John Marco is an author whose work I’ve enjoyed for over twenty years. In fact, the very first “official” book review I posted here to SFFWorld was for The Saints of the Sword, the concluding volume of his Tyrants and Kings trilogy. My review writing have improved considerably since then! John’s published two series (The Bronze Knight Saga: The Eyes of God, The Devil’s Armor, The Sword of Angels, The Forever Knight) and a standalone (Starfinder), but took a break from publishing for a few years. I recall John mentioning this book several years ago in an interview or two and maybe even a correspondence he and I shared so I’m very happy to see this book in the world. To call The Bloody Chorus a triumphant return from a writer many readers have missed is quite apt.
Two empires…one in decline, the other ascendant and hungry for conquest…
Upon his father’s mysterious assassination, young Haru reluctantly becomes ruler—Tain—of his once-fearsome island nation. Threatened by a world they once dominated, Haru’s people, the Cryori, struggle with the peace the old Tain championed, nostalgic for the violent glories of their past. But across the ocean, an alliance of old enemies has formed, led by a madman bent on righting old wrongs. Enigmatic and fanatical, Reius decries the Cryori and their living gods, determined to erase their influence and beliefs.
Now Haru must get justice for his murdered father and defend his people from the coming scourge over the sea. Promising his ancient, grieving goddess to kill Reius, he reunites his father’s failed circle of protectors—a magical band of avenging misfits known as the Bloody Chorus.
This is a brand-new world, unconnected to John’s previous works and is another great showcase for his ability to create empathetic characters in a fully-realized, secondary world. The triggering event for the plot happens even before the book begins, the assassination of Sha’an the “Tain” or ruler of Cryori people, thrusting the son Haru into a leadership role for which he was unprepared. Broken in mind and spirit, Haru is consumed with vengeance. All he can think to do is find his father’s killer, who he assumes to be Reius, the leader of the rival nation of J’hora. Haru gathers the Tain’s “Bloody Chorus;” a select group of people chosen by the gods to protect the Tain, to take a vessel across the sea to kill Reius under the guise of a diplomatic mission. What seems like a fairly straightforward revenge tale is so much more in the hands of a storyteller like John Marco.
Haru is a Croyori, a race of blue-skinned humanoids who have strong bonds to their kaiju-like gods of the sea. There’s love and devotion between the gods and Cryori that powers their faith and for many years prior to the start of the novel, powered their nation’s dominance of the world. The people of J’hora, humans, very much look down upon the Cryori’s beliefs and nation as a whole to the point that the gods of Cryori are viewed as demons. Humanity has found a new god, Taan and Reius wants to spread the gospel of Taan across the world at any and all costs. For this reason, Haru firmly believes Reius killed his father. Granted, the Cryori also once enslaved humanity, but Haru and his father Sha’an are removed from the historical atrocity but the Cryori are nonetheless still viewed as monster. At times Haru seems so stubborn and pig-headed to the point I was a little annoyed with him, but that’s to be expected of a youthful person thrust into a situation for which they are unprepared.
But then Haru arrives at J’hora and meets Reius. This is where Marco’s characterization comes to the fore with their interactions and how well Marco is able to portray the dissolution of a belief in a person once you actually meet them. As well rounded as Haru was, I found Reius even more fascinating. I wouldn’t say he is a villain, just that he’s on the opposite side of a philosophical-religious divide from Haru and the Cryori. Reius was charming and empathetic, he opened himself up to Haru for he truly believed in his cause and that if given time, he could convince Haru of the faith in the new good Taan. I never got the sense he was evil, just that he was held extremely strong, unwavering convictions…convictions and beliefs that just happen to be in conflict with that of the Cryori and Haru.
Two other characters, the advisors to both Reius and Haru, very much fit the mold of “trusted advisor.” While found that when Marco turned the spotlight to these two characters, especially Haru’s close friend and advisor Liadin. His scenes were compelling and believable, he came across as very dedicated to making his nation great again. Malon, the advisor to Reius, was also driven in her belief. I don’t think I’m spoiling too much to say that these two characters are pulling some strings behind the backs of their leaders.
From the opening pages, I was hooked. I found the pacing and plotting to be extremely engaging. Haru’s plight pulled me along very strongly, but then John Marco would switch it up to chapters spotlighting Liadin and other supporting characters and the pacing didn’t slow. The story took a few pleasantly unexpected turns along the way as well.
The world-building in The Bloody Chorus is another strong element of the story. The long history of the world is implied and Haru’s Cryori people of the Nesenor in the conversations of the characters, monsters like sea serpents and dragon-whales(!), shapeshifters, magic, while the living Kaiju/Cthulhu like gods were fascinating and characters in and of themselves with almost human motivations. Marco does a nice job of making them Other from the Cryori and humans while also imbuing them with enough emotion to make them relatable to regular people like us.
If there was any real quibble I had with the novel is that the motivation behind one person’s actions felt a little bit shallow and not as developed as I would have expected or liked. That’s just a slight criticism because I thought The Bloody Chorus was a fantastic novel. John Marco put a great deal story and world-building into this novel, revealed just a small portion of world to the point that I’d love to see more stories set in this world, whether that story follows Haru, goes back to his father and ancestors, or reveals more of the Cryori gods. My point is this: I feel like The Bloody Chorus is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg and that John Marco has more up his sleeve with these characters and this world.
I also want to give kudos to cover artist Felix Ortiz who created such an eye-catching, beautiful cover for this book, It captures a great deal about the book so well and shows just hints of elements that are more fully displayed through John’s words in the novels. Just a wonderfully designed book.
It’s great to have a new book from John Marco after too long an absence. I’m hoping with the advances and increased respectability in the self-publishing/independent publishing world, we’ll soon see more from John Marco.
Highly recommended
© 2023 Rob H. Bedford
Trade Paperback | 446 pages
February 2023 | Self Published
https://www.johnmarco.com/
Review copy purchased
