Hespira: A Tale of Henghis Hapthorn (Tales of Henghis Hapthorn) [Hardcover]

Matthew Hughes (Author)

Book Description

Series: Tales of Henghis Hapthorn | Publication Date: December 15, 2009

As magic begins to reassert its ancient dominion, Old Earth's foremost freelance discriminator, Henghis Hapthorn, and his intuition (now a separate person named Osk Rievor), are living apart, though they remain on good terms. But now there comes between them a woman of alluring mystery. Who is Hespira? Does she truly want either of them? Or has she come to destroy them both?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Hughes continues to carve out a unique place for himself in the fantasy-mystery realm with his superlative third adventure featuring Holmesian “discriminator” Henghis Hapthorn. Still recovering from the events of 2007's The Spiral Labyrinth, Hapthorn is granted a glimpse into the future and learns that the world as he knows it will soon be overtaken by magical forces. Despite the impending catastrophe, the investigator attempts to carry on with his usual assignments, but after he successfully recovers some stolen relics, he finds himself caught in a war between his vengeful client and the criminal he ransomed them from. A way out is offered by a mysterious woman who seems ignorant of her own past. A droll narrative voice, dry humor and an alternate universe that's accessible without explicit exposition make this a winner. (Dec.)
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From Booklist

In the far future, Henghis Hapthorn, private investigator for the rich and famous, lives on a nearly forgotten Earth at the far end of the 10,000 worlds. Because of his previous adventures, which took him into the future (Majestrum, 2007), Hapthorn knows that magic is slowly beginning to reassert itself over science. And it doesn’t help that his intuition has completely split away and found itself a body, living alone in a remote cottage, dedicating itself to magical research and the collection of magical artifacts. Hapthorn is taken away from Earth when he bumps into a homely girl with no memory and decides he must help her recover her identity. He conducts a leisurely investigation into the girl’s history while traveling deep into the Spray, accompanied only by his intelligent assistant integrator and the ship’s onboard AI. The intriguing blend of far-future science fiction, fantasy, and mystery makes this a good bet for many readers. --Jessica Moyer

Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: Night Shade Books (December 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597801011
• ISBN-13: 978-1597801010
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,029,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the Wait, January 19, 2010

By 

Gerald Thomas (Centreville, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hespira: A Tale of Henghis Hapthorn (Tales of Henghis Hapthorn) (Hardcover)

This is the best Hapthorn so far, and maybe the best Hughes (along with Template).

I ordered the limited edition over a year ago, only to find out via Hughes' website just last month that the limited was scratched from publication. Fortunately, the trade edition finally came in from Amazon last week, and it was more than worth the wait. Although I have liked everything by Hughes so far, including non-archonate stories, Hespira strikes the perfect balance between originality of voice and genuine respect for its inspiration in Jack Vance's DYING EARTH and Gaean Reach stories.

Hengis Hapthorn himself has evolved into a more introspective, self-aware, and competent character. The plotting was sufficiently complex, the mysteries manifold, and the action pieces gripping. The dialog between Hapthorn and his integrator and a culturally diverse array of human adversaries, friends, and facilitators seeking advantage in the novel's conflict or superiority in social positioning was worthy of Vance at his best.

Hespira is purportedly the conclusion of a loose trilogy, but it would be a shame if there were no more Hapthorn novels and stories at whatever stage of his career. I recommend that you buy this out rapidly, read everything else you can by Hughes, and clamor for more Hapthorn, Imbry, Filidor Vesh and other Archonate stories. Nightshade, please do a better job of on-time publication if you ever have another Hughes book on your plate.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For readers who like The Dying Earth, noir, or tightly plotted fantasy, April 18, 2010

By 

A. J Terry - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hespira: A Tale of Henghis Hapthorn (Tales of Henghis Hapthorn) (Hardcover)

Hespira is the third in a series of the "tales of Henghis Hapthorn." Hapthorn is a freelance discriminator (detective) on Old Earth in the Penultimate Age, the one before Jack Vance's Dying Earth. Since Vance seems to have ceased writing fiction, his fans will welcome Matthew Hughes having stepped into the breach. Hughes is at times a less colorful writer than Vance, but his plotting is tighter and more exciting, his language is often as ironically baroque, and his sense of humor is earthier. Although it is best to start with the first book in the series, Majestrum, Hughes deftly works in reminders of the ongoing plot, and of reappearing characters, for the benefit of somewhat forgetful readers.

In Hespira, Hapthorn is going about his sometimes rather questionable daily business while inwardly struggling with fear of the transition to an age when magic will dominate reason, the latter being his stock in trade. A job as a go-between for an aristocrat and a crime lord having gone wrong, Hapthorn's temporary departure from Old Earth seems highly advisable both to himself and to the Bureau of Scrutiny (the police force). After literally running into a woman who proves to be an amnesiac, Hapthorn--even though he finds her physically unattractive--experiences an unusual sense of chivalry. He volunteers to accept her as a client free of charge, and to take her offworld on his space yacht to search for her origins. She cannot remember her name, but guesses that it might be Hespira.

Hespira and Hapthorn visit two worlds, one of which has a very interesting culture and the other of which resembles rural Scotland. Hespira and Hapthorn prove to be of sinister interest to a number of different parties and there is plenty of action as they dodge kidnappers, assassins, police, etc. Hapthorn's rather irresponsible other half Osk Riever (formerly his intuition, now separately embodied and a magician), plays a part, as do some other characters from the previous book, The Spiral Labyrinth. Hespira finds out who she is--or was--but faces the question: Does she still want to be that person? Hapthorn, for his part, is presented with an unexpected choice for dealing with the tumultuous transition to the age of magic.

The author leaves room for more books in the series--but it's not clear whether they will be written. I fervently hope they will be. Or at least, many more tales of the Penultimate Age--Hughes also has a series with thief Luff Imbry as the central character, and a two-volume work about Filidor, the roistering future Archon of Old Earth.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An apt conclusion to Hengis Hapthorn's saga, March 9, 2010

By 

Ventura Angelo (Brescia, Lombardia Italy) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hespira: A Tale of Henghis Hapthorn (Tales of Henghis Hapthorn) (Hardcover)

I loved Hespira, the conclusion of a trilogy begun with Majestrum and The Spiral labirynth. I loved the exchanges between the protagonist and his integrator, and the subtle irony on magic, the character of Osk rievor, the intuitive alter ego, and the exquisite, intriguing portrait of Hespira, a notable woman, very different than the usual "beautiful woman in distress". Nose-in-the-air snobs receive a very subtle and very cruel comeuppance (Johnathan swift would have loved it), and the climax is really suspenseful. I loved it!