[Werthead]

A highly enjoyable debut novel due for release on 21 February:

The world of Alifros is dominated by two mighty nations. The Empire of the Mzithrin lies in the west, unified under the rule of its five kings and in the worship of the religion of the Black Casket. In the east, proud Arqual extends its powers over vast regions of land and sea. Forty years have passed since the last, bloody war between these two superpowers and an uneasy peace lingers between them, whilst the small, independent kingdoms of the Crownless Lands lie between them as buffers.

It is a time of great change, however. His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of Arqual, has decreed that a lasting peace shall be forged between Mzithrin and Arqual and his greatest military commander, Admiral Isiq, has agreed to give up his only daughter, Thasha, in marriage to a royal prince of the Mzithrin. It is only fitting that the greatest ship in the Arquali navy, and the most infamous ship in the world, should be given this task. The I.M.S. Chathrand is the last of the Great Ships, heavily armed and crewed by a thousand souls, the only ship capable of crossing the vast Ruling Sea. But on this mission the Chathrand takes a strange assortment of passengers and crew, from the delusional Captain Nilus Rose to Pazel Pathkendle, a tarboy with many secrets, and from the sickly Admiral Isiq and his proud daughter to the dimunitive ixchel or crawlies, the little people whose presence on ships is taken as a sign of doom. As ancient secrets are revealed and dark conspiracies are unmasked, the crew and passengers of the Chathrand come to realise that they are at the centre of events that will reshape their world.

The Red Wolf Conspiracy is the opening volume of The Chathrand Voyage, a fantasy trilogy by debut author Robert V.S. Redick. Gollancz's pre-publicity draws comparisons with Scott Lynch and Philip Pullman, and I suspect over the coming months a similar word-of-mouth pre-release excitment will build that is comparable to Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora or Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind. Certainly The Red Wolf Conspiracy is an exceptionally fine novel and more than worthy of such comparisons.

With this book, Redick creates an incredibly rich fantasy world where familiar archetypes like wizards and scheming nobles are given fresh spins, and where every chapter seems to deliver a new idea, concept or race. Redick creates vivid images in the reader's mind, from the disturbing Flikkermen with their glowing innards to the hordes of scurrying ixchel to the towering augrongs and the 'woken' animals who have spontaneously developed sentience (I suspect this is where the Pullman comparisons come from). His core characters are similarly varied and intriguing, although our two central protagonists, Pazel and Thasha, are perhaps a bit too familiar as archetypes. Whilst they are well-drawn as characters, arguably it is the secondary cast that draws more attention. The crew of the Chathrand in particular are an intriguing bunch, especially as we discover more about them through their log entries and Suzanna Clarke-style footnotes (though nowhere near as numerous or long). Fans of nautical fantasy will find much to their liking here, but whilst Redick has clearly done his homework he doesn't let the minutiae of shipboard life detract from the story, and I suspect those who normally dislike martime tales may find this story much more enjoyable.

With such a vivid world to bring to life, Redick could perhaps be forgiven for relaxing on the plot side of things, but instead the storyline fairly rips along, packed with excitement, incident and humour which builds to a conclusion that, whilst certainly leaving the reader wanting more, could perhaps be said to be anti-climatic. With two more books still to come, perhaps this is unavoidable.

The Red Wolf Conspiracy (****½) is an extremely enjoyable epic fantasy tale set in a vivid , constantly inventive world. The Chathrand itself comes across as the ocean-going equivalent of Gormenghast, whilst its crew seem to have assembled variously from the works of Charles Dickens, Jack Vance and Scott Lynch, but with a style that is undeniably Redick's own. I suspect that Redick will be 'the' big new fantasy author of 2008, and deservedly so.

[KatG]

LOL, please, please, stop giving me this much amunition. Most recently, you gave me Patrick Rothfuss, Brian Ruckley and Scott Lynch -- among dozens of others -- to show that the rigaramole about stereotypes is inconsistently and hypocritically applied, and really doesn't matter to all of you at all, now you give me another one here. I mean, this is getting silly. Why don't you just stop worrying about it?

Not a lot of info here besides the declaration that it's stereotypical but you love it anyway -- large kingdoms, conflict, ships, little crawly creatures, an Admiral's daughter instead of a princess, vague mention of a conspiracy. How about a spoiler box of some sort? Or at least a little more info on the main characters.

[Lowlander]

I have also read about this new series coming next year. The story sounds interesting but you can say most stories have potential, in the end it's all about the execution.

I do have the impression that Gollancz is going to promote this book quite heavily in the hope it's the next Mieville, Scott Lynch, Patrick Rothfuss etc... I must confess that in general Gollancz is my favorite British SF/Fantasy imprint. I like most of their books, more so than Orbit who publish both quality and a lot of mediocre stuff. So we'll have to wait and see about this new one.

