In this final, omnibus instalment of Monarchies of God, Mr. Kearney gathers up all the myriad threads he spent so much time spinning out in Hawkwood And The Kings and pulls on them, hard, until all his characters and all their dark deeds converge in a series of bloody battles for the future of Normannia. Though this segment of Mr. Kearney's dark, epic fantasy is better for not being burdened with the necessity of introducing so many lands, and schemers, and magical powers, it is worse for the aimlessness which plagues important segments of its story.
The Century of The Soldier presides over the next seventeen years of Normannia, the war-plagued continent the reader was introduced to in the first instalment. The Merduk armies have entrenched themselves, consolidating the gains they made in Normannian lands, while they prepare for a new offensive which will finish off the five, weakened, fragmented kingdoms that, up till now, have opposed them. Barring their advance is Corfe, a once shattered soldier who has channeled his grief over the death of his wife into a kind of controlled, reckless vengeance against the Merduks. He has proven so successful, in spite of ignorant and prejudiced opposition within his own kingdom, that royal men, entitled men, great men, have all been forced to acknowledge his supremacy. But as Corfe is organizing the defense of Normannia, two other major events are playing out beyond both his comprehension and his control.
Alberec, a devoted monk in the service of the Ramusian church, has made a terrifying and world-altering discovery in the church archives that could change the direction of the Normannian-Merduk war. But even while he attempts to communicate this vital information to the leadership on both sides, a dark power is crossing the western sea. Yes, captain hawkwood has returned to Normannia, dragging with him knowledge of the fabled continent and the magicians and shapeshifters who live there in vicious harmony. Hawkwood's warnings give the western-most kings time to build and outfit a great fleet which will sail out to meet the Dweomer threat and stop it in its tracks. But weakened by the Ramusian purges which consigned so many of their own magicians to the flames, the fleet finds itself up against a vengeful, authoritarian power soon to sweep across Normannia and make the war with the Merduk hordes seem like kids playing at soldiers.
There is so much here. Mr. Kearney's willingness to journey down the darkest roads enables him to shock his readers. For he is perfectly willing to visit existential calamities upon his protagonists, calamities from which some of his characters never recover. Mr. Kearney's fine sense of poetic justice is far more powerful than his desire to protect his heroes, all of whom suffer more under his hand than do the heroes of any other author I can think of. Perhaps the series' greatest virtue, though, is its ability to convey the importance of information, knowledge. Many of the characters here would act differently, helping to avoid many of the series' disasters, if they had a clear idea of the big picture. But they don't. And so their narrowmindedness obligates them to act on what little they do know, causing them to make decisions that do nothing but aid their enemies. With so many other fantasy series, protagonists escape their ignorance, learning enough about their foes to go back a second time and heroically conquer, but Mr. Kearney's tale operates by a much more realistic code. Sometimes, simply, there are no second chances.
But if The Century of The Soldier offers the reader many pleasures, its sins keep it from being truly great. In addition to its rushed conclusion, two or three of its significant plot threads simply end without conveying any meaning at all. This may be Mr. Kearney's point, that sometimes things happen for no reason. But as respectable as this sentiment may be, there has to be some purpose behind every element of a story's plot. Without purpose, the reader cannot extract any meaning. And without meaning, there's very little point to investing the time to read the book.
Nonetheless, Mr. Kearney is willing to take the reader on a journey that no other author I can think of is willing to lead. The degree to which he is able to capture the cruelties of war, feudal authoritarianism and religious extremism is Orwellian. This is best exemplified by the scene with Arja some two-thirds of the way through this volume. It is so abhorrent, it is painful to read, but it is a vivid demonstration of what war is really like, of what some people in the world endure every day, and what those of us who want to romanticize war should never forget. Powerful stuff, but not without its problems. (3/5 Stars)
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