Eamonn Murphy (Author of Arnos Hell)

Eamonn Murphy wrote a new blog post NEW BOOK GIVEAWAY: The History of the Future My new book series, Federation and Empire, is out now. I say ‘new’; the stories were previously available from Nomadic Delirium Press in one big book, Read more of this blog post »
Sep 01, 2026 05:57AM · like
Eamonn Murphy rated a book really liked it A Shadow All of Light by Fred Chappell	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
These stories of Falco the apprentice shadow thief first appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science-Fiction, and I loved them. So when I discovered they had been combined into a novel, I couldn’t get it soon enough. Or is it a novel that was so ...more
Apr 08, 2026 02:00AM · like · see review
Eamonn Murphy rated a book really liked it The Drowning Sea: The Talmont Trilogy Book 2 by David Hair	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
‘The Drowning Sea’ is the second volume in ‘The Talmont Trilogy’, which began with ‘The Burning Land’. This review will contain inevitable spoilers for ‘The Burning Land’, so read it first. It’s very good. If you read it a while ago and can’t remembe ...more
Jan 29, 2026 02:55AM · like · see review
Eamonn Murphy rated a book really liked it The Burning Land (The Talmont Trilogy #1) by David Hair	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Burning Land is the first volume in The Talmont Trilogy, an epic fantasy series set in the world of Coros. It was wracked by war between the empires of Talmont, Zynoch and Abutha until Jovan Lux, a sort of Messiah, forged them into the Triple Emp ...more
Jan 29, 2026 02:48AM · like · see review
Eamonn Murphy rated a book really liked it Frank Herbert's Dune: The Graphic Novel, Book 3: The Prophet by Brian Herbert	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is the third and final instalment in the graphic novel adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune, probably the best-selling science fiction novel in the world. As before, the script by Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert comprises the thoughts and dial ...more
Jan 29, 2026 02:36AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Frank Herbert's Dune by Brian Herbert. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Frank Herbert's Dune by Brian Herbert <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Eamonn Murphy rated a book really liked it Legalist (The Grand Illusion #4) by L.E. Modesitt Jr. (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Legalist is the fourth book in L. E. Modesitt, Jr.’s Grand Illusion series but it’s a prequel to the others so you don’t need to read them first. You can read them after if you like this one. Although the genre is secondary world fantasy it’s really ...more
Jan 29, 2026 02:29AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Legalist by L.E. Modesitt Jr.. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Legalist by L.E. Modesitt Jr. <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Eamonn Murphy rated a book really liked it Sub-Majer's Challenge (The Saga of Recluce #25) by L.E. Modesitt Jr. (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
How can an honest army officer stop rival nations raiding and invading his country when he’s hampered by penny pinching and supply shortages from headquarters because certain factions in the capital city have their own agenda? Furthermore, how can he ...more
Jan 29, 2026 02:17AM · like · see review
Eamonn Murphy rated a book liked it The Essential Patricia A. McKillip by Patricia A. McKillip	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Essential Patricia A. McKillip was my introduction to this author. She comes highly recommended, having won several top awards for fantasy novels and was hailed as “one of the most accomplished prose stylists in the fantasy genre” by Brian Stable ...more
Jan 29, 2026 02:08AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Essential Patricia A. McKillip by Patricia A. McKillip. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Essential Patricia A. McKillip by Patricia A. McKillip <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Eamonn Murphy rated a book really liked it Overcaptain (The Saga of Recluce #24) by L.E. Modesitt Jr. (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Overcaptain is the 24th volume in the Saga of Recluce but fear not, reader. You don’t have to read twenty-three other books to find out what’s going on. The Saga is split into sections covering different periods over 2000 years of history and featuri ...more
Jan 29, 2026 02:02AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Overcaptain by L.E. Modesitt Jr.. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Overcaptain by L.E. Modesitt Jr. <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Eamonn Murphy rated a book really liked it Lives of Bitter Rain (The Tyrant Philosophers, #2.5) by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Can a young orphan girl with no particular talent except sword fighting rise through the ranks in a tough, ruthless regime that’s out to conquer the world? Lives of Bitter Rain by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a novella in the Tyrant Philosophers series, whi ...more
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Eamonn Murphy wrote a new blog post

NEW BOOK GIVEAWAY: The History of the Future

My new book series, Federation and Empire, is out now. I say ‘new’; the stories were previously available from Nomadic Delirium Press in one big book, Read more of this blog post »

Eamonn Murphy rated a book really liked it

A Shadow All of Light
by Fred Chappell

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These stories of Falco the apprentice shadow thief first appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science-Fiction, and I loved them. So when I discovered they had been combined into a novel, I couldn’t get it soon enough. Or is it a novel that was so These stories of Falco the apprentice shadow thief first appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science-Fiction, and I loved them. So when I discovered they had been combined into a novel, I couldn’t get it soon enough. Or is it a novel that was sold in bits to The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction? Hard to tell. It reads like a novel, to be fair, with the disparate elements coming together nicely at the end, and as people are more likely to buy novels than story collections, we shall call it a novel.

