review: lady of the helm by t.o. munro
When I first started writing Nysta, she wasn’t an elf.
For a long time, she was human. I set it in a city of alleys and there
was no magic. That changed when I decided I was sick of elves. Sick of
Tolkien-style elves, anyway. What’s with the bows and the
overly-graceful descriptions? They’re fantasy’s angels, and I’d had
enough of that.
So, I made Nysta an elf. And messed with all
expectations of what elves might be. It’s also why I pluralise them as
elfs. Because I know how much that irritates a lot of people who don’t
know that was a Tolkienism.
What has this got to do with T.O. Munro’s Lady of the Helm?
Well, Munro has added something you don’t normally see in a fantasy
setting. And he’s taken it from its original source and completely
redefined it to suit his world. Yet, where I chose an elf, he chose a
medusa. That’s right. Right out of Greek myth, and he threw it into a
world which is so far removed from Greek myth that it’s got more in
common with Tolkien. It even has elves in it.
Sure, she’s not the main character, but Munro’s
medusa is probably the most intriguing character of his series. I’d have
read a series devoted just to her. Her story, one of being cursed,
exiled, then reforming her own legend as she rises in the ranks of an
army of evil-doers, is a story which would be well worth the read and,
after finishing Book 1 in this series, I was a
little disappointed to not have had more of her story. However, given
the Medusa theme to the next title, I’m certainly looking forward to
reading Book 2.
If I told you the plot of this, you’d yawn at me.
You really would. Essentially: Niarmit, the haunted heroine, reclaims
her way after straying into rogue-style shenanigans, searches and finds
mystic artefact only she can use to defeat the evil and then confronts
said evil at the end.
Yawn, I hear you say.
But that’s not quite how it happens. Munro tips
your expectations on the head and cleverly defies conventions to come up
with something raw and new. I can’t tell you, because you need to read
it yourself. But I can say it’s not quite how I expected this to end.
Especially given the chaotic central character. Chaotic not at her core,
but in that she begins the story as a priestess throwing off her
healing powers to become an assassin, only to pop back into her dress
for some reason and become a priestess again. Sort of. I don’t really
know what she’s doing and I’m personally hoping we don’t go down the
path of woman-as-nurse. So far, Munro has avoided that, but it scares me
when female characters have uber-powerful healing abilities. Reminds me
too much of my younger days of mmo gaming where people would show up
with “Hi, I’m your DPS for the day. This is my girlfriend. She rolled a
priest because girls love to play nurse.”
But that’s a different rant and is unrelated
(reading this now, I think it was unfair to have written that minor rant
in here, but left it in because I'm strange like that...) to anything
Munro has written in Lady of the Helm. Also,
given that there's more than one central female character, you can't
accuse him of going down the route of casual cliche. (T.O. Munro has
written about the challenges of writing female characters in a blog post
on FantasyBookCritic.com - read it here)
The magic artefact? That was brilliant. And
brilliantly described and executed. Probably the finest example of what
you should be doing with magic artefacts in a fantasy setting these days
– push the boundaries of expectation. I felt pushed right up against
the wall and prodded with a fist to the face.
I read this one really quickly and I really liked
it. I loved the fact you saw both sides of the action, not just the good
guys fighting faceless evils. As such, I never felt he was bound by the
rules which often tie fantasy down. Especially when you're using elves
(elfs - ha!). He keeps the action flowing, the dialogue going, and the
intrigue building to an epic climax. You can’t go wrong with it.
Get it before it turns you into stone.
- published 25/05/2014
Update:
I'm joyfully happy to say you should TOTALLY be
reading this series. T.O. Munro is a name I am certain will come up more
often in the future. As Indie writers jostle for supremacy and
recognition, I can't see him being ignored. This series is an amazing
story and you really need to give it a try. Some of the more common
Indie writers these days are writing in the familiar grooves which show
definite influences from gaming (Skyrim, mostly) and some television,
but T.O. Munro is entirely in a class of his own. This is what you get
when Indie writers do it right. You get something special and
genre-bending.
Trust me. You need to read this.
Out NOW on Amazon
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