Tallen Westar is a dreamer. He dreams of getting out from under his older brother’s thumb; he dreams of one day marrying the girl that he loves; he dreams of making his family’s inn even more respected and renowned than it already is. Tallen is also a very rare, very valuable Dreamer.
Maddrena Conaleon is a talented thief. She makes a very good living at it, and easily bests her rivals, be they commoner or noble. Maddi has just learned that she has another Talent, however; and it’s her destiny whether she wants it to be or not.
And because of their gifts, Tallen and Maddi are drawn into a frightening and chaotic “coming storm” that threatens the peace and Balance that the world’s five races shed blood for, and have enjoyed for centuries.
Tallen and Maddi are just two of a large cast of characters in A Balance Broken, the first book in J.T. Hartke’s new series, The Dragonsoul Saga. If you’re not yet familiar with this book, surely you can tell from the cover art and title alone that it is a fantasy novel. And it’s a story that Hartke takes his time telling. We begin with two men, on opposite sides of the continent of Tarmor, receiving visions in which they’re both told that they’ve been chosen for a great task, one that will alter all of existence. At this point, we hardly know who these characters are. Who is Tallen really? What kind of man is Slar? Which of the messengers can be trusted? both? neither? It was many chapters before I felt comfortable drawing my own conclusions; and the story surprised me a few times along the way. This is what Hartke is especially talented at: keeping the reader alert and guessing, never allowing us to get lazy.
I came to this novel late (A Balance Broken was published this past summer), and it took me quite a long time to finish it (all 455 pages). But the story was worth waiting for, and I enjoyed every page. Like most fantasy novels, A Balance Broken is a Bildungsroman, but this one has a twist. There are two characters who are “coming of age” in this story, and one of them is female. And the plot doesn’t just center around one protagonist, but rather many, each of them interesting, complex, flawed, and likable. And I admit that I didn’t expect to like them all. When Maddi was first introduced, I thought she’d be irritatingly perfect. She’s not. I originally thought that Jaerd would be stuffy (wrong). I expected Slar to be one-dimensional (wrong again). Hartke fleshes these people out, slowly revealing their personalities (and motives), so that we can come to understand who they are and why they make the decisions (and mistakes) that they do.
One of the real delights about A Balance Broken is Hartke’s wise decision to begin each chapter with a different character’s story and point of view (often their stories converge, but not always). As I said, the cast of characters is large, and this organization not only helps the reader keep track of them all, but also results in an exciting page-turner of a novel. Yes, I know that I was being manipulated, but when the story is this good, I don’t mind. The action never drags, the story never slows, and the cliff-hanger ending left me looking forward to the second book in the series.
I don’t read a lot of fantasy (for this novel, I had to look up what a “paladin” is), but when I do, I enjoy it. Like many, I’ve read Tolkien. One of my favorite King novels is The Talisman. And I adore Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea series. God, I love those books. I love Le Guin in general, but the Earthsea series is some of her best work. I don’t know if Hartke has read Le Guin, and if he has, I don’t know if he’d list her as an influence, but I couldn’t help but compare his book to her fantasy fiction. And he compares well. No, he doesn’t match her genius (yet), but his map of Tarmor, the book’s artwork, the nature of the dragons, and even the Isle of Wizards all bring to mind the best of Le Guin’s fantasy stories, which made reading this book such a pleasure for me.
Map of Tarmor
Blessed are the Fires from which we’re made. Blessed be the Fires to which we return – Boar Clan funerary rites.
A common trope in fantasy fiction is the recorded history of the specific world in which the story takes place. Authors do this in different ways: exposition (my least favorite), prologue, appendices, prequels, etc. Hartke cleverly (and beautifully at times) provides his world’s history in each chapter’s opening text. These brief blurbs give context to the story, and are immeasurably more enjoyable to read than if they’d simply been written as exposition (which inevitably adds stiffness to dialog). Varying in both style and genre, they are taken from history books (and sometimes include ancestors of current characters), songs, verse, theological texts, autobiographies, and letters. For example, one of the blurbs names a legal code for the land, which states that thieves are executed and their bodies refused burial. Because this information is provided, we already know just how dangerous Maddi’s chosen profession is, without having to be told explicitly (and tiresomely); hence, her fear when she’s around Tallen’s group (men of the law) doesn’t come across as an overreaction. These blurbs, for me, are some of the most enjoyable aspects of the book.
Another delight for me in A Balance Broken is how Hartke writes about magic. In my (admittedly novice) reading experience, when magic takes place, all we see are the results of spell-casting. How wizards, sorcerers, and witches access their power is not fully explained. Hartke shows us how they cast those spells, how they manipulate Earth’s elements to their whim. Hartke, dare I say it, explains the science behind it … OK, it’s not science, but it’s damn cool, nonetheless. And because it was the first time I’d read about magic this way, I found it fascinating, and Hartke’s imagination impressive.
One quibble: At the book’s start, the purple prose was a bit off-putting. I understand that this linguistic style is typical in fantasy fiction (we don’t drink beer, we quaff it; the weather isn’t bad, it’s fell), but I found it leaden. However, somewhere along the story, either I became used to it or Hartke relaxed a bit because it stopped being a problem.
This past September, Smile Politely Radio interviewed Hartke, and it’s clear from the conversation that he’s very knowledgeable about the genre that he calls “classic epic fantasy.” Hartke said that he worked on this book for years, even at one point throwing out two-thirds of the story and starting again “almost from scratch.” And his meticulousness and hard work are readily apparent.
Hartke described his experience with writing A Balance Broken as “playing” in a new world that he created, and that’s a damn good description of my reading experience as well. It’s not all whimsy. There is palace intrigue, real human suffering, sinister dealings behind every corner, and war. But this book is a real pleasure to read. I encourage you to join in the fun.
You can follow The Dragonsoul Saga series on Facebook or their website. A Balance Broken is published by Imagined Interprises, Inc., and is available in print or e-book. It can be purchased from the publisher’s website.
All images courtesy of J.T. Hartke.