Falco is a farmer’s son who wants to better himself, so he comes to the port city of Tardocco in the province of Tlemia with the aim of apprenticing himself to Maestro Astolfo of the shadow trade. When we meet Falco, he is in Astolfo’s mansion with Astolfo’s blade at his throat. Fortunately, the master decides to admit him to his household. Falco the farmer is soon engaged in intensive training. He will learn to separate shadows from their casters with the quasilune knife, but must also undergo intense instruction in unarmed combat and swordplay from the voiceless servant Mutano, a great hulk of a man who thrashes him easily. His first real job comes up when a merchant named Pecunio contacts Maestro Astolfo with a shadow for sale. The names, city-states, and level of culture are all similar to those of Italy during the Renaissance.

Pecunio asks Astolfo to identify a shadow purporting to be that of the infamous pirate Morbruzzo. Falco is not much help here as he is still learning the trade. In his next adventure, a noble lady has a great jewel which appears to have a shadow in it, and her mental health seems to be affected. On page 40, we learn some of the uses of shadows in this world. They may be used to furnish a pleasant background to a room. Winemakers steep lesser vintages in shadow to add subtlety and depth, and they may be used to darken silks and linens slightly. As the novel progresses, there is more about shadows, and it becomes clear that Chappell’s fantastical conceit has been well thought out.

By chapter three, some years have passed, and Falco has learned enough to take on an assignment of his own. A wealthy rope merchant has twin children, a brother and sister born an hour apart, but has lately noticed that they have only one shadow between them. Sometimes it attaches to one, sometimes to the other. Meanwhile, Mutano, the mute who trains Falco in swordplay, has a scheme to get his voice back from the villain who stole it years before.

Falco, Mutano, and Maestro Astolfo are developed as characters over the course of the novel, and all of them change. The climax is a huge event with the entire city in danger from an enemy without and traitors within. Characters introduced in earlier sections are brought into play, and it all ties up very neatly.

If you’re the kind of reader who demands fast-paced stories with lots of action, this might not be for you. The chapters are quite long and demand an attention span greater than that of a gnat. The prose is beautiful but takes its time to tell the story. Fred Chappell has a poet's vocabulary and love of words, but his style is also clear. Previous poets who have written fantasy are sometimes hard work, though the sounds are lovely, the meaning is not always clear. I am thinking of Clark Ashton Smith. There are other authors of fantasy who use a low-key, understated literary style who can be so boring that one's eyelids tend to droop. Gene Wolfe, alas, has this effect on me. Two who strike the right balance between style and readability are Peter S. Beagle and Fred Chappell. I would put Chappell ahead by a nose, if that much. If I were reading Beagle this week, I might put him ahead. Either one is a joy.

Readers of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction familiar with the parts printed therein will surely snap up this fine novel, but I’d recommend it to any fan of sophisticated fantasy. ...more

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The Drowning Sea: The Talmont Trilogy Book 2
by David Hair

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‘The Drowning Sea’ is the second volume in ‘The Talmont Trilogy’, which began with ‘The Burning Land’. This review will contain inevitable spoilers for ‘The Burning Land’, so read it first. It’s very good. If you read it a while ago and can’t remembe ‘The Drowning Sea’ is the second volume in ‘The Talmont Trilogy’, which began with ‘The Burning Land’. This review will contain inevitable spoilers for ‘The Burning Land’, so read it first. It’s very good. If you read it a while ago and can’t remember details, ‘The Drowning Sea’ opens with a compact, detailed and useful summary of the first book. More authors are performing this useful service now.

Some of our heroes are soldiers who once belonged to the Order of the Knights of the Vestments of Elysia Divina, fought loyally for the Triple Empire of Talmont, Zynoch and Abutha, for the God-Emperor Eindil Pandramion III, Heirophant of Talmont, and believed in the Akkanite religion founded by Jovan Lux, ancestor to the God-Emperor. Those happy days are gone. After being defeated by the Vyr, a band of rebels setting fire to farms and forests across the world, they dared to interrogate a prisoner and heard unwelcome truths. Questioning their superiors landed them in jail. They escaped and went in search of a seer called Nillis Evandriel, hotly pursued by the forces of the empire.
The Order Knights are born with a talent called the glyma which gives them powers beyond ordinary mortals but requires strict self-discipline to control, including chastity. They recharge their glyma power from elobyne shards, which are scattered throughout the empire. Elobyne is a mysterious substance discovered or created by Jovan Lux, founder of the empire and the Akkanite religion. The Vyr claim that the elobyne shards destroy the land, sucking all life out of it. Only extreme heat can destroy the shards, which is why they are setting fires everywhere. The land will recover from fire damage once the shards are gone.

