| The Troy Game IV: Druid's Sword | Contributor: Martin | Posted: 08/02/07 | 12:55 |
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page 3 of 3 Fans of haute literature beware: not unusually for a fantasy novelist, Douglass is let down by her writing. Her prose is at best serviceable and moves the story along but cannot be compared to David Eddings for readability or Tolkien for class. That’s not necessarily a criticism, since fantasy as a genre has usually relied on great stories adequately told rather than sentences which make a reader whistle in admiration. But in Douglass’ case the writing regularly strains so hard for dramatic effect that the reader winces. As an example: What do you know? Jack thought, watching her, remembering what he’d felt from her arms. And what are you?
Friend or foe? Victim or trap? Scenes and chapters regularly end with over-dramatic flourishes and pauses, and the cumulative effect paradoxically reduces the impact of the story by making the artifice of the writer apparent. It’s no coincidence that many of the best fantasy authors have a writing style that is almost anonymous, allowing the story to speed along without drawing attention to the writing. Two other weaknesses – one major the other minor - mar Druid’s Sword. The major weakness is a resort to previously unknown powers and characters to solve seemingly insoluble problems. Again, some readers may enjoy this kind of plot device as adding suspense and excitement, and to Douglass’ credit, enough cryptic hints are littered through the novel to flag that these devices were planned from the beginning and not inserted to get the writer out of a narrative dead-end. But after a point, the production of another previously unknown and unknowable character or power to advance the story starts to get on the reader's nerves. This is nowhere more apparent then in the end of the novel: what is meant to be a stunning twist to end Druid’s Sword appears all too predictable given the reader by that point expects yet another rabbit to be pulled from the hat. The smaller weakness of Druid’s Sword, and also of the series as a whole, is the telling of the story from multiple view points. Most of the novel is written from Brutus’ viewpoint, with Cornelia/Noah and Grace narrating large sections. Part of the story is also told from the perspective of Asterion/Weyland and Catling. Using multiple points of view does make it easier for Douglass to develop her characters but it also removes what could be Druid’s Sword’s greatest strength: the suite of allies assembled to combat Catling consists of parties harbouring jealousies and enmities dating back thousands of years, and this could have potentially been a major source of dramatic tension. As it is, the frequent change of viewpoint leaves the reader in no doubt that all the characters, even the ambiguous Asterion/Weyland will ‘do their bit’ for the cause in the end. These shortcomings are a shame, because with her believable characters, Douglass has a resource that should put her ahead of most fantasy authors. As it is, Druid’s Sword is a fitting conclusion to The Troy Game and fans of the series and of Douglass will no doubt enjoy it immensely. Newcomers, however, shouldn't expect to have their expectations of popular fantasy redefined. two and a half out of five
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