Nights of Villjamur by Mark Charan Newton

[Werthead]

Nights of Villjamur is the debut novel by Mark Charan Newton, who has already published some short stories and a novella and is also known in the SF community for working for Solaris.

The Jamur Empire sprawls across the Boreal Archipelago and is powerful and rich. However, scientists and cultists (wielders of an ancient, mysterious technology which generate magic-like powers) have warned of the coming of an ice age which will, for a minimum of fifty years, bring death and desolation to the islands. The Emperor has ordered the stockpiling of vast amounts of firewood and firegrain to get through the long winter, but the Empire also faces other threats. The Emperor is paranoid, seeing threats in every corner, but the succession is difficult for his elder daughter and heir Rika is estranged from him. His younger daughter Eir finds herself unable to ease her father's pain, but the arrival of the handsome and dashing Randur to teach her swordplay and dance allows some laughter into her life. However, Randur has his own mission to conduct in the city.

Meanwhile, the murder of a prominent city councillor sparks an enquiry from the experienced investigator Jeryd. As Jeryd closes in on the truth, he realises that the Empire is riddled with corruption and he faces danger from his own allies, whilst all the while trying to repair his damaged marriage. Elsewhere, Brynd, the commander of the elite Night Guard, has his own secrets to hide when he is dispatched on a mission of utmost importance to the Empire, but uncovers evidence of even direrer threats emerging as the ice sheets advance southwards.

Nights of Villjamur is a multi-stranded novel with several different POV characters and a multitude of storylines, some of which are linked and others which (so far) appear unrelated. The story of an empire under threat from within and without is not unusual in the genre, but what is (relatively) unusual is that the author brings an interesting prose style and a more measured pace to bear on the book. The storyline unfolds deliberately, carefully, and the book's rich writing draws you into its world, the story and the lives of the characters in an accomplished manner. It's not a frenetically-paced, page-turner of the book (at least not until the last fifty pages, when events kick up a gear), but instead a work that immerses you in its world and demands you pay attention.

The city of Villjamur and its surrounding islands are vividly described and the characters are fascinating. The form of magic (relying on ancient technology only dimly understood by those who wield it) is also quite intriguing, and the snowy, cold landscape is well-drawn. There are a few problems, however. The political landscape of Villjamur is not described in as much depth as it could have been, and the ongoing struggle between the Emperor and the Chancellor is described only in fits and starts due to our main POV in that area, Eir, having other concerns.

Aside from that, this is a polished and accomplished debut novel and is well-recommended.

Nights of Villjamur (****½) will be published in the UK on 12 June 2009 by Tor UK. US import copies should be available around the same time. The author has a website at this location.

 

[Stephen Aryan]

A new review, as its just come out in paperback fairly recently and book 2 is now out in hardback.

An ice age is set to sweep the world as the sun dies and people everywhere are struggling to cope. Thousands of refugees are camped outside the city of Villjamur, hoping for sanctuary and salvation, and it is into this unstable and politically volatile situation that the story takes place.

The story primarily focuses on three characters, Commander Brynd, loyal soldier of the Empire and confidant of the unstable and paranoid Emperor; Randur Estavu, who at first glance is a foppish dandy and womanizer that only has his own best interests in mind; and Inquisitor Jeryd, a middle-aged investigator who was so focused on his work, he didn’t realise what was important until it was gone. The other main character is the city of Villjamur itself, which is a huge sprawling mass of towers, twisty narrow streets and dangerous dark corners. It is a place of horrific murder, amazing wonder and magic, desperation, poverty, hunger, and majesty. It breathes and is perhaps the best actualised city and setting I’ve read in a fantasy book in a long time. I don’t have to work hard to imagine it because after a while I could see it all, and feel the endless rain and snow showers that blight the population. It is the combination of a lot of different elements, but it feels as if it has all been put together with considerable thought and not just jammed in there because the author thought it would be cool.

I’ve read in a couple of interviews who some of Newton’s influences are and for those familiar with them, you can see it in his style and some of the prose. There are also what I think are little Easter eggs with an albino character making me think of Moorcock, elements of the weird in the city recall Miéville and in a scene involving the undead their was mention of Shelley tanks which was nice. They don’t intrude though, so it’s a nod of respect to progenitors of the fantasy and weird genres.

