Customer Reviews

The Devil in the Dust (Outremer, Book 1)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

An intriguing alternate-Crusades novel, start of a series. Marron, a young member of an authoritarian Templar-like order, and Julianne and Elisande, two young noblewomen, must face conflicting loyalties and dark magic in a world on the brink of holy war.

Brenchley writes beautifully on a sentence level and incorporates some nice elements of darkness. Marron and his master/lover Sieur Anton are intriguing characters; I found both young women a bit too perky, but not irretrievable. The plot is fast-paced and high in tension, though here and there the author leaves a thread unresolved (and apparently not to be resolved in sequels). The worldbuilding is reasonably interesting, though not highly detailed on a material level--I kept wanting to know more about the tactics, the weapons, the material culture, the economy, but Brenchley doesn't develop his world deeply. On the other hand, I didn't find anything silly or out of place, and the slim length of the book makes a refreshing contrast to some of the fantasy doorstops currently in vogue.

This will probably please readers of GG Kay, George Martin, Judith Tarr (it has some definite romance elements) and perhaps Katherine Kurtz.

This is an excellent beginning to a fantasy series. I was browsing looking for an alternative to all the multi-thousand page fantasy epics. Although part of a larger series, this release manages in under 300 pages more depth of characterization, richness of atmosphere, and worldbuilding detail than many novels twice (or three times) its length.

Especially noteworthy is the author's prose. I usually steer clear of books whose reviews extoll the virtues of the book's prose. Such reviews almost invariably mean the author is so enamored of his turn of phrase and too self-important to get to the business of telling the story. In this book, however, the hype is actually warranted. Brenchley's prose is a bit more stylized than the average fantasy thriller, perhaps, but the narrative still moves along at a brisk pace.

Overall, highly recommended. I ran out and bought the second book as soon as I finished this one. I look forward to all the rest in this series.

This is an engrossing Fantasy novel that slips close to horror on a few occasions.
Being about a young man that is raised to become a knight and has very little exposure to the outside world, only knowing the limited existence that he was raised in. He gets inroduced to life as the rest of the world knows it by becoming entwined with numerous other characters and setting out on an adventure in what turns out to be an effort to save the "humane" form of life that the people in his part of the world have become acustomed to. He learns of the horror that is an everyday occurence in the outside world and of love and its many complexities, and also the struggle involved in life outside the limited existence he was raised in while he tries to stay alive and protect those closest to him...... at most times having only his own wits to get by on.
Chaz Brenchley weaves an excellent story that is long overdue in being released in the USA. This writer walks the same path as many other excellent story tellers and it is time to give him his due. If you let this collection slip by without partaking in its excellence then you will have missed out on an excellent set of books and story.

If there is one flaw I can find in this book it certainly lies in the heaviness of its writer's touch: true geniuses have this way of presenting us with anything by the softest and most beautifully simple language.
Mr Brenchley's hand is heavy, rough. His writing is harsh and the few -luckily- attempts at finer prose fail.

This must be the reason why I found it so difficult to read this book: page turner is surely not an expression to be applied here and I strongly discourage readers from attempting this book who only wish for a bit of light reading.
My own mood usually varying from the need for easy escape (the most often) and attention to quality writing in fantasy novels, it took me a while to finish these short 250 pages.

I have been rewarded by a solid book, traditional and yet astoundingly new.

It is set in a not so alternative Middle Age, that of the -bloody- holy crusades in Palestine. The author changes names but little erudition is needed to place every piece on the chessboard so that the book is not even accompanied by the customary map.

The plot is, at least in this first volume, rather slow, with few events and a lot of musings, centred on the two main characters, the peasant Marron and the noblewoman Julianne, who shift from chapter to chapter as bearer of the writer's point of view.
Characterization is generally well done, very consistent and convincing. I could not relate to Julianne though, who in my opinion is rather stiff and lifeless if compared with her male counterpart.

