Courage is a fascinating virtue. Endowed with inspirational powers of leadership, its possessors are inoculated against the debilitating effects of fear. Able to think clearly, these brave souls are free to rise above the fray and lead by example, secure in the knowledge that self-confidence is the only requirement for success. This is particularly true of hierarchical humans, most of whom belong to cultures that praise conformity while worshipping those rare outliers who spring up to be kings and visionaries, captains and CEOs. But if these are the destinies of the courageous, what fates await those who lack courage? How are they viewed? And is this judgement fair when the fearful may have other virtuous qualities? Sergey and marina Dyachenko muse upon these very questions in their pleasingly atypical novel.
In a realm of mages and soldiers shuddering through its own Enlightenment, a movement that has brought universities and learning to a formerly medieval world of swords and violence, the old ways of honor and privilege still hold sway. This proves particularly true for Egert Soll, the arrogant and cruel eldest son of a revered noble house. For he is not only blessed of background, but of sword as well, boasting one of the fastest and most skilled blades in the city, perhaps even the realm itself. Before him stretch two long and profitable careers, as a lieutenant in the guards by day and as a filanderer in the beds of married women by night. Nothing can halt his confident rise to power and mastery.
But all of this changes when Egert fatefully encounters a beautiful, young woman who spurns his cocky advances. For not only does she find him detestable, she is already in a relationship with a student at the city's university. They treasure talents of the mind, not of the arm. Unwilling to take no for an answer, Egert precipitates a duel with the young woman's lover, one in which he easily overwhelms the overmatched student. But this fun has its price. For a mage, hearing of Egert's dishonorable actions, curses him, draining away all of his courage and leaving him a broken man forced to wander the world, afraid of his own shadow and in search of elusive redemption.
Though firmly ensconced in the fantasy genre, The Scar is a sprawling novel that draws upon the fine traditions of Russian literature to elevate apiece of genre fiction into a work of meaning and elegance. Mr. and Mrs. Dyachenko command eloquent pens which slip as easily into poetry as they do prose, merging the forms to create an exciting amalgam of story and study. For this is nothing short of a consequential rumination on human nature and its capacity for cruelty and forgiveness, for arrogance and humility, for scorn and generosity. What's more, it manages to muse without being pompous, to remonstrate without being judgmental, virtues which allow the story, infused as it is with romance and apocalypse, to be enjoyable rather than overbearing.
Though The Scar is undoubtedly one of the most successful fusions of Fantasy with the higher literary traditions, it is not without its problems. It champions humanism, valuing the word above the sword, the mind over might. And yet, it calls upon its heroine to forgive, perhaps even to love, the man who slew her fiance, a contortion of character and morality that it doesn't quite pull off. The work makes a solid case for forgiveness, that little can come of holding onto ones hate and contempt, especially when earnest repentance has been made. And yet, it's one thing to forgive; it is entirely another to love ones transgressor. The gender politics here do not stand on the firmest ground.
There are no twists here, no turns of fate that will leave the reader surprised by the outcome. In fact, the novel's conclusion is predictable from the first few chapters. But it is a credit to not only its authorship but its craftsmanship that this is not a flaw. Far from it. The Dyachenkos transform Egert's predictable journey into an odyssey, an adventure of consequence and fascination. Well worth the read... (4/5 Stars)
No comments:
Post a Comment