The Man of Gold
May. 9th, 2020 10:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfbiterM. A. R. Barker - The Man of Gold
(This is a repost from Livejournal)
Tekumel is an planet in dimensional pocket in far future where most of the ancient knowledge has been lost (and one scene seems to hint why this kind of thing happens). But the various species - the humans included - have recovered and created very complex societies - with all the foibles of civilization…
Harsan is an orphan who was raised first by the insectoid Pe Choi and then given to the local temple of Thumis, a Tsolyani god of knowledge (and bureaucracy). He's "volunteered" to go to join the study a new find of ancient artefacts. It also becomes a center of a political squabbling between rival temples, the military and various political factions - not to mention rival revealed heirs to the Petal Throne of the Tsolyani emperor. And at the same time the ruler of the northern land of Yan Kor is planning an invasion…
Harsan becomes an unwilling pawn in this complex web of intrigue when he is literally filled with knowledge about the Man of Gold, an ancient artefact that was built against the "demon deity", the Goddess of the Pale Bone. In the process he becomes familiar with the Undead legions of the Lord Sarku, the life of a slave and the uncertain mercies of ancient tunnels below the cities.
As a character, Harsan is almost a nerd's dream of a guy who is apparently nothing special and still gets the girl(s) even without trying. Even his name hints to that (the usual Tekumelian names sound very complex). He is sort of an obvious plug, a nonentity without any clan ties - which are very important in Tekumel. That makes his primarily an observer of the courtly intrigues even when he tries to assert himself. And no, he apparently has no royal ancestry so many "unknown fantasy heirs" seems to have.
Even if the book is a sort-of-a introduction to Tekumel and the Empire of the Petal Throne, it's not riddled with roleplaying references. The wizards do not use the complex names of the game's spells, for one. Barker writes the de facto infodumps as Harsan's observations. He does describe the languages at the end of the book but the story is still independent of the game and does not require knowledge of the game background (as complex as it is).
There is also a hint to why people would worship the god of undead…
The ending is actually a bit refreshing. As for the Man of Gold - well, that would be telling but let's say that Whelan's cover illustration is a bit misleading.
(This is a repost from Livejournal)
Tekumel is an planet in dimensional pocket in far future where most of the ancient knowledge has been lost (and one scene seems to hint why this kind of thing happens). But the various species - the humans included - have recovered and created very complex societies - with all the foibles of civilization…
Harsan is an orphan who was raised first by the insectoid Pe Choi and then given to the local temple of Thumis, a Tsolyani god of knowledge (and bureaucracy). He's "volunteered" to go to join the study a new find of ancient artefacts. It also becomes a center of a political squabbling between rival temples, the military and various political factions - not to mention rival revealed heirs to the Petal Throne of the Tsolyani emperor. And at the same time the ruler of the northern land of Yan Kor is planning an invasion…
Harsan becomes an unwilling pawn in this complex web of intrigue when he is literally filled with knowledge about the Man of Gold, an ancient artefact that was built against the "demon deity", the Goddess of the Pale Bone. In the process he becomes familiar with the Undead legions of the Lord Sarku, the life of a slave and the uncertain mercies of ancient tunnels below the cities.
As a character, Harsan is almost a nerd's dream of a guy who is apparently nothing special and still gets the girl(s) even without trying. Even his name hints to that (the usual Tekumelian names sound very complex). He is sort of an obvious plug, a nonentity without any clan ties - which are very important in Tekumel. That makes his primarily an observer of the courtly intrigues even when he tries to assert himself. And no, he apparently has no royal ancestry so many "unknown fantasy heirs" seems to have.
Even if the book is a sort-of-a introduction to Tekumel and the Empire of the Petal Throne, it's not riddled with roleplaying references. The wizards do not use the complex names of the game's spells, for one. Barker writes the de facto infodumps as Harsan's observations. He does describe the languages at the end of the book but the story is still independent of the game and does not require knowledge of the game background (as complex as it is).
There is also a hint to why people would worship the god of undead…
The ending is actually a bit refreshing. As for the Man of Gold - well, that would be telling but let's say that Whelan's cover illustration is a bit misleading.
