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juushikaTitle: A Book of Tongues: Volume One of the Hexslinger Series
Author: Gemma Files
Published: Toronto: ChiZine Publications, 2010
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 274
Total Page Count: 89,599
Text Number: 257
Read Because: reviewed and recommended by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lanerobins, borrowed from the library
Review: Two years after the Civil War, Pinkerton agent Ed Marrow goes undercover with a dangerous outlaw gang lead by Rook, a Reverend turned hexslinger, and Chess, skilled gunslinger and Rook's lover. In a version of the Wild West where magic is a real and present danger, Rook is an even bigger threat: he is haunted by an Aztec goddess with her sights set on bringing gods back into the world. A Book of Tongues is, perhaps, one of the most unique books I've ever read. Hexslingers mingling with gunslingers in the Wild West, Aztec mythology, and shameless homosexual content make for a premise far off the beaten path, which may be unappealing to some readers and—because the premise infiltrates every aspect of the book right down to its narrative voice—require adjustment and adaptation from even more. And even if gay mages in the post-Civil War South seems to you like normal fair, A Book of Tongues is so bloody, bold, and resolute that it comes like a swift punch in the gut: sudden, solid, and breathtaking. Files never shies from the worst, and her book is replete with authentic antiheros and despicable behavior—yet, somehow, she build characters and a plot that demand the reader's care and personal investment, perhaps because the unique narrative voice, precise and gritty language, and colorful characters are so immerse and, therefore, convincing. Whenever the vivid characters or slightly indulgent sex scenes begin to run away with themselves, Files draws it back with a universal willingness—almost a willful glee—to destroy. Nothing in A Book of Tongues is sacred, but many things are true.
For all this, the book is not perfect. It suffers a bit as the first in a series (and not just because I dislike series): as it draws the first act to a close and sets up the many events to come, the end of the book tends towards more talk than action. It's not so much as to create an annoying cliffhanger (although it's a cliffhanger, all right), but it may make the reader wish the book were shorter or longer, so as to contain less preparation or more action. Some content, the sex in particular, tends towards fanfiction-esque wish-fulfillment. And the originality of the style and premise sometimes makes the book a little strange, difficult to pick up, and hard to get into. Indeed, this is never a book that I would have picked up on my own without the benefit of an enthusiastic recommendation. Even with its weaknesses, I now offer it an enthusiastic recommendation of my own: if only that I may share my enthusiasm with others, give A Book of Tongues a try. Brutal, vibrant, and truly one of a kind, it defies expectation by digging so deep into its premise that it works its way down to a raw, hitherto unseen level all its own.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Author: Gemma Files
Published: Toronto: ChiZine Publications, 2010
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 274
Total Page Count: 89,599
Text Number: 257
Read Because: reviewed and recommended by
lanerobins, borrowed from the libraryReview: Two years after the Civil War, Pinkerton agent Ed Marrow goes undercover with a dangerous outlaw gang lead by Rook, a Reverend turned hexslinger, and Chess, skilled gunslinger and Rook's lover. In a version of the Wild West where magic is a real and present danger, Rook is an even bigger threat: he is haunted by an Aztec goddess with her sights set on bringing gods back into the world. A Book of Tongues is, perhaps, one of the most unique books I've ever read. Hexslingers mingling with gunslingers in the Wild West, Aztec mythology, and shameless homosexual content make for a premise far off the beaten path, which may be unappealing to some readers and—because the premise infiltrates every aspect of the book right down to its narrative voice—require adjustment and adaptation from even more. And even if gay mages in the post-Civil War South seems to you like normal fair, A Book of Tongues is so bloody, bold, and resolute that it comes like a swift punch in the gut: sudden, solid, and breathtaking. Files never shies from the worst, and her book is replete with authentic antiheros and despicable behavior—yet, somehow, she build characters and a plot that demand the reader's care and personal investment, perhaps because the unique narrative voice, precise and gritty language, and colorful characters are so immerse and, therefore, convincing. Whenever the vivid characters or slightly indulgent sex scenes begin to run away with themselves, Files draws it back with a universal willingness—almost a willful glee—to destroy. Nothing in A Book of Tongues is sacred, but many things are true.
For all this, the book is not perfect. It suffers a bit as the first in a series (and not just because I dislike series): as it draws the first act to a close and sets up the many events to come, the end of the book tends towards more talk than action. It's not so much as to create an annoying cliffhanger (although it's a cliffhanger, all right), but it may make the reader wish the book were shorter or longer, so as to contain less preparation or more action. Some content, the sex in particular, tends towards fanfiction-esque wish-fulfillment. And the originality of the style and premise sometimes makes the book a little strange, difficult to pick up, and hard to get into. Indeed, this is never a book that I would have picked up on my own without the benefit of an enthusiastic recommendation. Even with its weaknesses, I now offer it an enthusiastic recommendation of my own: if only that I may share my enthusiasm with others, give A Book of Tongues a try. Brutal, vibrant, and truly one of a kind, it defies expectation by digging so deep into its premise that it works its way down to a raw, hitherto unseen level all its own.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
