Broken Crescent [Mass Market Paperback]

 

 

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The idea of treating magic as if it were a computer programming language made me anxious to read S. Andrew Swann's Broken Crescent. This promised to be a most intriguing premise for a novel, and I am always interested in reading the exploits of any hacker - real or fictional. I must admit, though, that the first few chapters of this novel had me worried because they quite failed to grab me. Nate Black promised to be a fascinating character, but his journey from this world to some mysterious other place was arbitrary and vague, and his initial contact with the new locals - consisting mainly of wisecracks no one there could begin to understand - threatened to become tiresome very early on. Once Nate's captivity began, though, and the new magical world began to come into focus, all of my concerns were tossed aside as I found myself deeply drawn into the story and presented with several fascinating concepts.

College student Nate Black was once one of the world's most famous (and wanted) hackers, the infamous Azrael, but he abandoned the black hat for a white one and thought he had covered up all traces to his infamous former identity. Someone, though, has learned his secret and sends him a number of anonymous, untraceable emails to that effect. When the feds suddenly appear on campus, Nate runs - and somehow falls into a dark void that leaves him high and dry in an entirely different world where magic is real. No one in this mediaeval-type setting understands Nate's language, and he soon finds himself a prisoner. He is held by the College of Man, the overseers of magic who basically control society there. Nate is locked up and subjected to intense questioning by men in wild masks and robes, but the rudimentary communication device that allows for speech between him and his captors does not help him understand where he is, how he got there, or why he is being punished so severely.

This new world is made up of two different races. Man reigns supreme, but numbers of ghadi, peculiar-looking creatures unable to communicate and treated like trained animals/slaves by man, are employed as laborers in the castle. Eventually, Nate falls under the care of the ghadi and their few human overseers. He begins to learn the language and grows increasingly disconcerted when he finds out the ghadi look upon him as their long-anticipated savior - and that the College of Man fears him for that very reason. This world is even more complicated than he knows, for the land's youthful monarch soon becomes an unpredictable component of a furious three-way struggle for power. Agents within the College of Man have been working to bring the College down, and Nate eventually gets the chance to learn magic at the secret Shadow College, where students are being prepared to step in after the College of Man is defeated. Here, practical magic is taught, but this does not satisfy Nate. He is not content to merely copy arcane symbols for age-old spells, and he surreptitiously dives into the meaning and logic of the ancient Gods' Language. In time, he sees it all as the equivalent of a computer programming language, and he assiduously begins to hack the "program." For centuries, no one has sought to do what Nate is now doing, as it is seen as the height of dangerous folly. Nate ends up becoming the lynchpin of immense social and political change in this new world, and he must struggle to develop his growing abilities as quickly as possible - there is revolution in the streets, violence in the air, and great uncertainty everywhere. In so doing, he finally discovers just who brought him to this world and why.

The novel is full of action and mystery, heating up to a fever pitch by the end. The concept of magic as a programming language is fascinating in and of itself. I don't think this is a perfect novel by any means, however. Swann seems to take several convenient shortcuts in the course of developing his storyline, and Nate learns the natives' language as well as the runes-based Gods' language surprisingly quickly. I think a few of the supporting characters also could have used a little more development, but the social aspects of the conflicts on this world are compelling, and Nate develops into the type of hero - a very human one - that should appeal to most readers.

I just finished The Broken Crescent, and as a big fan of S. Andrew Swann, I expected a lot of it. I was not disappointed. Nate Black is such a believable, flawed but inherently likable guy that you have to follow his tortured path with fascination. The really neat thing about this book is that it's so much more carefully thought out than many fantasy books. It's about magic, yes, but the magic is fiendishly logical and at the same time awe-inspiring with just a touch of fear.

The plot is riveting; many surprises and yet never without its own twisty, delicious logic.

About the only thing I wish were different is that he could have spent a little more time in the heads of one in particular of his minor characters. I really liked Yerish, and I did wonder what she was thinking as she tried to stay ahead of the conspiracies and disasters that, in a way, she brought on herself by trying to save Nate and do right by those who depended on her. In previous novels, I noticed Swann is really good with female characters; I wish he had allowed just a bit more time for Yerish.

But that's a very minor complaint! This is a page-turner, and at the same time a book with some deep philosophical issues and innovations in the realm of magic. I highly recommend it, and if you like it as much as I think you will, find some more books by this young genius writer -- Dragons of the Cuyahoga will give you a run for your money. And his best, in my opinion, is The Stranger Inside (written as Steven Krane). He does young characters particularly well; once you get inside their heads, you are completely enthralled by their triumphs and fears and the harrowing trials of their worlds.

Swann will definitely get your attention . . . .

I probably would have given this book 4 stars except for the fact that it reminded me too much of Rick Cook's Wizard's Bane (now contained in The Wiz Biz). Not that the plot is really very similar, but the plot device of having a computer programmer learn and employ magic to cast spells as if they were writing computer code was central in Rick Cook's Wizard Zumwalt novels.

That aside this book does stand on its own as a very enjoyable story. Nate Black is the protagonist - a reformed hacker that went by the name Azriel. Of course once you learn of his past you just know his hacker past will play an important role in the story and of course it does.

I won't give away the plot, but I will highlight a few aspects I liked. First, Nate Black is not instantly effective when he finds himself in a strange world. He can't speak the language and Swann doesn't opt for the convenient excuse that he's a one of those people amazingly gifted at languages so within a week he can speak perfectly fluently. Instead he struggles for a long time to communicate effectively with the other characters. Also, he's a bit of a computer geek so he gets beat up a fair bit at the beginning of the story. Second, you get a sense that Nate really struggles in learning "magic". He obviously is a gifted hacker, but Swann doesn't allow him to just snap his fingers and start making magic. You see the learning process that he's working through as he slowly learns to see the underlying logic of magic in this world (it's not really magic, but its the equivalent).

Overall, I'd judge this a worthwhile read. It's a fantasy novel, but its very different from the typical novel I've read. If you enjoy this story, you should consider checking out Rick Cook's Wiz Biz.

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5.0 out of 5 stars terrific speculative fiction
At one time Nate Black was one of the best hackers in the world, getting into systems that if caught could get him life in prison. Read more

Published on April 29 2004 by Harriet Klausner

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