Red King Black Rook

by Steven Archer

The Red King Black Rook chapbook is a steampunk fable for the modern age. It tells the story of a king's court and what happens when a crafty avian advisor, the Rook, gains the king's ear. Written and illustrated by artist Steven Archer it includes more than 30 drawings.

52 pages, Paperback

First published February 9, 2009

About the author

Steven Archer is an artist and musician living in Baltimore, MD. When not recording, DJing, or producing art, he and his wife, author Donna Lynch, tour with their dark electronic rock band Ego Likeness. He has a BFA from the Corcoran School of Art in Washington DC, and has shown his work at galleries and other venues throughout the east coast, and internationally in the form of album art and magazine illustrations. Luna Maris is his first book.

Reviews

[Cindy Kelly Benabderrahman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely beautiful fairy tale in a reimagined world, full of symbol and meaning. It is easy to read, fun to read out loud, and engaging for me as well as my 6-year old nephew. Of course we get two very different interpretations, much like we do when we read L. Frank Baum - there are layers of parables, and the ones on the surface are apparent to him. He'll reread this charming (but dark) book later on, on his own, and he'll get much more meaning.

This is one I'm so glad I purchased. The artwork is intriguing, the prose is lovely, and it's a quick read. Beautiful book.

[Forrest · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this little chapbook. The artwork makes it worth the buy, to be sure. The story, while well told, methodically marches on to what one must guess will be a surprising ending (it is, mildly). Yes, it could have been much more clever, but it is worth your time, nonetheless.

[Redsteve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A grim (no pun intended) fairy tale set in no particular time or place. I some ways it feels medieval. In others, modern. The only truly fantastical element is the royal advisor, a talking bird. The story is brief but enjoyable, although none of the characters are likeable (if not downright detestable)*. I’m not sure where the “steampunk fable” in the description came from. The story doesn’t feel steampunk to me, and I’ve never heard the author refer to this book that way. If it was Raw Dog Screaming Press, I feel like they kind of dropped the ball on that, but in the end, it has no effect on the quality, unless, of course, you were hoping for a story of zeppelins and steam-powered robots. 3.5 stars. Bumping it up to 4 stars as the book came with a soundtrack by Hopeful Machines.

* OK, I'll admit that I liked the Rook.

[Polynyas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dark and abrupt fable. I enjoyed it immensely.

[Seizure Romero · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm tempted to give this one star because of the bandwagon-jumping attempt to appeal to Steampunk enthusiasts, but I don't know if that's the fault of the author or solely that of the publisher. The description, used on GR, is lifted directly from the publisher's webpage:

"The Red King Black Rook chapbook is a steampunk fable for the modern age."

Bullshit.

There's fuck-all Steampunk about it. It's just another wannabe cautionary tale of the extremes of power, and the corrupt and out-of-touch nature of those who wield it. It's dated 2009, but it could have been written when Reagan was in power. That's the era of which it reminded me.

It's not that this is a bad story, it's just not very good. It's mediocre. It's absolutely nothing new. It supposedly has a 'twist' but, um, not really. My signed and limited paperback chapbook came with a CD, a "soundtrack of sorts" of the author's music. It's ok. I probably enjoyed the music more than the story. It definitely lasted longer.

For the five people reading this and wondering about what may appear as hostility: I'm researching Steampunk for a bibliographic project. Many books are available for me to preview, or check out from the library, or otherwise source without spending money. I'm trying to be inclusive, so that means moving past K.W. Jeter, James P. Blaylock, and The Difference Engine, and exploring lesser-known authors and publishers. When publishers exploit popular appeal by slapping a trendy term on a vaguely-Victorian or analog technology-related tale, it wastes my time (and in this case, my money). It pisses me off, and I hold grudges. I'm probably not going to read this author again. I probably won't buy from this publisher again, because their bullshit is not as advertised, and that's sad because it's an indy publisher and I like supporting those. It's like those idiot sellers on eBay and Etsy who throw 'Steampunk' into every title and description because the item might have metal or leather or looks like it was made before 1980. It's bloody fucking annoying.
/rant

So. Two stars, because it wasn't horrible, I'm usually not as mean as I pretend to be, and because the illustration of the king on page 27 looks like Steve Dallas of Berkeley Breathed's Bloom County, so at least I got a laugh out of it.