-shadowing influence on later fantasists results in an awful lot of heraldic bullshit and courtly fol-de-rol, with wide-eyed teenage boys who are Ken-like from the waist down pining for perfect gfs and bloodlessly questing for the Sparkly McGuffin. Oh, the Sparkly McGuffin! Forged in the fires of Mount Plot by the Great Evil Tautology!

Richard K. Morgan strides in with his great swinging dick – I mean dirk – and knocks all this stuff over. Smash! Smash! Wheee! This sounds like it could be a lot of fun – and there certainly is fun to be had – but as Morgan's first foray into fantasy, he seems to fall into some common fantasy traps. The world building is painfully slow, clearly designed to be nuanced enough to cover another couple of books, but I wonder how much of this could have been contracted or excised completely. (I can't believe I'm bitching about nuance.) The names are all annoyingly polysyllabic and oddly similar, meaning lazy readers such as myself are often confused and lost. I get why people in fantasy can't be named “Steve” and “Bob,” but the names seemed tin-earish. (Also, why does everything have to start with a G or a K? What is it about these letters that says “sword and sorcery” to English speakers? C'mon, linguists, I need to know.)

At about halfway, I was ready to give up, so I came on bookface and got a little pep-talk from Mike's review, which reminded me why I tend to dig Morgan's stuff: the snarling misanthropy, the unbelievably brutal violence that is neither precious nor glorified, the biting political invective. The later half of the book rapidly picks up steam; the almost tedious details of the earlier half of the novel coalescing into textured history – and one that doesn't feel the need to name every damn rock and twig in remembrance of some heroic act a millennium ago, but one that has a dirty, lived-in feel. All the f-bombs, drug use, whores – and believe me, I'm sick to death of authors using whores to make their fantasy worlds seem “real” – mesh convincingly into a world that values character over genre conventions. I actually lol'd when, late in the novel, one of the principles meets with what is functionally an elf princess, the sister of his new lover, and they have one of those standard heraldic-I-can't-really-speak-your-language meet-cutes full of ye gads forthwith forsooths, at the end of which she says, “Fuck with my brother, and I'll kill you” in roughly that phrasing. Ha! Good times.

And did I mention the gay sex? Mostly, I think sex scenes in books are dumb, because they are so rarely anything but perfunctory and unnecessary. (You know, unless you're reading erotica, but that's not what this is at all.) Like Morgan's fight scenes, the sex is embodied and explicit, and discomforting to read. The protagonist's homosexuality isn't something pasted on, theoretical, where he winks a bit and carries a purse, but a fledged desire. Morgan's got himself some running themes about how the powers that be build an artifice of morality that they hide behind, using your “sins” - the ones they created for you – as a lever to make you perpetrate real crimes, institutional crimes like war, the kind of crimes you never really come back from. There's a running gag where characters ask one another “Have you ever killed a child?” Invariably, the answer was, “I was in the war, wasn't I?” It would almost be funny, if it weren't so damn sad, that a lot of reviews I've read (here and elsewhere) spill more ink about the man-on-man-elf action than they do about the explicit horror of the violence – the thing with the heads in the third act I'm not going to be able to scrub out for a while – and I think this is Morgan's point. An institutional morality that justifies war while squealing like a bunch of faux-prissy voyeurs over a private, consensual act creates institutions, and moralities, that I find distasteful, to say the least.

Burn it, burn it all, might be Morgan's take-home message, one that I'm not comfortable with either, but one for which I have no easy retort. Morgan explicitly takes on the “consider the children” argument and tears it to shreds. I've often joked about finding nihilism sexy, but it's mostly because I'm afraid of it, and desire and danger like to hold hands and skip together. I wasn't sure I wanted to continue reading this trilogy – and Morgan earns my respect for tying this one off in a way that I could end it here – but in writing my review, I've talked myself into it. The dark lord is rising. Let's see what he does next. (less)

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Nov 13, 2011 Cathy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Jim

Shelves: fantasy, read-in-2009

A very interesting book. His website calls it noir fantasy. I guess I kind of get that. It's certainly not the lovely elves dancing under the moon kind of book. War, violence, intolerance, politics, and religion all play a part. There is a lot of crude language and some sexually explicit scenes. The main character. Ringil, is a self-proclaimed queer. If you find homosexuality, or outright heterosexuality, both in scenes and language, to be offensive, this is not the book for you. I actually foun...more A very interesting book. His website calls it noir fantasy. I guess I kind of get that. It's certainly not the lovely elves dancing under the moon kind of book. War, violence, intolerance, politics, and religion all play a part. There is a lot of crude language and some sexually explicit scenes. The main character. Ringil, is a self-proclaimed queer. If you find homosexuality, or outright heterosexuality, both in scenes and language, to be offensive, this is not the book for you. I actually found it refreshingly honest.