[cervantor]

Here's my review:

Looking back, 2007 was a pretty good year for speculative fiction debuts. I mean you had Patrick Rothfuss’ “The Name of the Wind”, Mark J. Ferrari’s “The Book of Joby”, Wayne Barlowe’s “God’s Demon”, Jeffrey Overstreet’s “Auralia’s Colors”, Alex Bledsoe’s “The Sword-Edged Blonde”, Matthew Jarpe’s “Radio Freefall”, the American release of Joe Abercrombie’s “The Blade Itself”, and—even though they’re not technically debuts—you could also throw in David Anthony Durham’s “Acacia” and Stephen Hunt’s “The Court of the Air”. Like I said, pretty impressive and I didn’t even list all of the titles that I could have, which makes you wonder just how in the world 2008 is going to be able to surpass or even duplicate last year’s success. Obviously it’s way too early to be talking about such comparisons, but at least the New Year is off to a strong start with a number of striking debuts already including Felix Gilman’s “Thunderer” (was actually published at the end of 2007, but I’m counting it as a 2008 release ;), Philip Palmer’s “Debatable Space” and Robert V.S. Redick’s “The Red Wolf Conspiracy”. Of the three, “The Red Wolf Conspiracy” has received the most advance publicity and for good reason—the book is a potential bestseller.

So what defines a bestseller? Well, the number of copies sold is definitely one measuring stick, as is a book’s level of popularity, but for a debut novel to achieve any plateau of success hype, visibility and advertising are all important factors. Of the latter, Mr. Redick has already benefited from a strong marketing push by the publisher with his novel named as Waterstone Books’ Science Fiction & Fantasy Book of the Month for February 2008 and chosen as one of the UK Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club’s “Cosmic Five” debut titles for 2008. “The Red Wolf Conspiracy” is also being promoted for “fans of Philip Pullman and Scott Lynch” which is impressive company to be in, but also a little misleading. For instance, while “The Red Wolf Conspiracy” may feature a nautical setting, an elaborate plot at the center of the story, and cover art by Edward Miller—who also did the paintings for the Subterranean Press editions of “The Lies of Locke Lamora” and “Red Seas Under Red Skies”—the book is not nearly as flamboyant, witty or vulgar as Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastard novels. Additionally, Mr. Redick’s debut doesn’t offer the theological or thematic analyses that you can find in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, although they have a lot more in common such as youthful protagonists, sentient animals, connected worlds, and the fact that young readers will be able to enjoy the book as much as adults.

One thing that “The Red Wolf Conspiracy” does share with Scott Lynch’s novels though, is a fully realized world that is brought to life with amazing clarity and imagination. In fact, the worldbuilding was probably my favorite part of the book. Between meeting the different peoples (Flikkermen, Noonfirth) and creatures (Slevran, sea-murths, augrongs) of Alifros; to learning of the conflict between Arqual & Mzithrin, the conquering of Ormael, and the history of the Great Ship Chathrand; and marveling at the legends of Erithusmé, the Black Casket, and the Nilstone; not to mention all of the seemingly insignificant details that add depth and texture to Alifros; the backdrop for “The Red Wolf Conspiracy” is a wondrous creation that I enjoyed exploring as much as I did recently the worlds of Scott Lynch, Steven Erikson, and Brandon Sanderson. Of course, the problem with the worldbuilding in this case is that the actual story takes a backseat for about the first hundred pages or so when the author is concentrating on establishing the setting and introducing the lineup. It’s not until the Chathrand is launched that the plot starts to move forward because that’s where a large part of the novel takes place, which concerned me at first. You see, I’m not really a fan of nautical stories. Never have been. Fortunately, the Great Ship is not your normal sea vessel—Chathrand is the last of its kind, six hundred years old, constructed by both shipwrights & mages from materials that no longer exist, and so huge that you have to use a telescope to inspect the masts and giant creatures to handle the anchor—and even though Mr. Redick seems to intimately understand how a ship runs, he doesn’t bore us with all of the little details. Instead, the author rewards readers with an entertaining, fast-paced saga of high-seas adventure that is part fantasy quest, part political intrigue, and part coming-of-age tale.

