SatansBedFellow
Sun, 17th Jul '05, 2:47pm
Thraxas - by Martin Scott
Thraxas is the first book in an ongoing series by Martin Scott
Meet Thraxas an ale-sodden, drug-addled, obese, foul mouthed excuse for a private eye and a third rate sorcerer to boot (Thraxas can only manage one spell at a time, provided its not too taxing and he's not too drunk). Thraxas is the hero (surely something only he believes) of this eponymously titled debut; the first novel to chronicle the many (mis)adventures of fantasy's most downwardly mobile creation.
The action centres on the magical city of Turai the sort of place where if someone hasn't crawled through your window and killed you with a bit of railing it's because someone's stolen your windows. As you can imagine with the streets so chocked with such nefarious evil even Thraxas has a lot on his plate (unfortunately for him it's not one of Tanrose's famous pies ). The plot kicks of as Thraxas' luck seemingly takes a turn for the better when Princess Du-Akai, third in line to the throne of Turai, braves the smell of Thraxas' office to employ him to retrieve some missing love letters. Sounds easy? Before long Thraxas finds himself pursued by the law, the Society of Friends (anything but friendly), the crazed half-orc sorcerer Horm the Dread (whose name DOES serve as a description) and most frightening of all a feminist assassin. With the beautiful but somewhat psychotic half-orc Makri in tow Thraxas bumbles through Turai desperately seeking both a way out and of course his next drink.
Martin Scott willfully employs all the clichés of fantasy literature (the beer always foams and is delivered in tankards by scantily clad wenches, assassins belong to a guild and the obligatory spate in a dungeon all appear at some some point.) but Scott also delights in subverting these same conventions. His prose style is breezy and uncluttered and laced throughout with an intelligent and urbane wit. All this makes Thraxas an uncommonly fun read and the book comes with my highest recommendation.
Thraxas is the first book in an ongoing series by Martin Scott
Meet Thraxas an ale-sodden, drug-addled, obese, foul mouthed excuse for a private eye and a third rate sorcerer to boot (Thraxas can only manage one spell at a time, provided its not too taxing and he's not too drunk). Thraxas is the hero (surely something only he believes) of this eponymously titled debut; the first novel to chronicle the many (mis)adventures of fantasy's most downwardly mobile creation.
The action centres on the magical city of Turai the sort of place where if someone hasn't crawled through your window and killed you with a bit of railing it's because someone's stolen your windows. As you can imagine with the streets so chocked with such nefarious evil even Thraxas has a lot on his plate (unfortunately for him it's not one of Tanrose's famous pies ). The plot kicks of as Thraxas' luck seemingly takes a turn for the better when Princess Du-Akai, third in line to the throne of Turai, braves the smell of Thraxas' office to employ him to retrieve some missing love letters. Sounds easy? Before long Thraxas finds himself pursued by the law, the Society of Friends (anything but friendly), the crazed half-orc sorcerer Horm the Dread (whose name DOES serve as a description) and most frightening of all a feminist assassin. With the beautiful but somewhat psychotic half-orc Makri in tow Thraxas bumbles through Turai desperately seeking both a way out and of course his next drink.
Martin Scott willfully employs all the clichés of fantasy literature (the beer always foams and is delivered in tankards by scantily clad wenches, assassins belong to a guild and the obligatory spate in a dungeon all appear at some some point.) but Scott also delights in subverting these same conventions. His prose style is breezy and uncluttered and laced throughout with an intelligent and urbane wit. All this makes Thraxas an uncommonly fun read and the book comes with my highest recommendation.