As I was reading this fantasy novel, I found myself trying to keep in mind what I know about the author's style and intentions from reading his other books and website; I'm VERY curious where he will take the characters and story. He always has a point, usually several, well masked in the guise of an amusing tale.

It was definitely the first book in a trilogy. It wrapped up at the end but clearly foreshadows continuing conflict. First engagement in the long battle and all of that.

Overall, it was a joy to read a book by such a brilliant guy, who's intelligent observances and use of language makes him seem witty and fascinating instead of off-putting or uptight. His website is very enjoyable, I would recommend checking it out: RichardMorgan.com.

I especially enjoy his article Sound and Fury, Signifying ...? about the intense and sometime savage community of sci-fi/fantasy fans and authors.

Update November 2011: I enjoyed it even more the second time around. I got it from the library intending to skim through it as a reminder before reading The Cold Commands but I immediately became completely engrossed. Remembering a bit about the characters made me more interested in paying attention to their individual stories. I remember being a bit confused the first time because they don't meet up until almost the end of the book; it made me somewhat less interested in Egar's story in particular. And there are just a lot of details and nuances that I absorbed more easily this time with a bit of familiarity. Since I joined Goodreads my to-read list has been so long that I very rarely re-read books, but I'm glad I made an exception for this one, it was fantastic. (less)

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May 26, 2009 Felicia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I loved his Sci-Fi stuff, but this fell flat to me. It felt like he was trying to break the cliches of fantasy novels but just doing the opposite of the cliche, rather than dig deep into the characters to make them real and believable. I wanted to love this book, with a gay male protagonist, but I never believed him as a character. Same for the other characters, they were missing heart and a sense of reality that could have take it from reverse...more

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May 04, 2010 Brad rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have too much to write about The Steel Remains to put it all into a coherent paragraph by paragraph review, so I am just going to ramble around a bit and write what I need to write.

Mind-Blowing: That's my instant reaction after finishing this book. But the mind-blowingness began in the midst of the first chapter. I intentionally slowed down my reading so that I could savour every word, but by the time Ringil came out of the grey mists with his dwenda lover, Seethlaw, and his lover's gang of fu...more

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Aug 04, 2008 Liviu rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: series_reading, genre-fantasy, 2008_release_read, review_fbc, t1_recommended_2008

I've been a big fan of R. Morgan ultra violent, ultra dark and quite explicit novels since his extraordinary debut Altered Carbon. Though in his last novels the repetitions of themes, plot and gimmicks became a bit tiresome, in The Steel Remains Mr. Morgan moves to epic/adventure fantasy and reinvigorates said themes. While longtime readers of his novels will be less surprised at the twists and turns of this novel because of the echoes of previous works, there is a lot of new stuff here and the...more

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Dec 02, 2008 Guy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction-and-fantasy

As in all of Morgan's other books that I've read (which I think is all of them), there is a world-weary grittiness to "The Steel Remains" that makes the most outlandish settings and scenarios seem very real. His characters are three dimensional and believable, dialogue and descriptions mostly crisp, and there are some nice flashes of humour. That being said, there are a number of flaws that ultimately relegate, at least for me, this book into the category of "very mixed reactions".

For one thing...more

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Oct 02, 2011 Perry Whitford rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Nobody

Richard K. Morgan has made quite a name for himself as a hard-edged, contemporary science fiction novelist, winner of a good number of the awards available after just a handful of publications. Here he tries his hand at writing a fantasy with a grim, visceral presentation and a couple of unusual, contemporary tropes.

To give due, The Steel Remains is fairly strong on narrative drive. However, it is simply horrid when it comes to dialogue. Clearly Morgan wants us to like his main characters - tho...more Richard K. Morgan has made quite a name for himself as a hard-edged, contemporary science fiction novelist, winner of a good number of the awards available after just a handful of publications. Here he tries his hand at writing a fantasy with a grim, visceral presentation and a couple of unusual, contemporary tropes.

To give due, The Steel Remains is fairly strong on narrative drive. However, it is simply horrid when it comes to dialogue. Clearly Morgan wants us to like his main characters - though he tries to make them hard to like by investing them with traits and peccadillos that I imagine he thinks will challenge some genre readers - but having them talk like hired goons from a Guy Ritchie movie utterly ruined it for me. The vulgarity of the language debased all his characters to the level of boors whenever they opened their mouths, regardless of the courageousness and nobility of their actions. Do you really want to see a fantasy world peopled by nothing but Jason Statham's and Danny Dyer's? I don't.

Worse still is Morgan's treatment of his lead character, disenchanted hero of wars past Ringil Eskiath. He is overtly gay, which I think Morgan seems to be clapping himself on the back for as a daring affront to the more conservative fantasy readers. Yet he constantly allows his other characters to refer to Ringil in the most perjorative terms imaginable whilst enjoying a good laugh at his expense; so much so that it was impossible not to consider that Morgan himself considers homosexuality as unnatural and that he only wanted to have a gay hero so he could knock some noses out of joint and stir up some blog-based controversy.

