J. M. McDermott returns to Dogsland in the stunning novel When We Were Executioners, book two of a sweeping fantasy series that revels in the small details of life. Corporal Jona, the demon-stained Lord of Joni, died in the woods. His lover, the Senta Rachel Nolander, is a demon-tainted fugitive, running from the wolfskin-clad priest and priestess of Erin, who track her through the city based on dreams plucked from Jona's crying skull, plotting to cleanse the world of the lovers' demonic taint. Past and present collide as the tale of two ill-fated outcasts unfolds, and the executioners of Erin grow ever closer to their quarry.
When We Were Executioners (Dogsland)
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Brett
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
J.M McDermott's "Never Knew Another" introduced us to "Dogsland", as well as the heart-breaking circumstances of the "demon children". "When We Were Executioners" takes us back there, in a great follow-up novel showing the struggles of a man drawn into a greater conspiracy, even as he only wants to be allowed to stay unnoticed and unharmed.
As in "Never Knew Another", the story is essentially a story-within-a-story. The "narrators" are Walkers of Erin, a shape-shifting couple determined to hunt down and destroy all traces of demonic influence. Their sections often have a slightly surreal feel with the prose, since the Walkers are dwelling not just on the present in Dogsland, but what they sense of its past through supernaturally heightened senses. Their storyline centers around the hunt for Rachel Nolander and an ancient demon-child named Salvatore, even as they continue to explore Jona's life through his remains.
The primary narrative is that of Jona, the "of-demon" man proclaimed dead at the beginning of the series whose remains are being used to track his lost love Rachel and the demon Salvatore. Whereas the first novel dwelt much more on Jona's and Rachel's attempts to avoid detection, this novel focuses much more on how Jona is caught up in the political conspiracies that are rife within the city, at the same time that he's trying to further develop his relationship with Rachel. The sections where he tries to help Rachel find some normality and pleasantry in her otherwise grim life are quite touching. It re-emphasizes the fact that while the demon-children truly are dangerous (their blood is deeply acidic, their touch sickens normal humans after a time), they are also innocent human lives just trying to survive in a dangerous, difficult world.
The real strengths of this novel lie in two areas: prose and characterization. McDermott is excellent at weaving a potent, if surreal image of "Dogsland", a trading city rife with poverty and crime. As we read, we move not just through the present areas where Jona is, but also through the city's past and future, its hopes and tragedies. It's easy to screw up dream-like prose, but McDermott manages to make it very readable.
Characterization of Jona, Rachel, and the Walkers of Erin is the other strong point. Jona is particularly developed as a man who does his duty as a soldier, and feels a sense of responsibility over the town area that was once his family's ancestral land. He's not a -good- person by any means, but he does try to protect Rachel, and feels horror when faced directly with what his accursed presence can do to others. Rachel is a survivor struggling to live, and both eager for and frightened by the glimpses of a better life that Jona offers her. The fact that we know from the beginning that their relationship is doomed to end with Jona's heartbreak makes it all the more tragic. Finally, the Walkers of Erin manage to balance sympathy in some way for the demon-children they hunt, while not wavering in their determination to destroy them.
Like its predecessor in the trilogy, this is not a long book (264 pages). Nonetheless, it manages to weave an interesting story that sets the stage for the tragedy that will finally occur at the conclusion of the trilogy.
As in "Never Knew Another", the story is essentially a story-within-a-story. The "narrators" are Walkers of Erin, a shape-shifting couple determined to hunt down and destroy all traces of demonic influence. Their sections often have a slightly surreal feel with the prose, since the Walkers are dwelling not just on the present in Dogsland, but what they sense of its past through supernaturally heightened senses. Their storyline centers around the hunt for Rachel Nolander and an ancient demon-child named Salvatore, even as they continue to explore Jona's life through his remains.
The primary narrative is that of Jona, the "of-demon" man proclaimed dead at the beginning of the series whose remains are being used to track his lost love Rachel and the demon Salvatore. Whereas the first novel dwelt much more on Jona's and Rachel's attempts to avoid detection, this novel focuses much more on how Jona is caught up in the political conspiracies that are rife within the city, at the same time that he's trying to further develop his relationship with Rachel. The sections where he tries to help Rachel find some normality and pleasantry in her otherwise grim life are quite touching. It re-emphasizes the fact that while the demon-children truly are dangerous (their blood is deeply acidic, their touch sickens normal humans after a time), they are also innocent human lives just trying to survive in a dangerous, difficult world.
The real strengths of this novel lie in two areas: prose and characterization. McDermott is excellent at weaving a potent, if surreal image of "Dogsland", a trading city rife with poverty and crime. As we read, we move not just through the present areas where Jona is, but also through the city's past and future, its hopes and tragedies. It's easy to screw up dream-like prose, but McDermott manages to make it very readable.
Characterization of Jona, Rachel, and the Walkers of Erin is the other strong point. Jona is particularly developed as a man who does his duty as a soldier, and feels a sense of responsibility over the town area that was once his family's ancestral land. He's not a -good- person by any means, but he does try to protect Rachel, and feels horror when faced directly with what his accursed presence can do to others. Rachel is a survivor struggling to live, and both eager for and frightened by the glimpses of a better life that Jona offers her. The fact that we know from the beginning that their relationship is doomed to end with Jona's heartbreak makes it all the more tragic. Finally, the Walkers of Erin manage to balance sympathy in some way for the demon-children they hunt, while not wavering in their determination to destroy them.
