Customer Reviews

Nights of Villjamur (Legends of the Red Sun)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is a complex and ambitious piece of fantasy which is both a good and a bad thing. The author presents a world on the edge of an ice age (the Freeze) where the privileged few are preparing for a few decades of difficulty while many of the rest of the unfortunate population will be left to their own devices. This is a world populated mainly by humans, but there are a few sentient non humans in the cast too which makes for a potentially more interesting set of characters.

Added into the mix here we have a scheming chancellor, various weird religions, cultists who use ancient technology and the loyal Night Guard there to act as the Empire's special forces.

And there's the trouble really, there is almost too much going on and what could have been a truly fascinating world and premise is bogged down by complexity, too many characters and a strange writing style. By strange writing style I mean that it veers from the good to the cliché and from the flowing prose to the stilted with far too much regularity. With the exception of the head of the Guards, you actually fail to connect with almost any of the characters and while the second half of the book is an improvement, overall it just about makes 3 stars. But, it has to be said, the pace and plot really picks up in the second half and it is a shame that this is not matched in the first 200 pages as the author's focus is on the world building rather then getting the reader absorbed in the plot.

It is a real shame, because there are some great ideas in here. I feel the author would have benefited from a more critical and guiding editor who might have helped shape and tighten the book. It does leave a lot of open plot lines to be picked up in the next book, but I think I shall wait for the reviews before deciding to pick it up or not.

The Sun is red and getting dimmer year after year. The winters are getting colder and now a freeze is set to happen that will last for the next 40 years where the world will ice over and only those who have prepared may live to tell their children of how the world was before or so hope the leaders of this world.

With Nights of Villjamur Charan has landed and brought his unique insights and clear, distinctive voice to the world with a skill that belies his age. Nights of Villjamur is the first book in the Legends of the Red Sun series by Newton, which has been lauded quite well in the UK since it came out there last year. This is Charan's US debut, although his UK debut was The Reef from a small press that can be a bit hard to find. I've seen reviews that make Nights of Villjamur out to be a cross of Vance's Dying Earth and Mieville's early work, which is definitely on the spot. However, in many ways I found the writing and characters more approachable than in any of the Dying Earth books I've read to date.

Villjamur the titular city is the largest in the world, alluded to be a far future Earth. Villjamur is a character of its own few other fictional cities can be compare to. It is dark and moody, but shows signs of love and selflessness albeit with plenty of venom and conspiracy down dark alleys. Great and wonderful things happen in Villjamur, but even more dastardly and vile actions, people, and plenty else are a foot.

This is not a land of heroes, but of survivors. As the ice encroaches in on civilization people from all over are traveling to the largest cities of the world with Villjamur being the goal for the majority since it is the capital. Thousands have flocked to the city just to be shut out of its gates where they live in squalor and continue with the hope the city of their leaders will let them in for a chance of survival. But the leaders of Villjamur are not too kind and worry for the long term life of the city given the ice age approaching and only enough food and stores for so many citizens.

The story is told though about half a dozen points of view, but a few others pop up intermittently. Brynd the albino captain of the Night Guard was definitely my favorite as he appears to be the most together character. Still he is the most fragile in many ways, which is a mean feat for a warrior of his class as he follows the will of the empire. There is Radur the ne'er do well who has some real physical skill that I hope gets showed off more in the future. However, I couldn't get over my dislike for Randur at all, but found his chapters enjoyable especially his time in the darker parts of Villjamur. There is something that feels very questionable about him and what he is doing even after events change him. Still I want to find out what happens to him, which I think says a lot about the story and world Newton has created that despite my dislike I need to know what he is up to.

Jeryd is an investigator in search of a killer and his part definitely plans the noir murder mystery angle to its fullest. He is also a rumel, which is a sort of human/lizard, but I have trouble picturing the species well. This is only one of the many unusual species met in Nights of Villjamur and hardly the strangest. Urtica, a leading member of the ruling council has the only tiresome point of view as his aims are quite opaque. But the most interesting character of all is Dartun who is a leader of a cultist group. Cultists were one of the most intriguing groups meet in Nights of Villjamur amongst many as they are a cross of wizard, scientist, and alchemist who safeguard ancient technology akin to magic. Well maybe safeguard is the wrong word. More like use for their own purpses while perpetuating their sect. Dartun is one of the oldest members of the cultists, which is why I couldn't wait for more of his chapters although they are a bit sparse except toward the end. He just knows so much about this world that I want revealed.