The heroes are as follows. Romara Challys, daughter of an ancient, wealthy family. Jaydn Kaen, a farm boy who discovered he had the glyma. The mage Elindhu Morspeth, who turned out to be an Erling shape changer. Soren var’Dael an initiate in the order who has the glyma and is also a skilled swordsman, trained by his warrior father. The captured vyr prisoner, Gram, who joined them in their quest for truth, and Auranuschka Perafi, a beautiful thief they rescued along the way. Sly, clever, and with hidden talents, Aura becomes an important element in the quest.

At the end of book one, they were split up. Jaydn and Aura crossed a magic bridge and portal to a coastal region. They continue their journey in search of Nilis Evandriel, pursued by Vazi Virago, female Exemplar of the Vestal Order and Yoryn Boghart, a Lictor. All four have some gift for the aegis, a kind of magic that preceded elobyne and was used by the legendary Sanctor Wardens in bygone days. Meanwhile, Romara has been captured by the empire and is due to be tortured and put on trial to publicly discredit her heretic views. Her old comrades Gram, Elindhu and Soren are desperate to rescue her. Brave Romara cracks and babbles under torture as everyone does. This is realistic. Scenes of torture are not detailed, but we’re told what is done. Elites will go to any lengths to maintain their power and wealth.

A lot is happening in the story and there’s a rich historical and magical background to it all. Author David Hair maintains suspense and interest by switching point of view so you get inside the heads of the main characters, even the villains. You might feel sorry for ruthless Vazi Virago when she suffers at the hands of the Seraphim, creatures who look like angels but really aren’t. You might even understand, a little, vile torturer Yoryn Boghart. Readers will certainly pity Romara Challys. The adventures of Jaydn and Aura and their burgeoning love provide much excitement. Soren and Elindhu also have a deep relationship. I read that Romantasy, is the top-selling genre at the moment and while I wouldn’t classify ‘The Drowning Sea’ as that, it has strong romantic elements. There’s even sex!

As the author admits in an afterword, Book Two of a trilogy can be difficult to get right because it “starts in motion and ends with not a lot resolved”. I’m happy to report that ‘The Drowning Sea’ does not suffer at all from middle-book sag and is perhaps even more gripping than the first volume. The characters are developed further and we learn more about the historical background of the Sanctor Wardens, the Akkanite religion and the Seraphim. There’s plenty of tension, suspense and adventure as well as some heart-warming love. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to the gripping conclusion in ‘The Falling Sky’out in February 2026. ...more

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The Burning Land (The Talmont Trilogy #1)
by David Hair

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The Burning Land is the first volume in The Talmont Trilogy, an epic fantasy series set in the world of Coros. It was wracked by war between the empires of Talmont, Zynoch and Abutha until Jovan Lux, a sort of Messiah, forged them into the Triple Emp The Burning Land is the first volume in The Talmont Trilogy, an epic fantasy series set in the world of Coros. It was wracked by war between the empires of Talmont, Zynoch and Abutha until Jovan Lux, a sort of Messiah, forged them into the Triple Empire. He also founded a religion in which Akka, the Father, and Elysia, his handmaiden, are opposed by the evil Devourer. Now it’s 1472 and the Triple Empire is ruled by the God-Emperor Eindil Pandramion III, Heirophant of Talmont. He rules with the help of a union of elites which transcends race, colour or creed. Beneath them are the exploited masses. A novel for our time, not least because the world is burning. Hence the title.

Our heroes are the Falcons, a pentacle of knights who belong to the Vestal Order, the Knights of the Vestments of Elysia Divina. Certain people are gifted with control of the glyma, a kind of magical energy that usually shows up in adolescence and gets them recruited into the Vestals. There, they learn to control the glyma, harness it, and become soldiers of the Triple Empire. They are sworn to chastity because powerful emotions can make them lose control and become monstrous, like the Vyr, their enemy. Most Vestal knights retire by the age of thirty because by then, it is getting harder to retain control. They boost their glyma energy from shards planted around the world at twenty kylo intervals, recharging themselves and their swords like Green Lantern recharging his ring with a power battery but without a rhyming oath. The shards are made of elobyne, mined from a source in Talmont. It hasn’t been stated yet, but I assume it’s from a crashed meteor.