I bought the whole series because I was told it was gay-themed. In this first volume there are sparse hints, though explicit enough; a light homosexual subtext could be found in the budding relationship between Marron and his knight Anton.

The American edition splits the original three book in six, each priced individually so that the nice cover art is poor compensation for the increased cost.
Last but not least this series is currently out of print: I was lucky enough to get it second hand through Amazon's distinguished second-hand service but I do wonder what fills the head of most publishers: if the other volumes are half as good as this one, this series should have its place in any library.

First of all let me qualify the five stars by saying that if I had paid over [$$$] for this I would have given it only four stars, but the low price that you pay for a relatively high quality book pushes this into the five star range.

While I don't like to delve too deeply into plot it is worth mentioning that this book takes place in a world where magic does occor, but magic does not supply most of the major plot points (although that may be the case later in the series). The characters are surprisingly well developed for so short a book and are very "human" meaning that they have both good and bad traits.

It is surprising to me that so few people have rated this item. Over the last few years I have reduced the number of books that I read drastically and currently only follow two fantasy authors faithfully, Robin Hobb and George R. R. Martin. Chaz Brenchley is not at the level of these two authors, but he isn't far behind. This book is a short read (less than 300 pages) and at less than [$$$] it's a cheap read too. I can't speak to Mr. Brenchley's other books, but if you like the two authors that I mentioned previously then I don't think that you'll be dissappointed by this one. If his other books are of the quality of this one then I've found a third author to follow.

The Devil in the Dust is the opening novel in Chaz Brenchley's exciting and acclaimed Outremer fantasy series. Published to great acclaim in the United Kingdom several years ago, the series is only now seeing print in the United States. In a sense, The Devil in the Dust is half of a book, and it will do to keep that in mind when considering and reading this novel. In the UK, the Outremer series is a trilogy, but in the US it has been published in six volumes. This is unfortunate; while there is a quality ending to The Devil in the Dust, several questions go unanswered and there are gaps in the historical background of the story that would not exist if the original novel had not been split into two books. I don't mean to imply that this novel will not thoroughly engross you, though, as Brenchley's impressive writing skills drew me deeply into the story from page one.

We first meet Marron, a young man who has come to Roq de Rancon to become a Knights Ramsoner like his late father. The Knights Ransomers are basically the religious army in the land of Outremer, and Roq de Rancon is the most strategically important fortress in this vulnerable realm facing hostile neighbors outside it and a hidden, "enfolded" heretical state somewhere within its own borders. The Folded Land is left pretty much a mystery in the pages of this opening novel, but the people of Outremer are highly desirous of finding it and destroying it. The king of Outremer claims to enforce the will of God, made manifest most impressively to the religious warriors via the magic of the King's Eye. Before Marron first experiences the wonder of this vision of light, however, he is baptized in blood. His actions during his first "battle" (the complete slaughter of a community of "heretics") open the way for disillusionment in his soul. He trains hard, though, and a certain noble knight, Sieur Anton d'Escrivey, makes him his squire. Marron's struggles within the strict orthodoxy of the militant religious order and the hardships of his particular situation serve as the strongest elements of this novel.

We also meet a fascinating young woman, Julianne de Rance, teenaged daughter of the King's Shadow, as she makes her way to meet the man she is to marry. She is a strong and compelling character who finds herself a temporary guest at Roq de Rancon. With her comes Elisande, the most mysterious character of all in this story; Julianne befriends her on the road and takes her to the Roq alongside her, but she is never successful in learning the true story of her most unusual friend's background. Obviously, there is much more to be learned of Elisande as the series progresses.

I absolutely loved The Devil in the Dust and am excited over the books left to read in this impressive fantasy series. This first novel positions the major players on Brenchley's mental chess board, but epic omens hang over the land of Outremer. Encircled by enemies and further threatened by an invisible enemy within, Outremer is a land on the brink of climactic change, and the assembly of heroes we see slowly coming together stand poised to lead the reader through a whirlwind of fantasy delights in the days ahead. Brenchley creates a world you can see in your mind's eye quite clearly and gives birth to characters you come to know and care for as soon as you meet them, no matter what dark mysteries each may yet hold in his/her soul.