All in all the style was very similar to Iain M. Banks, with the tales of a few characters interweaving with some occasional flashbacks building a history between them. The writing was similar too, full of ventral description and foul language. Banks is an excellent writer though, he can pile it on but he can show restrain too, he creates full, rounded characters and invests them with a convincing psychological depth.
If this book is anything to go by Morgan is little more than a noisy, bovver-booted dilettante.(less)

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Sep 08, 2011 David Monroe rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Hardcore Richard K. Morgan fans, Folks looking for genre books w/ an lgbt character

Shelves: fantasy, lgbt

There is a lot of edgy sex in this book, not unusual for a Morgan book. The twist here is the protagonist is gay. So if that bothers you, then this may not be the book for you. If like me, sex is sex and it doesn't bother you - well this still isn't the book for you.

I loved the hardboiled, neo-noir, cyberpunk grittiness of his SF Takeshi Kovacs trilogy Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, Woken Furies but his first foray into gritty, violent, fantasy falls flat. This book doesn't stick with you for l...more

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Sep 10, 2008 James rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Richard K. Morgan completists, fantasy haters

Before you ask, I got my copy of this book through Amazon.co.uk, where the book is in print today. This is my habit with Morgan's books, rather than waiting another year for them in the United States.

Traditionally, in Noir, it's customary to have a protagonist who is morally compromised, but who at least tries to better himself/herself, the world, etc. Morgan seems to have missed that point with the utterly unlikable Ringel, protagonist of The Steel Remains. Ringel is an empty husk of a human be...more

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Feb 26, 2009 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, read-in-2009

Richard K. Morgan has made a career of taking the familar elements of science-fiction, breaking them down and building them into something that respects its past but it willing to challenge readers by trying something new. After a successful and award-winning run in sci-fi, Morgan is now turning to the world of fantasy to take the familar and make it new and fresh again.

"The Steel Remains" is the first of a new trilogy by Morgan. The story has the usual fantasy tropes on display--a hero with a g...more Richard K. Morgan has made a career of taking the familar elements of science-fiction, breaking them down and building them into something that respects its past but it willing to challenge readers by trying something new. After a successful and award-winning run in sci-fi, Morgan is now turning to the world of fantasy to take the familar and make it new and fresh again.

"The Steel Remains" is the first of a new trilogy by Morgan. The story has the usual fantasy tropes on display--a hero with a glorious past, fuedal power plays, a new power from outside the kingdom that is slowly becoming a threat. But Morgan is able to take each of these and stamp his own signature on them, which is part of what makes "Remains" such a refreshing entry in the fantasy genre. Morgan pays homage to the roots of the genre, but doesn't let them show when he colors them a different way.

One of the most interesting is how Morgan creates his charcters. Just as he does in "Altered Carbon," his protagonists aren't exactly the most loveable of people. Morgan's strength is drawing characters who are shades of gray and having readers root for those people because they're actually fully, fleshed out and realized characters and not your typical genre archetypes. On the surface, one character, Ringil, sounds like a typical fantasy hero. He's had his past glories, he's estranged from his family but he's willing to do the right thing when push comes to shove. Morgan is able to subvert the usual expectations of the classic sword-wielding fantasy hero with the backstory of Ringil, including why he's estranged from his powerful family and doesn't get along with his father. I won't tell you what that is here--Morgan tells you quickly within the first few chapters. But watching the flashbacks of the events will be far more entertaining and interesting for readers to discover for themselves.

Ringil is called upon by his mother to look into the disappearance of a cousin. The cousin was sold into marriage to pay a debt, but Mom thinks something more is going on. Ringil reluctantly takes the assignment and soon finds the world is changing and there's some kind of threat from outside the realm that is slowly creeping into things. Ringil is joined by friends to look into this and Morgan slowly gives readers all the pieces of the puzzle. Satisfyingly enough, this novel can stand on its own with most of the central conflict wrapped up before you turn the last page. But Morgan is shrewd enough to offer hints of things to come that could be picked up in future volumes. It seems that just as he did with the "Altered Carbon" novels, he's working on a continuing series that isn't so interconnected that readers can't drop in the middle and not feel hopelessly lost. You may miss some of the character development or some nuances, but overall you're going to be able to enjoy the story a single novel is telling on its own merits.

It's something I wish a lot of other genre publishers would realize fans want these days.

