You may recall when I gave an initial review of a sample of Matthew Hughes‘ book, Majestrum, with the motivation of receiving a copy of said title. Well, I did receive the book, I did read the whole thing, and now I’m back to give a better-educated opinion on the story.
I really enjoyed it.
There. Succinct enough? Ah. I see you want a wee bit more insight. Okay.
I’m definitely picking up the second Hengis Hapthorn story, The Spiral Labyrinth. Dry wit is what I love in books, and Hughes provides it in abundance, along with complex characters, great worldbuilding, and a unique premise that, literally, turns reality upside down.
Here’s the basic story setup- Henghis Hapthorn is a discriminator (read “private investigator”) in a far-future rendition of Earth. When we are introduced to our hero, he is having a discussion with his…well…it was formerly some sort of robotic-AI assistant, which has been transformed into a furry creature of unknown origins by way of magic, which Hapthorn has a wobbly relationship with. Apparently the universe swings through phases of logic/reason and magic/intuition, and the pendulum of time is starting to move back towards the latter, affecting people and events in very odd ways. Along with his transformed assistant, Hapthorn is also dealing with a split personality, in which his intuitive skills have become an entirely different person split off from his reasoning capabilities.
The story begins humbly enough, with Hapthorn taking on an investigation into a gentleman whose attentions toward a certain lady of nobility are undesired by the lady’s father. A simple start, but things quickly, yet subtly, roll downhill until Hapthorn is caught up in quite a muddle of ancient conspiracies, galaxy and time-spanning plots, and the whole conflict of logic versus magic.
There are a lot of fun, unique cultures and quirks that make up the worlds we get to visit. For instance, Hapthorn has to wear particular insignia and medallions while interacting with high-level nobility because such visual patterns allow the rulers to realize there is someone of lesser rank interacting with them at all. Otherwise, they just blend into the scenery.
The one negative thing I felt from time to time was that I had somehow missed out on a lot of backstory with this character and his world and I fumbled a bit to catch up at the beginning. The reality is, I had missed out. There are a series of six short stories involving Hapthorn’s previous adventures found in the volume The Gist Hunter & Other Stories. While they aren’t necessary to read before plunging into the novel, they might give you a firmer base on which to begin this tale. Otherwise, you’ve got to rely on a bit of the character history that gets fed to you as the plot winds on.
That aside, it’s a great science fiction mystery, and I look forward to getting my hand on the most recent Henghis Hapthorn tale, The Spiral Labyrinth. Here’s the first chapter of Majestrum if you want a peek at it yourself, but I give it a hearty recommendation.
I see that smile.