a review by Nalini Haynes
The Legacy of Lord Regret by Sam Bowring (whom I interviewed) is high fantasy with black and white characters who are almost caricatures. While I prefer characters who are shades of grey (as in Sam’s first trilogy, apparently) these characters are interesting because when they kill one another they absorb the victim’s power – and part of their personality. Thus Sam’s characters are changing, and those changes aren’t just incidental as a result of the plot, they are instrumental and will, I expect, cause shifts in the plot. This is book one of a duology (two book story arc). The second book is the Lord of Lies, which is also out, so no waiting on the conclusion to this story – unless you’re a reviewer/interviewer trying to keep up. My copy is in my TBR pile.
The nature of this novel is such that I need to read the conclusion to decide how enthusiastic I am about it: I really want surprises, twists and more greyness, but in its present form it’d make a popular comic book or movie.
If you’re trying to decide whether to give this one a go, I recommend listening to Sam’s interview. (Note: Sam had the flu so his energy levels were low.) Sam talked about how his favourite character was the guy who tortures people, and that’s played for comedic value.
