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Valentine Strange, late of his Majesty's 21st Benhali Lancers, needs money. Happily, the wealthy Holy Orders of Harappu are desperate to retrieve the diadem of the Goddess Purya from an ancient temple deep in the mountainous jungle--an area Strange knows well from his days quelling rebellions. The pay is too good and the job seems too easy for Strange to refuse. But when Master Aleister Grimshaw, a dangerous witch from a traitorous lineage, joins the expedition, Strange begins to suspect that more is at stake than the retrieval of a mere relic. Grimshaw knows an ancient evil surrounds the diadem - the same evil once hunted him and still haunts his mind. However, experience has taught him to keep his suspicions to himself or risk being denounced as a madman. Again. Harried by curses, bandits and unnatural creatures, Strange and Grimshaw plunge onward. But when a demonic power wakes and the civilized world descends into revolution, their tenuous friendship is threatened as each man must face the destruction of the life he has known.… (more)
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Some of my favorite fantasies are those whose worlds reflect an “exotic” civilization in the real world (or at least exotic to a majority of readers). It makes the fantasy more real to a reader because of an underlying sense of familiarity. Here, I felt Lanyon drew ideas from ancient Persia, the Ottoman Empire, etc. The place names, like Harrapu for example, and caste system underlie this. There is plenty of detail for readers to get to know Lanyon’s world without tedious amounts of description. Lanyon’s magical and political systems are carefully thought out and directly influence the story. The fantasy element is subtle. This could have been a simple adventure novel, save for a few scenes and the ending.
My only small criticism of the novel is that the middle part was very slow. Strange and Grimshaw spend a lot of time held prisoner in a monastery. Too much time. I read the first half of the book in a couple days and put it down for several more before picking it up and finishing. However, the conclusion was very action-packed, magic came front and center, and lots of plot threads were tied up. A very satisfying ending. A sequel could easily be done, but it not absolutely necessary (although I really, really, really want one!). Highly recommended.
This was...interesting. I did enjoy the rich world building and backstory. But the relationship here is completely and utterly lacking. There was so much more that could have been done with it and the author seemed to miss every single opportunity.