Acacia: Book One, the War With the Mein.* Acacia: Book One, the War With the Mein By David Anthony Durham David Anthony Durham has thus far built his reputation as an historical novelist. His first novel, Gabriel's Story, centered on African American settlers in the American West. Doubleday June 2007, $26.95 ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-385-50606-6 Acacia is the first in Durham's War With the Mein trilogy, detailing the struggles of the house of Arkan against a deadly, dastardly and implacable foe. What we have here is an ancient world that resembles our own in enough ways (some of the same wildlife, some familiar customs and vestigial ves·tig·i·al adj. Occurring or persisting as a rudimentary or degenerate structure. legends) to give it the ring of familiarity, while also incorporating magic, ethereal beings and mighty battles between the forces of good and evil. It seems that the king, Leodan Arkan, has been assassinated, and his four children have been sent to the four corners of the empire for safety. There in hiding, they learn the skills that will enable them to take back their kingdom, in other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , your standard high-fantasy conceit. But where Durham occasionally seems to lack specific facility with fantasy writing--magical events generally happen offstage, or in the past; most characters are richly drawn, but the Mein are a bit too absolute in terms of their villainy--he compensates with crisp, clear prose and vivid action. Durham's use of ancient legends to fill cultural backstory back·sto·ry n. 1. The experiences of a character or the circumstances of an event that occur before the action or narrative of a literary, cinematic, or dramatic work: while simultaneously mirroring and contrasting his world's current events is just flat brilliant. There are tasty, subliminal racial commentaries as well. High fantasy is notoriously pale, its dark-skinned characters usually villainous (Lord of the Rings or 300, anyone?) But here, the core players are "olive skinned" their mentors/allies ranging from blonde to black, while the villains are almost exclusively pale. Cough. What we have here is an astonishing a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. "first" novel--fantasy is far more difficult to write than most would think, and Durham has made the leap from contemporary to historical to fantasy/allegorical with formidable ease. See (*) for BIBR BIBR Bay Islands Beach Resort (Roatan, Honduras) BIBR Backward Indicator Bit Received recommended titles New York Times best-selling author Steven Barnes lives in Los Angeles with his wife novelist Tananarive Due. |
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