Customer Reviews

The Dog of the North: The Annals of Mondia

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Stretton's The Dog of the North is fantasy not of the Tolkien vein or the Lovecraft vein. It feels much much more like the quasi-historical fiction of Lawhead or Cornwell, only instead of taking place during an ancient period of England, the action takes place in the land of Mondia. Full of statecraft and battle, intrigue and strategy, Stretton's real interest is in humanity of of his main characters: Arren and Beauceron. The former, a young man growing up in a world he never quite understands. The latter, a man trying to punish the world for not being what he thought it should be.

It is hard to do do justice to the Dog of the North in a brief review, for there is no wasted narrative, and to talk about the story would be to give away too much. Stretton's world-building stands out among fantasy authors, as some of the sharpest I've read. The reader is given a strong sense of Mondia, its land and its culture, without any needless exposition. The world is built and described through the story, not through digression. Likewise, Stretton uses remarkable dialogue and lively action to quickly give the reader an idea of who characters are, again through the story itself. The book is 460+ pages, and every one of those pages serves a purpose.

The Dog of the North is a book with great humor and sympathy, and at its core a sense of moral justice that every character in the book is grasping for. Some have satisfied themselves with a simplistic vision of some small piece of that justice, and are content with the world. Some are unable to envision any form of justice, but hang on to the concept as an elusive thing to be sought. A few have determined to create their own, personal justice, in lieu of any universal moral.

Stretton has not written an elf and wizard opera. There is magic, and there is a land of majestic sweep, but these things are secondary. This is the story of men and women, overwhelmed by their world and fighting to make their place in it.

I eagerly await The Last Free City!

The Dog of the North is an excellent, well-paced novel of adventure, betrayal, and court politics.
Throughout we are given a feel for the people and ways of the world Tim Stretton has created; there are many things to look forward to should he choose to continue chronicling events in Mondia.
Tim Stretton, in his acknowledgements, mentions his delight and inspiration by the works of Jack Vance, who is one of my own favorite writers; there are definite stylistic similarities in Stretton's writing to that of Vance, which can only be a good thing for discerning readers hungry for a special mixture of dry wit, clever plotting and thought-provoking asides.
Stretton has a previous novel, Dragonchaser, available on Amazon, I plan to acquire and read it as soon as possible.
Happy reading!