I read
fantasy books. While I can write pages about the various reasons and all the
great aspects the fantasy genre and many of its talented authors, this isn’t
the place for it. Much if that discussion would boil down to escapism and how I
interpret its definition. And sometimes with escapism, I just want to read
about protagonist who kicks major ass. Matthew Woodring Stover’s character
Caine is a classic example of an ass-kciking anti-hero – you don’t mess with
Caine – you will die. Your friends and family will probably die too. And try as
you will, you won’t be able to kill the guy. Even being paralyzed below the waist
isn’t enough to stop Caine from kicking ass.
Think what
you will on my maturity for occasionally wanting to read a book like this. And
go ahead and make assumptions about Stover’s writing and books in The Acts of Caine series – you’ll
probably be wrong (and I’ll go into some of that below). Escapism is often
looked down upon and this is can be doubly so when looking at a book of seemingly
gratuitous violence and a protagonist who’s most notable characteristic is
kicking ass. But it’s all in the execution, and this is where Stover nails it.
The writing is intelligent, moralistic, but without apology, and the setting is
a perfect blend of science fiction, fantasy and a dystopian future. Characters
are believable, flawed, powerful, victims, and survivors in the face of long
odds. Acts of incredible caring and sacrifice are contrasted with acts of pure
selfishness, with the distinction between the two often blurring until the
contrast disappears.
The Acts of Caine is a series that began in the late 1990s with Heroes Die (Act of Violence) (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon,
my review), continues with Blade of
Tyshalle (Act of War) (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon) in the early
2000s and finishes with Caine Black Knife
(Act of Atonement, Book 1) (Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon) and Caine’s Law (Act of Atonement, Book 2) (Indiebound,
Book Depository, Amazon). More may be coming in this series, but it’s
uncertain. The series is set in a dystopic future of our world where plague
wiped out much of the population and allowed the formation a world government based
on a strict caste system with the highest casts living in extreme luxury and
the lowest as slaves in squalor. A way to send people to an alternate dimension
exists – a dimension known as Overworld that is a fantasy world populated by
all of the classic fantastic beasts – elves, ogres, goblins, dragons, etc. This
connection has been utilized to send actors to Overworld that allow people to
see and experience every thought and emotion of the actors as they undertake
dangerous (often deadly) adventures through a land of fantasy. Hari Michaelson
is the world’s most famous actor, he is Caine, assassin, thief, lover and
general bad-ass. Events from Heroes Die
left Hari paralyzed and a shell of his former self. In Blade of Tyshalle, Caine returns.
Stover plays
a bit with the narrative structure of Blade
of Tyshalle, beginning with narration of someone who attended actor
training academy with Hari and we see Caine being born through the eyes of
someone who had no idea at the time. Then we flash forward to Hari seven years
after events of Heroes Die, a Hari
who has everything he ever wanted in life – a wife, a child, a relatively high
caste position, etc. Of course Hari is miserable, his family is miserable, his
job unsatisfying, his only friend is his greatest enemy and he continually
questions who really ‘won’ in the events of Heroes
Die. Much could be read into this portion of the book – is it commentary on
a mid-life crises, the standard American-dream, what is a hero, what is a
victory, knowing who you are and who you want to be, the various problems with
an autocratic government, etc. The answer is yes and much could be written, but
won’t – I encourage you all to read and make your own conclusions. However, the
personal aspect of this, the ultimate journey of Hari, of Caine is expressed in
sculpture crafted by none other than Caine’s nemesis from Heroes Die, Ma’elKoth – a classic look at a man in the fashion of
David.
All of this
is told in a compelling manner that makes it near impossible to put the book
down. And that is the real key – execution. Stover writes well, very well.
Caine is not really a likeable person, yet you can’t help but like him. It’s
been a long time since I’ve read a book that had me so excited about what would
happen next. You know that point in a great book or movie when the ‘hero’
reaches that absolute low, when that key realization is made, a decision is
made, and you just know that the ‘hero’ is about to rise and all hell is going
to break loose? One of the best examples of that moment that I can recall is in
Blade of Tyshalle and it was simply
brilliant to read all that hell breaking loose.
Through all
of this, Stover plays with many of the reader’s expectations. Caine is the
classic anti-hero – we want him to win, he’s the good guy. But he’s essentially
completely selfish, he solves his problems through violence, he doesn’t much
care for collateral damage, etc. And yet he is a good guy – he fights the
horrible government, he fights to save lives, he fights for his wife and
daughter. But he’s cold. Redemption is not what he wants. He leaves regret
behind. Vengeance is attained. And it’s complicated – we see Caine’s origins,
we see his present, we see Hari realizing who he is and who Caine is, we see
choices made, we see the consequences of those choices. This mess of a
character, with no clear or easy conclusions to be made is what keeps Caine
real and interesting.
The
complexities of Caine further let Stover explore what is evil. Is Caine’s
nemisis, Ma’elKoth evil? Is Caine’s former boss in the ‘real’, dystopic world
evil? Is the Board of Directors for the network evil? Or is evil more simply
and more correctly humanity itself? This blend of good and evil, the blend of
science fiction and fantasy, the blurring of hero and anti-hero makes for
nuanced reading that serves to reinforce Stover’s writing and the compelling
nature of Blade of Tyshalle.
Technically
I think that Blade of Tyshalle may
fail the Bechdel Test, however this is as misleading as it is telling. There
are several women in Blade of Tyshalle
and they are generally what you would call strong feminine characters with
agency (which seems to be the buzz word of late). However pretty much every
female character in this book is a victim, and rape occurs repeatedly – though
rape as a physical act is not really there, with the majority of the rapes of
this book being a metaphorical act of a forcible removal of choice and extreme
mental anguish rather than physical penetration. So where does this leave Blade of Tyshalle in the sense of the repeated discussions
regarding the troubles of portraying women in fantasy? Stover is a male writer.
The female characters in this book are victimized and raped. However, the women
are strong, have agency, and do not relay on men to save the day. For me, this is
an example of where it works, even though this book as a whole could generally
be considered one that would appeal more to guys.
This review
began with discussion on escapism and books about kicking ass. Then it dove
deep into the nuance of complexity and expectation. This is the reader’s
journey as they read Stover. Stover’s Acts
of Caine do escape and they are in their most simple form, stories about an
anti-hero who kicks ass – that guy who can stand up and kick someone in the
balls, then kick them again when their down, that guy who threatens and follows
up in painfully dramatic fashion, that guy who saves the day then kicks it in
face. It’s that person we daydream of being as adolescents (and even grown adults).
But Stover shows us the complexity of that guy – the good and the bad. And then
he shows us the complexity of good and bad. And then Caine gets mad.
Simply said –
if you are a fan of the fantasy genre, you should read Stover’s books.
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