antonism's review against another edition
4.0
4 / 5
An improvement on all aspects compared to the first book. If not for a minor thing, this could be a 5 out of 5 stars!
Retribution, by Mark Charan Newton, is the 2nd book featuring Lucan Drakenfeld as the main character. While it can be considered part of a series, it can be read independently as a stand-alone.
Plot:
This time around, Lucan and his assistant/toughwoman Leana are called to investigate a strange murder in neighboring capital city with a very eastern feeling and a strong queen. As they two of them get to know the people in the palace and explore the place, they discover strange things and get involved in more than they expected.
I found the plot quite interesting. There are things happening in every chapter and there is a continuous momentum forward. There are a few minor unanswered questions which nagged me a bit at the end because it made me wonder what was the whole point of a secondary subplot. Also the ending left me a bit disappointed. I was expecting something different, something more strange or crazy and after all the build-up during most of the book it was a bit meeeh. Those 2 minor complaints are the reasons why I didn't give this book a 5.
Characters:
Lucan and Leana are written amazingly well. The POV is from Lucan's perspective and what I really loved is that he is indeed a clever character, as intelligent as his rank in the Sun Chamber would demand. Often, in mystery novels, the author either gives hints that his main investigators overlook or deliberately hides clues from the reader. Newton avoids both of those cheap tricks. He presents all the details exactly as an analytical and observant investigator would perceive, then just as we think "ooohh I'm pretty sure I know what this clue is about or where this is gonna lead to", Newton makes Lucan either commenting or internally presenting the same thoughts to the reader. In that way, the reader identifies and comes to like the protagonist even more.
The secondary characters are well written and interesting in their own way. They all had their distinct voice and style.
Prose & Pace:
A definite improvement over the first book! The pace was quite fast, considering this is a detective-type murder mystery novel. The chapters were small and things happened constantly, new information was revealed and generally the plot was moving forward rapidly. I would easily call this a page-turner!
The prose was amazing! Newton strikes a great balance between descriptiveness and brevity. He quickly gives descriptions of environments, locales and people without getting bogged down and slowing the pace. It's exactly as much is required to feel what is needed but not loose track or interest of what is happening. Well done Mr Newton!
Conclusion:
In summary, I loved and very much enjoyed reading Retribution! The plot was deep and interesting, the characters were amazing and the prose was perfect for this type of novel. I heartily recommend this book, not only for fantasy readers, but for anyone who wants to reader a detective murder mystery.
4 / 5
An improvement on all aspects compared to the first book. If not for a minor thing, this could be a 5 out of 5 stars!
Retribution, by Mark Charan Newton, is the 2nd book featuring Lucan Drakenfeld as the main character. While it can be considered part of a series, it can be read independently as a stand-alone.
Plot:
This time around, Lucan and his assistant/toughwoman Leana are called to investigate a strange murder in neighboring capital city with a very eastern feeling and a strong queen. As they two of them get to know the people in the palace and explore the place, they discover strange things and get involved in more than they expected.
I found the plot quite interesting. There are things happening in every chapter and there is a continuous momentum forward. There are a few minor unanswered questions which nagged me a bit at the end because it made me wonder what was the whole point of a secondary subplot. Also the ending left me a bit disappointed. I was expecting something different, something more strange or crazy and after all the build-up during most of the book it was a bit meeeh. Those 2 minor complaints are the reasons why I didn't give this book a 5.
Characters:
Lucan and Leana are written amazingly well. The POV is from Lucan's perspective and what I really loved is that he is indeed a clever character, as intelligent as his rank in the Sun Chamber would demand. Often, in mystery novels, the author either gives hints that his main investigators overlook or deliberately hides clues from the reader. Newton avoids both of those cheap tricks. He presents all the details exactly as an analytical and observant investigator would perceive, then just as we think "ooohh I'm pretty sure I know what this clue is about or where this is gonna lead to", Newton makes Lucan either commenting or internally presenting the same thoughts to the reader. In that way, the reader identifies and comes to like the protagonist even more.
The secondary characters are well written and interesting in their own way. They all had their distinct voice and style.
Prose & Pace:
A definite improvement over the first book! The pace was quite fast, considering this is a detective-type murder mystery novel. The chapters were small and things happened constantly, new information was revealed and generally the plot was moving forward rapidly. I would easily call this a page-turner!
The prose was amazing! Newton strikes a great balance between descriptiveness and brevity. He quickly gives descriptions of environments, locales and people without getting bogged down and slowing the pace. It's exactly as much is required to feel what is needed but not loose track or interest of what is happening. Well done Mr Newton!
