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A review by markyon
The Boy with the Porcelain Blade by Den Patrick
4.0
The world of the Renaissance is an area that may be rather underused in Fantasy fiction. Authors tend to go for the medieval-esque Tolkien-lite, when really there’s a lot to work with here.
Den has chosen his inspiration wisely. This is a rollicking tale of feuding families, vendettas, politics, deception and rivalry set in a baroque world of gothic architecture and horror. More than enough material for any Fantasy novel!
As we begin the book Landfall is a place in turmoil. The King is clearly insane and so the world is run by people to whom corruption is second-nature. Our main protagonist in this story is Lucien de Fontein, a child of privilege, born into one of the Kingdom of Landfall’s wealthiest families. Although he is an Orfano (some sort of royal bastard child) he has certain benefits. He is nannied, educated and trained to use a porcelain sword in fighting, at which he has some skill.
In addition to this, the talented yet rather aloof Lucien has to deal with the complexities of the Italianate world with a deformity that makes him instantly recognisable: he has no visible ears, although he has hearing, which frightens his peers and earns him considerable embarrassment. His hearing is good enough to hear the constant taunts and comments made about him behind his back.
The plot is mainly about Lucien’s coming of age, written in a style that flitters between the present and the past. Most of his early life, rather like Titus Groan’s in Gormenghast, is centred on one place, in Lucien’s case the city state of Demesne. Here we see Lucien grow and become increasingly independent. He finds himself having to defend himself against some Orfano and ally himself with others, finds himself at odds with some of his tutors and befriends others. In the end he uncovers a grisly mystery, and secrets about his past and his heritage that have been hidden from others for a long time…
Fantasy readers will recognise many aspects of The Boy wth the Porcelain Blade. What Den has done here is meld recognisable characteristics into his own vision. The world of Landfall is a small yet perfectly formed one, evoking images of Tad Williams’ Osten Ard and Peake’s Gormenghast, something which Den in his interview at SFFWorld has said is an influence. Lucien’s childhood experiences around the Houses of Prospero, Fontein, Contradino and Erudito evoke images of Scott Lynch’s Locke Lamora. The world of Landfall echoes aspects of the Renaissance with its Houses and social manoeuvring, with its societal structure, of Kings, lords and ladies and servants, creating some sort of baroque feudal-esque construction.
The buildings of Demesne, where most of the book takes place, is a sprawling Gothic landscape with dark shadows, gargoyles and horrors galore.
Although the setting is wonderful. most of all The Boy with the Porcelain Blade is a book about its characters. Lucien is a gifted outsider, a person whose appearance and social standing force him to be independent. He endures many things: bullying on the part of his stern tutors, ostracism from his peers, sarcasm from many others. This creates a melancholic loneliness which pervades much of the early part of the novel. And yet his endurance of these many trials is something that we admire, and ultimately are won over by. In a world of snobbery and perceived privilege, Lucien does try to do the right thing, even when it means considerable hurt to himself. I defy anyone reading this not to be rooting for Lucien by the end.
By comparison, his friends, loves and enemies are not as well developed as Lucien, yet there are subtle moments of pathos and joy that make this an interesting place to be in.
Although there are a couple of slight contrivances along the way which didn’t work too well for me, generally the novel was original enough and exciting enough to keep the pages turning. I was especially pleased when things did not always become what the reader might expect, and there’s a definite ‘what-happens-next?’ feeling at the end.
The Boy with the Porcelain Blade is a rich and satisfying novel, and a surprisingly assured novel from this relatively new writer. I enjoyed it a lot and look forward to more books in this series.
Den has chosen his inspiration wisely. This is a rollicking tale of feuding families, vendettas, politics, deception and rivalry set in a baroque world of gothic architecture and horror. More than enough material for any Fantasy novel!
As we begin the book Landfall is a place in turmoil. The King is clearly insane and so the world is run by people to whom corruption is second-nature. Our main protagonist in this story is Lucien de Fontein, a child of privilege, born into one of the Kingdom of Landfall’s wealthiest families. Although he is an Orfano (some sort of royal bastard child) he has certain benefits. He is nannied, educated and trained to use a porcelain sword in fighting, at which he has some skill.
In addition to this, the talented yet rather aloof Lucien has to deal with the complexities of the Italianate world with a deformity that makes him instantly recognisable: he has no visible ears, although he has hearing, which frightens his peers and earns him considerable embarrassment. His hearing is good enough to hear the constant taunts and comments made about him behind his back.
The plot is mainly about Lucien’s coming of age, written in a style that flitters between the present and the past. Most of his early life, rather like Titus Groan’s in Gormenghast, is centred on one place, in Lucien’s case the city state of Demesne. Here we see Lucien grow and become increasingly independent. He finds himself having to defend himself against some Orfano and ally himself with others, finds himself at odds with some of his tutors and befriends others. In the end he uncovers a grisly mystery, and secrets about his past and his heritage that have been hidden from others for a long time…
Fantasy readers will recognise many aspects of The Boy wth the Porcelain Blade. What Den has done here is meld recognisable characteristics into his own vision. The world of Landfall is a small yet perfectly formed one, evoking images of Tad Williams’ Osten Ard and Peake’s Gormenghast, something which Den in his interview at SFFWorld has said is an influence. Lucien’s childhood experiences around the Houses of Prospero, Fontein, Contradino and Erudito evoke images of Scott Lynch’s Locke Lamora. The world of Landfall echoes aspects of the Renaissance with its Houses and social manoeuvring, with its societal structure, of Kings, lords and ladies and servants, creating some sort of baroque feudal-esque construction.
The buildings of Demesne, where most of the book takes place, is a sprawling Gothic landscape with dark shadows, gargoyles and horrors galore.
Although the setting is wonderful. most of all The Boy with the Porcelain Blade is a book about its characters. Lucien is a gifted outsider, a person whose appearance and social standing force him to be independent. He endures many things: bullying on the part of his stern tutors, ostracism from his peers, sarcasm from many others. This creates a melancholic loneliness which pervades much of the early part of the novel. And yet his endurance of these many trials is something that we admire, and ultimately are won over by. In a world of snobbery and perceived privilege, Lucien does try to do the right thing, even when it means considerable hurt to himself. I defy anyone reading this not to be rooting for Lucien by the end.
By comparison, his friends, loves and enemies are not as well developed as Lucien, yet there are subtle moments of pathos and joy that make this an interesting place to be in.
Although there are a couple of slight contrivances along the way which didn’t work too well for me, generally the novel was original enough and exciting enough to keep the pages turning. I was especially pleased when things did not always become what the reader might expect, and there’s a definite ‘what-happens-next?’ feeling at the end.
The Boy with the Porcelain Blade is a rich and satisfying novel, and a surprisingly assured novel from this relatively new writer. I enjoyed it a lot and look forward to more books in this series.