Pisces of Fate

Drakeforth Trilogy #2

by Paul Mannering

All is not as it seems in the tranquil waters of the Aardvark Archipelago...

After the death of his parents, Ascott Pudding ran away to the ends of the Earth-that is, to the Aardvark Archipelago, which is basically the same thing. But these tropical waters hold more than just fish, and Ascott soon finds himself in the grip of an ancient mystery...and an extremely violent invertebrate.

With the help of his best friend, Shoal, and an artistically temperamental parrot, Ascott will face down a homicidal octopus, an extreme whale-based sporting event, and several varieties of pirate. Above all, though, they must unravel the ancient mystery of a treasure beyond imagining: the Pisces of Fate.

Genres: Fantasy

224 pages, Paperback

Published August 23, 2019

Reviews

[Nicholas Smeaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of patriotism I always try to give New Zealand SF and Fantasy authors my attention (New Zealand book reviewers seem to loath the genre and only ever review best selling authors like Terry Pratchett and even then only several months after their books are released). This is the second book of the Drakeforth Trilogy. Set in a quirky alternate universe Pisces of Fate is about the misadventures of Ascott Pudding (Brother of Charlotte Pudding the central character of the first book in the trilogy) as he finds himself entangled in the hunt for a hidden treasure. The book is well paced, the author keeps the exposition down to a few lines here and there (Unlike the pages of 'As you know...' that I've encountered in other books) and there is some genuine originality in the story. Thankfully the author has avoided slipping in a bunch of Kiwi in jokes and kept the throwaway gags broad enough to appeal to an international audience. Overall a very enjoyable read.

[Lemurkat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Following on from the highly chaotic and entertaining, "Engines of Empathy", Paul Mannering takes us to a tropical island in the Aardvark Archipelago. Here we meet Charlotte's brother, Ascott Pudding. Ascott has been hiding from the world, pouring all his time and energies into the study of the Archipelago's unique sea fauna. However, that is about to change when a retired god turns up with some bad news: Charlotte is dying, but before he can go to her, Ascott has some serious business to sort out.

Serious business in the form of pirates, a lost treasure, a kidnapped parrot, a murderous octopus (of uncanny intelligence and ability) and, not to forget, the fully-capable and slightly fierce, young lady, Shoal. As can be expected, more madcap and somewhat surreal craziness ensures.

Whilst perhaps not quite as engaging as its forerunner, "Pisces of Fate" is a whole-heartedly fun read, in the spirit of Douglas Adams with a touch of Jasper Fforde.

[Melanie's · Rating 4 out of 5]

*This Book Was Given To Me By The Author In Exchange For An Honest Review*

This was the second book I have read by author Paul Mannering and was the sequel to one of my favorite reads of 2015 "Engines of Empathy". This book has the same quirky attributes as the first book but it didn't quite grab me by the throat and refuse to put me down like the first book did.

With a more nautical emphasis the overall effect was just a little lessened for me but it still made for an entertaining way to pass the time.

4 stars and well worth the read for any Douglas Adams fans for the scrabble spelling octopus alone!

V""V



***Review has been done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official.
For more information regarding our reviews please visit our Fansite: www.facebook.com/NerdGirl.ng ***

[Kura Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pisces of Fate is a fun story: part fantasy, part tropical rom-com. It’s a blend of the comfortingly familiar and yet strikingly original. The story is set in an alternative-world small Pacific island chain and the humour should easily appeal to lovers of early Terry Pratchett.

There’s God’s punching people in the face, a murderous Octopus who bargains our heroes life in an impromptu Scrabble game, groan-out-loud Dad jokes, drunken parrots, drunken pirate parrots and quirky characters with quirky names like Skimpy Gerkin.

Overall Pisces of Fate is a solid book, the ‘twist’ ending suffers a little from being more philosophically over-complicated than is necessary to entertain. Because this IS an entertaining book and while it’s the second in the Drakeforth trilogy it works as a stand-alone – in fact, it felt more like a stand-alone rather than part of a trilogy to me, so don’t be put off if you haven’t read the first book.

[Violet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve never really been one for sequels. In most cases, they tend not to be as good as the original, often grabbing at straws or rehashing old plotlines. Once I finished the first book in the Drakeforth Trilogy, Engines of Empathy , I was on the fence about whether I should read the next one. I mean Engines of Empathy was a fun read, but it didn’t really capture me. Entertainingness aside, there were plot holes and pace problems that I really couldn’t get over after the initial adrenaline of the ending had worn off. Even so, for some reason or another (may be because of the cover or the title), I decided to give the sequel Pisces of Fate a try.

Overall, I’m glad I did. Instead of delivering a whiplash-inducing ride through a very complex and intricate set of conspiracies like the first in the series, the sequel takes a step back and focuses on a completely different story:

Ascott Pudding, Charlotte Pudding’s brother, ran away to the Aardvark Archipelago after their parents died two years ago and has stayed there studying the fish ever since. But his comfortable routine of diving and feeding his talkative parrot is upended by the arrival of a certain retired god who tells him he needs to return home to his sister. In order to get the money for the flight, Ascott, leaps, tumbles, and almost drowns in the arms of a mystery that has haunted the islands for a hundred years. What happened to Captain Aarrgh’s treasure? Who is this stranger wanting his parrot? And, most importantly, can he convince his best friend Shoal to tag along?

