Black Dogs review
#5 of Reviews
A review of Ursula Vernon's Black Dogs duology, available from Sofawolf Press.
Ursula Vernon's Black Dogs are the sort of books that get written after an author read too many hackneyed Lord of the Rings_knock-offs and vowed to do something constructive rather than beat the cliché-loving writers to death with their own typewriters. While the two books of _Black Dogs are deadly serious, it is hard to imagine that Ursula Vernon didn't write with a smile on her face as she quietly poked hole after hole in other tales. The saying "This wasn't like how it happened in the sagas" is a constant refrain in the books: legendary swords get nicks, armor is uncomfortable to wear, months-long journeys on horseback aren't hippie-dippie one-with-nature experiences, and have we mentioned there is no good place to use the bathroom?
Black Dogs is a true fantasy epic with all the trappings. The main character is Lyra, a young girl rescued from a bandit raid by the dog-soldier Sadrao. The pair end up caught in a conflict between the evil sorcerer Vade and the elven city of Anu'tintavel. They volunteer to escort Vade's half-elven son Trent through a hostile and unforgiving land, with the sorcerer's minions breathing down their neck a bloody magical war between Vade and the elves looming on the horizon. Along the journey, Lyra discovers she has a gift for a dance-like magic known as the Kytha, and she grows in strength over the course of the books, transforming from a fleeing, frightened girl to a powerful, wise fighter.
If this all sounds so far so cliché, it's because the details in between are where Black Dogs_really sings. The books share a lot in common with Ursula Vernon's other stories, especially _Digger and her T. Kingfisher books. They are crammed full of dry wit and an anthropologist's keen eye for details. Often we'll see classical elements of fantasy stories--pookhas, unicorns, Aztec-styled jaguar cultists, and so on--but they're treated in a more thoughtful, cohesive way than typical myths. Everything has a cultural significance.
And that dry wit is necessary, as otherwise these two books would be bleaker than a G.R.R. Martin novel: while the tone of the narrative is light, the tone of the circumstances is dark. Lyra is injured, scarred, beat up, kidnapped, held for sacrifice, and threatened with rape on numerous occasions. The horrors of war are never shied away from. And I'm not sure what lead Ursula to create the hyena's throne, but the result is the stuff of nightmares.
While there is an overarching story with the looming battle between Vade and the elves, _Black Dogs_pushes that to the sideline for a monster-of-the-week (or rather, monster-of-the-chapter) flavor. Barely a town is entered or a road traversed when Lyra and her companions must deal with a kidnapping, an attack, a fantastical beast, or some other unfortunate happening. One main character, another dog-soldier named Iyara, is teased at the beginning of the second book, then disappears for half of it as Lyra and co. deal with their assorted monsters. And there's not a lot of consistency from monster to monster. Right after fending off the jaguar cultists, Lyra meets western-styled dragons. One character bears a Japanese-sounding name, but hails from a Chinese-sounding country.
And that is what leads me to my conclusion on these books.
Black Dogs is a fun, thoughtful fantasy romp. If you have any love of Ursula's other work, you'll get a kick out of these. However, the books are a bit piecemeal and never quite came together as one whole story for me. They felt episodic, and a touch disjointed.
Thumbs up, four of five stars. Give 'em a try.