The Ragged Man [Paperback]

Probably one of my favourite fantasy series on the go at the moment. I love all the characters, the action and the tone in which is was written. Brilliant book.

Lloyd has done an amazing job here. Other than Book 2, which for me was only okay, this series has been one of the most enjoyable reads I've ever had. Sanderson has turned around the Wheel of Time saga and the final book in that series is what I now most want to read, followed immediately by the last book in the Twilight Reign. Lots of powerful characters that make the story without overwhelming it.

I've been reading the Twilight Reign series by Tom Lloyd. It has to rate as one of the most unique series I've read in a long time. Unique for its masterful blending of fantasy cliché with something intangibly Lloydian. Yes, I've invented a term now. Lloydian. I will use it from now on to describe something which so expertly and invisibly twists what should be a cliché so that it's not quite a cliché, but really looks like it, even though it isn't. Confused? I am.

The series picks up where The Grave Thief finishes. Now, I won't divulge the secret parts of the plot, but I will say it's very satisfactory. Azaer is off doing shadowy things. King Emin is doing his stealthy sneaky war things. Mihn is engaging in his own secretive back-up plan. Vesna is now a Mortal Aspect and out to take on the world after getting married, of course. Styrax is looking for stuff to kill. And there's still plenty of background characters vying for the Evil of the Year award. Naturally, many of them gather together for another final battle in which the fate of the world will be decided by heroic sacrifice and general bloodletting. Nothing new there.

But... That damned Tom Lloyd. What is he made of? When you say it there like that, it sounds just like every other fantasy you've ever heard of. You feel there's just no point reading it. But he just does something. That Lloydian something. Mister Lloyd frustrates me. He frustrates me so much I feel lost for words. I just don't know what it is that keeps me so rivetted to every single page. Which keeps me drinking in every single word like I'm a drunk locked in a pub overnight and I've got the keys to the wine cellar. I can't put my finger on it. I just can't.

His writing style, for example, is simple, elegant and unembellished. He doesn't give you sweeping epic descriptions of inconsequential stuff, like what colour each individual blade of grass is both before and after a battle. He doesn't describe intricate facial expressions. He doesn't invent his own language, or write pages of legends to cram into conversation. He doesn't do anything which he's supposed to if he's going to write such an epic tale. In a way I feel cheated. Or, I would, if he didn't have that other thing.

That Lloydian thing.

Damn his fingers for typing this book.

The plot's progress in The Ragged Man was a little tighter than The Grave Thief. A little faster. A few more action scenes. A bit more meat, so to speak. But it built well. It seems Mister Lloyd is quite fond of an epic battle at the end of a book - and you're not going to get any complaints from me about that. What I've also found most intriguing is his title choices. Especially the last two. The Grave Thief was something you wondered about all the way through the book, and which acted as a kind of foreshadowing not of the end of that novel, but the beginning of this one. And The Ragged Man also seems to act as a foreshadowing. And there you go - another example of Lloydianism. That's where for the whole book you sit there going, "Ah - I know where he's going with this one..." But then he doesn't! He sweeps the rug from underneath you and you're left sitting on your ass going, "Where the hell did that come from?"

And it's not as though it's a cheesy one - not like Robert Jordan's whole Ishy-dead Morrie-cool thing where his characters are reborn into more badass versions of themselves, but mysteriously aren't revealed until one throwaway chapter after ten something books of super-scooby mystery. No. Not cheesy. Intangibly epic. Mister Lloyd's choices are all logical and satisfying. They're just not what you expect.

And I'm ranting here.

But I can't help it. Let me rant some more - this guy is just plain weird! These days it's so rare to find someone so eager to mess with what has been proven to be the most functional and safe way to write a fantasy novel. That is:
a: Hero is a farmboy.
b: Hero gets taught badass uber magic killing sword thingy by uber mage and uber swordsmen.
c: Hero sneaks to badguy's lair.
d: *shrug*
e: Win! Get married to sexy (but virgin) princess.

And what's wrong with that, Mister Lloyd? Huh? What's wrong with writing that? Why mess with that? It's what I know!

And you want to know what the most frustrating and annoying thing about this book is?

It's that now I actually have to wait for the next one! Damn you, sir! I feel all abandoned and at a loss.

For the record: Mister Lloyd may or may not be a genius, but his work is definitely going to stand the test of time. This is an amazingly well crafted and finely written series. It's got enough legs to run the distance. It's got the intrigue and the meat to sustain it for many moons. And with The Ragged Man, he pushes the envelope even further. There seems no end to his sneaky subversiveness. Like his own creation, Azaer, I'm sure Mister Lloyd is secretly trying to change the world by destroying all our misconceptions about the way a fantasy novel should be written. Especially how to use an elf, a vampire and a god. In fact, there's a joke there. An elf, a vampire and a god walk into a bar,and the elf turns to the god and says, "Hey g-" Oh, never mind.

Anyway.

This book deserves its acclaim. It deserves its awards. It has my attention. Fans are going to love it. There's certainly no letdowns here. Not a one. You will gasp in awe at many of his plot choices. Especially in regard to Vesna. Wow. Even cynical old me didn't see that coming. It's something I would have written if I were skilled enough to be writing this. Yes. Expect more of the same from Mister Lloyd, and to be honest that's the finest compliment I could pay him - in that he's always reliably stunning.

And, finally, I happen to think cannons on a flying carpet are a brilliant idea. Go with that, Mister Lloyd. I do believe you could make that seem the most natural thing to have in a book.

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