Mathaiik, as I like to say in many of these reviews, has a problem. He has several problems. First, he wants to be a knight, one of the Idallik Knights. But he has never been able to manifest a magical weapon, which has kept him from that rank. Also, he has a very strange and unique connection to plants, one that becomes even more intense when the nearby forest seems to be waking up, featuring a trio of plant-like queens. Even before the queens, he was on the outs and distrusted because of his nature. And, this is far different than the threats the knights were born to face. So what are these plant based threats? Are they the vanguard or allies of their hostile neighbors, the Kaliri? A sign of the necromancy that the knights have been fighting? Or something else?
Math doesn’t know the answers, but he does try and act when danger strikes. Math makes a deadly alliance and a bond with a magician buried in a magical tomb, and finds that most of the truths he knows about magic and the world are completely and utterly wrong. And that this is coming just as the world and the conflicts within it are set to turn to a new and deadly phase.
This is the story of Jenn Lyons’ standalone fantasy novel Green and Deadly Things.
Green and Deadly Things runs on a few rails. We start with Math as our point of view character throughout the book. As a result we get a character who is on the outs, but desperately wants to be a knight, to be a hero, to be a protector. This sort of duty and honor is not an abstract characteristic with Math, either. There are a group of children at the base where Math is struggling to become a knight, and their protection, throughout the book, is something always on Math’s mind and he takes action again and again in order to protect them. Math is not a perfect character, but Lyons time and again presents him in a heroic light, even if he doesn’t think he has the abilities of a hero. And it turns out that he’s wrong about that, too.
The worldbuilding and overarching world is a deep and interesting world, a feature of Lyons’ previous works here in full flower. Lyons has a real balancing act here for the reader and she manages it: she has to convey to a new reader what they think and how they think the world work, with necromancy, knights, and the wild and weird forest. And then, even as the book conveys the world, it also has to make the turn to show that what Math and most of the world thinks is absolutely wrong. And that is done by Kaiataris. Kaiataris is what Math thinks of as a Grim Lord, a necromancer from an earlier age that should all be dead and gone. So, in a desperate attempt to save himself and those he cares about in a forest gone into a rampage, Math manages to unlock the tomb where Kai has been sleeping, and wakes her up. And, accidentally, forms a magical bond with her. And Kai, being from the far past, a different age of the world, has a very different view of magic, and uses a very different magical paradigm. There is a real delight, in that Kai doesn’t understand how Math does magic even as Math is stunned by Kai’s abilities and nature¹.
And the rest of the worldbuilding is rich and deep as well. We do get a whistle-stop tour of the regions behind the forest where we start, and Lyons does enjoy enriching her world. There are trains (hence the whistle-stop reference), teleportation circles, and ancient secrets. We get dangerous adversarial nations, ancient ruins, intrigues within factions of the knights and much more. Its a complicated and rich world, and Lyons gives us enough information and pulls back the fog of war the world to provide a world that seems as rich as the Chorus of Dragons world, but in a more compact space. This is a world that I could see more novels and stories set in, but this story is a more distilled and concentrated presentation than the more luxurious, expansive series. And, this novel is written explicitly and directly as a standalone and one and done story that gives satisfactory endings to the characters and their relationships. The novel goes from a local problem, to, quite logically and in easy steps, the fate of the world, with the largest possible stakes.
Relationships and the connections between characters helps drive plot and action throughout the novel as those stakes rise. While the novel stays in the point of view of Math throughout, Lyons does a solid job in giving us characterization and development on both sides of his relationships. His affection and caring for the children of the fort. The love of his sister. The rivalries and personal antagonistic relationships with some of his fellow knights, too, get full character arcs and development. It’s a rich web and tapestry of characters and how they interact, and she does well in tying this to the major overarching plots.
Oh, and speaking of relationships, there is a very slow burn romance. As it turns out Kaiataris, as the novel unfolds, has a slow growth of her relationship with Math throughout the novel. The growth of their relationship, warts and all, is one of the chassis of the book, but it doesn’t feel tacked on or perfunctory, as they so often can be in an epic fantasy. Instead, Lyons has it as a natural avenue for character growth, for Math and Kai alike. They are very different people, a would-be knight, and a sorceress, put under pressure and trial and learning to care for each other. There are some very funny moments, and some very tender moments, and seeing Math and Kai trying to figure out their relationship, through and beyond the bond, is excellent and affective and effective writing.
The pacing and scales of the novel, finally, shows the deft hand of the author. We go from an incident in a forest border fort, range across the world, contract the action when needed to a small scale tight focus and expand out again. Lyons has a great affection for this world, be it a dangerous forest, one of the largest libraries in the world (and the fact that Math loves libraries is not lost on me as a reader), ancient ruins (such as the one that we find Kai), ballrooms, or expanses of deadly desert. Lyons loves to follow up quiet moments with furious, kinetic action. I was entertained at every stage and “one more chapter” sense is strong in her writing.
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Highlights
- rich epic fantasy in one volume
- interesting and dynamic character development and relationships
- page turning and enthralling writing.
¹ The paradigm and comparison I kept going to, although it is not exact, is the stories of Aahz and Skeeve by Robert Asprin (Another Fine Myth and sequels). This would make Kai as Aahz and Math as Skeeve. Skeeve didn’t know what he was doing, and needed Aahz’s help, who had lost his magic and had lots of knowledge, but not any power.
POSTED BY: Paul Weimer. Ubiquitous in Shadow, but I'm just this guy, you know? @princejvstin.
