Book: The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker


Loads of fun

Kage Baker
The Anvil of the World
Tor, 2003
ISBN 0-765-30818-5
US$ 25.95

Kage Baker has written several excellent science-fiction books. The Anvil of the World, on the other hand, is set in a Medieval fantasy world and is about a retired assassin who tries to set out on an honest career. Of course, things don't go smoothly and he ends up entangled in the affairs of a sort of dissolute demi-god. It's hugely funny. Some extracts may be sufficient to give you the flavor (p. 110):

    "Maybe his problem is that he's been spoiled."

    "That and repeatedly raised from the dead,"
    Balnshik replied. "You have no idea how
    difficult that makes instilling proper values in a
    child."

And (p. 265):

    Strangel was growling, glaring into the forest
    with eyes of flame, and it was not a metaphor.

Like her "Company" novels, there's not a lot of drama here: outcomes are rarely in doubt. But that's not a problem. The book doesn't need suspense to make it a lot of fun.

Posted: Mon - February 9, 2004 at 09:10   Main   Category: 

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