Of all human emotions, love does the most harm. For it is love for our mates that drives us into the eager arms of vengeance and revenge, love of country and tribe that provokes us to kill and be killed, love of a cause that motivates us to blind devotion. There is no room for else. This is the argument made by The Escapement, the concluding volume of a bleak and twisted trilogy that examines the root emotions of human motivations before quietly and mercilessly concluding that this singular emotion, cherished, romanticized and venerated in poem and song, is nothing more than ammunition for barbarity.
After readers witnessed the framing and forced exile of Ziani Vaatzes in Devices And Desires, and his elevation from engineer to kingmaker in Evil For Evil, there ought to be little surprise to find the beleaguered but resilient Mezentian engineer thriving in The Escapement. For after setting into motion an intricate plan to actualize his revenge upon the narrowminded civilization that tried to execute him, Ziani is about to see years of plots and schemes, blood and sweat, luck and good fortune come together to deliver into his hands the fate of an entire people. He has not only successfully forged an alliance between the factional forces opposing the normally all-powerful Mezentians, he has manipulated this new alliance into besieging the Great Republic in hopes of forcing from Mezentia concessions that would see him restored to his old life. Not only has he achieved all this without creating enemies, he's succeeded in his aims while simultaneously earning himself the trust of the alliance's leaders. This is no mean feat for an intelligent but unemotional engineer who could have never imagined his life taking such a torturous turn.
The Escapement is a race against time. Will the forces under Duke Valens succeed in destroying the fabled Mezentian defenses, opening up the wealthy city to the tender mercies of savages and soldiers? Or will the Mezentians, unaccustomed to war splaying itself out across their doorstep, hold out long enough that Valens' army will starve itself into defeat? The winds of fate are blowing and, though much is uncertain, the wise man knows this much. Ziani Vaatzes will have a say in the outcome. He's lived this long...
K. J. Parker has penned, here, a difficult conclusion to what was a challenging trilogy. There is brilliance here. Parker has a vivid grasp of engineering, a language of power and exactitude which has no room for mercy. What's more, the author's eagerness to explore man's darkest nature, to reach in and extract the truths underpining his actions, grants the piece an intellectual honesty that, while savage and grim,is engaging and thoughtful. But while there's plenty here to recommend it, the flaws that flirted with Devices And Desires and tormented Evil For Evil make their presences felt here as well. The navel-gazing monologues have slightly more purpose this time, but there are still many more than necessary. More over, Parker's campaign to convince the reader that Ziani Vaatzes is smart enough to manipulate four civilizations into fighting a war against one another is no more successful here than it was in past volumes. This series is built on the premise that men are fallible and limited, that not even the most brilliant mind can conceive of all the answers, that life is made up of colliding events which produce sparks triggering yet more events. All this runs counter to Ziani Vaatzes who is both godlike in his insight and omnipotent in his actions.
There's enough here to interest admirers of dark fantasy, but there is too much slogging to call it great. Innovative but troubled. (3/5 Stars)
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