More specifically, the story centers on the Chathrand which has been enlisted as part of a peacekeeping mission between Arqual & Mzithrin, but is actually a front for a much more sinister agenda that involves war, prophecy, the resurrection of a Mad King, and a mythical Red Wolf that harbors an ancient evil… Drawn into this web of lies and deceit is an eclectic cast of characters including young protagonists Pazel Pathkendle, an aspiring scholar-turned-orphan-turned-tarboy who is blessed—or cursed—with a magical Gift for languages, and Thasha Isiq, a boyish Ambassador’s daughter and the chosen treaty-bride between the two countries which is the key to the success or failure of the mission. Unfortunately, aside from Pazel’s ability to instantly read & speak any foreign tongue—which I have to admit is a pretty intriguing power to be saving the world with—and the prejudice that Pathkendle faces as an Ormaeli native, the hero & heroine of “The Red Wolf Conspiracy” are fairly stereotypical right down to their inevitable attraction of one another. Clichés also extend to the veteran spymaster Sander Ott, Dr. Ignus Chadfallow who seems to be everywhere, the noble Hercól—an ex-spy masquerading as Thasha’s dance tutor, Lady Syrarys, Pazel’s friend Neeps, an evil sorcerer, and various others from the supporting cast. Thankfully, Mr. Redick does a good job of canceling out the conventional with the not so conventional, particularly the use of self-aware or ‘woken’ animals that are integral to the story like the moon falcon Niriviel, a maimed black rat named Felthrup who holds all the answers to the conspiracy (and one of my favorites!), another rat in Master Mugstur who is a religious fanatic and wants to murder Captain Rose, and Sniraga the red cat. There’s also a race of inches-tall people called Ixchel or ‘crawlies’ that have their own agenda, the quite mad Captain Nilus Rotheby Rose, and let’s not forget about Ramachni the shape-shifting mage from another world.

As far as the novel’s structure, “The Red Wolf Conspiracy” opens with a ‘Special Notice’ from The Etherhorde Mariner which speculates on the disappearance of the Chathrand. From here, the story is told in a standard third-person narrative through the multiple viewpoints of humans, woken animals and ixchel alike, while interjected with occasional excerpts from the Quartermaster’s secret journal, letters addressed from Captain Rose to his father, and an intercepted correspondence from Dr. Chadfallow to Thasha’s father Eberzam. Personally, I really liked these breaks from the normal narrative; they added variety and some interesting insights. However, I was a bit puzzled by the ‘Editors’ Footnotes’ that appear at times throughout the novel, which seemed out of place…

Let me be straightforward here. I really liked “The Red Wolf Conspiracy”. Robert V.S. Redick’s debut was fun to read, intelligently crafted, highly imaginative, and undeniably charming and I can’t wait to see what happens on The Chathrand Voyage in the rest of the trilogy—“The Rats and the Ruling Sea” (Volume II) and “The Night of the Swarm” (Volume III). In short, “The Red Wolf Conspiracy” should do very well for its UK publisher Gollancz, and will probably sell even better whenever it’s released here in North America. That said, the novel didn’t quite ‘wow’ me as much as some of the more recent debuts that I’ve read by Scott Lynch, Mark J. Ferrari, Stephen Hunt, Joe Abercrombie, or Felix Gilman. There were two things actually that bothered me and in my mind prevented Mr. Redick’s novel from attaining greatness. One, the beginning and middle part of the novel is much, much stronger than the last third, particularly the final 80-100 pages. I’m not sure what happened, but once the action picked up and the characters started converging with one another, the novel just seemed to regress—the story became more juvenile especially the confrontations between the heroes and the villains; the dialogue seemed significantly worse; and it just felt like I was reading a different book from the one that I started with. The other thing that irritated me was the author’s decision to reveal early on the plot’s major secrets to the reader, but not the actual characters. Personally, if I had been left in the dark regarding all of the various double-crosses, shared histories and other twists that the story had to offer, I think I would have enjoyed the book even better. Regardless, I believe that Robert V.S. Redick’s novel will be one of the better fantasy debuts of 2008, and a lot of readers are going to want to discover for them selves the truth behind “The Red Wolf Conspiracy”…

[Larry]

Sounds like a title that'll go on the backburner, since I'm growing a bit weary of some of the titles to which that book is being compared.

[Wulfa_Jones]

I thought the title sounded more like a Sci-Fi novel than a fantasy with a name like that.

It sounds interesting and Gollancz hasn't disappointed me yet with any of their new authors so I'll be checking this out.

I don't mind stereotypes in books so that doesn't put me off at all.

[Amras]

I've ordered this and will be reading it as soon as it comes out of the mail box. Werthead normally knows what he's talking about and it, and when they slapped on a Edward Miller cover I couldn't help myself!

(P.S. It's slotted in for a 1st of February release on amazon.co.uk and not the on the 21st like Wert claims in the start of this thread ;))

[Werthead]

Yeah, they brought it forward because of Waterstones' big push :)

[FuzzBunneh]

Just ordered it on Amazon! Hopefully it should arrive early the week after next, since Amazon UK's started shipping via registered airmail (and given up on Deutsch Post, thank heavens!).

[cervantor]

Sounds like a title that'll go on the backburner, since I'm growing a bit weary of some of the titles to which that book is being compared.

Yeah, I think "Thunderer" would be more up your alley than this one...

As far as the cover, I really love Edward Miller's artwork, but I'm not sure if he was the most appropriate artist for the "The Red Wolf Conspiracy". Looking at the cover, I was expecting a darker, grittier story, but the novel is more YA than adult fiction. Not that there is anything wrong with YA fiction, but I thought it was little misleading...