Blade of Tyshalle by Matthew Stover – review

Matthew Stover is a name garnering a lot of mainstream attention recently due to his contribution to the Star Wars universe as the author of the novelization of the record-breaking film Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. I have read Stover’s rendering, which is the best adaptation thus far of any of the films, and one of best Star Wars novels I have ever read. That statement isn’t admittedly that profound, as, in my opinion, more often than not most of the efforts coming out of the seemingly never-exhausted EU stable resemble such atrocious products as Jedi Trial. Make no mistake, even though I am sure Mr. Stover is reaping rewards for his affiliation with Star Wars (and no doubt an honor to be the one doing such a popular and, I would imagine, personally rewarding project), from a creative standpoint, Stover really did Star Wars a favor, not the opposite.

Anyway, off the Star Wars topic and on to the subject of the review, as it merits a great deal of attention and is quite profound.  I have said many times recently that Stover’s Blade of Tyshalle is probably the last book featuring to some large extent Elves that I felt was an elite work in the genre. Not since Michael Swanwick’s fantastic Iron Dragon’s Daughter has there been, in my opinion, a novel nearly so good that depicted the traditionally present elves in works of fantasy. Heroes Die precedes the story in Blade of Tyshalle, but the former does not have to be read to appreciate the absolute mastery of Stover’s brand of storytelling in the latter. (By no means am I saying not to read Heroes Die, it’s only slightly less impressive to me, and highly recommended to read; I myself read Blade of Tyshalle first simply because I procured it first). Like Swanwick’s aforementioned effort, I consider Blade of Tyshalle one of the finest examples of elite storytelling in recent fantasy, nothing less than a welcomed and much-needed contribution to a segment of the fantasy, and more aptly speculative fiction, fan base that was yearning for a work that was equally intellectually and graphically intense.

The staging ground Stover creates for Blade of Tyshalle takes place in two distinctly different settings, which act as what can be described as parallel realms. One is Overworld, in essence a setting fans of traditional fantasy will be familiar with inhabited by human factions, elves, Gods, and magic, that serves as a source of entertainment for the “real world,” a dystopic Earth where actors are sent and recorded live for audiences in the real world. How was Overworld and the opportunity it presented viewed? One character, Kris Hansen, says:

“It is a billion dreams come true. I burn for it. I lust for Overworld the way a martyr dreams of the arms of God.”

Most fans, I think, will feel more at home in Overworld, and although the idea is fascinating, Stover’s vision and execution of the depiction of the real world is the grander of the two. It is a strict caste system that is protected by the faceless yet ever-present Social Police.

As in Heroes Die, Hari Michaelson aka Caine (or perhaps the other way around) is present and through Stover’s gritty narrative becomes in this novel one of the most memorable characters, and character studies, in recent fantasy. The beginning portions of the novel (mind you, it will never be confused with a novella or filler novel, it is a very dense 800 pages) go back to before Heroes Die and chronicle what happens in an institution that prepares them for Overworld, split into two schools, Battle Magik and Combat. We see the events that will occur and a friendship forged that will propel a flunking Hari into an Icon. Hari is a CEO at the Studio now (the Studio runs Overworld), after his wound suffered in the prior novel ended the career of the most popular character in Overworld’s history, Caine. Hari lives a life with his daughter and wife (a god when on Overworld) and has a most interesting amicable relationship with his greatest Overlord enemy Ma’elkoth (a sovereign and god in Overworld’s past, whose memory is still worshiped there).  He stumbles upon a plan that threatens to destroy Overworld, and he sends his wife Pallas Ril to Overworld to stop the spread of plague wiping out the population. In doing so she becomes bait in a plan of vengeance against Caine. The story in its most basic form is about Caine attempting to save his family and Overworld.

I want to stress that such a simplification in explanation fails to give credence to the Stover’s writing, which studies and scrutinizes from many different perspectives topics like family, power and practicing in power, morality, relationships, ethics, and individual philosophy, among others, but most importantly an untainted knowledge of self. Did Hari just act like Caine? Or was Caine in fact the real man as we see him in his youngest form at school? Ma’elkoth’s opinion:

“I fear Michaelson not at all. Michaelson is a fiction you fools. The truth of him is Caine. You do not comprehend the distinction; and so he will destroy you”

Stover is able to deftly touch on subjects with a narrative that although clever also seems oxymoronic; but it’s as apt as it is deftly blunt, and in your face. Like someone shooting a blind man with an arrow in the eye from point blank. It’s a novel about human weakness and human strength and how many elements of each are shared by both, the difference only a thin line and circumstance. As aforementioned, it’s about power,  and in Blade of Tyshalle Stover illustrates many types, from the fantastic power of mages, drawn from ‘”flow,” and the power of the concepts noted above.  One passage perhaps denotes the most relevant; again Ma’elkoth’s speaking of the crippled Caine:

“He does have power. One power: the power to devote himself absolutely to a single goal, to be ruthless with himself and all else in its pursuit. It is the only power he needs – because unlike the great mass of men, he is aware of his power, he is willing, even happy to use it.”

Within Blade of Tyshalle Stover illustrates in several sequences why he is, in my mind, the current preeminent describer of action sequences in speculative fiction, depicting actions that produce gruesome results with uncanny and realistic precision. As with any novel of such relevance, his characters are not polarized to some senseless and truly fictional ideas of Good or Evil; they make realistic decisions and are governed by their own believable ideals that are established by Stover within the novel.

From beginning to end, Blade of Tyshalle reaffirms its rightful status as one of the most creative and imaginative efforts in speculative fiction. Stover’s impact is somewhat similar to perhaps my favorite current author, China Mieville, but in a different manner. Mieville’s work entrances and puts on a display ideas and imagery I haven’t thought of before and shows me the possibility of the ideas and imagination itself.  Stover invokes the same powers of imagination but through means that are right in front of our faces, which we admire because it is new to us due to the safety in our deniability. Blade of Tyshalle is a novel that deserves more accolades than it has received, even by its loyal (and admittedly rambunctious) fan base.

Blade of Tyshalle is highly recommended and a immediate purchase. Go and buy it now, do not rely on luck and happening on it at your local unstocked store, for, as Stover points out, “Luck is the word the ignorant use to define their ignorance.”