The Adamantine Palace - Stephen Deas

[Eddy]

Ok, I am supposed to be reviewing this for the DGLA but as I can't get that site to work right now, I will put it here first -

What is it about?

The story revolves around various dragon kings and queens who, as their description suggests, own dragons. Prince Jehal is a scheming devil who wants to become Speaker - a position above all the other kings and queens. He is prepared to kill to get where he wants. The other 'side' story is of a white dragon that becomes lost and, as a result, no longer receives its potions from the alchemists and so begins to recover it's own power of thought and self determination, something that the potions suppress so they can be used and ridden. Jehal achieves some success with his scheming and almost gets his hearts desire by the end of the tale and the now autonomous white dragon wrecks the alchemists potion-brewing place, recruits other dragons to it's autonomous cause and then is thought lost after a battle.

Matters are clearly not at an end and The King of the Crags is due April 2010.

Did I like it?

Yes, I did like it but have a number of issues with the story and aspects of the way it has been written. I had no trouble finishing it (I have been known to abandon books that bore me) and there are some twists I did not anticipate which is all to the good.

What is good about it?

I haven't read many dragon-based books (I still have 4 Novik tomes on my shelf) so can't be sure how original some of Deas's ideas are but I found the idea of the dragons being suppressed chemically and their ruthless persuit of killing, etc when free to determine their own fate, was well done and quite chilling.

I liked the magical miniature dragons Prince Jehal and Princess Zafir have (they wear scarves to see through the golden dragon's eyes even when quite remote) as it added another angle to the story with the slightly ominous and illusive Tayetakai in the distant background from whence they came. That said, it does on reflection appear to me now to be a bit of a deus ex machina to allow Jehal and Zafir to plot and scheme, and to get jealous by seeing eachother coupling with others - while they are lovers.

I also thought some of the description of life on the back of the dragons was good and I liked Nastria as a character (she's Queen Shezira's Knight Marshall - there are loads of kings and queens!) as she's a warrior/assasin type and quite fun yet rarely seen - boo.

I finished it feeling happy I had bought it and wondering what might happen next, so ...no bad thing.

What I had a problem with

There are aspects of the story which for me just don't add up. It often appears to try to be rough and comes off cutesy.

People are killed, there's scheming, sex, bad language, etc, etc which makes it all very adult (you wouldn't read parts to your 8 year old) and yet with only minor editing it could so easily have been a YA novel. In adition to the above there are numerous childish names for places that would be better off in a kiddies book - I will edit this later and show you what I mean as I don't have the book with me now - but it just didn't sit right with the tone the book was trying (I believe) to strive for. It seems a bit confused as to what it wants to be.

It's also impossible for me to review this without comparison to Joe Abercrombie. This is not only because he endorses the front of my copy but also because there are some inevitable paralells. For those reading this who have read the First Law Trilogy, Glokta is a miserable git who's internal monologue is one of the joy's of reading Joe's work. While internal monologues are not an unusual ploy used in writing, Joe uses it to add tone and feel to the books, it all assists his world building and enriches the text. Not for Deas. Jehal's monologues say nasty things but he just doesn't come across as evil at all. While Glokta has his soft side buried deep, Jehal is too one dimensional to really carry the weight placed upon him, a weight necessary to properly carry the story.

The banter between Solos and Kerim is also a little jarring and annoying at times. They are both sell-swords who become embroiled in some of what's going on with the white dragon. They are both sarcastic in the extreme at times which doesn't seem to me to be a very likely world view for a couple a well worn men who make a living by risking their lives. Anyway, maybe that's a small point.

I also found it rather strange that there's no clear viewpoint character. Jehal sort of takes centre stage but not all the time. It's almost a bit GRR Martin in the way it moves between so many different characters. I did wonder if some of the more minor ones could have rightly been sacrificed in favour of giving the other, more serious characters, more time to develop. The same information/plot, etc could have been brought out another way and the story and it's characters could have been made richer in the process.

Will it get my vote for the DGLA?

I doubt it. I can't believe that I wont read anything better than this. It was fun without wowing me and the niggles I have outlined above are too big for me to back it. For me it's a book that pretends to be something it just doesn't quite achieve. While a line from Joe on the front may help it sell, it's a dangerous comparison for Deas in my view. Joe's work is a sumptuously seasoned pie full to bursting with the finest british beef cuddled in thick gravy; it leaves you licking your lips for months wondering if you'll catch a sniff of a little more. The Adamantine Palace is a thin pea soup that needs a bit of salt. Tasty if you are hungry, but never a serious alternative to steak pie.

Andrew.

[drosdelnoch]

Good review Eddy.

[Eddy]

Cheers DD, I tried to make it as accessible as I could.