Conclusion:
In summary, I loved and very much enjoyed reading Retribution! The plot was deep and interesting, the characters were amazing and the prose was perfect for this type of novel. I heartily recommend this book, not only for fantasy readers, but for anyone who wants to reader a detective murder mystery.
4 / 5
markyon's review against another edition
4.0
Back in 2013 I reviewed Drakenfeld, a locked-room crime novel with a Fantasy setting. I liked it a lot, and so was very happy to pick this one up.
Retribution is the sequel and continues the tale of Sun Chamber Officer (rather like an Inquisitor or a Police Constable) Lucan Drakenfeld and his bodyguard-friend Leana. After the events of Drakenfeld in Detrata, Lucan is sent to the city of Kuvash, where a priest has disappeared.
Once arrived in Kuvash, Lucan finds that the inquiry has become a murder investigation, when parts of Bishop Tahn Valin’s body are found.
I guess this is one to be subtitled, ‘The Travels of Lucan’, as much of the tension is created by Lucan trying to understand how things are done in a very different city. Here, further away from the Empire’s direct influence, things are rather fuzzier than would normally be expected, and Lucan seems to be frustrated many times while trying to do his duty.
When more corpses are found, Lucan realises that he seems to be looking at a multiple murderer/s, one who seems to enjoy torture and dismemberment as part of his/her Modus Operandi.
I thoroughly enjoyed this step into a world that seems to be a combination of Jack the Ripper meeting Osten Ard, the secondary fantasy world of Tad Williams’s Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy. The plot is done well enough, although as this is the second book the novel is more about character development than a mere revenge plot. Having set the main characters up in Drakenfeld, Mark has more room here to develop the motivations and inclinations of our lead characters. I am growing to like Lucan Drakenfeld, who, despite his health issues, seems like a decent sort of chap, even when things are stacked against him. Here he takes on the role of Inspector Abberline in trying to discover both the motive and the perpetrators of the murders.
Some of the new characters are well done, too. The Cleopatra-like Queen Dokuz Sorghatan manages to convey both leadership and compassion in a world dominated by male leaders. Sulma Tan, the Queen’s advisor is a character who I suspect Lucan will meet again. And the Queen’s daughter, Nambu, has a rite of passage that many teenagers would long for, as a pupil to Leana. They are introduced relatively smoothly and become part of the plot in a way that seems unforced and logical.
Another aspect that is done well is that Mark’s characters build on the ever-present feeling overall that ‘things are changing’. One of the key aspects of this tale is that Drakenfeld is a long way from the centre of the Republic and so has to deal with things without the support of his seniors back in Detrata.
Though the book is firmly placed in the city of Koton, the wider context suggests that there are rumblings of conflict on Kuvash’s borders, a situation that both creates a motivation for the killings and a possible reason. I suspect that such skirmishes will continue through this series, whilst I kept being reminded of present-day real world troubles being similar.
The need for a Republic to meet the needs of the people who are feeling rather ignored out on the edge creates a motivation and a reason for Lucan’s difficulties. He is very much alone here, having to deal with a rather different culture to his usual, and this creates a further complication. Combining a Roman Empire with an Egyptian-style queendom is an intriguing mix, which Mark does well.
For those looking for a Fantasy-type element in the novel, there is relatively little. There are no dragons, no elves, no demons, though the central MacGuffin has aspects that could be construed as such should you wish for it.
Indeed, as fantasy novels go, Retribution is relatively trope-light. If Drakenfeld was a locked-room mystery, Retribution is a much more straight-forward revenge novel. The novel’s central theme is the crime/murder aspect of its telling. (This may explain the novel’s title.) I’m pleased to say that I did not work out the villain/s, nor the reason for their actions until it was revealed towards the end, as is appropriate for a crime novel. It does seem to end rather abruptly with a lot of loose ends tied up very quickly, but that may be due to the immersive nature of the novel up to that point.
The novel can be read without reading Drakenfeld, though there are links that a reader will appreciate. Thoroughly enjoyable, Mark’s deceptively smooth text eases the reader into a world that, once entered, becomes difficult to leave. This series is developing nicely, and I look forward to more in this series. Recommended.
Retribution is the sequel and continues the tale of Sun Chamber Officer (rather like an Inquisitor or a Police Constable) Lucan Drakenfeld and his bodyguard-friend Leana. After the events of Drakenfeld in Detrata, Lucan is sent to the city of Kuvash, where a priest has disappeared.