Seems like another rip-roaring adventure, right? Well I don’t know if it was a conscious or unconscious mimicry of the island setting, but this novel a much slower story than its predecessor. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t Victorian slow with long passages devoted to the special way the water moved in the sunlight. But it had a slower, steady pace that breathed and relaxed. Things of course sped up when needed, but the plot wasn’t afraid to linger over the ocean as the characters floated in its blue embrace. In a way, I was intensely grateful for that. The literary waters of the Aardvark Archipelago soothed me as well as offering an escape from my daily life. Looking back, that’s something that the Engines of Empathy just couldn’t achieve for me.

And in that way, by taking the pace down a notch, Paul Mannering finally stopped intensely resembling Jasper Fforde as he did for me in the first novel. This time, Mannering let his own voice ring throughout the waters. Don’t get me wrong. Silliness still lurks in the pages: in the parrot’s outcries, the culture of the islands, and even fun but superfluous details like main island’s council of cats. But the now the characters shine through stronger and are more than just their quirky traits. For example, Ascott’s isolationism and rationalism are more keenly felt and explored amongst the islands than his sister’s curiosity and empathy amongst the frantic conspiracies.

The larger themes also have more room to unfurl in the expanses of the ocean. Like everything in Engines of Empathy, the philosophical messages being bandied about were often squeezed in and almost crushed by the intense pace of the action. But in the sequel, things are much more reflective. The pace leaves you room to think with the characters, pondering the philosophical depths surrounding relationships, money, and general existential purpose (which all stem from the culture clash between the city boy Ascott and the island native Shoal).

And that brings me to the trilogy’s namesake…Drakeforth. One of the big reveals of Engines of Empathy is that he is the Arthur, the god behind the quantum religion and Christianity stand-in of Arthurianism. Only now he is “retired.” That never really sat well with me, considering the lack of build up to the reveal and how he also fits into a human family tree give at the back of the book. And yet when he first appeared at Ascott’s doorstep after walking across the water, and subsequently reappears, spouting vague but deep (and silly) utterances, his status of a retired god suddenly felt right. He suddenly fit into the world and cosmology of the series’ universe. Mannering had finally justified Drakeforth’s character to me. Never mind that there are still some unanswered questions about him. Never mind that his characterization is different in this novel than in the Engines of Empathy. Never mind that his status as a retired god should’ve been justified long ago…I was finally satisfied with Drakeforth’s character. Maybe those inconsistencies will work themselves out in the third novel…speaking of which…

When I finished the novel and turned to the internet to find out more about the third in the trilogy, I discovered that the small New Zealand publishing company that had published the first two books had folded last July. You can say I was disheartened. Does that mean there won’t be a third book? Or will it just take longer than expected? I couldn’t find any information to answer those questions, but I can only say that I will find somehow find a way to read this future third book no matter what country I end up in. This book had put my faith (at least temporarily) back into sequels.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first in this series, despite the silly names, so I looked forward to reading this one. There's plenty of good stuff in it - comedy, adventure, a little bit of musing about what makes life worthwhile - but ultimately I felt it muffed the ending and didn't quite live up to its promise.

Partly, I think, this is because the protagonist, Ascott Pudding, is one of those directionless losers that you get sometimes as the protagonists of comic fantasy (Tom Holt comes to mind, and Terry Pratchett's Rincewind), and that means that he never really settles on a clear goal. Is he trying to complete his book on sea life? Well, sort of, but when his manuscript is destroyed it doesn't upset him for very long, and he abandons that life work (which was really a way of not facing his issues anyway). Is he setting out to build a romantic relationship with the competent Shoal Smith? Well, a bit, but he's so pusillanimous about it (and she, understandably, is so lacking in keenness on the idea) that it never really goes anywhere, just serves as a source of tension and embarrassment. Is he trying to save his friend the parrot? Definitely, and he risks his life to do so - a decision that I felt wasn't adequately motivated, and somewhat out of character for someone so lacking in physical courage or ability. But that (authentically exciting) moment is soon over, and there's still plenty of book to go.

So is he trying to find the pirate treasure? He is, using the nonsensical argument that the villains will pursue him and Shoal as long as they think they're hiding something, so the obvious thing to do is find the treasure first and... hide it. But when they finally do find the treasure, they're more witnesses to the denouement than drivers of it, despite taking definite, proactive steps to resolve the situation up to that point. He's also, a bit, trying to find a way to save his sister Charlotte, even though they're not close; trying to figure out what is going on with all the gods, including the one who keeps dropping in at odd moments, occasionally as if out of a machine; and pursuing various minor, scene-level goals, such as not being killed by a highly intelligent octopus who, when he has Ascott unconscious, apparently just changes his mind, or was kidding the whole time, and saves him instead. But none of these goals (except the octopus one, briefly) drive him very strongly. Overall, he just isn't a very focussed or effective character, and I think that was the book's ultimate weakness. There are plenty of good elements - pirate treasure, the intelligent octopus, an intelligent parrot, apparently intelligent cats (who don't end up being important to the plot), a race across the backs of whales, a mystery, the meaning of life. For me, though, they didn't completely gel together into a fully successful book at the end.

Another round of copy editing also wouldn't go amiss; nothing major, but a number of "let's eat Grandma" errors (missing commas before terms of address), and a few other bits of slightly misplaced punctuation, including the dreaded interrobang. At one point, the text talks about a "brace of hairy fellas" and then, in the next sentence, about "some of" these fellas; a "brace" means two. There's also the occasional typo, about the usual number.

Overall, I'm still giving it four stars, because there was plenty of good material and I did enjoy it. I just thought it had some room to be a better book than it ultimately was.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another solid and enjoyable instalment in the Drakeforth Trilogy. Plenty to giggle at, and lots to make you think about the quantum meaning of fish and laughter. At turns thoughtful and entertaining, any fan of Engines of Empathy, or the works of Pratchett or Adams, will enjoy this book.