The Vyr are rebelling against the empire and setting fire to the land, burning towns, villages, crops and forests. The Vestal Knights are trying to hold them back. As the story begins, the Falcons have lost the isle of Avas and are trying to save what they can of the population. Civilians are on the beaches waiting for boats to rescue them, like in Dunkirk. The Falcons are led by Romara Challys of an ancient, wealthy family. Her second in command is Jaydn Kaen, a farm boy who discovered he had the glyma. They are in love and plan to marry when they retire. Obanji Vost is a black man from Abutha, forty years old now, wise and highly respected. Their mage is Elindhu Morspeth, ugly and clever. Mages don’t fight like warriors but help with their magic.

They survive the battle on Avas and recruit Soren var’Dael as an initiate in the order. He has the glyma and is also a skilled swordsman, trained by his warrior father. They also capture a Vyr prisoner, Gram. He has the glyma, but without control, so it can turn him into a raging monster. Jaydn decides to break protocol by questioning Gram because the Vestal Knights have no idea why the Vyr are setting fire to the world. Orders from on high state that all Vyr must be killed, never quizzed, because they can beguile a sweet, innocent knight. Gram tells Jaydn that the Vyr are trying to save the world. The shards are destroying it. The burning is to destroy the shards with extreme heat. That’s a bit of a spoiler but it happens quite early. This revelation turns their lives upside down, and now they must fight against everything they previously believed. However, first they must prove it’s true. To this end, they set off on a quest to find the heretic preacher Nilis Evandriel. The quest takes them on a long journey, pursued all the way by their old comrades of the Vestal Order. There are many surprises, discoveries and revelations, and the interpersonal dynamics of the old comrades are changed in unexpected ways. A key catalyst for this is Auranuschka Perafi, a beautiful thief they rescue along the way. Sly, clever, transactional and with hidden talents, Aura becomes an important element in the quest.

The Falcons are terrific heroes, sympathetic human characters to whom, I promise, reader, you will become attached. The villains are a dastardly, hateful bunch you will loathe, but also human, for we can be evil. See the news. There are also non-human creatures later in the tale, and they are dangerous but not necessarily bad. The story gallops along while the point of view switches allow you to see events through different characters ' eyes, including the villains. I was thoroughly caught up in it and always mad to know what happened next.

The setting is complex, imaginative and rich enough to satisfy the most demanding fantasy fan. The themes of elites ignoring a global peril because they’re doing just fine thanks while keeping the masses ignorant and uninformed, is an unsubtle allegory for our time. The book’s title tells you everything. But author David Hair has certainly not sold his birthright for a pot of message. This is a magnificent, entertaining yarn on its own terms and could be thoroughly enjoyed by an oil tycoon with a private jet. An eco-warrior chained to a tree will probably like it better, as long as he’s kept a hand free to turn the pages. Fitting neither of these extremes, just an old man sat on a sofa, I loved it and recommend it highly. ...more

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Frank Herbert's Dune: The Graphic Novel, Book 3: The Prophet
by Brian Herbert

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This is the third and final instalment in the graphic novel adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune, probably the best-selling science fiction novel in the world. As before, the script by Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert comprises the thoughts and dial This is the third and final instalment in the graphic novel adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune, probably the best-selling science fiction novel in the world. As before, the script by Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert comprises the thoughts and dialogue of the characters, taken from the original book. They have left the art to convey the scenery and action, a good choice for this medium.

That art is by Raúl Allén and Patricia Martín and tells the story efficiently with occasional ruffles and flourishes. Pages 20 and 22- 24 have the panels inside silhouettes of the heads of the lead characters. In the previous volume, the pictures were sometimes obscured by colouring everything in a single hue, either red or blue according to the characters involved, but, except for the first few pages set on the Harkonnen homeworld, that’s not done here. The art is better for it. The colour tones are not vibrant or bright, but the beige effect suits the story setting of a desert world.

The evil Harkonnens have ousted the forces of Duke Leto Atreides and are now in control of Arrakis. Governor Rabban works the population hard to increase spice production. The Space Guild pilots use the spice, or melange, made by the giant desert worms to navigate between the stars, and the Empire couldn’t run without it, so it’s the most valuable and profitable substance in the galaxy. Baron Harkonnen must cope with an assassination attempt by his nephew and heir, Feyd-Rautha, but apart from that, he believes everything is going well. He even has Thufir Hawat, the Atreides Mentat serving him, poisoned with something to which the Baron has the only antidote.