This is a mature novel--it deals with a lot of mature themes and it does contain Morgan's signature coarse language. If you can't wrap your head around fantasy characters prodigiously using the f-bomb, this may not be your cup of tea. But if you want something new, different and yet very much in the fantasy tradition of the greats of the genre, then "The Steel Remains" is definitely a must read. (less)

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Mar 18, 2013 Brandon Zarzyczny rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm a little frustrated by this book. For the most part I really enjoyed The Steel Remains, but it just went too far. I have no problem with homosexuality, in fact it makes the main character of this book very interesting. However, I do have a problem when the author decides to feature very detailed, incredibly descriptive, hardcore gay male on alien (or inter-dimensional being) pornographic writing. There are two main sex scenes, one of which goes on for multiple pages of over the top very weir...more

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Jan 13, 2011 Joe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed this. Highly recommended for fantasy fans who like Richard Morgan's sci-fi and for anyone who liked Joe Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy and subsequent books. This one is a fast read and the protagonist (even though there are multiple "main characters") is more of an interesting noir-esque* character (per Morgan's style) than one of Abercrombie's fatally flawed people - but the comparison is natural.

A lot of reviews talk about the violence or gay sex, but those just seem so...more I really enjoyed this. Highly recommended for fantasy fans who like Richard Morgan's sci-fi and for anyone who liked Joe Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy and subsequent books. This one is a fast read and the protagonist (even though there are multiple "main characters") is more of an interesting noir-esque* character (per Morgan's style) than one of Abercrombie's fatally flawed people - but the comparison is natural.

A lot of reviews talk about the violence or gay sex, but those just seem so natural with the way that these "brutal" fantasy style books work out. In order for a plot to not take 10 books**, characters end up getting down to business - fucking and killing - pretty quickly and don't spend a lot of time doing things I don't want to read about. Also has an epic fantasy feel without the tropes or overtelling that you find in a lot of genre fantasy (would say the same of Abercrombie, actually). I like (as a reader) the interesting and complicated fantasy world he created seemingly rather effortlessly. Story works a a single volume (no cliffhanger ending, per se), but definitely needs the two coming sequels to feel right and to flesh out the world.

Also, not to contradict myself, but would have actually preferred a slightly longer book with more time spent on the perspectives of the two other "leads." I feel like when you write and plot so efficiently, I can't help but want more.

*As a note: an earlier review said something about noir characters having certain tropes. To make sure I'm clear: What I mean by noir is an introspective, internal demons character forced into action by things out of his control (e.g. Philip Marlowe). In this case it is mixed with a lone gunmen style badass who inevitably takes control somehow - (e.g. Clint Eastwood as "The Man with no Name" in the Sergio Leone movies or Tomisaburo Wakayama in the Lone Wolf and Cub samurai movies). The lead in Morgan's Altered Carbon is this mix in my mind. There's a Logen Nine-Fingers (Abercrombie) feel about a lot of the characters, without the traditional barbarian-ness.

**I do enjoy many series that are like this though, don't get me wrong.(less)

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Sep 22, 2008 Judd Karlman rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Richard K. Morgan has brought his unique brand of politics, amazing world-building, graphic violence and even more graphic sex to the fantasy genre and nails it.

This is the first book in a trilogy but it ends in a way that makes it a satisfying book all on its own. I dig that. I'm done with Dark Tower cliff-hangers. When I put down this book, I was hungry for another but satisfied with where I was left.

And when I say I'm in, I mean that as soon as the book is released, as this one was, a few mon...more

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May 21, 2012 Nikki rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, m-m, own-it-pb-or-hc, back-burner, just-an-alright-okay-read, not-my-type-of-read, skimmed-hard-to-finish-or-unfinis, too-wordy-too-much-talking, unrealistic

1.5 stars
This book took me forever to finish. If you want to read this for the gay/m-m content; don't bother. 2 manly sex scenes, not even a page (that i remember) that were not erotic in the least. The word "faggot" was thrown around a lot, mainly to irritate or insult. This read can give you nose-bleeds. The few and far between fight scenes were pretty energizing and then you would drop back down to sedated chatting. Morgan's book/writing reminds me of Abercrombie, but with less action. There...more

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Aug 03, 2011 Enrique028 added it · review of another edition

I have to say that between all things, it took me a long time to finish this book. I probably read other in the time I was suppose to read this one and the reason for this is that the first half of The Steel Remains is so slow and hardly anything happen. Yes, it sets the background for the final half but it makes for difficult reading and you really only want to get to the action point. Action which it is not as abundant as you might think in the book. It is quite graphic thou, sex-wise and bloo...more

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Feb 18, 2009 Michael rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Richard K. Morgan turns from tales of violent masculinity in sci-fi settings to... bland fantasy. The Steel Remains was a let-down.

Remains follows the stories of three heroes of a past war, now each finding themselves uncomfortable in civilian life, as they discover a new threat to their shared society. I got the impression that the book was designed to shock what it presumed to be the fragile sensibilities of fantasy fans by presenting queer protagonists who are not accepted for what they are,...more

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May 21, 2013 Tony rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

I loved Morgan's sic-fi book Altered Carbon, liked his other ones to varying degrees, and picked this up to see what his take on the sword and scorcery genre. What I found was a dark story that hews to some of the conventions of the genre while taking a very modern approach to other elements. In classic fantasy tradition, it opens in a tiny backwater village where we meet the protagonist, some kind of ex-soldier, in down-and-out circumstances. In alternating chapters we meet two other characters...more I loved Morgan's sic-fi book Altered Carbon, liked his other ones to varying degrees, and picked this up to see what his take on the sword and scorcery genre. What I found was a dark story that hews to some of the conventions of the genre while taking a very modern approach to other elements. In classic fantasy tradition, it opens in a tiny backwater village where we meet the protagonist, some kind of ex-soldier, in down-and-out circumstances. In alternating chapters we meet two other characters, one of whom is the chief of a nomadic band, the other is some kind of imperial advisor. It becomes clear that the three were comrades and heroes in a war about a decade previously against some kind of lizardmen invaders.

