Pilgrims (2010)

Sex :
Violence :
Author Will Elliott
Publisher HarperVoyager
Length 510 pages
Genre Dark Fantasy
Blurb None Listed
Country

Disclaimer: Please note this review reflects the opinion of the team at ScaryMinds and should in no way be construed as representing the views of the AHWA Shadows Award Judges. This review is for the edification of ScaryMinds readers and does not constitute a “literary criticism” or any other criteria the Shadows Judging panel may take this year.

While I'm personally involved in the Shadows Awards this year I would point out that my review following in no way reflects my opinion of the source material from an Awards perspective.

Review

“These people are feeding us. Maybe we should earn our keep.” - Eric

Pilgrims is book one in Will Elliott's new fantasy series Pendulum for HarperVoyager, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers. Arguably the novel is pure fantasy, a genre not covered here at ScaryMinds, but since people are claiming it to be “dark fantasy” guess we can dip our toes in the water and see what might lurk below the surface. I have no idea what separates “dark fantasy” from other streams of fantasy, they all seem to involve some evil and nasty creatures at the best of times, so my apology to fantasy fans here this is a horror site, we review horror, we view Pilgrims therefore from that perspective. If cool with that then read on, if not then go check out a Harry Potter site or something.

Erik Albright is a Journalist working on one of those free mags who seems to be going through the motions rather than forging the bright and shining career we're all meant to be after. Along with derelict Case, who has a drinking issue, Eric discovers a small red door under a train bridge. Naturally our heroes will go through the door and land in Levaal, “the world between worlds”, where the usual rules do not apply. Levaal is a world where magic rules over a sort of medieval tapestry of City States and the Castle based sociopath Vous who wants to be a God. Eric and Case are just in time for a civil war between the last remaining free States, and the Aligned who seek to dominate all aspects of life under Vous' stewardship. The dragon-gods are contained in prisons but grow restless, the Great Spirits are out and about, and armies are on the move. Eric thinks he is the hero fantasy novels normally center on, but just who's side should he be supporting? And what the hell are the Tormentors and why are they suddenly infecting Levaal? Some, but not all, of our questions will be answered by the end of Pilgrims.

First up I guess would be the question about whether or not Pilgrims contains anything approaching horror elements and whether or not the book is “scary”, as The Observer noted in their review. Guess when you have cultists with a penchant for torturing and dismembering people running round the pages then yes there are horror elements, and the Tormentors would make pretty good demon stand ins at a pinch. But, and this is a big but, I'm really not seeing the novel as a horror outing and didn't note anything in the book that would be out of place in a Tolkien or Donaldson romp through the faery landscape. The dark musings we associated with a good horror yarn simply don't exist between the pages of Pilgrims. Having addressed the issue lets rock on, as the book itself is a pretty good read.

Elliott has created the next great fantasy trilogy that should have fans of that genre very excited.

Author Will Elliot shows a remarkable imagination with Pilgrims, if in to the whole fantasy thing then you are really going to have some fun times here. I was totally engrossed in the world of Levaal, with the characters and creatures inhabiting the land being new and innovative. You wont find the normal list of suspects from fantasy in Pilgrims, Elliot has come up with some truly original concepts and half the fun of the book is running across new creatures and new societies. Elliot draws a completely logical world where magic replaces technology, yet the magic doesn't so totally dominate that it makes normal character actions meaningless. Don't you hate it when a wizard can knock out an entire army, makes conflict in fantasy sagas a moot point really, thankfully Elliot dispenses with that sorry state of affairs.

Guess the normal tropes of fantasy are out and about, however Elliot shines the ball and throws a new spin into proceedings. We have the source of ultimate evil, Vous, however he's more of a psychopath with god like aspirations than something that has dragged itself from the pits of hell on a whim. Don't expect anything like Lord Foul from the Thomas Covenant books. Interestingly in an early episode involving Vous and an unfortunate prisoner I picked up on a reference to James Clavell's Kasigi Yabu from the novel Shogun, whether or not that is intentional I leave to the reader to decide. The character Eric would be our normal person thrust into the role of saviour, though currently that would be Eric's take on things rather than the reality. There's certainly more interest being shown in Case from some quarters than Eric. And yes the novel involves a journey as most fantasy novels seem to focus on.

Where the fantasy crew are going to be left adrift somewhat with Pilgrims is the pretty down to earth language in use, yes characters say “fuck” on occasion and have toilet breaks, and I guess since there's no real quest involved then the book lacks that central narrative structure fantasy revolves around. Of course I haven't read a lot of fantasy beyond the classic ones, so this could be par for the course. What will shock the LOTR crew is Elliot's ability to draw grey characters rather than simply have people donning black or white hats. Motivation is used to explain character actions, with more than one person remorseful about their actions, and exactly what goal some characters have remains unknown as you reach the final paragraph. Pilgrims isn't just another “sparkling unicorn” tale of Pandora being threatened by venal interests, huge high five to Elliot for that.

Bugger out of space here already. Will Elliott continues to demonstrate why he is an award winning Author with a novel full of excellent prose that romps along through new fields of imagination dragging the reader into the world of Levaal. I had a wonderful time reading the novel and am already jonesing the next two chapters in the saga. For sure Elliott is going to broadside me with twists and turns, but I'm ready to rock with the further adventures of Eric and Case.

If after more information on Pilgrims then crash test the official site at HarperVoyager, and if in a Will Elliott mood then check out the Author's website right here. All bases covered? Cool signing off.

Footnote ScaryMinds will be covering the rest of the Pendulum novels regardless of genre, they be dark fantasy I tell's ya. But please don't expect us to extend this coverage to other fantasy outings. Simply not going to happen.

ScaryMinds Rates this read as ...

  Outstanding and excellent start to a new fantasy series.