Dug Sealskinner is that rare breed of person who is both feckless in his daily life, whilst being fearless on the battlefield. Reaching his forties, he is looking for an easy gig as a warrior and sets his sights on a position with King Zadar’s army. However, things do not always work out the way we would like and Gus finds himself on the wrong side of a battle against the army he was hoping to join. His mistake is further compounded when he rescues a young girl, Spring, much against his better judgement and hammers the final nail in his coffin by taking up with a woman Zadar wants dead...

Age of Iron (2014. 520 pages) is the first in a trilogy of historical fantasy novels, written by Angus Watson, who got the idea while working as an independent features writer.

Set in the Iron Age (61 BC), that part of British history which predates Julius Caesar's, less than successful, invasion. This work of fiction, apart from the few magical elements, has tried to be faithful to the period.

It would be fair to label Gus as a reluctant hero and it is often his failings which endear the character to the reader. Watson eschews the standard version of characterisation often found in fantasy novels, by having strong females and less than perfect heroes, it makes the characters seem all the more real, helping the reader to empathise with their plight.

The language uses the modern vernacular, which has a number of immediate benefits. I have never been a fan of deliberately obscure terminology, which is often used for its own sake. Often such a practice either pulls the reader out of the story wondering why a tree is not just called a tree, by creating something which distances the reader often spoils the enjoyment of the story. Gus and his companions are a pretty foul mouth bunch, which is the least worrying thing in a land where violence is both common and a seemingly accepted part of everyday life.

The structure splits the book into the four most significant areas visited by the main characters and this is more of a road movie rather than a quest. This device allows Watson to flesh out 61 BC, giving the reader some idea how these people lived and died.

Gus travels with Spring and the warrior woman Lowa. Out of the two characters Spring is probably the more interesting as is her relationship with Gus. Having rescued her from a band of thieves, the creeping realisation that she is more than she appears slowly dawns on the reader. There is something odd about the child, if child she is. Spring talks and cusses like an adult, appears to be able to survive events which should kill her and has an inexplicable connection to Gus. The shifting sand of the relationship between this triumvirate is one of the real delights of the book.

This is not to say that this is either a dour or over romanticised book, it also contains a lot of humour. Not only is Gus amusing in his own right, but the book is also littered with unusual characters like Weylin, who is a completely ineffectual knob.

Whilst it lacks such things as dragons, there is a sprinkling of magic in the book, which allows the novel to straddle both the fantasy and historical genres and should appeal to fans of both. The book is well written and I certainly enjoyed it enough to look forward to the next one coming out.

8

Charles Packer