Also in somewhat classic style, the story starts to slowly set the three old friends on a collision course for each other. However, it's kind of nice to be dropped into a setting where a lot of action and history has already happened -- in a typical fantasy series, these earlier events would have eaten up three books, and this would be book four. The approach is mostly successful, although some of the backstory can get a little obscure and a map would have been very helpful to understand the geographic and political relationships. A few things set the book apart: large doses of graphic violence (not unlike the one Joe Abercrombie book I tried, Best Served Cold), repeated doses of graphic sex (both hetero and homosexual -- the latter of which features as a plot point), and language that is very contemporary and slangy in a way that might offend or bother some readers.

The sorcery in the book doesn't really kick in until the latter stages and since the story alludes several times to a race of people who came in some kind of technological vehicles and left, the magic could be interpreted as future tech instead of a traditional magic. However, there is also a god or demigod who appears at one point who does some serious magic, so that's there too. On the whole, I guess what it reminded me of is a super amped-up take on some of Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar series. There's a similar recognition of the corruption and dark side of civilization, with similar consequences, and a bit of the same dark humor, but it's got a long way to go before it reaches that quality.(less)

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Jun 16, 2012 port22 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, fantasy

Plot of this fantasy is written around the lives of its three main characters, old friends and veterans, who parted ways after the last war. Ringil, a legendary warrior, lives off retelling stories of famous battles. Egar returned to boring life of his herding tribe. Archeth, a half-human abandoned by her kind, an advanced technological race. Their paths converge on their way fighting a new battle against darker evil, a new danger to humankind.

Albeit not a fantasy fan, I decided to give this boo...more

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May 02, 2012 Jared rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the best fantasy novels I have ever read. Better than Tolkein, better than A Game of Thrones, better than A Wheel of Time. It's a relatively simple story (though not a quest story, thank god!), that involves the right amount of backstabbing, bloodshed and political intrigue. The story unfolds at a leisurely pace, but Morgan is a master of always keeping momentum and interest through characterization and jaw-dropping action scenes.

What really makes this story so great is the characters. Al...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Ash Stinson rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was told that this book was exciting, gritty fantasy in the vein of George R R Martin's a Song of Ice and Fire series, with top-notch writing and believable characters. I suppose it's certainly gritty.

I couldn't help but feel, reading it, that it lacked any real pull. The plot was a bit of a confusing, convulted drag, and the characters... I'm not even sure where to start with the characters. There are three main characters and I couldn't find myself caring too much about any of them. They did...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Tal rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library-book, sf-fantasy

When a man you know to be of sound mind tells you his recently deceased mother has just tried to climb in his bedroom window and eat him, you have two options. You can smell his breath, take his pulse and check his pupils to see if he's ingested anything nasty, or you can believe him. Ringil Angeleyes had already tried the first course of action with Bashka the Schoolmaster to no avail, so he put down his pint with an elaborate sigh and went to get his broadsword. And he's not the only one to be...more

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Jan 05, 2012 Ruth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: spec-fic

c2008. Hard core and disturbing - but I loved it. As mentioned in the acknowledgments at the end of the book, this is certainly a tip of the cap to the fantasy writers of yore. Having starting to read this book straight after a favourite urban fantasy, I was not certain whether or not I would enjoy this story...I should not have worried. From the opening line to the end line, I was hooked -reading and rereading certain lines just to savour the wonderful wordcraft on show. It did feel at times th...more

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Oct 16, 2011 Megan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: lgbt, war, cool-heroes, friendship, top-five

(Re-posted from http://theturnedbrain.blogspot.com)

An alternate title for this book would be: Back Story: How to do it right! Somewhat less catchy than The Steel Remains, to be sure. But very, very true. I can’t think of any other books that fills in the back story of it’s characters as seamlessly as this one does. And guys, there’s a lot of back story.

The book is set a decade or so after a huge war, in which previously antagonistic nations had to band together to best an external threat. The na...more (Re-posted from http://theturnedbrain.blogspot.com)

An alternate title for this book would be: Back Story: How to do it right! Somewhat less catchy than The Steel Remains, to be sure. But very, very true. I can’t think of any other books that fills in the back story of it’s characters as seamlessly as this one does. And guys, there’s a lot of back story.

