Offering Extraordinary Books by Talented Authors TM
Home
Piers Anthony
Key to Havoc
Key to Havoc Review
KEY TO HAVOC Review
By David McGrath
It's a completely new book, I was told. Unpublished. Unpublishable. And by Piers Anthony. To some people, this might be a given; not so, me. I have a soft spot for Mr. Anthony's work. And so when the publisher — Daniel J. Reitz Sr. of Mundania Press, LLC — gave me the opportunity to review the book, I leapt upon the chance.
Unpublishable? Well, yes. Those familiar with PADJ's writing know of his travails with mainstream publishers, in that they only want definite money-makers from him — that is to say, Xanth. Other works (such as his Geodyssey series) fell by the wayside.
Key to Havoc was another victim of the bottom line. But through Mundania it's published now, and available for purchase.
Is it worth it, though?
I'll get to that.
Key to Havoc is the first book in a projected five-book series, all involving a rather peculiar solar system, and the denizens thereof.
Vivid and Void, star and black hole, rotate about one another, fomenting chaos in the twin planets of Charm and Counter-Charm. Literal fomentation in this case — much as Jupiter wreaks havoc on Io, causing it to constantly be in flux, Charm and its twin are covered in volcanoes. Magical colour-spewing volcanoes.
There are quite a few colours of volcanoes — nobody's quite sure how many different hues, exactly — and each colour brings about a specific type of magic. Green is that of plants, blue of animals, brown of golems, and so on.
The hero of this first novel, Havoc — no last name — intends to lead a simple small-village life with his girlfriend Gale, but — as ever — things don't quite go so blandly. He ends up king.
I couldn't help but be reminded of another series of Piers', Split Infinity. In that series, a lowly serf comes to discover a world of magic — a world in which the major forces of magic are centered around specific colours. Indeed, blue factors highly in both that work and this.
But they're certainly not the same. The specifics are quite different.
Anything living close to a volcano is able to use that particular magic to its own benefit, with one side-effect — anything close to the volcano is tinted in that colour. Any such-tinted person can only use their magic in similarly-hued areas. In others, they have no powers. And there are places where no volcanoes are nearby — and nobody has magic.
In Split Infinity, only the most powerful can wield magic; in ChroMagic, anyone who lives near a volcano long enough can take advantage of its powers.
Havoc's rise from barbarian to king might be said to echo the previous series as well — but only insomuch as it echoes many other novels. The concept of the weak becoming the strong is a staple of fantasy writing. Who wants to read about the strong staying the strong? (Disregard Conan.)
And — this is more quantitative than qualitative — this novel is huge. Many of Piers' novels run 300-350 pages; Key to Havoc runs more than 500. The first chapter alone spans 50 pages. If you want to read this, you'd better be in it for the long haul.
As an aside, I've noticed that Piers's work tends to fall into two broad categories: writing done solely for money, and writing done because 'it has to be written.' The former (Xanth, for instance) is light and fluffy and brief; the latter (such as Key to Havoc) is dense and fraught with a complex plot.
So it's its own work. But, again, is it worth reading?
I loved the book. I didn't want to see it end. And so — a strong yes. It's quite worth reading. There are a few minor caveats you may wish to be aware of, however.
As stated by Piers, one of the reasons that Key to Havoc was looked over by the major publishers is a certain scene involving a young teen boy and a succubus. It's described unflinchingly, with due mention of all the proper body parts. It's also an integral part of the plot. Even so, those with parochial attitudes might do best to avoid the book.
As well, there's a device that Piers introduces early on in the book, that of the dragon seed; it buzzes whenever there is danger, or whenever someone speaks an untruth. Used sparingly, it's a useful tool — but Havoc and Gale employ its knowledge throughout the novel. Although the seed has its limits — limits that Piers does explore — its use and reuse turns it into a deus-ex-machina of sorts. (Maybe I ought to use the correct term, there. What's Latin for seed? ...semen. Never mind.) Perhaps it will eventually use its magic up; time will tell.
Also, the final two books are predicated on the sales of the first three. If they don't do well... the series will be without a proper ending.
So. Executive summary: familiar yet new setting. Big book, big world, big ideas. (Something old, something new, nothing borrowed, something blue...) Small press is put to its best use — that of getting out books that run contrary to the interests of major publishers. Has problems, but problems that are far outweighed by the appeal of the novel.
So buy this book. Please. I want to find out how the series ends, dang it!
This review is Copyright 2003 David McGrath. This review may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by mimeograph or photograph or telegraph or polygraph or phonograph or chromatograph or any other means. The Berne Convention won't let ya. But I will, if you ask nicely.
Permission to post review on Mundania Press' website in its entirety has been graciously granted by David McGrath.
|
