Wed 30 Nov 2011
Archived Review: MARTIN SCOTT – Thraxas.
Posted by Steve under Reviews , Science Fiction & Fantasy[5] Comments
MARTIN SCOTT – Thraxas. Baen, paperback original; 1st US printing, September 2003.
Private eye novels come in all flavors and from all directions. Let me start with the opening paragraph or so, and you’ll see what I mean, and right away:
If you have a problem, and you don’t have much money, you can even hire me. My name is Thraxas.
His sometimes assistant is a barmaid named Makri, a handy lass with a sword and prone to wearing a tiny chainmail bikini. This introductory volume in the United States actually consists of two novels as published in England: Thraxas and Thraxas and the Warrior Monks, and weighs in at a hefty 442 pages, in my opinion well worth your money at $7.99, and decidedly so if you’re still with me after reading that first paragraph above.
And I’ll leave the plots for you to discover on your own. The books are exactly what I am sure you think they are, and better. They’re funny, too. Since you can’t stop me, I’ll continue with some quotes from the second half of the book:
“Why do you drink this stuff?” she demands. “We’d have rioted in the slave pits if they’d tried serving it to us.”
“This is top quality klee. Another glass?”
“Okay.”
“That’s what you get for being good at finding things.”
I’ll stop here. Fantasy and the true detective novel don’t really mix — take for example the impossible crime of the missing two-ton statue, which no one saw being removed — utterly fantastic? Yes.
On the other hand, there is a fair-play clue involved, one that gives Thraxas the key to the case as soon as he hears it. That it lies in what he overhears a talking pig say means only that there’s more to the world than either you or I are apt to ever become aware of.
And there’s more to come!
The Thraxas novels —
UK editions:
Thraxas. April 1999.
Thraxas and the Warrior Monks. May 1999.
Thraxas at the Races. June 1999.
Thraxas and the Elvish Isles. August 2000.
Thraxas and the Sorcerers. November 2001.
Thraxas and the Dance of Death. May 2002.
Thraxas at War. July 2003.
Thraxas under Siege. May 2005.
Baen omnibus editions (US):
Thraxas. September 2003: Contains Thraxas and Thraxas and the Warrior Monks.
Death and Thraxas. August 2004: Contains Thraxas at the Races and Thraxas and the Elvish Isles.
Baen single novel editions (US):
Thraxas and the Sorcerers. June 2005.
Thraxas at War. February 2006.
Thraxas and the Dance of Death. July 2007.
Thraxas under Siege. August 2008
November 30th, 2011 at 6:04 pm
Well, from the description, NOT my cup o’ tea, at all.
Historic detective fiction can be very good, and interesting ,too, but the fantasy genre, apart from classic SciFi ,is a bit too much for me to stomach.
I like to relate to the people in a story, not see them vanish ,or successfully curse their adversaries!
The Doc
November 30th, 2011 at 7:26 pm
A perfect review then — one that tells you that you should start looking for a book or one that says you should not!
December 1st, 2011 at 4:10 am
Yup, Steve !
December 1st, 2011 at 2:50 pm
The writing is Bulwer-Lytton territory.
December 1st, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Bulwer-Lytton never even dreamed about a character like Thraxas or a novel like this one (or two, to be precise).