Book Review – Whiskey and Water: A Novel of the Promethean Age
Author: Elizabeth Bear
Publisher: Roc
Publishing Date: January 2009
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Cover Artist: Paul Youll
Whiskey and Water is the second novel published in Elizabeth Bear’s series of the Promethean Age and should be considered as an independent sequel to Blood and Iron. The story of Whiskey and Water takes place about seven years after the events of Blood and Iron and it features many of the same characters – mostly in minor roles – with a decided emphasis on the magus Matthew Szczegielniak, formerly of the Prometheus Club.
Though it has been seven years since the great battle between the magi of the Prometheus Club and the forces of Faerie, the situation is far from resolved. Matthew’s treachery caused the Prometheans to fail, decimating their numbers drastically but Jane Andraste, arch-mage of the Prometheus Club, has not abandoned her cause. Instead, she has been busy recruiting new members while Matthew, crippled in both body and spirit, doggedly attempts his role as the protector of New York City despite the fact that he has lost the mastery of his magic.
Elaine still reigns as Queen of the Daoine Sidhe, a position for which she willingly sacrificed her human soul and thus her ability to love – a sacrifice that was motivated by a wish to shield her son Ian from the life-draining power of the White-horn Throne. Ian, however, covets the throne for himself and resents his mother for usurping his rights as the Mebd’s chosen heir. Elaine’s hold on the throne is a precarious one. Not only has she made an enemy of her son, she also has to counter the subtle machinations of Àine (the Cat Anna), Queen of the Unseelie fae.
When a young woman is found murdered in a particularly grisly manner, everything points to the killer as a creature of Faerie. In his self-proclaimed role as protector of New York Matthew is once again sucked deep into the political intrigues of both Faerie and the Prometheus Club. But those two are not the only players in this deep-laid game. The forces of Hell itself, led by Lucifer the Morningstar, seem to have a stake in this conflict. The various political alliances and configurations muddles the picture but as the story progresses it slowly becomes clear that there is more than one hidden player in this game, and that someone actively is seeking to manoeuvre Faerie and the Prometheus Club into another open confrontation while Hell remains divided among itself as Lucifer oscillates between either seeking forgiveness from God or waging an all-out war against Heaven.
As the plot thickens and the game deepens, Matthew allies himself with Christopher Marlowe, formerly of the Prometheus Club and lately of Hell – a move that forces him into a final confrontation with Jane Andraste and the subtle chains with which she had his magical talent bound for years on end. As the conclusion draws near, the various conflicts plays out in a series of duels – between Matthew and Jane, between two elemental water-sprites and between the arch-angel Michael and the champion of Hell – while the enigmatic sorceress Morgan le Fey watches from the sidelines.
Like its predecessor, Whiskey and Water is a very complex and fascinating novel that deals with a number of thorny and interrelated issues; in this instance the themes of absolution and redemption as well as those of seduction and temptation. It is especially the themes of absolution and redemption that appears to be at the core of the narrative. Thus Lucifer seeks forgiveness from God though his pride gets in the way. However, Lucifer’s wish for absolution is much less compelling than Matthew’s need for the same thing. In Blood and Iron Matthew sacrificed his brother Kelly for the Promethean cause and he has been haunted by his guilt ever since. His guilt is quite literally crippling and it is only when he is granted absolution – ironically the creature through which the sacrifice originally was made – that Matthew regains control of his magical powers.
The theme of redemption is closely tied to Elaine, who was a very prominent character in Blood and Iron, but who has become quite distant and aloof in Whiskey and Water. Elaine is an example of a character that has done great wrong from the very best intentions. She has wronged her son Ian by usurping the White-horn Throne – a choice she made in order to protect his essential humanity, but a choice she made without regard to Ian’s own wishes. Another character that Elaine has wronged in a very serious manner is the Kelpie Whiskey. In Blood and Iron, Elaine initially bound this Wild Fae to her will according to the laws of Faerie since it is a place where almost everybody is owned by somebody – a fact that was eminently illustrated by the knots in the hair of the Mebd, Faerie’s former queen. As Queen, Elaine has made it an issue that her hair is unbound – i.e. that she doesn’t bind her subjects to her will through magic – yet she fails to understand that her forced ensoulment of Whiskey has placed him in a form of bondage that goes deep enough to alter his very nature and thus the function he, as a water-sprite, serves within the context of the world. Thus for Elaine, redemption can only be achieved with the reclamation of her denied humanity and a renunciation of the White-horn Throne – two issues that are intimately connected.
Jane Andraste is another character in need of redemption but who, unlike Elaine, is unable to repent her actions. Jane’s offence is particularly egregious because she had seduced Matthew into a form of bondage that he was unable to recognize since she presented the chains that bound him as pieces of armour for his own protection. She purposely kept him ignorant – of the extent of his power and what he could do with it – so that she could control and use him for her own ends:
She had controlled him. Down to the breath he drew. He’d thanked her for it, and it hadn’t been enough for her.
This is a particularly insidious form of subjugation, one where the victim often becomes complicit with his/her own oppression – and Jane’s utter refusal to acknowledge her own culpability in this matter excludes her from any kind of redemption what so ever.
Whiskey and Water is, as said, a very complex and fascinating novel. It is, however, less accomplished than Blood and Iron. Firstly, the plot is convoluted to the point of the byzantine and it features so many players that it sometimes is quite difficult to keep track of all the details. Secondly, Bear breaks with the narrative focus on a few select characters that characterized Blood and Iron, opting instead for an omniscient POV that slips in and out of the minds of a very large cast of characters. I found this particular aspect of the novel extremely annoying as it not only added to the confusion of the byzantine plot but also made the story seem curiously unfocused. This technique also works to prevent a more in-depth characterization of the various figures. In this respect, Matthew and Whiskey are the most developed characters, mainly because they were featured prominently in Blood and Iron. However, I couldn’t help but regret that intriguing characters such as Morgan le Fey, Christopher Marlowe and Lucifer weren’t more developed though this particular problem might be due that their story is treated in The Stratford Man, a duology published as Ink and Steel and Heaven and Hell respectively. Thirdly, the story felt at times somewhat “unfinished”. However, this might be due to the fact that the Promethean Age series is far from complete. On Elizabeth Bear’s website I did notice that one of her planned novels in this series is titled Patience and Fortitude, two concepts that play a significant role for Matthew’s character in both Blood and Iron and Whiskey and Water.
Suffice to say that Whiskey and Water doesn’t quite measure up to the excellent Blood and Iron. Despite its flaws Whiskey and Water is nonetheless a very good novel that not only deserves an attentive reader but also more than one reading. I really like that Elizabeth Bear constantly experiments in her writing, that she’s not afraid to take chances – and I would therefore like to point out that she is always very interesting to read, even when her experiments fail. Whiskey and Water is a must for anyone who enjoyed Blood and Iron- just as the Promethean Age series as whole should appeal to anyone who is interested in a fantasy that plays with history, mythology and literary tradition in an intelligent, original and entertaining manner.
Trine D. Paulsen
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