Kindling (Flame of Evil)

By Mick Farren

Book Overview

The last bastions of freedom, the Kingdom of Albany and the Norse Alliance, stand at bay. They are threatened by the Empire of the Mosul, whose unstoppable forces, driven by the brutal theocracy of the Zhaithan and drawn by the promise of paradise, have already conquered most of Europe and now set their sights on the New World. There is one slim chance of salvation. Four youngsters must find each other, and themselves, to form an entity that can challenge the Dark Things, warrior demons raised by the necromancy of the Zhaithan. But the Four are widely scattered. Argo Weaver, fleeing his East Virginia home to escape a brutal stepfather, is concerned only with his own survival. Lady Cordelia Blakeney, aristocratic and decorative adjunct to the Army of Albany, cares more for the fit of her uniform than the state of the world. Jesamine is the slave-concubine of a brutal Teuton colonel. Raphael Vega, Hispanian conscript in the army of the Mosul, must hide his artistic talents from the heresy-seeking priests. And even with the help of the mysterious Yancey Slide, who may not be entirely human, the obstacles they face may well be insurmountable.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765306565
• ISBN13: 9780765306562
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.6" x 1.4" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Very imaginative

Only reason he did not get 5 stars...every once in a while character names would be switched in mid-scene, jarring you out of what is going on while you try to figure out who is actually present. Otherwise, an engrossing book with and unusual take on alternate history. The modern names just add a little in joke to what is going on.

A nice beginning...

...to what seems to be another multi-part series. Now usually, I avoid series like the plague until they're finished (who wants to wait four years between books?), but this one snared my interest. Now, while I agree with the reviewer below and his critique of Harriet Klausner (speed-reading is not a virtue, my dear), Kindling is by no means an awful book. In fact, it's quite good. The plot (at least in this first book) is fairly standard: brave young heroes must Band Together To Fight Evil. But what makes this book sing is the setting and the character development. The descriptions of this alternate fantasy Earth, where evil sorcery rests uneasily side-by-side with early 20th-century technology, are outstanding. Farren's imagery is great, and his prose is lyrical. Sure, Kindling is by no means 'realistic' alternate history, but I don't believe that was Farren's intention in the first place, as should be evident by his sly references to 'that family of moonshiners and horse theives, the Bush family'. It is first and foremost a fun story. The characters are very accessible and well-realized, I thought. We are not hit over the head with endless pages of needless backstory; instead, Farren jumps right into the story, only working in backstory where appropriate. Instead, he dwells more on how the characters are reacting to current events. Their motivations and actions are clear and understandable; their thoughts and hopes are realistic and elicit sympathy. I knocked half a star off my review simply because I now have to wait some indeterminate period of time before the sequel comes out. :( The other half a star was deducted because of the font size - I don't know what was going through the minds of the folks at Tor, but a 400+ page book should never be typeset in 8-point letters. Very hard on the eyes. Don't let the negative reviews fool you - this is a very good book.

exciting alternate history fantasy

Weary of his abusive stepfather Herman Kretch, Argo Weaver considers killing him while he sleeps before fleeing his East Virginia home prior to the Mosul occupying force arresting him. Concerned over leaving his mother and two sisters without protection from the oppressors, instead of murdering him he lets Kretch live while the teen flees to the north for the freedoms of the beleaguered Kingdom of Albany. Albany aristocrat Cordelia Blakeney is more fashion conscious as she paid a seamstress to alter her military uniform to make it look just right as befitting a Lady in the Royal Women's Auxiliary. When she rides a dirigible with a lover that crashes, she is caught by the forces of Teutonic Colonel Phaal, ally of the Mosul. In camp she meets Phaal's sex slave Jessamine. Meanwhile crossing the ocean from Spain is Raphael Vega, a draftee whose unit is expected to make a suicide run in the first Mosul invasion of Albany. These four must become the magical The Four to counter the supernatural allies of the Mosuls or the last vestiges of freedom will be trampled. This exciting alternate history fantasy is filled with adventure, four delightful protagonists, fully developed antagonists, and numerous humorous takes on the late twentieth century real bombastic rich and famous people. The story line is action packed even when Mick Farren introduces the quartet of champions as each has a "destined" path towards one another to merge in battle against supernatural foes. Though the climax leaves too many threads dangling ending with fantasy readers' most dreaded phrase: "to be continued", fans will appreciate this strong tale. Harriet Klausner