Once arrived in Kuvash, Lucan finds that the inquiry has become a murder investigation, when parts of Bishop Tahn Valin’s body are found.
I guess this is one to be subtitled, ‘The Travels of Lucan’, as much of the tension is created by Lucan trying to understand how things are done in a very different city. Here, further away from the Empire’s direct influence, things are rather fuzzier than would normally be expected, and Lucan seems to be frustrated many times while trying to do his duty.
When more corpses are found, Lucan realises that he seems to be looking at a multiple murderer/s, one who seems to enjoy torture and dismemberment as part of his/her Modus Operandi.
I thoroughly enjoyed this step into a world that seems to be a combination of Jack the Ripper meeting Osten Ard, the secondary fantasy world of Tad Williams’s Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy. The plot is done well enough, although as this is the second book the novel is more about character development than a mere revenge plot. Having set the main characters up in Drakenfeld, Mark has more room here to develop the motivations and inclinations of our lead characters. I am growing to like Lucan Drakenfeld, who, despite his health issues, seems like a decent sort of chap, even when things are stacked against him. Here he takes on the role of Inspector Abberline in trying to discover both the motive and the perpetrators of the murders.
Some of the new characters are well done, too. The Cleopatra-like Queen Dokuz Sorghatan manages to convey both leadership and compassion in a world dominated by male leaders. Sulma Tan, the Queen’s advisor is a character who I suspect Lucan will meet again. And the Queen’s daughter, Nambu, has a rite of passage that many teenagers would long for, as a pupil to Leana. They are introduced relatively smoothly and become part of the plot in a way that seems unforced and logical.
Another aspect that is done well is that Mark’s characters build on the ever-present feeling overall that ‘things are changing’. One of the key aspects of this tale is that Drakenfeld is a long way from the centre of the Republic and so has to deal with things without the support of his seniors back in Detrata.
Though the book is firmly placed in the city of Koton, the wider context suggests that there are rumblings of conflict on Kuvash’s borders, a situation that both creates a motivation for the killings and a possible reason. I suspect that such skirmishes will continue through this series, whilst I kept being reminded of present-day real world troubles being similar.
The need for a Republic to meet the needs of the people who are feeling rather ignored out on the edge creates a motivation and a reason for Lucan’s difficulties. He is very much alone here, having to deal with a rather different culture to his usual, and this creates a further complication. Combining a Roman Empire with an Egyptian-style queendom is an intriguing mix, which Mark does well.
For those looking for a Fantasy-type element in the novel, there is relatively little. There are no dragons, no elves, no demons, though the central MacGuffin has aspects that could be construed as such should you wish for it.
Indeed, as fantasy novels go, Retribution is relatively trope-light. If Drakenfeld was a locked-room mystery, Retribution is a much more straight-forward revenge novel. The novel’s central theme is the crime/murder aspect of its telling. (This may explain the novel’s title.) I’m pleased to say that I did not work out the villain/s, nor the reason for their actions until it was revealed towards the end, as is appropriate for a crime novel. It does seem to end rather abruptly with a lot of loose ends tied up very quickly, but that may be due to the immersive nature of the novel up to that point.
The novel can be read without reading Drakenfeld, though there are links that a reader will appreciate. Thoroughly enjoyable, Mark’s deceptively smooth text eases the reader into a world that, once entered, becomes difficult to leave. This series is developing nicely, and I look forward to more in this series. Recommended.
blodeuedd's review
4.0
I know that I do not read a lot of mysteries/thrillers, but I have noticed that I like the historical ones. And with the first book in this series, the fantasy ones works excellent too.
Drakenfeld has a new job. A priest has been killed and he is sent to investigate. We learn to know another country in this world, a "mongol people" who now try to settle in cities. Their queen wants to show the world how cultured they are. I do like learning more about this world, and he shows this new country so that I can feel like I am there too.
It's quite the mystery, who killed the priest? What on earth is going on in this city? I had not plan to read it in a day, but I could not put it down, so in a day it was.
A good mystery, an interesting world. And I do want more. I wonder where Drakenfeld will go next, cos this continent is in trouble.
Drakenfeld has a new job. A priest has been killed and he is sent to investigate. We learn to know another country in this world, a "mongol people" who now try to settle in cities. Their queen wants to show the world how cultured they are. I do like learning more about this world, and he shows this new country so that I can feel like I am there too.
It's quite the mystery, who killed the priest? What on earth is going on in this city? I had not plan to read it in a day, but I could not put it down, so in a day it was.
A good mystery, an interesting world. And I do want more. I wonder where Drakenfeld will go next, cos this continent is in trouble.
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