2019 Dragon Awards, Best Fantasy Novel: "House of Assassins"

The customary Amazon link I post is flummoxed for some reason. However, Here is the cover art, and a link to the book on Amazon.

Here's the link to get the book

To get the CONDENSED version of the review, you can go to Goodreads, which already has it posted. I'll also post a link to the Amazon review, when they clear it. It seems I have a lot of reviews gone AWOL, though.

Greetings, Internet friends and neighbors, and to those who are following along with the month-long series of Dragon Awards book reviews: I've got two books read and ready for review, actually, three, but the load looks larger every day. And for my family who happened by: Today is cousin Stan's birthday. It's amazing how much like his daddy he looks, isn't it?

Yesterday was a marathon reading day! I read almost 800 pages, and fortunately “House of Assassins” came first. It's quite the compelling read, and:

The purity of the writing created a momentum in my reading, and I was able to accomplish much more than I normally would. 

Actually, I just made that up. The truth is that I finished reading “House of Assassins” too early to knock off for the day, but I didn't want to try to write anything, so I grabbed the next book in the queue and started reading.

Upon reflection, the page count is rather more than 800, because it's been a LONG time since I read the first book in the series, and I had to keep referring back to it to refresh my memory.

“House of Assassins” is the second book in the “Saga of the Forgotten Warrior” series, released three years after “Son of the Black Sword.”  It's helpful, but not necessary, to read SOTBS first. There are plenty of storylines which originate in SOTBS and which are advanced or completed in HOA, but the intro material is sufficient to introduce a newcomer into the story without problem. All of my clicking back and forth between the two installments in the story were for satisfaction, and not because of confusion.

The book opens with an emotionally rich flashback into the life of Thera, the Prophet. We see her as a little girl ferociously becoming a warrior, under the guidance of her father, Andaman Vane, respected leader of his house and troops. And we discover what set her apart: a “bolt from heaven pierced her skull.” The injury/intrusion has a broad impact: her father refuses to leave her side, and those in power use this as an excuse to strip him of his position as a leader. 

The flashback ends as Thera regains consciousness in the House of the Assassins. They had captured her at the climactic battle at Jharlang, when the magic sword Angruvadal had self-sacrificed to defeat a demon hybrid, according to the terms of the prophecy. Sikasso, the leader of the Assassins, is determined to discover the source of her power and control it. Her protestations that she has no idea of how the power works, or even when it works, only make him determined to rip the secret from her by force.

Ashok has gathered a small army, an outcome not entirely to his liking. He is still under the command of Grand Inquisitor Orman, who ordered him to find and protect the prophet agitating against the rule of the Law, and standing for the protection of the casteless. Having discovered that the prophet is none other than Thera, a person he does not particularly care for, he sets out to find the House of Assassins and rescue her. In his company are Jagdish, a dishonored noble warrior, determined to regain his status by killing the wizards who wiped out his men, and Keta, the former butcher turned (mad) evangelist/priest of the Forgotten. 

They are being tracked by the Protectors, Ashok's former companions, lead by Devedas, the closest thing to a friend he has ever had. Also the most formidable foe he will face, Devedas may actually be able to defeat Ashok, now that Andruvadal is destroyed.

Along the road, they pick up Gutch, a former blacksmith turned magic smuggler. He has the ability to detect magic from a distance, and offers his services to help Ashok find the House of Assassins, who are noted for paying top dollar for magic-bearing items. 

Meanwhile, back at the city, Grand Inquisitor Orman is preparing his plan to wipe out the casteless, overthrow the ruling first-caste aristocracy, and make himself the supreme authority over all. To accomplish this, he sends out teams to devastate the countryside, and claim to be a part of Ashok's rebellion. 

And there are some really, really strange secrets that few know, and no one talks about. Anyone who stumbles upon the truth dies. (But no battle plan survives contact with the enemy.)

There is a particular type of lazy writer who drools out a story in which no rules apply, at all. That, in itself, separates them from the body of science fiction, in which the rules matter. It is perfectly acceptable practice to violate one particular reality (FTL travel is the most common example), but after that, a good writer has to work hard to provide internal consistency. When someone points out to the lazy writer that their mythical beast actually can't DO that, or that instant communication isn't established, or that there was no reason for the guy in the hat to have a yo-yo in their pocket, they offer up the excuse: “It's fantasy!” And, if the story is GOOD enough, a writer can do that, but, the lazy writers aren't that good.

And Larry Correia is the OPPOSITE of the lazy writer. In more ways than one, of course, because his output is...impressive. But here, I speak of the fact that he has an ESTABLISHED fantasy series going, when rules CAN be violated without penalty, and: he works very, very competently to rationalize it. There are science hints throughout, but the emphasis on the storyline is on the irrational, but I THINK that's along the order of “sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” 

It's not an approach taken often, and even less often is it done well. Handwavium has been around, and been popular, for a long time. It's what provides Superman with an origin story, and why Spiderman had to be bitten by a radioactive spider; those are SCIENCE explanations for fantasy. The best earliest  rationalization of fantasy that I am personally familiar with is 1969's “Not Long Before The End,” by Larry Niven. That was followed by other short stories and books with the same theme: magic is a natural resource,  and it can be depleted. 

I do not know where this series is going to conclude.  But, I find myself hoping that he woke up one night with a perfect ending in mind, and that everything this far has been in support of that superlative final scene where All Is Revealed. 

And now, The Question: Is “House of Assassins” a contender for the 2019 Dragon Award for Best Fantasy Novel?

Elsewhere, I have discussed the matter of series novels winning awards vs. stand-alone works. It's a factor, but the fact that the intro material covers the background well speaks in favor of HOA.

In prior years, I think HOA might have a lock on the award. However, this is the year in which nominations for Dragon Awards have come for books which came from sources which have previously held the Dragons in contempt. That being the case, I'm inclined to say that this is a different game than the game we played last year, and the year before, etc. 

Is it worthy of the award? Affirmatively, yes. Will it win the award? I would not bet money on it. 

Peace be on your household.