In WITHIN, Book 2 of Peter Gribble’s The City of the Magicians series, the legendary City of the Magicians finds the barbarian hordes of the Earth-Scorching Wind camped out within sight, but the city remains calm. Not only has a miraculous flood prevented the warriors from approaching, but the city’s scheming Elder Strategist, Shoan, knows that Purdu, High Chief of the Legalities of the Great Plateau, Supreme Commander of the Earth-Scorching Wind, and Usurper of the Golden Steps, has been magically bonded with the neophyte magician, Sas. When Purdu manages to access the city in order to proclaim his conquest (and his godhood), Shoan’s instinct proves true: because Sas engaged in a magical “sending” involving Purdu, the two are bonded intimately.
Plots abound here. The recently revealed 5th School, a cult-like organization that snares recruits through drug-fueled orgies, stoke Purdu’s ambitions of godhood and secure a place on his council. Shoan and his fellow Deliberators bide their time, seeking small advantages they can combine into victory. A blacksmith and friend of Sas breaks with city tradition and begins to craft a devastating weapon with an unexpected curse. And Sas and Purdu enter a passionate, rocky relationship with implications for the peace and stability of the whole world.
Gribble’s world-building is complex and gorgeous, creating a world that feels real. The City of the Magicians is a place of faded glory where the past is worshiped in the form of family histories and detailed records stretching back centuries. The magic system, based on the concept of vitality that can be used, drained, or augmented in various ways, is gloriously complicated—this isn’t a world where wizards hurl lightning bolts at monsters, but rather a place where a blacksmith can spend weeks uttering a single phrase over and over again in order to infuse a sword with malevolent power, leaving himself emaciated and exhausted. The characters are equally well handled, and each feels like a unique person. Best of all, they act according to their own agendas and interests, making every twist earned and believable. The relationship between the gentle, erudite Sas and the violent, peacocking Purdu is sketched with great care and effectiveness—despite their very different personalities you believe in the bond between them. As Purdu hurtles towards disaster in part due to his own vanity and overconfidence, the love shared between them adds a tragic seasoning to the end of the book.
As fascinating and well-written as the story is, however, there’s a certain frustration factor. A huge barbarian army looms, an invasion of a desert kingdom is planned, spells are cast and betrayals come fast and furious—but there’s precious little action in a story that begins with the arrival of a barbarian army. The end result is a sequel that feels like the middle book in a larger story, setting up future events. When reading books in a series, one after the other, this is easier to overlook because you can immediately jump to the next one, but without that third book readers spend the last half of WITHIN feeling a rising sense of dread as Purdu heads towards disaster, and then just as it arrives they’re denied the resolution. Still, the book is beautifully written and sports a detailed and unique fantasy universe.
Peter Gribble’s thoughtfully-constructed world-building in WITHIN (book 2 of his “The City of the Magicians” series) results in a fictional fantasy universe readers can almost taste and smell, peopled with characters who are both realistic and surprising.
~Jeff Somers for IndieReader