Nights of Villjamur is a story of a world far removed from our own comprised of very many different elements. It is a murder mystery, a love story, political novel, literary Fantasy, Horror (only slightly), but most of all it is inventive in the right ways and just plain weird at times. Making technology out to be magic and creating sub-human species worked really well and just wait until near the end to see what shows up. I'm still unraveling that puzzle in my head. Nights of Villjamur couldn't have been written at any other time. It feels perfect for the here-and-now with it sometimes strong prose and complex world worth visiting again and again packed with a beauty, starkness, and realism seldom seen in Fantasy. Newton's influences are plain to see, which he holds forth proudly.

This is a series to get lost in that will only get bigger, better, and weirder, which will ensnare you with its gracefulness and down-right oddness. It is without a doubt one of my favorite reads this year. There are some flaws although small. One of the evil doers is just too predictable as was a coming together of lovers, and I guessed one of the killers rather a bit too early on. Still fans of China Mieville, Richard K. Morgan, and Scott Lynch should take note. Scratch that. Fans of Mieville, Morgan, and Lynch should run out the door in search of a copy to find out for themselves how good this book is. I give Nights of Villjamur 8.5 out of 10 hats. Charan shows a lot of promise and I think he'll only get better from here with his beautifully demented mind. The sequel in the series, City of Ruin, has just been released in the UK and should be out in the US about this time next year.

Nights of Villjamur by Mark Newton is the first in a series entitled Legends of the Red Sun. The setting is the Boreal Archipelago, though the vast majority of the action takes place in the capital of the Jamur Empire--the eponymous city of Villjamur. The empire is built on its military and the remnants of ancient technology scavenged, studied, and used or modified (not always as the original technology was intended) by a group of Cultists (who are subdivided into sects). The city's inhabitants are made up of humans, rumel, one member (Jurra) of an Ancient race who has seemingly lived for a thousand years but has no memory, banshees--women whose visions of about-to-happen deaths allows them to arrive immediately afterward to keen the announcement, and Garudas--half bird/half man soldiers/guards.
As the book starts, the Empire is facing a slew of problems, both external and internal. The entire archipelago is being threatened by an impending ice age and refugees are threatening to overwhelm the capital. The Emperor is at best paranoid and at worst utterly crazy. Chancellor Urtica is plotting to usurp the emperor's title for himself, as well as rid the city of all the refuges camped outside. A top cultist, Dartun, who had thought himself nearly immortal finds out it isn't near enough, and along with experimenting with raising the dead is seeking the rumored gates into other realms where he might find life-extending technology/magic (and is not particularly concerned about what might come through from the other side). There are rumors of strange creatures and mass killings on outer islands, an underground and bloody religious cult is rearing its ugly head, and a manufactured war is about to begin.
Meanwhile, a councilor is murdered in odd fashion and a Rumel investigator, Jeryd, begins an investigation. Brynd, who commands the elite and cultist-enhanced Night Guard, suspects a high-up traitor whose information led to his group being nearly decimated in an ambush. We're also introduced to Tuya, a lonely prostitute/artist whose paintings can come to life; Tryste, a human aide to Jeryd whose upset that he's reached as high as he can go professionally due to humans being excluded from top policing levels (due to their short lives compared to the rumels); the Emperor's two daughters: Eir--younger, impetuous, and Rika, whose been gone for years following a religious path, and Randur--a outland islander who has taken the identity of the man hired to tutor Eir in dance and swordsmanship.
That's a lot to deal with (and that isn't everything) and perhaps a bit too much. Villjamur has a rich potential to it, but it doesn't quite feel fully there, at least, not consistently so. The author is juggling so many pov's, so many plot strands, any one or two of which could carry a novel (and a series), that we never feel fully grounded in any of them long enough to feel immersed in story or character, despite the fact that most of the plots wind together and most of the individual characterization starts out strong.
The encroaching ice is a great premise, but we never feel its inevitability, its alien coldness, the fear it must cause among the refugees who have fled its advance or those islanders who have stayed behind. The scavenged alien technology akin to magic is another great premise, but we get few flashes of light, some boxes, a few sentences here and there saying this box does this, this light does that, and that's mostly it. The banshees, the garudas--great inventions but they don't linger enough. We're never quite clear on the Rumels, on how they and humans have come to cohabitate, even on exactly what they look like. Tuya's ability is used to jumpstart a murder investigation, once more for almost a trivial use, and then mostly dropped. This happens with several other elements--this sense of half-fulfilled promise.
The same holds true with the plot. The murder investigation seems like it would have been an interesting line to wind through the story, but we as readers know almost immediately who the murderer is and Jeryd doesn't actually do much investigating. The artificial war set in motion is pretty transparent, a bit too flimsily based to completely accept how easy people accede to it, and then its major action happens offstage. The usurpation is bled of much tension by the fact that the perpetrator tells us (via conversation with another character) how he's going to do it and then, well, does it. The plotline involving Dartun would seem to have some major veins to explore: raising the undead, questions of ethics, a way to show us the world as he journeys to some of its farther edges, a sense of grandness re the portals to another world. But it falls curiously flat. Part of it is that it's so business-like. Part of it is it happens relatively quickly. Part of it is some nagging questions, such as how can nobody know he's been around as long as he has and would he really just drop his zombies off like so many pennies he doesn't want to carry in his pocket so they'd be found by others? And the burgeoning romance between Eir and Randur is just too predictable to add much excitement or tension.
As for the atmosphere, Newton strives to create a sense of the city, and does have some beautiful moments, but the problem is it often feels like he's striving to create atmosphere. The characters give us their views of the city, but too many times it feels like words put in their mouth by the author. Which of course they are, so this is a tough criticism to make, but it's one of those "you know it when it's done right" kind of things (see Mievelle). And the archipelago never felt fully there (see Leguin).
I liked what Newton was going for here. As mentioned, there are so many ideas here just begging to be fully explored. I wish he'd whittled them down a bit more or saved some for book two. Jeryd and Brynd stand out for their strong characterizations and in them, as well as a few side characters (Jurra and one of Brynd's captains) you see Newton's potential for character. In the banshees, and the garuda to some extent, you see his potential for imagination. And in the use of ancient technology you see his potential for turning up new metal in old veins. That potential isn't really met in Villjamur, but there was enough that I'll give book two a shot. As for a recommendation, I can't say I enthusiastically recommend it. I'd consider holding off until book two comes out and we see if it's worth the investment.