Like its predecessor in the trilogy, this is not a long book (264 pages). Nonetheless, it manages to weave an interesting story that sets the stage for the tragedy that will finally occur at the conclusion of the trilogy.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By D. Davis
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
When We Were Executioners, by J.M. McDermott
Sometimes there aren't reasons for things; sometimes things just are. This is true for the characters and story depicted in J.M. McDermott's book, When We Were Executioners, and true for the book itself.
Thus far, The Dogsland Trilogy is the polar opposite of high, epic fantasy. I'm not quite sure what the opposite of epic is, but in this case the narrative is super small and extremely personal, almost to the point of it being a work of pointillism.
The Dogsland Trilogy is low fantasy, very low, and also very urban. I'm not talking about urban in the sense of a Neil Gaiman or Clive Barker urban fantasy. This isn't cute-goth, or weird alt-London, or steampunk. It's urban in the sense of it taking place in the inner-city; it's urban in the same way that The Wire is urban. It's about the lives of a few people trying to get by, it's about whores and drug dealers, cops and criminals, addicts and politicians, all trying to live their lives with the cards they were dealt, while all around them the city, their very environment, chews them up and spits them out.
And the chewing gets nasty. McDermott punctuates this book with a few scenes of extreme, grotesque violence, violence that has a point, and violence that hits hard. It is graphic and hard to read, but never gratuitous. This is not violence in the context of action, or titillation, or excitement. These depictions of violence serve to illustrate the consequences of living in a city like Dogsland.
When you get right down to it, there isn't a lot going on plot-wise. It's basically a direct continuation of the first book, Never Knew Another, almost to the point of it being the same book. Things happen, but there isn't a grand, sweeping narrative with an exciting dramatic drive keeping the pages turning. It is, rather, a very small story about people, their lives, their love, and their survival.
And so what's the point of the book? What's the point of it being a trilogy? I'm sure if you simply examined the plot of the entire thing, you could easily tell the story in a single volume, perhaps in the length of a novella; the plot is not complex, at all. But some things don't need points, or reasons. Some things just are. This book exists simply to read about and spend time with a few fictional characters, not completely unlike people you might know, save for some of them being shape-shifters and of-demons. It exists to be read, and isn't this the ultimate purpose of all fiction?
Sometimes there aren't reasons for things; sometimes things just are. This is true for the characters and story depicted in J.M. McDermott's book, When We Were Executioners, and true for the book itself.
Thus far, The Dogsland Trilogy is the polar opposite of high, epic fantasy. I'm not quite sure what the opposite of epic is, but in this case the narrative is super small and extremely personal, almost to the point of it being a work of pointillism.
The Dogsland Trilogy is low fantasy, very low, and also very urban. I'm not talking about urban in the sense of a Neil Gaiman or Clive Barker urban fantasy. This isn't cute-goth, or weird alt-London, or steampunk. It's urban in the sense of it taking place in the inner-city; it's urban in the same way that The Wire is urban. It's about the lives of a few people trying to get by, it's about whores and drug dealers, cops and criminals, addicts and politicians, all trying to live their lives with the cards they were dealt, while all around them the city, their very environment, chews them up and spits them out.
And the chewing gets nasty. McDermott punctuates this book with a few scenes of extreme, grotesque violence, violence that has a point, and violence that hits hard. It is graphic and hard to read, but never gratuitous. This is not violence in the context of action, or titillation, or excitement. These depictions of violence serve to illustrate the consequences of living in a city like Dogsland.
When you get right down to it, there isn't a lot going on plot-wise. It's basically a direct continuation of the first book, Never Knew Another, almost to the point of it being the same book. Things happen, but there isn't a grand, sweeping narrative with an exciting dramatic drive keeping the pages turning. It is, rather, a very small story about people, their lives, their love, and their survival.
And so what's the point of the book? What's the point of it being a trilogy? I'm sure if you simply examined the plot of the entire thing, you could easily tell the story in a single volume, perhaps in the length of a novella; the plot is not complex, at all. But some things don't need points, or reasons. Some things just are. This book exists simply to read about and spend time with a few fictional characters, not completely unlike people you might know, save for some of them being shape-shifters and of-demons. It exists to be read, and isn't this the ultimate purpose of all fiction?
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By wallaroo
Format:Paperback
I was so disappointed with this book. The first in the trilogy I loved so maybe my expectations were too high here.
My main problem was there seemed little progression in the plot. I still loved the descriptive style of writing, but I kept thinking I was reading this for no purpose. Sounds harsh, but the whole novel seemed like it was a few padded out chapters omitted from the first novel. It just became boring. I did make it to the end but won't pick up the final part of the trilogy when it's available. For me the whole trilogy would've been better served as one complete novel.
My main problem was there seemed little progression in the plot. I still loved the descriptive style of writing, but I kept thinking I was reading this for no purpose. Sounds harsh, but the whole novel seemed like it was a few padded out chapters omitted from the first novel. It just became boring. I did make it to the end but won't pick up the final part of the trilogy when it's available. For me the whole trilogy would've been better served as one complete novel.
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