The Last Rune — (1998-2004) Currently there are no plans for any further volumes in The Last Rune. Publisher: Reality is unraveling in the dusty Colorado town of Castle City. Strange symbols are carved into storefronts, and ancient legends come to life.
Saloonkeeper Travis Wilder is handed an ornate iron box and a mysterious mission. And in Denver, where dead men walk, ER doctor Grace Beckett is witness to a terrifying and inhuman scene of carnage. Theirs is a destiny shrouded in a coming darkness, a destiny that draws them into the otherworld of Eldh....
Eldh is a land of gods and monsters, myths and runecraft, conspiracy and blood. It is a world that has secretly coexisted beside ours for millennia. But now the boundary between worlds is crumbling in the face of a monstrous evil. And Travis and Grace must save this strange land in order to safeguard their own world.
           
 The Keep of Fire: A pale successor
Beyond the Pale was a well and carefully written book. Its hallmark, in my opinion, was the patience which Mark Anthony displayed in introducing and fleshing out characters, as well as the meticulous care he spent crafting a strong physical presence that made the word of Eldh tangible and solid. Strong fantasy was mixed with horror, mystery, and intrigue that gave the story a terrific cadence. So strong was the writing, in fact, that some of the clichés (character and plotting) were easily forgiven. Good writing can make even a bad idea sound good.
The Keep of Fire, unfortunately, possesses none of the qualities of the former. It had the distinct feel of a rough draft — as if Beyond the Pale was written in four years, and Keep of Fire was written in four months.
Anthony, for reasons that puzzle me, chose to skim lightly over material that, if fleshed out, would have made for exciting reading. Case in point: the time spent with the Necromancer. Robert Jordan, in a classic case of overwriting, could have written 500 pages on that alone. Mark Anthony should have, in my opinion, written at least 150. Yet there was barely 1/5 that amount. So much potential! Yet it ended in such disappointment.
I applaud the author for tackling issues that have long been taboo in fantasy: specifically homosexuality. Too often homosexual men have been seen as effete, useless fops. In the real world, we (well, most level headed people) know this is not true. So — kudos.
Unfortunately, I have scratched Mark Anthony off my list of "must read" authors. Successive books came out too rapidly, and I'm not interesting in spending my money just to read what amounts to a rough draft. —T.B.
(A notable post script: the metaphor "beyond the pale" is considered a moribund metaphor.)
originally published 8/2004 |
