Images taken from J. P. Moore OnlineAs I wrote in my last book review, I am working harder at finding good online fiction. The Podagogue review of J. P. Moore's historical fantasy podcast novel, Toothless, convinced me to check it out for myself. The Podagogue set high expectations, but Toothless delivered.
The book is set in 1180 AD, in a world in which the armies of the undead march across Europe, led by dark priests and demons that serve a mysterious entity known as the Yew. In a battle against this army, a knights templar is struck down by a demon that clefts his jaw clean off of his face and slits his throat. That knight is then risen and joins the ranks of the army that he had fought; because of his appearance he was named Toothless by those that raised him. He is the protagonist of the book, pictured in the illustration above.
Toothless takes place in three parts. The first part introduces the titular character, chronicles his struggle to retain the memories of his life and his fear that he will one day lose his sentience and become one of the mindless walking dead, known as shamblers. It is by far the darkest part of the book, as the reader is brought into the world of the army that brings death to mankind by plague as well as by violence, swelling its ranks with the usable corpses along the way.
The only thing that keeps the utter lack of hope for humanity from rendering this part of the book completely depressing is the process of getting to know Toothless; who he was and what he has become. Part of learning about what he has become is being in the strange position of viewing the inner workings of the wicked army that advanced across Europe.
As with the rest of the book, the writing is fantastic. But I don't think I could have handled an entire book told from this perspective. Thankfully, the second part brings us back to mankind, though I must say it is rarely mankind at its best. However, the focal character of this part--a young, deformed seer named Lil--is very sympathetic. And the third part of the book returns us to Toothless' perspective, but also in a way shows us mankind at its best. I won't say any more for fear of giving away too much of the plot, but I loved the progress across the three parts of the book.
The Podagogue review points out that Moore sets a pretty tough constraint on himself in writing for Toothless. After all, the very characteristic that gives him his name renders him completely unable to speak. The Podagogue's assurance that Moore met the challenge is a large part of what convinced me to check out the book for myself.
Toothless is available in 24 mp3 file installments over at podiobook.com. If you like fantasy creatures, adventure, redemption stories, or writing at its best, I strongly recommend going over and downloading it.
The book is set in 1180 AD, in a world in which the armies of the undead march across Europe, led by dark priests and demons that serve a mysterious entity known as the Yew. In a battle against this army, a knights templar is struck down by a demon that clefts his jaw clean off of his face and slits his throat. That knight is then risen and joins the ranks of the army that he had fought; because of his appearance he was named Toothless by those that raised him. He is the protagonist of the book, pictured in the illustration above.
Toothless takes place in three parts. The first part introduces the titular character, chronicles his struggle to retain the memories of his life and his fear that he will one day lose his sentience and become one of the mindless walking dead, known as shamblers. It is by far the darkest part of the book, as the reader is brought into the world of the army that brings death to mankind by plague as well as by violence, swelling its ranks with the usable corpses along the way.
The only thing that keeps the utter lack of hope for humanity from rendering this part of the book completely depressing is the process of getting to know Toothless; who he was and what he has become. Part of learning about what he has become is being in the strange position of viewing the inner workings of the wicked army that advanced across Europe.
As with the rest of the book, the writing is fantastic. But I don't think I could have handled an entire book told from this perspective. Thankfully, the second part brings us back to mankind, though I must say it is rarely mankind at its best. However, the focal character of this part--a young, deformed seer named Lil--is very sympathetic. And the third part of the book returns us to Toothless' perspective, but also in a way shows us mankind at its best. I won't say any more for fear of giving away too much of the plot, but I loved the progress across the three parts of the book.
The Podagogue review points out that Moore sets a pretty tough constraint on himself in writing for Toothless. After all, the very characteristic that gives him his name renders him completely unable to speak. The Podagogue's assurance that Moore met the challenge is a large part of what convinced me to check out the book for myself.
I was expecting some contrivance to allow Toothless a voice, but Moore plays the hand he has dealt himself with sheer determination, never once bowing to the lure of dark magic or telepathy to allow his anti-hero communication. In doing so, he reminds us of just how cheap talk really is. Toothless doesn't need to talk. His actions are everything.I would add to this that there are definitely moments in the book where it's clear Toothless despairs for what just cannot be expressed without using words. But that only makes Moore's discipline in sticking to the constraint more admirable, from a writing perspective.
Toothless is available in 24 mp3 file installments over at podiobook.com. If you like fantasy creatures, adventure, redemption stories, or writing at its best, I strongly recommend going over and downloading it.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment