The Incorruptibles by John Hornor Jacobs

[RedEyedGhost]

Having recently finished book two in the what I believe is a trilogy, and I am convinced that this series needs much more publicity.  He posted on twitter a while back that the third book's first draft is finished, and I found someone that was saying it should be released in March next year (too lazy to look for it again right now).

Here's what I wrote about book one in May:

I finished The Incorruptibles by John Hornor Jacobs a few days ago.  I wanted to give it a little time to settle before writing about it in order to confirm that I really did like it as much as I thought I did when first finishing it.  I do.  Just an awesome book.  Kind a Weird Western crossed with Horror and the Roman Empire never falling.  I was fun trying to determine which areas corresponded to our North America.  The central conflict is between a couple of mercenaries (one a half-dwarf that refuses to corrupt his soul by carrying Hellfire - demon powered - guns) and a group of indigenes - wicked elf-like creatures, but we also get the an extremely strong land based Ruman Empire on the verge or war with a powerful seafaring Medieran Empire (who I took to be Spain), and the Tchinee (China) who could be swayed to join either side (although that will be explored in book two apparently).  And we get a very intense demonic possession - seriously creepy stuff.  It's a great book that really packs in a surprising amount of story.  Will read Foreign Devils soon.

I finished Foreign Devils last week and for most of the book I wasn't liking it as much as The Incorruptibles, but damn, what a climax it had.  What I didn't care for was

the pacing in the first half of the book kind of dragged it down as Livia and Fisk are split and Livia spends so much time traveling.  I did like getting to see Rume, but her story didn't really pick up until the arrived in Tchinee.  Once there though, I thought that part was just as good as Fisk and Shoe in Occidentalia - although at that point we don't really get to see much of Fisk

 

Beleth really became an excellent villain throughout the book, and took it to the next level at the end.  I was also completely unsurprised when the identity of the Autumn Lords was revealed.   I can't wait to see what plays out with that in book three.

There were some good elements of horror throughout the book, but no one scene that compared to the

summoning of the Crimson Man

in book one.

Book three looks to be awesome - it looks like it will be called either Infernal Devices or Infernal Machines.

[polishgenius]

I like the current seemingly rising trend for Western in fantasy. Much like  the traditional medievial settings, it gives a nice existing myth/archetype to bounce stories off, and take in different directions.

I do dislike the frequency with which Indians/First Nations are simply played as essentially this milieu's equivalent of elves and/or written as one homogenous culture, which to an extent this book does too, but I do appreciate that it would both be difficult to write something based on the myth of the West without featuring them at all and to write something which goes into Native culture with more subtlety without making it About That. So far, it hasn't been a major bugbear to me in anything, so...

Anyway, more spefically to this, I should get on book 2 soonish, I liked the first one. I did find the juxtaposition of Rome with the New World to be weird but it works. The demon guns and the moral factor they bring into it (which before anyone wonders is not played as a political gun control point, just as a plot/character thing) are a nice touch.

[red snow]

Had this one sitting in Kindle limbo since its release. I like the idea it's just time and there always seeming to be something higher on the list. I read a short story of his that I think is set in the same or very similar world and it didn't really grab me. I'll get around to it eventually - maybe see if there's an audioversion with a cowboy narrator.

Richard Morgan was bigging it up on his blog just recently.

[Sheep the Evicted]

I'm afraid I was barely able to finish it. Didn't think it was particularly well written, though Mark Lawerence says otherwise, didn't think the world was well realized - the primary characters are travelling with one of the most powerful and dangerous families in Rome and right up  until the very end it just didn't feel like it, they could have been soft English gentry for all their  sniping and ballroom drama. I guess this is all part of my larger problem with the characterisation; just wasn't convinced. The romance was particularly bad, mainly because the leading lady is a soft Mary Sue, and both "twists"  at the end which could have potentially redeemed the whole thing only made it worse IMO. Only thing I really liked about it were the "elves" which is a shame as many people whose opinions i value really seem to like it, so I was very excited then consequently very disappointed after i read it.

[RedEyedGhost]

On 9/11/2016 at 1:16 PM, polishgenius said:

I do dislike the frequency with which Indians/First Nations are simply played as essentially this milieu's equivalent of elves and/or written as one homogenous culture, which to an extent this book does too,

I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say that book two definitely dispels that homogeneity.  Not that we get answers on how or why there are different Vaettir, just that they are not all lumped together.

I do wonder why in a Roman world the names for the dwarves and elves are Norse.

 

21 hours ago, red snow said:

Richard Morgan was bigging it up on his blog just recently.

Nice.  I find it extremely cool that a horror author from Arkansas is getting props from an English Sci-fi author.  What a world.

 

17 hours ago, Sheep the Evicted said:

I'm afraid I was barely able to finish it. Didn't think it was particularly well written, though Mark Lawerence says otherwise

I'm sorry to hear that, but if you didn't like book one, don't waste your time with book two.

 

17 hours ago, Sheep the Evicted said:

The romance was particularly bad

I definitely do agree with you here.  Although I do think this was improved in the second book (which is odd as the two characters are separated from one another).

[Rhom]

Interesting.  Will have to look more into this one.