Another Problematic Second Book

Miles Cameron “The Fell Sword” (Orbit, 2014)

I thought that The Red Knight was a fantastic debut.   It gave us a rich unique fantasy world with complex characters and a story that was far from the “orphan farm boy is destined to greatness”.

The Fell Sword is the second book in the series (The Traitor Son Cycle, apparently).  It takes place just after the events of the earlier novel.  The Red Knight’s company has accepted a contract to the East, where the Emperor has been captured and the empire is in peril.  Or is it?  As they settle into this new land they discover that the situation is not as simple as it initially appeared.

The Fell Sword continues on with every character and storyline that were introduced in The Red Knight.  But don’t fear – a plethora of new characters, locations and details emerge.  Now this isn’t quite at George RR Martin levels of complexity and confusion, but with only two books under our belt, it’s certainly working on reaching those levels.  It’s not that the detail and scope are not warranted.  Clearly Cameron has a story to tell that is truly epic in scope.  The problem is that the pacing for this book is off.  It feels like the vast majority of this book is an introduction.  By the time that things seemed to start paying off and the book felt truly underway, it was 80% over.

On the whole I was disappointed in this volume of the series.  The first volume worked so well, perhaps because it felt like a small tight story within a larger epic struggle.  This volume feels a bit too saggy, with subplots that feel disconnected from the main thrust of the novel.  That being said, I’m still committed to the series, and hope that volume three is a bit tighter.

Miles Cameron "The Red Knight" (Orbit, 2013)

The titular Red Knight leads a company of mercenaries who have been hired to find & kill a monster who is on the estate of a large Abbey.  As their monster hunt proceeds, they realize that the monster is just the first of many, and what looks to be a simple hunt & kill operation turns into a protracted siege, with the fate of the kingdom at stake.  

The Red Knight is a remarkable genre debut.  Its melding of gritty historical background with magical elements will immediately draw comparisons to George RR Martin.  Like Martin, Cameron uses a fictionalized medieval England as the setting for his larger fantastical tale.  There is a large cast of characters, with many POVs.  

What sets The Red Knight apart from the legion of Martin imitators?  Several factors:  first is the feeling of historical accuracy given to the equipment and combat sequences.   Cameron is apparently a re-enactor, and his personal experience with the historical equipment comes through in his writing.  He writes with full awareness of the physicality of the medieval armor & weaponry he discusses.  He knows where something is going to chafe, and how your arms feel after swinging heavy weaponry.

The second factor would be his unique magical system.  Without delving deeply into spoilers, magic users are divided into two groups; users of the light, representing civilization, and users of the green, representing the Wild.  Additionally, he incorporates the ancient practice of memory palaces  into the subjective experience of the magic practitioners. 

 

Magic & weaponry aside, Cameron does a great job working with his large cast of characters.  He develops distinctive voices for each of his POV characters.  We see the mercenaries grow from little more than outlaws into a force fighting for something bigger than them.  The fact that they are reluctant heroes makes their story all the more compelling.  

Strangely enough, the strong historical spine to this novel may be its biggest drawback.  Readers uninterested in medieval siege tactics, the composition of military groupings, or the logistics caravans may be somewhat alienated from a riveting story.  Personally I found the detail fascinating and grounding in a fantastical story.

The Red Knight is highly recommended.  It is one of the best fantasy debuts I’ve read in many many years.  I am very much looking forward to continuing the series.