Little does he know that the Duke’s son, Paul Atreides, survived his coup of Arrakis and is now leader of the desert Fremen, while his mother, Jessica, trained by the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, has become their Reverend Mother. The Bene Gesserit are experts in religious indoctrination and dirty fighting. Their techniques have enabled the Prophet Paul to forge the Fremen into a fanatical force ready for a bloody Jihad. The elite soldiers of Emperor Shaddam IV, the Sadaukar, drawn from survivors of a harsh prison planet, Salusa Secundus, are reckoned to be the toughest troops in the galaxy. Few know that the Fremen are tougher, or how many Fremen there are tucked away in the deep desert. Paul is aided by his sister Alia, a terrifying child born with the memories of all her ancestors because Jessica took spice while she was in the womb.

I won’t spoil the plot for those who don’t know it. The principal theme of Dune, it seems to me, is that the strong survive and the weak are conquered. To become strong, you need harsh conditions. Luxury makes you weak. Of course, once your tribe has conquered everyone else and become rich, they fall into the way of decadence and softness, and get away with it for a while but are inevitably supplanted by another bunch of tough barbarians. Technology makes a difference to this, of course, but probably just delays the inevitable. The worrying thing about this theory is that, although it’s not very nice, it might well be true. Are we Western softies soon to be conquered by rough Russians? Who knows?

Either way, Dune is a terrific story and very digestible in graphic novel form. There are nearly 200 pages in this hardback edition, a good, solid read on high-quality paper. Adaptors Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson and the artists have done an excellent job, and the whole three-book collection is now available as a box set in time for Christmas. The themes of peace and goodwill to all men are somewhat absent, but it will make a fine gift anyway for the science fiction fan in your life, even if that’s you. ...more

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Legalist (The Grand Illusion #4)
by L.E. Modesitt Jr. (Goodreads Author)

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Legalist is the fourth book in L. E. Modesitt, Jr.’s Grand Illusion series but it’s a prequel to the others so you don’t need to read them first. You can read them after if you like this one. Although the genre is secondary world fantasy it’s really Legalist is the fourth book in L. E. Modesitt, Jr.’s Grand Illusion series but it’s a prequel to the others so you don’t need to read them first. You can read them after if you like this one. Although the genre is secondary world fantasy it’s really a political novel which tells the story of Dominic Ysella, a Councilor in the government of Guldor which is ruled over by the Imperador Laureous. Ysella is 33 years old and unmarried. He’s also smart, careful, discreet and trustworthy so fellow Councilors and even the Premier, often seek his advice. The story takes place fifty years after the Imperium was established. Ysella’s grandfather was the king of Aloor, a land conquered by Laureous years before but as the third son of landed gentry - Landors in Modesitt’s world - he stood to inherit nothing, so he became a legalist to earn a living and, eventually, a Councilor for his homeland in the capital city of Machtarn.

Councilors are elected by those property-owning gentlemen who have the vote. Landors are the largest group and regard themselves as the natural party of government but commercers are a rising class as trade and finance become more important. Able Crafters, or artisans, can also acquire property and wealth and they also have representation on the Council. Commercers and Crafter votes combined can defeat any measures proposed that favour only Landors. As yet, these groups have not formed political parties and each Councilor is supposedly independent but that tradition, myth really, is rapidly becoming outdated.

Like President Trump, Imperador Laureous can veto any bill he doesn’t like, issue edicts that must be obeyed (probably with a quill pen instead of a sharpie) and controls the army and navy, so supreme power rests with him. However, he is slowly dying and his Heir is not a splendid fellow. Laureous founded the Imperium by ruthless methods but at least he’s smart and wants to leave a stable empire as his legacy when he’s gone. His son is just a cruel spoiled brat and everyone dreads him taking over. Ysella works with Iustan Detruro, Premier of the Council, to prepare the way for the Imperador’s death by making the Council more powerful but without a violent revolution. As Ysella says, “Revolutions never end up where the revolutionaries thought they would. Too many people get killed, often the revolutionaries.”

Apart from that, he has the usual troubles of a politician. He’s chairman of the waterways committee so the voters back in Aloor want him to get more money to clear their rivers and improve their ports. Like electorates everywhere, they want government money spent on them, not ‘wasted’ on anyone else, and don’t want to pay more taxes. Or any tax if they can help it. Landors want to keep their old privileges, Commercers want government contracts to get rich and Crafters try to avoid being crushed by the other two groups. Even in his fantasy worlds where chaos wizards hurl firebolts against attacking armies, Modesitt always puts in a fair bit of stuff about how rulers wisely rule, or not. This book is pure politics and little else. There are a few attacks and assassinations but that is politics, at least in America.

