Bookblog #45: Fantasy interlude



Pamela Freeman, Deep Water (Orbit 2008)

I don't read enough fantasy to know if the Castings Trilogy, of which Deep Water is the second book, is particularly original, but it does have tremendous confidence, even conviction, and I find deep satisfaction in the way the story unfolds. This satisfaction arises partly from recognising that a pre-existing shape that I have in my head is being adequately filled, and partly -- more importantly -- from recognising that the mind behind the story is well ahead of mine in seeing and understanding that shape. My impression is that the conventions of the genre are being put to very complex use. Sue Bursztynski recently wrote on her blog, 'I’m not crazy about most fantasy being published these days. I loathe the multi-volume sagas in which the long-lost heir or the Chosen One is chased by the minions of the Dark Lord.' Well, in this trilogy there are a number of characters who think of themselves as The Chosen One, and a number of contenders for the Dark Lord position, all of whom have our sympathy to some degree. As for the minions, quite a few of them get to tell their own stories in short, one-off chapters, and so -- I guess -- they cease to be just minions. And while I know vengeful undead are just vengeful undead, not a symbol of something, the vengeful undead of the definitely northern hemisphere Domains, with their history of genocide and dispossession, resonate wonderfully with the Australian zeitgeist; in part of the beautifully integrated flashback history, one invader actually says, 'Can't you see the opportunity we have here? This country is empty.' Impending climate change -- a mini ice age? -- likewise resonates with our preoccupations out here in the real world. My main pleasure, though, lies not in spotting such parallels, but in inhabiting the richly realised world of the book. There are things that can be said and done in a created fantasy world that would be corny or hi-falutin' in 'serious' fiction. I love it for instance, that the wild girl Bramble can think at one point, 'everyone dies. What matters is the life shared beforehand.' Scenes between some women characters and the unnamed god who inhabits the ritual fire are as intensely erotic as any I've read, while remaining remarkably chaste.

My impression is that the middle volume of a trilogy is often a bit flat: we know the characters and the world so there's little thrill of discovery, but we don't reach the major climax, so there's no thrill of resolution. I'm happy to report that Deep Water doesn't run flat. Each of the four or five narrative threads reaches a satisfying moment of poise, and it looks as if all hell is about to be unleashed when the third volume materialises next year. I hate the idea of waiting.

It's just occurred to me that children who read Pamela's first published story, a revisionist fairy tale, in the School Magazine 1990 are probably approaching 30 now. It would be interesting to know if there are any who have stayed with her, or come back to her, as she launches out as a writer for adults.

Posted: Mon - December 1, 2008 at 01:04 AM           |

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