For a first novel, Nights of Villjamur is 'OK'.

Here's my take on some pro's and con's:
- Good use of the English Language
- Relatively solid shifting of character perspectives (with the possible risk of having no primary character for whom the reader should 'immediately' meld onto)
- Highlight(s) were scenes in the underbelly
- The inspector & the 'murder investigation' and his wife. VERY well actualized character.

Some downsides (or alternative upsides)
- Lack of dramatic tension (is the freeze the threat? The cultists? The crabs? The treason against the empire?). Lots of things going on, with zero depth afforded to most (reminded me of the TV Show 'Flash Forward')
- Author's prose is rich British modern vernacular.... right on down to the use of the word 'right' and 'cultist' (Jim Jones must be lurking around somewhere offering kool-aid to drink)).

Is it worth a read? Likely yes, especially in a paperback format, especially in a genre relatively devoid of depth recently.

Is it 5 '*' material in my estimation ? No. This isn't as good as a random Erikson novel, or even Patrick Rothfus' stellar 'Name of the Wind' debut.

This is a fantastically written and very well plotted book. I don't appreciate how people are complaining that there's too much going on in this book. If you can't follow it - go back to the teen section of your local book store. There's nothing wrong with adding several characters and plot-lines to a book. I feel readers deserve more books like this than to be talked down to as we are so often lately.
This is a very exciting and well-paced book. There's not so much going on that you can't follow it. In fact, the number of characters and plot points only adds to the over-all novel. I think it's a very exciting and excellent book to read. I can't wait to read the next one. Charan will be around for a while - he's a quality writer that brings a classic quality to the fantasy genre while also adding enough newness to it to keep it refreshing and interesting. Great book from a great writer.