The entire story is told in tight third-person point of view on Councilor Dominic Ysella as he goes about his daily life. He gets up, rides to the Council offices, does some paperwork with his two clerks, goes to chair meetings of the waterways committee and then on to the full Council meeting to vote on measures proposed. When the Council is not in session, he travels by post coach back home to Aloor to visit his family and keep abreast of what worries local voters so he can get back in at the next election. Ysella is a fit young man trained in swordsmanship and self-defence and there’s occasional violence but not much. He’s courting a widow who owns a tin mine, so there’s some romance too. No sex. I’m a big fan of Modesitt’s books and his blog and his sensible views but I have to say that if you’re looking for excitement, Legalist is not the book for you.

Although it’s book four in The Grand Illusion series, comprising Isolate, Councilor, Contrarian and Legalist, this novel is a prequel which takes place 450 years before the first three books in the series and features entirely different characters. While manners and society are pretty much the same, at least among the upper echelons featured, the technology is more primitive being at the horse and cart level, whereas the later books had steam-powered cars. Steam engines are a new development mentioned here in passing. The technological changes over four centuries don’t seem as much as you might expect. The same goes for social progress. In Isolate and the other books, Landors are still a powerful group but if you look at English history from 1500 to 1950 there were huge changes and by 1950 a Labour government - ‘Crafters’ in Modesitt’s terminology - were in power and the landed gentry were much reduced. Legalist reads like a political novel by Anthony Trollope from 1876, with everyone going to and fro by horse-drawn carriages, and Prime Ministers coming from the landed aristocracy but that was only 75 years before a Labour/Crafter government.

The only fantasy elements in the book, apart from the setting, are empaths and isolates. Empaths can sense emotions and even project them to a degree. They can tell when someone is lying. Powerful empaths can control weaker people known as susceptibles and force them to work. Landors use a susceptible labour force controlled by empaths. Isolates like Ysella cannot be read or dominated by empaths. However, these characteristics play very little part in the story, which would be pretty much the same without them.

Legalist is a splendid political novel with interesting characters, a slow but oddly gripping story and many insights relevant to our times. Modesitt’s technique is to draw you into the daily life of the character so you are completely immersed in his world for five hundred pages. It works. Fans of The Grand Illusion series will certainly enjoy this prequel. I would recommend new readers to try a short Modesitt book first as a taster. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a short Modesitt book. ...more

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Sub-Majer's Challenge by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Sub-Majer's Challenge (The Saga of Recluce #25)
by L.E. Modesitt Jr. (Goodreads Author)

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How can an honest army officer stop rival nations raiding and invading his country when he’s hampered by penny pinching and supply shortages from headquarters because certain factions in the capital city have their own agenda? Furthermore, how can he How can an honest army officer stop rival nations raiding and invading his country when he’s hampered by penny pinching and supply shortages from headquarters because certain factions in the capital city have their own agenda? Furthermore, how can he do it without endangering his own men and dying himself? That’s the Sub-Majer’s Challenge.

The Sub-Majer is Aliyiakal, whose adventures began in From the Forest, where he started his military career in the Mirror Lancers, the armed forces of Cyador. His troubles continued in Overcaptain at the end of which he was promoted to Sub-Majer after some success against local bandits and the forces of Duke Taartyn of Cerlyn. He wins a major battle in the early stages of this book and is promoted to Majer, so the title is misleading as he’s only a challenged Sub-Majer for the first 35 pages. After that, he’s a challenged Majer. Never mind. His reward for success is to be given command of Pemedra, another dangerous border post near Cerlyn, where he has served before but wasn’t in charge.

After a short leave, another romantic interlude with his beloved Saelora, a lady Merchanter, he heads off to the new job. On the way there, he’s told that Mirror Lancers will have to make do with fewer fire lances, their main weapon, as the chaos to charge them is in short supply. They must also try to get their food more cheaply from local suppliers and buy their own wine. Annoying. It’s almost as if someone back in the capital, Cyad, doesn’t want the Mirror Lancers to be too effective against Cerlyn, which supplies copper to Cyador. Could Merchanters profiting from the copper trade put their own profits above the interests of the country? Surely not! The next quarter of the book concerns Alyiakal’s battles against enemy forces. There will be few surprises for Modesitt fans in what follows.

In Overcaptain, some soldiers, and even his girlfriend, were shocked by how ruthlessly Alyiakal dealt out death and referred to him as cold-blooded. His view is that if it’s kill or be killed, he’ll kill. As he gets older, however, he suffers more from guilty nightmares about some past events, which makes him a more sympathetic character.