The book is set a decade or so after a huge war, in which previously antagonistic nations had to band together to best an external threat. The narrative follows three hero’s of this war, Ringil, Archeth, and Egar as they each undergo their own little narrative quests which eventually merge into one big one. Ringil must return home, where he is a barely tolerated disgrace (because he’s a *gasp* homosexual!) and try to track down a cousin sold into slavery. Arceth is trying to learn how to work with a new emperor, and is trying to understand her own past. And Egar is struggling to feel content in his role as clan chief, while meanwhile his own brother’s plot to overthrow him.

It’s the kind of book where the back story is integral, where what happened before the story commences is just as important as what’s happening now. Think the first rise of Voldemort in the Harry Potter books, or the overthrow of House Targaryen in A Song of Ice and Fire. However, unlike those two examples, The Steel Remains is a relatively slim book. (Especially when you consider that it’s the first part of a fantasy trilogy… )And yet I have no trouble envisioning the war we never actually see, as though Morgan had spent chapters and chapters re-telling it, (which he does not).

The key, I think, is that Morgan assumes his reader possesses an ounce of intelligence. Such a simple thing, and yet so few authors really get it. You don’t have to spell things out. I know you want to make doubly sure that the reader understands this crucial bit of information, but guys, guys, seriously, you have to trust us! We’ll get it, and we’ll even thank you for making us figure it out ourselves. Isn’t it better to assume that smart people would want to read your book, instead of ones that need their hands held every step of the way?

Consider the three main characters of The Steel Remains, who I have already briefly mentioned. At no point does Morgan come out and say that they’re friends, or that they even know each other, and for much of the book none of their scenes overlap. But we slowly come to realise that all three fought in the war. Egar might briefly recall something that Ringil once said, or Ringil might have cause to think of Archeth, and their thoughts have such a perfect mix of affection and affectionate insult that only true friends can understand, that the reader knows these guys were close. It’s perfectly done, truly perfect.

When you finish this book it feels like you’ve been reading about these characters for twelve epic volumes, so well do you feel you know them. (I wish I could read about them for twelve epic volumes, because they’re a fascinating and entertaining bunch.) When the three are finally reunited it's as emotionally satisfying as if you'd been waiting for that moment to happen for years, instead of just a few hundred pages.

The minor characters are also excellently done. I want to draw particular attention to the Emperor. When first he is introduced I pretty much wrote him off. He's the spoiled son new to the throne, which had been held for many years by his wise father. He's selfish and mean and a terrible, terrible, ruler. Except, uh, maybe he's not? Rarely am I as surprised by a character as I was by this guy. Props to Morgan, for realz.

Morgan’s writing is an excellent mix of humour and darkness. But I don’t want to draw Abercrombie comparisons because it seems like every time a darker fantasy comes along now his name gets dropped. And anyway, I find Morgan’s characters to be real in a way that Abercrombie’s are not, less bleak for bleaks sake perhaps.

It will, I suspect, be a long wait for October and the continuation to this awesome trilogy.(less)

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Aug 07, 2011 Neil Pearson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Unsurprisingly, Morgan's harsh, bleak and extreme writing style makes the transition from sci-fi to fantasy with ease. In fact things aren't really that different, especially with the strong suggestion that magic and monsters are merely science and "aliens". The monsters and particularly grim action/torture are the highlights of this novel, whereas the characters are the weak point. The main character Ringil is your typical Morgan tough guy, while the other two characters don't really feature th...more

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May 16, 2011 Lars J. Nilsson rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had high hopes for this novel. I loved Altered Carbon and thought that if Morgan could live up to half of that book, but in a fantasy setting I'd be very happy. Unfortunately, he's not up to the job. In fact I'd go so far as to say that the book feels forced, driven by a few ideas clearly meant by the author to be "controversial" in the fantasy genre, creating a work which feels rather contrived. Let's see...

Sex. Homosexual sex. And heterosexual sex. I applaud introducing a gay main character....more I had high hopes for this novel. I loved Altered Carbon and thought that if Morgan could live up to half of that book, but in a fantasy setting I'd be very happy. Unfortunately, he's not up to the job. In fact I'd go so far as to say that the book feels forced, driven by a few ideas clearly meant by the author to be "controversial" in the fantasy genre, creating a work which feels rather contrived. Let's see...

Sex. Homosexual sex. And heterosexual sex. I applaud introducing a gay main character. Also I applaud introducing sexual prejudices and discrimination. A good idea. However, it quickly turns repetitive and predictable. And is used to the point it actually becomes a rather obvious and bad plot device (in fact a "plot coupon" to use Nick Lowe's description in "The well-tempered plot device").

(For the record, I have nothing against sex in literature or real life. I like sex. But I don't like the creeping feeling the that the author added the sex to be somehow more "controversial".)