Reading Nights of Villjamur is like standing too close to a tapestry. At first, all you can see are threads, bits of story that you know are important, but you can't make sense of in the overall context of the book. The more you read, the farther you step back from the tapestry, so that this thread connects with that one, and you begin to realize just how all of these wildly different characters are linked within the greater story.

The Jamur Empire is in peril, thanks to both an impending ice age as well as corruption from within, and all of the main characters have some stake in protecting the walled city of Villjamur. It took quite a while for the story to come together, but I appreciate that. Newton drops you into this world, with a dying red sun and encroaching ice, and leaves you to put the pieces together as he jumps between characters, slowly but steadily linking the pieces--deadly attacks on the empire's elite warriors, an island boy with a stolen identity, the gruesome murders of Council members, an investigator and his untrustworthy assistant, a mysterious prostitute, the two daughters of a mad emperor, cultists with dangerous ambitions--until near the end of the novel, you suddenly realize the depth of the dangerous plots that threaten Villjamur.

Since the plot isn't obvious from the beginning, the reader has to get to know the characters and rely on their reactions to get an idea of what's going on. Brynd Lathraea, the albino leader of the Jamur Empire's military, is the strongest character. Though he has risen to the highest military position, he still considers himself an outsider because of his albinism as well as his deepest secret: his homosexuality. I think Newton does a fine job portraying Brynd's sexuality as just another part of the character, not as a shocking reveal or even anything essential to the story. It's just a part of who Brynd is, another aspect of his character, along with his sense of duty, his honor, and his devotion to his soldiers.

The rest of the cast are also well-written and complex characters. They all have concerns outside of the immediate plot--Investigator Jeryd's marriage, Randur Estevu's sense of familial guilt--which make them realistic and sympathetic. I was very pleased to find myself jumping back and forth in my feelings toward Dartun Súr, the dark cultist; I love having my perception of a character constantly challenged.

My only complaint about <em>Nights of Villjamur</em> is that the ending felt rather rushed. There were a couple of plotlines that needed to be resolved before the book ended, and while I'm pretty satisfied with those plotlines, I did feel like I was running headlong to them. It didn't quite fit the deliberate pace of the rest of the book, and while I wasn't dissatisfied with the way it ended, it was a bit jarring.

If you're the kind of reader who wants firm resolution at the end of a book, you're going to be frustrated by the end of Nights of Villjamur. It is the first book in a series, and so I expected a cliffhanger. When I hit the end, though, I felt like I did when I got to the end of Fellowship of the Ring: like I'd just read part of a much longer book that had been cut off abruptly. By the end of the Nights of Villjamur, you've stepped back enough to see the whole tapestry, but you can also see that it stretches off to the right, and you're going to have to walk along it to see the whole picture. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of Newton's intricate tapestry of a series.

In Nights of Villjamur, Mark Newton has managed to combine several threads in one compelling story. Part Day after Tomorrow, part Kim, it is a fantasy tale that melds ideas from the east and west. Boiled down to its basic components, a boy tries to find a necromancer to keep his mother from dying. In doing so, he must get help from one of the local cults to find a Necromancer. The backdrop of this is a planet whose sun is dying - causing a long winter to set in. There is a dynastic change, political intrigue and undead armies - but not your run of the mill undead because there are golems and zombies working against each other.
Even then all is not as it necessarily appears. A prime minister is seeking to kill-off the current dynasty and replace them. Refugees are being systematically killed, as well as the inhabitants of an island which the dynasty is at war with, yet...
There are signs that this seemly fantasy novel is not all fantasy. Action quickly escalates as horrible murders are discovered inside the city and on the frontiers. Something is brewing and the inspector, Rumex Jeryd will find out what not matter what it costs him.
Mr Newton has done a good job building a world and teasing information out of his characters to tell you about it. The characters are ones which you either like or hate, but all of them will be approached with caution. It has the feel of a medieval town in the Far East, but there is always something brewing just below the surface and he does his best to keep you guessing. No one escapes this story unscathed and you feel like the scars may last, but it seems like we have to wait to second book for more answers.

