Double acts – they’re a Fantasy staple, aren’t they?
I mention this because they are an important element of the latest collection by Garth Nix. You may know Gareth best from his Sabriel / Old Kingdom series or his young adult series The Keys to the Kingdom. Most lately I’ve been enjoying his Left-handed Booksellers books. However, this one is a slightly different animal.
Make no mistake, Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz is most definitely fantasy, with its talk of kingdoms, councils, religions, gods and godlets. It also has a more grown-up tone that you might expect if you only know Garth by the work mentioned already.
There are nine stories in chronological order, eight first published between 2007 and 2020, with the last new to this collection. Briefly, they are as follows:
Sir Hereward and Mr Fitz Go to War Again – the first of our tales introduce us to Hereward and Fitz. There is a duel, an attractive adversary and the removal of a godlet in the city of Shume.
Beyond the Sea Gate of the Scholar-Pirates of Sarsköe – This story is heavy on the Lovecraft as Hereward and Fitz go to sea with Captain Fury and her pirate crew to eliminate an ocean godlet. This one is heavy on the Lovecraft with nasty starfish and many, many tentacles.
A Suitable Present for a Sorcererous Puppet – You might think that an injured Hereward forced to bed would be safe enough. But here he meets a creature in a monastery that is determined to escape from where it has been imprisoned.
Losing Her Divinity – One of the shorter stories in the collection. This one is slightly more unusual as it is a story not focussed on Hereward and Fitz but written as dialogue from one of their victims.
A Cargo of Ivories – In a search for some rare and ancient ivory relics that anchor godlets to this plane, Hereward and Fitz meet Tyra, a young thief with the same purpose, except that they need to destroy the ivory pieces whilst Tyra means to sell them.
Home is the Haunter – Hereward and Fitz are transporting an enormous cannon to the ancient city of Jeminero but along the way reach a convent that has a debt to pay to the Hag of the Shallows. Hereward and Fitz step in to help, with dramatic results.
A Long, Cold Trail – In a deep snow environment Hereward and Fitz are on the trail of Xavva-Tish-Laqishtax, but are restricted by the weather and Fyltak the God-Taker, who appears to be a wanna-be mercenary.
Cut Me Another Quill, Mr Fitz – Hereward and Fitz go to the city of Nikandros in search of a dragon and its hoard of gold.
The Field of Fallen Foe – New to this collection, this last story tells us more about Hereward’s heritage but also sets us the problem – what can you do if an Order given by the Council to Hereward and Fitz is wrong?
As you might gather from my brief outlines above, the general purpose of the tales is clear. They generally involve our two heroes travelling their world, dealing with ancient entities and relics that put the world at risk. Their purpose seemed to be an ongoing attempt to bring order out of chaos and decay, with varying degrees of success, admittedly. In order to do this, they have given permission using ancient rites in order to vanquish the creatures:
“In the name of the Council of the Treaty for the Safety of the World, acting under the authority granted by the Three Empires, the Seven Kingdoms, the Palatine Regency, the Jessar Republic, and the Forty Lesser Realms, we declare ourselves agents of the Council. We identify the godlet manifested as _____________, a listed entity under the Treaty. Consequently, the said godlet and all those who assist it are deemed to be enemies of the World and the Council authorises us to pursue any and all actions necessary to banish, repel, or exterminate the said godlet.”
Whilst they travel, we are given glimpses of their world. This is a place of gods and godlets, with impossible to pronounce names, antique artifacts and places that feel like they have a long history. It feels like something out of Weird Tales, something that would be conjured up by Lovecraft or perhaps more Clark Ashton Smith. The language used is rich and archaic, as befitting something with a long history, but never difficult to understand.
Although we do not stay long in one place, nor travel too far, the details of places, artifacts, people and gods dip-fed through the stories give an impressive picture of their world with surprisingly little information dumping. The overall picture that builds up cumulatively throughout the stories is that this is an ancient world with a complex history and backstory, some sort of arcane Lovecraftian environment. Much of their travel is through crumbling cities, decrepit harbours and temples or along disused roads and paths. Their purpose seemed to be an ongoing attempt to bring order out of chaos and decay, with varying degrees of success.
In terms of characterisation, it should not be surprising that in this character-driven collection is where Garth for me seemed to succeed most. The dynamic between the human Hereward and the distinctly unhuman animated puppet of Mr Fitz develops nicely through the stories. Fitz is the calm, knowledgeable one, adept in the arcane, as he should be for an entity that has lived for hundreds of years, whilst Hereward is the tall, fairly good looking one, adept with gunpowder, sword, sabre or musket. Although relatively young, in his 20s or 30s, to me Hereward’s persona is rather Falstaff-ian, with a liking of wine, women and song, particularly if the women have scars. Mr Fitz, on the other hand, is a wooden puppet brought to life, whose composed misdemeanour overlies a much darker character. He feels rather like a creepy cross between Pinocchio and Annabelle, with a mastery of ancient arts, often using sorcerous needles in his work.
The dynamic between the two is engaging and often funny, but as with the best double acts it is clear that despite their differences they have a love and respect for each other, much needed in their line of work.
What sometimes happens in collections like these, written over a lengthy period of time, is that you can tell a difference in style, tone and complexity from the first to the last. I was rather expecting it, but it was a pleasant surprise to find that these nine stories are consistently well written, with little noticeable difference between them. There are times when minor details are repeated across different stories which seem redundant after being mentioned the first time, which hint at the stories separate origins. It would have been nice to have had a little judicious editing on these, in order to make them flow easier, but this is a minor issue.
Nevertheless, Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz is a terrific collection, and perhaps my favourite Nix book to date. In an imaginative world that is creepy, dark and unpleasant, the light relief brought by the pleasingly competent Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz is a joy to read. One of the best double-act pairings of characters out there. More, please!
SIR HEREWARD AND MISTER FITZ by Garth Nix
Published by Gollancz, August 2023
288 pages
ISBN: 978 1 399 60635 6
Review by Mark Yon