Chaz Brenchley's Outremer series is an alternate-Crusades story set in a world where magic is real. As the story opens, the land of Outremer is a place where recent settlers have successfully imposed their religion and way of life upon those who were there before. But Outremer faces challenges from both without and within, and a military religious order grows ever more fanatical in its attempts to enforce the religious law.

The main characters in the novel show the diversity of opinion and culture within Outremer. The major plotline in this book follows two of the men in the Ransomer order. Marron is a young man who joined the Ransomer brothers out of idealism, but has seen the dark side of the order in his journey to the castle of Roq de Rancon where he will undergo training; Marron has true faith but his experience of a religious dictatorship leaves him disillusioned and in pain. He finds something worth believing in with Sieur Anton d'Escrivey, the Knight Ransomer who takes him on as squire, but d'Escrivey has problems of his own.

Julianne de Rance, daughter of the King's Shadow, is a child of the court, a woman used to having status and power but now on her way to a political marriage in a culture where women are expected to go veiled. She's temporarily trapped by circumstance in the Roc, along with Elisande, a young women she has picked up along the way. Elisande has little to say about herself, but it's clear that there's a good deal she could say if she chose to.

Their interactions with each other and those around them make for superb characterisation and worldbuilding, and Brenchley creates a vivid picture of his world without forgetting to tell a story. This is not an easy tale of good and evil, but a world where people have mixed loyalties and may have to make harsh choices as to who they serve.

This is the first part of the US edition of the Outremer series -- I note this because the series was originally published as a trilogy in the UK, but for the American edition it was split into six volumes, with some rewriting. As such, The Devil In The Dust should really be read together with Tower of the King's Daughter (Outremer, No. 2) (also the title of the original UK volume 1 comprising the material in 1&2 of the US edition).

That said, this volume works well as a standalone segment within a larger story arc. The book introduces characters and sets up several plotlines for the series, but provides a satisfactory resolution for part of the storyline within the book, rather than leaving the reader with a cliffhanger. It pulls off the difficult trick of being a satisfying read in its own right while being an enticement to read the rest of the story. An excellent start to what looks from this sample to be an excellent series.

The US edition of the series is now out of print, although new stock is still available in some shops. The UK edition from Orbit is still in print. The books are also available within the UK direct from the author's website -- only the UK editions are listed, but if you'd prefer the US editions it's worth asking if there's stock.

I picked this book up only because I didn't have much money on me, and fell in love with the series. His writting style is wonderful and the story line easy to follow. I would recomend this series to anyone.

The nobles' younger sons from another land wanting their own territory and titles settled the kingdom of Outremer. Although the king is the nominal ruler of the land it is four city-states and one, Surayon, that is magically closed and invisible to all outsiders. In addition to the secular army, the order of the Knights Ransomer, the military branch of the church, protects the borders and weeds out heretics from within. The heart of this order lives in Ancial in the stronghold of the Roq de Rancom.

Julienne, the daughter of the king's shadow, journeys to meet her future husband when circumstances force her to take refuge in the Roq de Rancom. She meets Marron, who arrived just recently to serve as a member of the order. There he meets the knight Sieur Anton d'Esanivey who seeks redemption within the harsh walls of the fortress. Marron sees the cruelties and barbaric practices that are part of the church, but when the nomadic tribes try to take the Roq de Rancom by force, he and Sieur Anton risk their lives to save the residents.

THE DEVIL IN THE DUST is the first novel in a six book series and though, it is a stand-alone book, it lays the groundwork for future installments in the series. Marron is the heart of this novel, a hero courageous enough to act on his ethics. He always takes the moral high ground even when it means going against the order's rules and risking severe punishment for his transgressions. It will be interesting to see what happens to the characters in future books.

Harriet Klausner

I am so sad I wasted my money on this Homoerotic crap. I wish there would have been a warning label on the jacket somewhere.