The Fade

I give this book an A+. It is a most original and captivating new world, with rich characters and descriptions. If this were a movie, it would have cost 300 million to make, and it would gross over 800 million. Much too complicated for me to describe in detail, but you are immediately invested in the fortunes of the characters and you don't want to put the book down for anything. I am going to re-read it very soon.

I find that I am reading more and more books by UK science fiction writers. Every once in a while I read the Guardian UK book reviews. The Guardian published a favorable review of Chris Wooding's "Retribution Falls". I ordered this book from a his earlier book "Fade". Both books have been wonderful discoveries. The imagined world that Fade is set in is a world of remarkable creativity. The world is a large moon that orbits what seems to be a gas giant in a solar system with two suns. Humans and many plants and animals cannot survive on the surface. There is, however, a whole world underground in vast caverns that include a whole ecology and multiple warring human cultures. The portrait drawn of the warring cultures and the individuals is as complex as the underground world. The main character is a woman, who has been trained as a warrior and assassin from childhood. A number of fantasy works have such characters. As the story in "Fade" unfolds and the reader learns of the history of the woman warrior, Orna, we see complex motivations that are rarely present in fantasy works. The choices that the characters in the book make are like those in real life: they are not simple and they have unexpected results. Chris Wooding has written many "young adult" books. With Fade and Retribution Falls he seems to be writing books with the complexity (and sexuality) of adult fiction.

The world of Callespa was long ago settled by humans. A rocky moon circling a much huger world (presumably a gas giant) in a binary system, the world became virtually uninhabitable when the stars' output dramatically increased. Humanity retreated underground, splintering into many tribes, leaving only those hardy people known as the SunChildren to dwell on the surface. For many years the nations of Eskara and the Gurta have been at war, a battle fought back and forth through vast subterrenean chambers with neither kingdom able to win a decisive advantage. Massima Leithka Orna is a Bondswoman, an indentured servant of Clan Caracassa. She is also a member of her clan's Cadre, a collection of warriors and magic-wielders (known as chthonomancers) beyond compare, elite fighters at the front of every major push but also adept at assassination and espionage. During a brutal battle her forces are betrayed and her husband is killed. Taken prisoner to a Gurta fortress, Orna lives only to escape and find her son, now serving on the front lines. The Fade is a terrific novel. Relatively short (just over 300 pages in hardcover) it is nonetheless superbly-written with vivid characters. The first-person narrative works well, as does the unusual structure (the present-day storyline alternates with flashbacks - in reverse order - showing Orna's history up until the point of her capture). Whilst the epic story of conflict between two civilisations forms the backdrop, the novel is much more concerned with Orna's emotional journey and her relationship with her late husband and her son, which is handled well with all the depth and complexity of real-life relationships. The underground steampunk-esque setting is extremely well-realised and atmospheric, as are the short sections set on the surface. The Fade (****½) is a complete story in itself but a fair number of loose ends are left dangling for possible future sequels.