What remains of the Heroes, review: the grimdark according to Richard K. Morgan
What remains of the Heroes, review
The main flaw of a literary saga is its fragmentation, the inevitable, long wait between one chapter and another that puts the readers' faith to the test. The readers of A Song of Ice and Fire know something about it, that damage awaits with anxiety (and a pinch of resignation) for George RR Martin to finish his mosaic of Westeros, but no less adamant was the patience of the fans of La Ruota del Tempo or The Expanse. A tradition that, in recent days, has been partly broken by Oscar Mondadori, who in a single solution published L'Acciaio survives, Il gelo commands and L'oscuria profana, a triptych that composes Cosa Resta degli Eroi, a fantasy saga signed by Richard K. Morgan.In our country, Richard K. Morgan is known as a science fiction author, an area in which his fiction has enjoyed great success, demonstrated not only by coveted awards (Philip K. Dick Award, Arthur C. Clarke Award and John W. Campbell Award), but also from seeing a universe of its own becoming a television series. Morgan is in fact the author of the Takeshi Kovacs Trilogy (Bay City, Broken Angels and The Return of the Furies), from which Netflix has taken the two seasons of Altered Carbon, the original title of Bay City. Morgan's literary production has seen its fulcrum in the anticipation fiction, with well-known novels such as Market Forces and Black Man, but has also gone in other directions, arriving first in the world of comics with two narrative arcs dedicated to Black Widow, and now to fantasy with What Remains of the Heroes.
What remains of the Heroes: Richard Morgan lands at the grimdark
if (jQuery ("# crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh2_1"). is (": visible")) {console.log ("Edinet ADV adding zone: tag crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh2_1 slot id: th_culturapop_d_mh2 "); } Not a simple fantasy, but a story that finds a respectable location within the grimdark. A reconfirmation of how the Milanese publishing house intends to enrich its Oscar Fantastica catalog with this modern incarnation of fantastic fiction, already worthily represented by volumes such as The Chronicles of the Black Company or The Trilogy of the First Law. Morgan, considering his narrative style inclined to the definition of heavy and morally complex aspects, could only feel attracted to this context, and the reading of Steel survives, The frost commands and The profane darkness reconfirms his particular attention in the definition. of social environments tinged with hypocrisy and animated by an extreme but epidermally recognizable version of everyday issues.Morgan's ability to immerse ourselves in multifaceted settings crossed by profound contradictions had already emerged in Bay City , but with Cosa Resta degli Eroi, perhaps facilitated by the greater freedom offered by the most fantastic narrative freer from a context of verisimilitude rooted in the cyberpunk story, he manages to expand some themes. The characterization of different populations, each with its own moral code and indigenous religions, becomes the fulcrum of the narrative of Cosa Resta degli Ero i, which after an initial definition in Steel survives, finds further consistency in the next two chapters.
if (jQuery ("# crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh3_1"). is (": visible")) {console.log ("Edinet ADV adding zone: tag crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh3_1 slot id: th_culturapop_d_mh3" ); } Ringil Eskiath is a veteran of the terrible War of the People of Scales, a conflict in which humans, supported by the alien people of the Kiriath, have defended their lands, risking defeat. After this war, Ringil, disgusted by the hypocrisy of his own kingdom and unable to accept the false moralisms of the court of Trelayne, decides to rebuild a life on the margins of the known world, serving as a bouncer in a tavern. Between fights and memories, Ringil lives a simple existence but which allows him not to wear masks, allowing him not to have to hide his sexuality considered immoral on his homeland.
A kingdom in which his old partner still lives. 'arms, Archetch Inaninaramal, the last of the Kiraiths left at the court of Trelyane. Charged by her people to remain among humans, Archeth is tolerated by local power as the holder of unknown knowledge, a utility that allows her to have an approach that is anything but loyal to imperial dictates. However, her condition as a foreigner in a foreign land is a source of suffering, a detachment from the civil society that the woman tries to compensate with drugs and dissolute life.
A rejection of the civil morality shared by Egar Ruina del Drago, Companion in arms of Rigile and Archetch at the time of the Wars with the People of Scales, returned to the northern steppes to assume his role as leader. A choice that the warrior now seems to regret, forced to give up his adventurous life to take on responsibilities that he sees as brakes on his own impetuousness. A limitation that seems to vanish when the appearance of a new enemy in Trelayne sets off a series of events that seem to want to recreate this trio of adventurers.
Fallen heroes, desperate missions and bitterness of soul
Morgan, with What Remains of the Heroes, does not intend to offer us a story of heroes, but rather to portray the dark side behind the fame of the warrior acclaimed by the crowd. A traditional element of the spirit of grimdark fiction, in which the epic leaves room for a more realistic characterization of the less noble and more earthly traits of the human soul. With the already demonstrated care of him, Morgan, since L 'steel has survived, uses these three broken spirits as analytical tools of a corrupt and hypocritical world, in which the utilitarian aspect is always preceded by the care of the individual. It is no coincidence that Ringil and Archeth, both homosexuals, have a different relationship with Trelayne's society, considering that Ringil, who has exhausted his usefulness as a soldier, is hunted to hide the shame of his family, while Archeth, seen as a source of power for his knowledge Kiriath is tolerated, even rewarded by satiating his cravings. Two dissonant visions, for a society in which the interference of a strong religious component, a moralizing force and with an all too earthly connotation with respect to its most other interest, becomes a discriminating factor for its citizens.if ( jQuery ("# crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh4_1"). is (": visible")) {console.log ("Edinet ADV adding zone: tag crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh4_1 slot id: th_culturapop_d_mh4"); }
Steel survives is a first step that in each chapter does not allow us to lose focus on this essential element. Morgan shows again a good command of the elements of world building, whether they are the descriptions of the architectural elements or the definition of the social mechanics that animate the relationships of the characters. With a touching sensitivity, Morgan offers his characters the opportunity to bring out their authenticity, connoting it as a trio of out of tune voices within an oppressive chorus made of meanness and the preservation of an unfair and merciless status quo. A merciless portrait that is cared for down to the smallest detail, favoring a language seasoned with vulgar terminology, designed to be deliberately stinging in the intentions of the characters, which in the Italian edition is adapted with the right vivacity by Maria Antonietta Struzziero.
Cosa Resta degli Eroi is a trilogy of great charm, which also includes elements more typical of traditional fantasy. The presence of different races is declined in a different meaning, taking advantage of the presence of other worlds, recalling when seen in other recent sagas, not least The Witcher. Mindful of his experience as a sci-fi storyteller, Morgan allows himself to create a certain echo with a science fiction vision in dealing with the presence of the Dwenda, who, like the Kiriaths, have superior technological knowledge, being seen by humans as demons. or wizards. If to this the presence of a very earthly concept of the divine, with direct interventions by the divinities, we have the portrait of a work capable of offering a different interpretation of fantasy.
Oscar Mondadori wanted to publish all the three volumes that make up Cosa Remains of the Heroes in the same period. In fact, on February 24th, Steel survives, Frost Commands and Profane Darkness arrived in bookstores, thus allowing readers to recover the Morgan cycle in a single solution. While having enjoyed this complex and thrilling journey, it should be noted that Steel Survives can be experienced as a stand alone novel, in which you can enjoy a story of its own. What is told in the following chapters obviously expands some of the aspects marginally touched upon in the initial novel, offering the chance to learn about the fate of three defeated souls intent on not giving up.