It’s solid fictional fare, as usual, and perhaps the most realistic fantasy out there. Aliyiakal is a soldier in an organised army with superiors he has to obey, not a free agent. Furthermore, the life of an officer consists of routine things like maps, logistics, training the troops and writing reports to headquarters, much of which is sufficiently interesting for the reader. Of course, there is magic, too, in his use of order and chaos. The Accursed Forest, a feature of the first book but not so much since, also plays a bigger part in this story. It is sentient in some way and can communicate by putting images into the minds of humans able to receive them. Alyiakal gets news belatedly from Adayal, a lady from the forest that he knew once, in the biblical sense.

Incidentally, part of the summary on the inside flap of the hardcover edition is wrong. It says, “He takes leave only to discover his courtship of Saelora is opposed by her mother.” No, it isn’t. She wasn’t keen before but looks on him more favourably now. I’ve no idea how this misinformation got there but you can ignore it.

As an individual book, the novel is oddly structured because the climax, in military terms, happens about halfway through. The rest is concerned with our hero’s personal life and preparing the way for his next posting and the next book, The Last of the First, which is scheduled for a June 2026 release. Of course, Sub-Majer’s Challenge is not an individual book but part of a series and the structure is shaped for that. In fact, I read on the author’s website that he planned this as three books but Tor resisted having 750-page hardbacks and split the story into four. I enjoyed Sub-Majer’s Challenge more than Overcaptain, which was still pretty good, and I look forward to the conclusion of the series.
Overcaptain was dedicated to L. E. Modesitt’s mother, Nancy Evans Modesitt (1920 - 2022). The author himself is 82 now but clearly has good genes to go with his solid work ethic and, hopefully, will continue to provide us with novels for a few more years to come. ...more

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The Essential Patricia A. McKillip
by Patricia A. McKillip

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The Essential Patricia A. McKillip was my introduction to this author. She comes highly recommended, having won several top awards for fantasy novels and was hailed as “one of the most accomplished prose stylists in the fantasy genre” by Brian Stable ...more

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Overcaptain (The Saga of Recluce #24)
by L.E. Modesitt Jr. (Goodreads Author)

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Overcaptain is the 24th volume in the Saga of Recluce but fear not, reader. You don’t have to read twenty-three other books to find out what’s going on. The Saga is split into sections covering different periods over 2000 years of history and featuri Overcaptain is the 24th volume in the Saga of Recluce but fear not, reader. You don’t have to read twenty-three other books to find out what’s going on. The Saga is split into sections covering different periods over 2000 years of history and featuring various lead characters. The hero of this one is Alyiakal. His story began in From the Forest so it would be useful to read that first. Although it’s the 23rd volume published, From the Forest is actually the first in the series chronology, at least so far. It dates back to the first century after the founding of Cyador by people who came from the Rational Stars, our universe, and were somehow transported into a world where different physical laws apply. Some individuals, known as magi, can manipulate the forces of order and chaos, and with this magic, the founders managed to restrain the Accursed Forest and build a nation. Chief among them was a magi known as the First, whose works, such as roads and a great canal, still dominate the landscape.

Overcaptain continues to follow the career of Alyiakal in the Mirror Lancers, the armed forces and part of the triumvirate which rules Cyador. The other two factions are the magi and the merchanters, or businessmen. There is an emperor but it’s hinted that an heir who displeases the real rulers might have an accident. In our history, a few kings have died in ‘accidents’, so this is realistic.

Like many Modesitt heroes, Alyiakal has magic powers which he keeps secret. Using control over the forces of order and chaos, he can become invisible, protect himself with an invisible force field and even extend it to protect those near him. He can also sense people and animals over a fair distance, which makes him hard to ambush. The main weapon of the Mirror Lancers is the firelance, basically a flamethrower powered by chaos energy, which gives them a great advantage over enemies armed only with swords and bows. Firelances have a limited energy supply and have to be recharged by special engineers but Alyiakal is able to gather chaos energy from sunshine and recharge his own, so he has more ‘ammo’ than other lancers. These useful talents, combined with his own bravery and skill, make him a successful military officer and he has impressed his superiors by fighting barbarian raiders at various border outposts of Cyador. His reward is to get posted to other dangerous border outposts and do more of the same. In between three-year-long postings, he gets a few weeks' annual leave to court the lovely Saelora, a smart woman who is among the few female merchanters in Cyador. There’s a long, romantic lull in the middle of this book where they spend time together. It’s rather sweet.

