Cushla McKinney reviews The Secret War and The Immortals.
M. F. W. Curran
Macmillan, $26.99, pbk
The Secret War is a historical fantasy in which the main characters are caught up in a metaphysical battle between Heaven and Hell, and an earthly clash between the Vatican and Count Ordrane of Draak.
The first night after the Battle of Waterloo, William Saxon and Kieran Harte should be celebrating their victory. Instead, they find themselves battling a fiery daemon that massacres the French village in which they are staying, killing Kieran's fiancee and burning the settlement to the ground.
The only clue to the monster's origins is in a mysterious brass pyramid (the Scarimadean) that William finds in a filthy hovel from where the flames seem to have originated.
Slowly and inexorably, the two young soldiers find themselves drawn into a secret war, fighting alongside a militant papal order and the enigmatic, supernatural Dar'uka, who may or may not be angels.
Their mission is to destroy the Scarimadean and protect the Church against the vampyric assassins of Count Ordrane, a fight in which the fate of mankind may be decided.
The fantasy aspect conforms to a familiar trope, with little to set it apart from numerous others in this genre. It isn't what you would properly call "horror", but it does work as a fast-paced historical action-adventure.
Well written, especially for a first novel, the early-19th-century setting is realised in grimy detail and the battle scenes are very graphically described. Not a standout, but a good, solid read.
Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
Doubleday, $39.99, pbk
By way of contrast, The Immortals is pure whimsy and although one of a series, is easy to read as a stand-alone work.
The world in which it is set is peopled by a diverse variety of sentient figures, ranging from the almost human to the fantastic; fourthlings, cloddertrogs, goblins, waifs, gobtrolls and more.
In place of oil, everything from skyships to firearms is powered by stormphrax, crystallised lightning with a weight that depends on light levels, and spontaneously combusts in bright conditions.
Young Nate Quarter works in a phrax mine where he is in charge of tending the lamps that keep light levels high enough that the crystals can be lifted, but dim enough to prevent explosions.
His father used to be the mine sergeant but died in suspicious circumstances and Nate is soon forced to flee for his own life, winding up in the city of Great Glade.
This is only the start of a series of adventures that take him from one side of the land to the other, accompanied by an increasing band of companions whose storylines converge with his. My main criticism, apart from the fact that nobody needs to wash or use the bathroom, is that it there are too many plots.
Pratchettesquely fun and frothy (although lacking the dry wit of the Discworld series), the text is enhanced by the wonderful drawings that appear every few pages. The Immortals provides a great diversion from a financially and environmentally challenged reality.
- Dr Cushla McKinney is a Dunedin scientist.
