Book Review – Demonsouled
Author: Jonathan Moeller
Publisher: Five Star
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: May 2005
I’m on a bit of a odd streak in regards to reviews. This will be the third consecutive relatively new release, while also being the debut work of an author I have reviewed; the others being Holly Phillip’s In the Palace of Repose, Eldon Thompson’s The Crimson Sword, and will soon be followed by a fourth, Steven Oliverez’s The Elder Staves. It’s always great fun reading works by new authors especially when all four of these works are so completely different thematically, stylistically, and where they fit regarding to sub-genres. In short, a little something for everyone, to either avoid, or think about as a next purchase.
I recently received a copy of Jonathan Moeller’s Demonsouled, a very traditional addition to the genre that focuses on the character Mazael Cravenlock. Mazael is going home, and accompanied by his best friend Gerald Roland, a son of a lord, although not the heir, to investigate reports of the recruiting and massing of sell-swords and bandits in the lands that are ruled by Mazael’s family, where power resides in his older brother Lord Miltor. Other Lords in the land, chiefly the powerful Richard Mandragon, “the Dragonslayer” have noted the gathering of forces by Miltor, and think he may be posturing for war to avenge a failed campaign between the two factions in the time of Miltor’s and Mazael’s mother and father. On the journey home, Mazael and Roland will become what seems to be beacons drawing other companions to them, representative of many of the basic character classes that “gamers” would feel accustomed to seeing in a fantasy novel, who will aid them in what is appearing to be the not only the risk of the escalating tension of war, but also an investigation of queer, unnatural, and decidedly “evil” happenings occurring in and around Cravenlock ruled lands. Some say the dead are animate and walking again, pointing an accusatory finger at the presence of a Wizard of foreign origins (oh those illegal-alien spell casters) who presently basks in high favor with Lord Miltor, who places great import in the words and council of the Wizard. Others blame the mysterious, and dubiously viewed Elves, snatching members of the population at night, for their own nefarious ends. The most personal of all the innuendo reaching Mazael’s ear is the rumor of his family’s possible involvement with a “evil” snake cult, and the damning historical evidence that connects his family and land to them, being spread by Lord Richard Mandragon, and his allies.
Mazael certainly isn’t the only character in Demonsouled. A cast of characters representing such a number of classes join Mazael’s band that it would make Gary Gygax and Ed Greenwood blush. Unfortunately, much like Gygax and his brethren, the characterization in Demonsouled seems to involved and tied to the traditional representations of the classes themselves, leaving no real sense of freshness, originality, or individuality emanating from the characters – we know how and why they will react to certain things because we have seen them all before, and many times. Gerald, Mazael’s best friend is a Paladin in all but name, he is a good man, good natured, heroic, and finds the time to make sure he is not lacks on attending to his prayers. His character is in contrast of Mazael, who although is unquestionably brave, and instilled with a strong morale sense of right, is motivated by his own desires more then Gerald, whose motivations come from a sense and belief of a greater good. They will come across Romaria Greenshield, a rare and beautiful half-breed sent by her people to investigate the aforementioned tales of necromancy, and to find and destroy its source, however, her most important roll, and the one brought on by destiny is the soothing effect she has on the troubled Mazael. We will also meet Mazael’s two oldest friends, his teachers whose positions within the Cravenlock regime had been reduced to essentially early retirement, the rotund Wizard Master Othar, and Nathan Greenheart, a man equally reputed for his prowess in battle as he is for his honor. Joining this group will be a young Wizard who Mazael accepts under his charge Timothy, who in some ways was the novels most thoughtful character. Joining them later in the novel will be Silar, a Cirstarcian monk with stories of ancient bloodlines, and clandestine cults.
Mazael himself is depicted as a peerless, and at times supernatural warrior, who is as intrepid as he is skillful, however, spends most of the story worried about his sister who is happily engaged to a Sir Albron, who along with the aforementioned Wizard (the foreign fellow) Simonian, are given to the reader to mull in there mind which (or both) are behind the chicanery that is leading to war, which may be less paramount then Mazael’s own inner struggle, and his increasingly apparent divine pedigree which potentially has worst implications than any war can bring.
Admittedly, the premise isn’t exactly innovative but it’s not necessarily a weakness either The characters are somewhat 2-D, and are static in nature, but Demonsouled does succeed in being a fairly entertaining, point A to B linear story, that many fans of traditional fantasy will feel familiar with. There are a couple of elements within Demonsouled however that just at times drove me up the wall, and it’s more structural then thematic, for instance, here is a combat sequence:
“The innkeeper shrieked and dove under a table. The mercenaries stared at each other in befuddlement. Gerald vaulted over the railing . Wesson through down his shield. Gerald caught it and ran into the fray”
Another example:
“The apples hung heavy and red from their blossoms. He saw a big one. His dagger flashed out. He took the apple in his gloved hand and took a bite.”
Another example:
“Mazael struck a course due east. His horse left a trail of beaten grass in its wake. This region had been left untouched during Lord Richard’s rebellion. Most of the grassland had been plowed and cultivated . Fresh shoot rose from the furrows . Mazael saw few blood roses. They took worn cart tracks when they could find them, but there were no real roads here The peasants hurried inside and bolted their doors as they passed”
The book is riddled with an abundance of passages made up of short sentences that gave a brusque feel to the work. I didn’t scan for these examples given, I merely indiscriminately flipped to pages. There is an alarming absolute lack of any sweeping descriptive passages, and it in fact is a bit of a task to locate a complex sentence within the work. The language left me emotionally unattached, better suited to be read out loud, then read in my opinion. Another element that really detracted from my ability to enjoy the work in the beginning was after we meet Mazael, starting with the very next person he meets (his friend Gerald and his squire Wesson) Moeller seems to have the desire to tell us how easily Mazael can kill the man if he desired to do so. This is a case of telling and not showing, and although I understand the basis for Moeller doing this – establishing certain thought processes and perhaps tracing a transformation occurring within Mazael at the very onset of the novel, its execution makes the surrounding passages disjointed, and ultimately were unnecessary.
There are some positives. Moeller both gives us a complete story in one installment, and yet establishes enough back history in the novel and leaves enough intrigue open to revisit the setting either earlier or later in the timeline with equal effectiveness. The back history Moeller established in the world is a plus and gives the setting some effectiveness that is lacking due to the lack of description found in the narrative. The writing does improve rather dramatically in the last quarter of this novel (which is 400+pages in its entirety), being less disjointed, and being more focused on a Mazael and his personal struggle. This novel will appeal to a segment of fans that happen to be the most numerous in number in the genre; it’s a straightforward, linear, rather action-packed, fast moving tale of a warrior struggling with himself, waving his magic sword around, with his numerous companions in tow. My favorite part of the novel occurs really late in the work, when we are introduced the Lord Mandragon and his family, his two sons one a powerful wizard, the other a quick to tempered warrior, and there relationship provide for an interesting and refreshing breather from the main plot, although their role is brief.
For my personal taste however, there is just simply nothing here that denotes the presence of an individual style, and if the choppiness, and short, laymen-like sentences is the style, it’s simply one that failed to really ingratiate itself with me. As a rule I have found if there is any mystery regarding a antagonists identity, nine times out of ten I have found any form of ‘Simon’ is a dead give away, in this case Simonian is almost a gimmie (not really a spoiler trust me, so admittedly my mentioning of is a bit tic-tac; blame it on Jonathan Stroud who did the same thing in a novel I read recently
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