Overcaptain starts with Aliyiakal still stationed at Oldroad post, where he is in command and acting as the Imperial Enumerator, charging tariffs on traders who enter Cyador. Tariffs, the most beautiful word in the world! More traders are passing his way lately and Alyiakal suspects it's because he charges the correct rates while other corrupt Enumerators, usually from the merchanter class, charge extra. He can’t do much about this and is soon moved on anyway, first to evacuate a post at Luuval where a headland has collapsed into the sea and rising waters threaten to swamp the Mirror Lancer fort very soon. Then, he’s sent to another dangerous border post. A Lancer’s lot is not a happy one.
Some Cyadorans, even his girlfriend Saelora, are shocked by how cold-blooded Alyiakal is about killing people. Saelora sees him destroy a few bandits and is stunned. After a battle, a fellow officer refers to him as an “ice-blooded bastard”. Alyiakal overhears this because he often makes himself invisible to eavesdrop on people, which is a bit sneaky. I’ve mentioned before that Modesitt heroes seem somewhat remorseless but, like Alyiakal, they all justify it by the fact that the enemy was out to kill them. It’s a fair point but perhaps a nicer chap would still feel a bit queasy about dealing death so easily.

However, I enjoyed the book as usual. The narration in the first-person present tense is surprising for an epic fantasy, but it works. Modesitt is a thoughtful writer about matters of politics, class, sexual equality, economics and how a civilisation is run. His detailed diary approach to the story, almost telling it day by day, including meals, immerses you in another world. You get used to it. Comfort food for the mind in five-hundred-page doses.

The next dose after Overcaptain is Sub-Majer’s Challenge, which I have to hand and will read forthwith. Apparently, the final book about Alyiakal is to be The Last of the First scheduled for a June 2026 release according to the author’s website. ...more

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Lives of Bitter Rain by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Lives of Bitter Rain (The Tyrant Philosophers, #2.5)
by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Goodreads Author)

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Can a young orphan girl with no particular talent except sword fighting rise through the ranks in a tough, ruthless regime that’s out to conquer the world?

Lives of Bitter Rain by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a novella in the Tyrant Philosophers series, whi Can a young orphan girl with no particular talent except sword fighting rise through the ranks in a tough, ruthless regime that’s out to conquer the world?

Lives of Bitter Rain by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a novella in the Tyrant Philosophers series, which so far consists of five books, including this one. It’s a prequel to Days of Shattered Faith and gives more background information on that novel’s main character, Sage Invigilator-Angilly. In an afterword, Tchaikovsky says he began making notes about formative events in her life and ended up with a book. I guess that’s how a prolific author works. You can see how prolific he is by the long list of published works in the opening pages. Prolific does not mean hack. He’s won awards, you know.

The novella covers a long time span, following the life of Angilly from the age of 12, when she is traumatically orphaned in the city of Jarokir, through her schooling and subsequent career in the Outreach department of the Palleseen conquest machine. The Outreach is responsible for diplomacy, serving as an advance guard that enters foreign countries then works to establish relationships and, eventually, overthrow the existing rulers, much like the CIA or the KGB in the latter half of the 20th century. The East India Company worked similarly. The Pallaseen, rather like the Americans then and the British before them, know that their way of life is the best and have sworn to bring ‘Perfection’ and ‘Correctness’ to an imperfect world. The Outreach works to soften up the foreigners, ready for the army to move in. Because they have to mingle with lesser breeds, befriend them and, up to a point, adapt to their customs, the members of the Outreach are allowed a bit more leeway in their behaviour than the folks back home. This means there’s a possibility they might be corrupted by imperfection.
In the beginning, this reads like a series of short stories.

In the opening chapter, ‘A Fire Out of Season’, Angilly’s parents die. The second, ‘Merely Adequate’ has Aunt Ostrephy visiting her school to tell her to buck up and do better. Modern educational techniques to make everything ‘fun’ have not caught on in the Palleseen Sway. ‘The Stick’ examines the theme of corruption. This is Angilly’s first assignment and she has the lowly rank of Cohort-Invigilator. In the fourth tale, ‘Ashes and Sparks’, Angilly returns to Jarokir. “That she’s returning to the land where they burnt her parents alive is incidental. Personal problems, that are never allowed to get in the way of the Palleseen Sway’s demands.” You go where you’re sent and do the work. It’s a hard life spreading Perfection and Correctness. As the novella builds to a conclusion, poor Angilly has to make some hard choices.

Fantasy worlds are more complex nowadays and many, like this, have political and historical themes behind the scheming and adventure. The world of the Palleseen Sway consists of many small independent states but they are being swallowed up slowly by the Palleseen and their rival empire, the Lor. The Pals, the short form of their name is ironic, want control to achieve Perfection and Correctness while the merchant princes of the Lor simply want to own everything. Tchaikovsky manages to put this background across in the text so Lives of Bitter Rain can be read as a standalone. I have not read any of the preceding books.

I intend to, though. Lives of Bitter Rain is an intriguing, interesting read and a great introduction to the Tyrant Philosopher series. Recommended. ...more

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