Profanity. Morgan seems to think he will revolutionize the fantasy genre by inserting the word "f*ck" and its variations. Unfortunately he fails in all dialogues, as it turns out *every* character uses it. Really every one. From grand old ladies to beggars and emperors and warriors and dark elves. Look, characters usually have some variation in the way they speak. And as the f-word becomes rapidly obvious, every time it is used the suspension of disbelief the author tries to build up collapses yet again. And again. And again. Profanity is fine, but be creative for gods sake.

(Graphic violence. Well, anyone who've read Altered Carbon won't be surprised. I personally think he's on the border of what is tolerable, but I don't have a problem with it.)

So, what do we get if we would remove much of the sex and the profanity? A rather ordinary fantasy novel is the answer. There's not much here that we haven't read before and better. If you can stand gay sex, repetitive dialogue, graphic violence and the f-word, go ahead, it's a decent light read. Otherwise, you won't be missing anything.(less)

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Mar 20, 2011 Mark Harding rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My respect for Richard Morgan as a writer increases. In a way he’s taking the piss. I always thought the body ‘sleeves’ in the Kovacs novels were treated in a very unlikely manner, and in Market Forces the main conceit of the novel is a joke. But he gets away with because his writing is so gripping. The Steel Remains is a further extension: it’s almost as if he’s doing everything he can to annoy a huge section of the readership of sword and sorcery novels. While at the same time following all th...more

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Feb 10, 2011 Wendy Palmer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, ebook, fiction

This is one of the new wave of fantasy books, also known in my world as 'fantasy grows up', and oh boy it's a good one, flawed heroes, swearing, sex scenes and all. It's a book 1, so a lot of it is set up, but there's also a decent stand-alone story focusing on three heroes of a vicious war and their deep disillusionment [is that even a word?] with life post-war and post-heroics, a kind of coming to terms with life among people who are not heroes, who are conniving and greedy and decadent and wh...more

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Nov 07, 2010 Adam Snider rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was somewhat of a disappointment - it's not a bad book, by any means. I'm not sure if Morgan can write a REALLY bad book - he'd probably have to put some effort into it. But The Steel Remains seemed to be unfocused and, for lack of a better term, unfinished - and I don't say that simply because its the first book of a trilogy.

The main character, Ringol is your traditional swords-and-sorcery warrior hero - with his own sorcerous, inhuman blade - except with a thing for guys, in a world...more This book was somewhat of a disappointment - it's not a bad book, by any means. I'm not sure if Morgan can write a REALLY bad book - he'd probably have to put some effort into it. But The Steel Remains seemed to be unfocused and, for lack of a better term, unfinished - and I don't say that simply because its the first book of a trilogy.

The main character, Ringol is your traditional swords-and-sorcery warrior hero - with his own sorcerous, inhuman blade - except with a thing for guys, in a world where that particular interest is rewarded with disdain, hatred, or death. He's more or less invincible against human enemies - similar to Kovacs and Marsalis, only more so - the only enemy that manages to beat him straight-up is a sort of time-traveling elf analogue who becomes his lover.

There are, supposedly, three main characters, but Ringol gets most of the attention, and is actually the most complex of the three characters. The second is a half-Kirath (whose species reminds me a great deal of Steven Erikson's Tiste Andii), who's been left behind by her people to serve as advisor to the utterly corrupt ruler of a fundamentalist empire based on Islam (right down to the conflict with extremist clerics). She is also an incredible, unstoppable badass. The third character, who slaughters several inhuman hunting creatures out on the steppes within the first few pages of our meeting him, is a nomad chieftain who got a taste of civilization back during his years as a mercenary and has never really resigned himself to returning to a life of lice, sheep-herding and feuding.

All three characters share a barely-held back frustration with their lives and an ability to stomp all over enemies that terrify the people around them. This latter virtue is never quite explained. In the climactic battle all three of them chew through a half-dozen of the Big Bads without taking a scratch, although their accompanying guard of Elite Fundamentalist Warriors are taken apart with great rapidity. The social commentary, which is always a draw with Morgan's work, is a bit less cutting, with the possible example of the homophobia angle - this is less a feature of Morgan's writing, I think, than the fact that the setting is medieval and thus harder to relate to directly than his science fiction societies were.

Finally, the sex thing - people have talked a lot about this, and I don't think there's all that much to it. The Kovacs novels, Thirteen, and Market Forces all featured just as much hot 'n heavy as this book does, it's just all straight. I will say that the school rape scene flashback read like some sort of horrible Harry Potter slash fanfic to me, rather than the poignant portrait of juvenile cruelty and abuse that it was (presumably) supposed to be. Morgan's never been one to hold back on this sort of stuff, if you can't stand it than just roll your eyes and flip a few pages to get back to the action.

