Fantasy novel will leave you tangled in a web of depression
Mark Aspillera
Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: Student Culture
"Last Dragon," a fantasy novel by J.M. McDermott, opens with an old, dying empress on her bed preparing to write her memoirs in the format of a series of letters to someone. In recalling the memories of her deteriorating mind, she imagines this realm as a tangle of spider webs where the people she has interacted with throughout life remain tangled and strangled.
A sideways, metaphorical reference to eidetic memory? It's never said for sure.
Her story ends up being one somewhat stereotypical of fantasy novels. Most of the population of a village in the remote mountains, including her extended family, is found murdered. As one of the few survivors, she takes up a self-imposed oath to track down and kill the culprit, a close relative. She and those who follow her come to realize the implications of selflessly adhering to duty.
The style is where "Last Dragon" shines. The compact, page-long blocks of text, the narrator's voice, which stays relentlessly contained within the context of the universe it inhabits, the asides that rip away from the history-style narrative like cold water, and the unreliability of her voice all echo the style of Italo Calvino's "Invisible Cities."
The similarities only grow stronger later in the story.
Once the fragments fit into a full understanding, the reader finds a relatively simple story. I do not understand, however, why some make it out as a flaw in the novel and novelist's armor. Style itself can be substance, good substance, especially when the cultural bandwidth is overwhelmed with voices who want to tell their stories without learning an engaging way to do so.
The official description of the book compares it to the work of Gene Wolfe, a fellow science fiction and fantasy author. In interviews McDermott has said the comparison does not hold up. It is fair, much of Wolfe's works are literally puzzles, inviting multiple rereads and shot through with minutiae that mean much more than the page real estate they occupy. "Last Dragon" instead retains a strong sense of cohesion and a laser's focus in pacing and plot.
A sideways, metaphorical reference to eidetic memory? It's never said for sure.
Her story ends up being one somewhat stereotypical of fantasy novels. Most of the population of a village in the remote mountains, including her extended family, is found murdered. As one of the few survivors, she takes up a self-imposed oath to track down and kill the culprit, a close relative. She and those who follow her come to realize the implications of selflessly adhering to duty.
The style is where "Last Dragon" shines. The compact, page-long blocks of text, the narrator's voice, which stays relentlessly contained within the context of the universe it inhabits, the asides that rip away from the history-style narrative like cold water, and the unreliability of her voice all echo the style of Italo Calvino's "Invisible Cities."
The similarities only grow stronger later in the story.
Once the fragments fit into a full understanding, the reader finds a relatively simple story. I do not understand, however, why some make it out as a flaw in the novel and novelist's armor. Style itself can be substance, good substance, especially when the cultural bandwidth is overwhelmed with voices who want to tell their stories without learning an engaging way to do so.
The official description of the book compares it to the work of Gene Wolfe, a fellow science fiction and fantasy author. In interviews McDermott has said the comparison does not hold up. It is fair, much of Wolfe's works are literally puzzles, inviting multiple rereads and shot through with minutiae that mean much more than the page real estate they occupy. "Last Dragon" instead retains a strong sense of cohesion and a laser's focus in pacing and plot.
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