Kell's Legend: The Clockwork Vampire Chronicles, Book 1

While I was reading Mister Remic's book, Kell's Legend, I noticed the poor guy was having issues with some rather vitriolic hate mail he received for this book. The basic argument by his flaming fan was: HOW DO YOU GET PULBISHED? IS THE EDITOR OF YOUR PUBLISHING HOUSE RETARDED? DOES THE EDITOR KNOW HOW TO READ? I HAVE READ FORTUNE COOKIES WITH MORE WIT, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, AND PLOT THAN YOUR NOVEL war machine. This rather took me back. He was referring to one of Andy Remic's other novels (which I haven't as yet read), called War Machine, so I couldn't comment on any editing positive or otherwise, but I'm a little astounded someone actually took their time to write such nonsense to an author. Writing is, in my opinion, a gift. It doesn't matter to me if I do or do not enjoy a novel. The fact that someone was actually able to string together words long enough to compile a novel in the first place is a respectable undertaking. A book is neither good nor bad. Even the books I know I love so much have sometimes caused my friends who have been subjected to them to kind of shrug their shoulders and say "meh" at me. They are subjective things, more so than most media outlets, because they don't rely as much on the author's skill as they reader's own level of creativity to actually visualise what they're reading. Whether they enjoy it is often a case of whether they relate to, or can see the characters. To me, if they can't relate, then that just means the book wasn't targetting them. Why did I put that rant into this review? Because, intriguingly, I feel Andy Remic's target audience isn't necessarily the hardcore fantasy reader, but possibly those who have just thought of moving on from R.A. Salvatore and into higher fantasy, but still want the action and basic flow. And the person writing that vitriolic nonsense seems, to me, to have a rather low level of creativity, flair, and intelligence so I would have thought Mister Remic's books would have suited him or been too hard for him. It was, for me, a moment of weirdness as I read this book. I hope, of course, Mister Remic takes no offense at being put so close to R.A. Salvatore on my bookshelf, but if it makes him feel better, I also put David Gemmell there, too and whilst I'm not a big Salvatore fan, I am a big Gemmell fan. In fact, I'm so big a fan that I was very chuffed to see a dedication in the front of Kell's Legend from Mister Remic to the late great master of a genre of fantasy which I had thought lost - Heroic Fantasy. It's been so long since we had Robin Hood, or Conan the Barbarian floating around, and Gemmell - he updated them with class. For me, Gemmell revived my favourite heroes and gave them a good kick in the pants. Mister Remic looks like he could do this, too. Druss, he was always my favourite, and it looks like Mister Remic feels this way, too. It has to be said that Kell is an obvious homage to the greatest axeman ever written. Mister Remic has written Kell in such a

When it comes to the sub-genre of heroic fantasy, many would see its birth coinciding with Robert E. Howard's forays into fiction (the literary father of quite a number of sub-genres, as well as the innovator of dozens of others). Heroic fantasy then went through changes, particularly in the post-Lord of the Rings world, but it didn't truly hit what it is known for today until David Gemmell's Legend (which will be reviewed on Luke Reviews in the not too distant future) burst onto the scene. The David Gemmell Legend Award was created particularly for this sub-genre, in honor of the late Gemmell's impact on it. Andy Remic is a proud member of the post-Gemmell school of heroic fantasy, taking tropes Gemmell popularized and adding the modern touch, including more violence. Interested in Andy Remic's latest work, Kell's Legend, I jumped at the chance to grab a copy before it is released stateside. Kell's Legend, subtitled "Book I of the Clockwork Vampire Chronicles," follows Kell, a former soldier who is now trying to enjoy his retirement in peace. However, invaders tear into his town, and he takes up arms again to protect that which he values most: his granddaughter, Nienna. The duo acquires two more comrades, Kat, Nienna's friend, and Saark, self-proclaimed dandy and former soldier for the king. The group leaves to warn the king of the impending invasion, but run into a bunch of trouble, be it invading armies, haunted woods, evil trappers, or even grotesque former-human monsters sent to track them down and kill them. Remic creates four very well-fleshed out characters, each one playing an important role. His tale is interesting, as it wanders around his created world, introducing the characters' history and the society they live in without bogging down the action. At times, when the tale follows other, more minor characters, such as the king's wife, or a disgraced clockwork vampire (the bad guys!), the tale does seem to slow down, but for the most part Remic keeps things tight and fast. At one time, with the disgraced vampire (Anu), I just couldn't seem to find motivation for a key part in her story, and it became confused, and the change in her antagonist (who at one point wanted her help, but then somehow didn't need it anymore) was off-putting when it seemed to arise for no reason except to further the plot. One thing to be warned of ahead of time: this book does not have an ending, so to speak. While I went in expecting a full novel, where there is a wrap up and closure, that leads to the next book, this novel ends on a cliffhanger climax, with one of our heroes diving back into the fray. This can be frustrating, as you wonder how Remic will tie things back together and then come to realize he doesn't have enough pages to do so, but it is a substantial teaser to draw readers back into this series. Kell's Legend feels less like the first novel in a series, and more like the first part of a long novel. That is neither good nor bad, but just wor

Violent is really not the right word for this spare-no-detail fantasy monstrosity. Insane? Maybe. Really, the only way to describe Remic's Kell's Legend is with a phrase: a bloody, violent, fantastic journey through carnage, terror, and a downright epic tale that makes Underworld and every zombie movie look bad. That sounds about right. Kell's Legend is the first is Remic's Clockwork Vampire Chronicles. It follows Kell, a legendary warrior who has grown old, and a number of other characters, from his granddaughter Nienna to Anukis, a clockwork vampire-turned-exile in her own homeland. When strange, twisted albino soldiers descend upon the city of Jalder, Kell must take up his axe once again to defend his family. But with that action comes a flood of memories hinting at his dark past, at the Kell nobody remembers or everyone chooses to forget... Remic certainly managed a tour de force with Kell's Legend. I've never read anything quite so unapologetic about its violence, but also brilliant in its brute force. Kell's Legend is rough, for sure; at the same time, however, it's entertaining and powerful, taking all that is wonderful about truly epic, adventurous fantasy and twisting it like Quentin Tarantino twists the movies. Remic is the Tarantino of fantasy (and science fiction, I presume), and if that isn't a compliment, then I don't know what is. Kell's Legend isn't just about action and brilliantly detailed fights. It's packed full of amazing dialogue (and some clever witty banter to boot), and the characters are three-dimensional, something I think many fantasy writers of the more action-packed vein (including myself) have issue with. Remic has managed to put together a tale that pushes the boundaries while maintaining the necessary elements of a good fantasy novel (interesting characters, gripping conflicts, etc.). There were only two problems I had with Kell's Legend: 1) Sometimes the action can be a bit much. For the most part it's entertaining and propels the plot, but sometimes it feels overbearing; there aren't a lot of breaks. 2) The language is outside of my comfort zone in one scene (and only one, as far as I can recall). If his language had kept in that vein for more than one chapter, then I would have tossed the book at the wall, but, thankfully, that is not what happened. However, if you cannot stand foul language in any form, this is not the book for you. Both of these problems are personal preferences and not indicative of any significant fault of the novel or Remic. If you aren't bothered by these things, then this is definitely a book for you. If you're already a Remic fan, then you'll love Kell's Legend. I look forward to the second book in the series. I'd love to know what happens with the Clockwork Vampires, Kell, his granddaughter, and some of the other characters.