Epic Fantasy is perhaps the sub-genre of speculative fiction where tropes live and breathe most strongly, where they are reinvented or given a new shake-up, but follows a certain structure or set of expectations. Helen Lowe’s The Heir of Night, the first installment of her Wall of Night trilogy is one such novel. Readers are introduced to a society with fairly bold lines separating one family from another. In The Heir of Night the focus is on the House of Night, the Earl and his daughter, Malian who is the titular Heir of the family. Following a brief introduction of the youthful protagonists Malian and her friend Kalan (a priestly acolyte), the action begins quite chaotically as Malian’s house is attacked by the Dark Swarm.
A slight step back first, though as Malian retreats from an ornate, fancy dinner because she is bored, as would any kid. That boredom leads her to explore the rather off-limits ruins of the old keep along with her friend Kalan. This small instance of youthful rebellion is what allows her and Kalan to warn her people of the attack. She hears a mysterious voice urging her to safety. Unfortunately, that leaves her separated from her people who are unsure of her safety and initiate a hunt for her. Through alternating chapters focusing on those seeking Malian and Kalan, and Malian herself, Lowe paints a rich picture of a world steeped in myth and history both of which are coming full circle in the present of the story. Not only does Malian converse with voices from the past, supernatural/magical powers emerge in both the young Heir and Kalan which allows them to travel through an ethereal dream like in-between world.
Malian and Kalan are eventually reunited with their people, which causes more consternation on Malian’s part as well as her father who is rather rigid when it comes to following familial historical tradition and precedent. Because of her emerging powers and the threat the Dark Swarm pose to her land, she is urged/forced to make a pilgrimage to a foreign land. Malian learns more about her deceased mother (who was long-gone before the action of the novel), which makes it even more of an internal struggle for her to agree to leave. Joining Malian are the steward Nhairin, an experienced female warrior and the honor guard captain Asantir.
One of the most striking things about the novel is how much gender balance is present throughout. Both male and female characters hold roles of prominence and power. What is, at least as refreshing or perhaps even more refreshing about this gender balance, is that it is the norm and simply accepted as how this world works.
Initially, the novel resonated for me with Katherine Kurtz’s Deryni Rising. There’s a similar courtly set up but with a much stronger dose of magic and supernatural elements from the start. As Lowe revealed the many layers of the world and its history, I was beginning to find more in common with Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time mega-series. Lowe’s narrative is much tighter and focused, but there is a strong world-building element to the novel. In fact, that may be my one criticism of the novel. The world building was layered so thickly that it overtook some of the character development. I enjoy rich and well-developed worlds (one of the reasons why Epic Fantasy is such a favorite of mine), but it felt a bit overdone in this case. Fortunately, Lowe’s plotting and storytelling provided a fairly strong backbone for the novel.
This novel won the David Gemmell Morningstar Award for best newcomer. I can see why this one went over well with that crowd. While this is quite firmly entrenched in Epic Fantasy tropes, there’s a great deal of appeal and parallel to what stood out for David Gemmell’s work: strong protagonists in a very heroic vein.
A solid foundational start to what promises to be an entertaining series.
© 2016 Rob H. Bedford
The Wall of night, Book 1 September 2010
Trade Paperback, 466 Pages
ISBN 978-0-061-73404-5
http://helenlowe.info/
Review copy courtesy of the publisher
