You Should be Reading the Saga of the Forgotten Warrior
A Series Review
Hello all.
Because life is too short to read bad books, I offer my thoughts on what books I think would be worth your time. This series includes classics, new releases, and author profiles. Today, I want to register my opinion on a recently-completed series of books.
The sixth and final book in the Saga of the Forgotten Warrior has been published. The author, Larry Correia, made his name writing action-packed fantasy adventure novels, but is not one to rest on his laurels. Larry challenges himself by expanding into new genres, including science fiction, and most recently, progression fantasy. With Saga of the Forgotten Warrior, he broadens his horizons into epic fantasy.
(I will try to keep this review spoiler free.)
The first book in the series opens with the main character, Ashok Vadal, preparing to kill a demon. Ashok is a unique character, unlike anything I’ve seen before in this author’s oeuvre. If you expect this to be a standard hero’s journey in which the weak and inexperienced character is slowly transformed into a competent and powerful force for good, you will be surprised. Ashok begins as an experienced and terrifying enforcer of the Law (and one must spell this with a capital L), so mercilessly duty-bound that even his fellow Protectors are afraid of him, and call him “Black-Hearted Ashok.” If one were theologically-inclined, one might see him as an embodiment of Law without Grace. Over the series of the books, through suffering and humiliation and self-sacrifice and love, Ashok is forced to question who he is and what he believes, moving from cold and brutal duty toward true humanity.
We enter the world of the series centuries after the war of the gods, in which humanity was nearly extinguished by the brutal nearly-unkillable monsters referred to as demons. Thanks to the hero Ramrowan, the demons were cast down and driven into the sea, where they still dwell. After an overthrow of the old kings and their religion, faith has been outlawed, magic tightly controlled, and human affairs in this caste-based society are governed by the Law, enforced by the sword. But a remnant remains who still believe in the old gods, and await the return of Ramrowan.
The setting of this series is another of its interesting qualities. While most epic fantasy is inspired by European folklore and mythology, Correia drew inspiration from the traditions of India, giving the books a feeling that is at once familiar and (to Westerners’ eyes) unusual. The world itself is also a source of mystery, one that the author slowly unfolds for us along the way. Is this Earth or another world? If it is Earth, what happened to it to so radically reshape it? If it is not Earth, how did it come to be populated by humans and horses and tigers and fish? Are we in the distant past or the distant future? What is the true nature of the demons? Who are the gods, and where does magic come from? The answers are intriguing, solving some puzzles while revealing more, hinting at a far larger universe than the world of Ashok Vadal.
Overall, the Saga of the Forgotten Warrior is a thoroughly enjoyable read. Correia’s prior experience writing action gives the narrative an accelerating forward momentum; no multi-page descriptions of clothes or meals, or entire chapters of characters walking. This is an epic fantasy that avoids some of the elements that many fans find a bit tiresome. But the things that make it epic are truly epic: warfare with implications on a global (and maybe cosmic) scale, plots and intrigues that reshape societies, prophecy fulfilled, treachery, love, grief, great houses falling while new ones rise, and characters chosen by the hand of destiny - whether they like it or not. Correia also bucks the trend established by A Song of Ice and Fire by giving us a world that is often harsh and brutal, but without collapsing into cynical nihilism.
As I read through the series, I found characters that capture attention and elicit emotional attachments. An academic who wanted nothing more out of life than her books, caught up in events beyond her control. A down-and-out warrior (My favorite character! Go get ‘em Jagdish; I’m rooting for you!) who is determined to live honorably and do the right thing, no matter how much it costs him. A ruthless schemer, willing to make a deal with the devil (so to speak) in his quest for unlimited power. A prophet who hates that the gods chose her to be their voice. And along the way, a collection of memorable side characters (Blunt Karno might be my second-favorite character).
In case it is not clear by now, I greatly enjoyed this book series, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants engaging epic fantasy with hints of something more.