My review of The Gutter Prayer, book one of The Black Iron Legacy by Gareth Hanrahan. Gods meet gothic horror and alchemical technology in this fantasy epic - read on to find out what I thought! Gods stride across the world, their followers waging bloody wars against one another. The city of Guerdon maintains its neutrality in the Godswar, but beneath its streets lurks an ancient evil. An ancient evil that is now stirring to wakefulness. Ranged against it are three thieves - Carillon and her friends Rat and Spar - and they will all have a part to play in the dark days ahead…
Opening with a prologue that is, rather uniquely, from the point of view of a building, Gareth Hanrahan’s The Gutter Prayer is quick to establish the importance of the city of Guerdon to the narrative. This prologue is essentially making part of the city into another character in the novel, and indeed the city itself is given practically as much characterisation as the actual characters. Guerdon is a city that is so richly detailed and described that I could almost smell the smoke drifting from the Alchemist’s Quarter as they render criminals down into their ghoulish enforcers, the Tallowmen. The city extends far below street level, with an underground network of train tunnels, cellars, catacombs and more, inhabited by some of the more unsettling denizens. The building of the modern city on top of the ruins of the old reminded me slightly of Terry Pratchett’s description of Ankh-Morpork in the Discworld novels, but Guerdon stands quite apart from that much storied city, being altogether darker and more insalubrious. It’s a place ruled by the power hungry, with monsters policing monsters and criminality around every corner. Against such a backdrop, only the most resilient characters will suffice. Thankfully, we have resilient characters in spades. Carillon is central to the plot, a resourceful and fiercely independent thief, but alongside her are Rat and Spar, two characters whose unique backstories allow us more of a glimpse into the underworld of Guerdon - quite literally in the case of Rat. He is a ghoul, one of the race of creatures who live below the surface of the city, feasting on corpses. His ability to see in the dark, coupled with his prodigious climbing skills, make him a natural ally for Carillon and Spar, and it’s through him that we come to understand how ghoul society functions, as well as the relationship they have with the surface dwellers. We also see that ghouls are not the only creatures living underground. The Crawling Ones are another creature born of Hanrahan’s dark imaginings, sorcerous beings that are each a swarming colony of worms who can (in an added touch of creepiness) shape themselves into humanoid form, donning porcelain masks and cloaks to cover up their writhing body mass. Through Spar, we get an overview of the criminal underworld and the old alliances that run through it, as well as being given insight into his peculiar condition. Spar is one of the Stone Men, a victim of a particularly nasty disease that has afflicted some of the city’s inhabitants. It causes those infected to gradually turn into statues, and regular medication is required to stave off the inevitable death the disease causes. As a trade-off, Stone Men are possessed of prodigious strength, as well as being inured to pain, both traits which increase as the disease progresses. This makes them useful as labourers, or, in the case of Spar, human battering rams. As well as these three core characters, we also meet Jere Taphson, thief-taker (you can probably guess how he gets introduced, given the profession of the three main characters), as well as Aleena, who is quite possibly my favourite character in the novel. Aleena is a saint, but not exactly what you would expect. If you’re picturing the likes of Mother Teresa, think again. Aleena is battle-hardened and swears up an absolute storm. Her expletive laden outbursts are a joy to read, and surely must have been a lot of fun to write too. Her divine powers allow her to speak a good deal more frankly than she perhaps might to beings of incredible power, nicely undercutting the seriousness of some of the situations she finds herself in. I could happily read about the adventures Aleena had been on prior to her appearance in the novel, and the same is true of Jere. He’s similarly battle-hardened, but without the touch of a divine being to insulate him against danger he has to be a little shrewder and more calculating than the living saint. As well as them, there are myriad other interesting characters, such as the mysterious Miren, the scheming politician Kelkin, the fish out of water Eladora and the battlefield scavenger Dredger, not to mention a veritable rogues gallery of thieves, criminals and creepy henchmen. Old alliances and ancient history bind all these disparate characters together, with sub plots such as Spar’s claim to power over the thieves’ guild woven into the main narrative seamlessly. It bodes extremely well for The Black Iron Legacy series (which this is the first book of) that I wanted to know more about all of these characters, as well as wanting to see even more of the city, which is arguably the real star of the show. This is a stunningly well realised world, Guerdon seeming to open up to us in what feels like an entirely organic way, and there is a real sense of discovery and wonder with every location that’s revealed. It’s almost like being a character in some kind of roleplaying game, and it’s no surprise to me that Gareth Hanrahan has in fact written a large number of gaming books. The present tense narration serves to heighten the sense of immediacy, resulting in a story that is both epic and exciting, and the depth of imagination on display in terms of creatures and characters is impressive. If you like your fantasy dark and gritty, this is a very promising first instalment in an epic new series. The Gutter Prayer recently won the Booknest award for Best Fantasy Debut and is out now, as is its sequel, The Shadow Saint. Order them from your local indie bookshop if you have one, they need all the help they can get right now! Currently reading: The Book of Koli, M. R. Carey Currently listening: Unsung Passage, The Dead Tongues P.S. You might have noticed a new badge at the top of the page, proclaiming me a top reviewer on Netgalley. I was very happy to acquire this badge so quickly, and it certainly seems to have helped in terms of getting approved for some pretty exciting books! Look out for reviews of some hotly anticipated works in the coming months, such as the one I'm currently reading!
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AuthorOllie - BA English and Creative Writing, MA Publishing. Archives
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