Newton doesn’t deal in simple. Like the city, his characters are complex and emotionally rich, struggling to cope with the rising tide of fear all around them whilst doing their jobs and just getting on with their lives. We all struggle to maintain a healthy work/ life balance and sometimes it is difficult to focus on your work if there is something happening at home that plays on your mind. This brings a level of realism to the characters that makes it easier to relate to them, despite never being in their particular situations. This balance struggle particularly applies to investigator Jeryd, who is a rumel, a race with an extended lifespan who co-exist with humans and, whilst investigating a political murder, he is distracted by his failing relationship with his wife. Brynd is sent on a few missions to investigate rumours of rebels and uprisings that threaten the Empire, whilst also trying to keep a secret of his own that would undo all of his accomplishments. Randur at first was my least favourite character, but as the story progresses you realise there is a lot more going on beneath the surface and slowly he opens up to another character and we get to see what really makes him tick.

There is a lot going on in this story and as it progressed it quickly became apparent to me that this was the first book in a series. To have attempted to tie everything up quickly would have been a big mistake. While at the end of it I felt as if we had explored a lot of the city of Villjamur itself, we’ve barely scratched the surface of the world, although we do get to visit a few locales. The world building is done well, with hints at previous generations and cultures, and the current populace just built on top of the ruins, without really knowing or understanding what came before. The multicultural situation in the city with human, rumels and garudas, bird-men who are typically scouts in the army, is not really explored and just taken as a given, but to be honest it’s not really needed. My only minor complaint is we don’t really know much about rumels and I can’t see them very clearly. I think there is more going on than we know and it might be explored later in another book, but I would have liked a bit more about their physicality. Also they don’t have a unique culture or any customs of their own, which suggests to me that perhaps they have been part of the norm and integrated with humans for so long they’ve forgotten. It’s a point I’ll try to remember and come back to once I’ve read City of Ruin, the sequel, as I might get my answer there. My other slight niggle, and it’s a personal thing, is Newton has obviously created something that is very much his own, in his own world with its own style, but on maybe a dozen occasions the dialogue strays into the modern which was jarring and it felt uneven because it was so infrequent. Other authors use modern dialogue throughout including slang, and their worlds become a hybrid, so from the start you become use to that particular style and rhythm. But with Newton, sometimes his characters use the word “Ok”, which seemed an odd choice to me, but most of the time they don’t. I didn’t have any problems with the swearing, which I’ve seen mentioned elsewhere a couple of times, as it was in keeping with the story and setting, but as I said, it’s a personal niggle and others may not even notice.

There are a number of mysteries in the book, and some of the local ones are unravelled, but there is a much bigger story running parallel with several threads and these will continue to be explored in future instalments, but I can’t go into any more detail without spoiling them. So although towards the latter part of the story it does feel like the first in a series, there is an ending to one chapter and some resolution. Several plot threads are left hanging to be picked up later and new ones are emerging that will undoubtedly weave themselves into the big picture.

As I said earlier, this is not a simple book, it deals with a number of important adult themes which are very significant in today’s society, such as politics, poverty, sexuality, survival and relationships. Also, despite it falling into the fantasy genre, it is the combination of several, as Jeryd’s investigation into the murder becomes a noir police procedural at times, and both his, Randur and Brynd’s stories contain elements of horror. There were a couple of moments of dramatic irony, where the reader knew more than the characters and we were waiting for them to catch up, but events then played out as expected which was a surprise as I thought there would be a twist or two. Nevertheless this is not a predictable read and with so many elements on the go, I didn’t know how the story was going to end or what was going to happen. Perhaps it’s also worth mentioning that this is a debut novel and it is a significant accomplishment for a first book by an author that has a unique voice and style. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it if you want a meaty, thought provoking read, where the characters are rich and engaging and the world is a complex and well thought out landscape.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

I'm reading this at the moment, and the above two reviews are pretty spot on. I got sent the new one, so that looks like my next read. The characters are interesting and make you want to follow their stories. All promising so far.

 

[Mouse]

I've got the option of getting this in exhange for my copy of the dire Lies of Locke Lamora. Well, it's either this or Orcs by Stan Nicholls, I can't decide which. You guys have made this sound good, but some of the reviews on Amazon put me off.

 

[murphy]

Having read both, I'd pick Nights.

 

[Mouse]

Cool, cheers.