Overall, as I said, it's not a bad book. And I image the following volumes will only improve. I think maybe Morgan's still feeling his way with the fantasy environment - his magic is mostly superhuman science, and there are science fictional elements if you're willing to look closely (the Many Worlds interpretation of quantum physics and a strange quasi-AI both make an appearance), we'll see if that carries over to the next book. If you're a Morgan fan, read this book. If you've never read Morgan - start with one of his other books, then come back to this one.(less)

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Nov 02, 2010 Ethan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Entertaining, hack-and-slash, pretty much nonstop action. The characters are interesting and compelling (in their own ways), the world seems well-realized, with some interesting quirks (the concept of the Kiriath race is pretty cool). The dialogue is good, snappy, and there is pretty much conflict on every page, which keeps things interesting. Lots of tension and all that.

BUT...a few buts....

I like the idea of a homosexual 'hero'. However, I do not like the gratuitous dwenda-sexing that goes on...more Entertaining, hack-and-slash, pretty much nonstop action. The characters are interesting and compelling (in their own ways), the world seems well-realized, with some interesting quirks (the concept of the Kiriath race is pretty cool). The dialogue is good, snappy, and there is pretty much conflict on every page, which keeps things interesting. Lots of tension and all that.

BUT...a few buts....

I like the idea of a homosexual 'hero'. However, I do not like the gratuitous dwenda-sexing that goes on in the book for the same reason I disliked the near-sex scene in Sunshine. Cliche, pointless. Call me silly, but I get tired of books where the main character is captured and ends up having sex with the enemy. Seems to happen a lot, especially in vampire fiction. Maybe it's the books I read.

In addition, the homosexual female hero Archeth is layering it on a bit thick for me, especially because she is ensconced as a prime advisor to an empire that executes homosexuals for their aberrant behavior. Didn't quite jive. But oh well.

I also did not like the plotting. Some of it was quite good, and I liked the complex relationships of the characters. But I really, really, don't like the whole teleportation deux-ex movement of characters. It feels so contrived, like the author was sitting there (after experiencing his first in a series of missed deadlines) trying to figure out how to get character A to point B and he snaps his fingers and says "I got it! They'll be teleported by a mysterious being! Perfect!". Happens to both Ringil and Egar. I also didn't like the intervention by mysterious powers in Egar's case.

Last of all, I got really irritated when I figured out this was a series, especially when I got about 50 pages from the end and realized there was no way in hell that Morgan was going to be able to tie up all the loose strands in the book. There is a certain feeling of finality to the end of the book (and some things get wrapped up, which is nice) but it was definitely a disappointment for me.

Overall, the book was all right. I suppose I'll read the next one that comes out. Maybe.(less)

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Jul 16, 2010 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: series, bought-copy, fantasy

I have read a large number of reviews that indicate Richard Morgan is doing something fresh and new with this, his first book in a fantasy trilogy. However, I would respectfully disagree. I could see elements of David Gemmell and Michael Moorcock in the writing. Before his untimely death, Gemmell handled the creating of characters that are drawn from shades of grey - anti-heros and fighters held up to be heros but have the morals of the worst kind of human beings. Ringil, Archeth and Egar are ch...more I have read a large number of reviews that indicate Richard Morgan is doing something fresh and new with this, his first book in a fantasy trilogy. However, I would respectfully disagree. I could see elements of David Gemmell and Michael Moorcock in the writing. Before his untimely death, Gemmell handled the creating of characters that are drawn from shades of grey - anti-heros and fighters held up to be heros but have the morals of the worst kind of human beings. Ringil, Archeth and Egar are characters from this same mould - ambigious motives and less than black and white characteristics.

The way in which Morgan differs from Gemmell is in both the well-publicised swearing and the homosexuality of Ringil. I was disappointed in the way that Morgan handled the latter, to be honest. I don't mind the homosexual sex scenes, and I don't mind the idea that Ringil is considered to be a degenerate, but I do mind the constant references to it. It was almost as though Morgan worried that if he didn't drum it home every few chapters, then the reader might forget this element of Ringil's character.

The start of the story was extremely slow. For such a slight fantasy novel (a mere 350 pages or so, in the edition I read) it took me well over a week to get through. I attribute this to the fact that the three main characters were completely separate and following different storylines up to about the last five chapters. I am familiar with cliffhanger chapter endings and multiple story viewpoints from many other fantasy books, but usually you are given a period of time with the group of characters together before they proceed on their separate storylines - this allows you time in which to bond with the characters so that when they do go their separate ways, you have an investment in the people and the trials and tribulations they face. With this book, Morgan plunged straight into multiple viewpoints and, just as one character got halfway interesting, we were shifted to the start of a new character's story and had to spend time getting to know this character.

With those negatives aside, this was a thumping good read - Ringil was never less than entertaining, and we are given a large number of hints into his background and into events from his past that give reasons for his world-weary take on life. The Dwenda are fabulous as enemies - I feel Morgan draws heavily on fey mythology (and I had echoes of the elves in Lords and Ladies while I read about the dwenda).

Eventually you completely invest in the characters and are cheering them on in the breathless climax, where Morgan demonstrates that his writing of fight scenes is second to none.
An impressive fantasy novel.(less)

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