...and I can't wait to find out what happens next.
I first found out about Nights of Villjamur on Amazon, on one of my digs for yet MORE speculative fiction featuring queer characters and/or themes. These kinds of books can really run the gamut in terms of quality, so initially I had no idea what to expect. But the more I looked into this specific book, the more I realized that it really had potential, and I bumped it up the priority list of books to order.
To my surprise, I found it in a bookstore. For these books I've made it a hobby and challenge of collecting and reading, this rarely happens. I took that as a good sign.
Anyhow, after I actually started reading, I had to struggle to get into it. My own attention span may be partially to blame for that. But, by about 100 pages or so in, I was absorbed. You will walk the streets of Villjamur with the characters Newton has created, you will share their frustration, balk at their audacity, and worry about what's going on in their lives.
The book kind of has an "ensemble cast," in as far as I could tell there is not a main protagonist or main character you're following. There are a handful of characters you follow more closely than others: Investigator Jeryd (a city detective, essentially), Commander Brynd (head of the military, an albino closet case), the "cultist" Dartun (can't tell whether he's a good guy or bad guy, but kind of like a master magician, with trinkets), and Randur Estevu (an imposter and gigolo in the city to earn money to save his dying mother). There is also a prostitute painter named Tuya, the deceptive Councilman Urtica, and more.
One of the reasons I struggled to get into the book at first was because the plot was slow to develop. What you have is this cast of characters, living and struggling in the city of Villjamur, loaded with mystery, duplicity, murder, betrayel and politics. Other than the city itself, I couldn't figure out what tied all of these people and events together. Where was the story going? And yet, the characters and events themselves were interesting enough for me to continue forging ahead, and I am glad I did.
Villjamur is facing the beginning of an ice age, the death of an emperor, corruption, more refugees than it can possibly handle. It is reaching critical mass, and tensions are mounting - a city on the verge of a breakdown, while the nobility dance and screw their nights away.
Read the book and find out who the prostitute is, discover who is killing Councilmen, whether Randur Estevu ever saves his dying mother. Decide if Dartun is good, bad or both, and whether Commander Brynd is a pawn or a hero.

I highly recommend Nights of Villjamur, and look forward to returning to the world Mark Charan Newton has created.

Nights of Villjamur
Series: Legends of the Red Sun (Book 1)
Mark Charan Newton
Spectra (2011)
Trade Paperback
464 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0345520852

Murder, mystery, and magic ; a deadly combination, to be sure, but in the hands of Mark Charan Newton it becomes something altogether more entertaining then might be expected. And, while the prose, character development, and pace seem to lack perfect clarification the story itself is strong enough, the plot and characters creative enough, and the new concepts introduced intriguing enough to make this a better than average murder/mystery/fantasy. While I enjoyed the story a great deal there were some plot point, character development, and location problems that were somewhat disappointing. The strength of the back-story got lost in places - tell me more about Caveside, and the Garudas, and the banshees, and the coming ice age (winter/freeze) - and some of the characters' actions were somewhat unexpected and sometimes illogical. For instance, during a visit with a prostitute, the last person to see one of the murder victims alive, an investigator dismisses a major murder scene clue (blue paint) even though he knows that she's an artist. Another major plot flaw occurs when one characters' anger over being overlooked for promotion forces him from the role of minor character to major antagonist. But we are told early on in the narrative that the position he envies have always been reserved for members of a particular race and he doesn't qualify. The mid-story switch in character standpoint didn't flow enough for me to overlook those failings. Now, with those flaws pointed out I must add that I was definitely entertained by Nights of Villjamur and while the faults are not quite glaring they may turn some readers off but they certainly did not distract me from the story. And, in the spirit of entertainment and in the telling of a good yarn I'd have to say that there are enough unique and creative ideas in the story to keep even the most jaded readers diverted. Fortunately for Mr. Newton, this first story in the cycle has enough fertile ground and potential to develop into a highly acclaimed series. Let's hope he's up to the task.

If you're the type that enjoys dark fantasies filled with strange alien races, unpredictable magic, murder mystery, and light fantasy then Nights of Villjamur is certainly recommended for you.

3 ½ (4 for originality) out of 5 stars

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

Read an interview with Mark C Newton and got sample on kindle. I was hooked right away and bought book before I even finished sample. If you want a book with action, romance,intrigue..this is for you. Oh and mystery thrown in too. Too much going on you say.....not at all. This all makes for a great read. This is a really good start to what I hope will be a long series. Well done.