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The lands of the Shinar are in turmoil; with the tyrannical
Niphilim soldiers bent on conquest nobody is safe. Two disparate
men will determine the fate of the war. Ander, an escaped
slave dreams of raising an army and crushing the Niphilim
who had kept him as a slave in their barbarous mines, and
Uruk, a man from the southern jungles who fate has decreed
will die having failed to save his friend. Fate hangs heavy
over these two men. Only time will tell if they can become
masters of their own destiny...
Slaves
of the Shinar is the debut novel by Justin Allen. The
book is a little hard to categorise. It's part epic fantasy,
part historical novel with lashings of sword play. When I
first picked up the book I was thinking that Allen was retelling
the story of Gilgamesh and in a very small part this turned
out to be true. Shinar is set in a time before the
building of Uruk's wall in Gilgamesh's time, which would set
it around twenty-six to twenty-seven B.C.
Although
this is not a period that I have a great deal of knowledge
about, the minor details within the book give the impression
that it was well researched, or as well as that period of
history can be. Allen provides a living breathing world in
which to set his story. There is some licence taken with the
inclusion of the savages which are character types more associated
with fantasy novel.
Overall
the book is well written, though I felt that the last third
of the book lost some of the pace that had been driving the
story for the first two thirds. Allen has a nice ear for dialogue
and a good grasp of characterisation. I actually cared what
happened to Ander and Uruk, though Ander's thirst for revenge,
at any price, did alienate me . But then this is also the
mark of a well written character - if at the end of the book
you have an emotional stance about their actions and choices.
If
the book has a hero it is nomad warrior thief Uruk, most probably
Allen's greatest creation in the book. Early on in the book
he is told that he will die after he has failed to save the
life of a friend. This little device is included like a detective
novel clue. If he cannot outrun his fate, then who will play
the part of the dead friend? As the book progresses many are
offered up as the possible friend and Allen is guilty of more
than a little misdirection, making the reveal all the more
effective.
Apart
from the quibble about the last third of the book Slaves
of the Shinar is an impressive first novel and well worth
a read. Apparently Allen is working on his second novel, having
read Shinar I look forward to its publication.
Charles
Packer
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