Reviewing Debuts Part Four
*The Dark Griffin by K. J. Taylor (2009)*
The Dark Griffin is not exactly fresh off the presses having been published last summer (in Australia, US release planned for 2010), but is another example of a strong debut. Although, to be honest, this book should probably not even be on this list because the author, K. J. Taylor has another published work to her name – Land of Bad Fantasy (2006), a parody targeting generic epic fantasy phenomenons. This book I cannot elaborate upon any further, as I have never read it, but I have read The Dark Griffin. Plus, this is the first book in the series, only second book the author got published, and from what I know Taylor still had to go though the same channels as any author looking to get published for the first time, when trying to get Griffin off the ground (pun not intended) so I guess it still kind of counts.
We are all familiar with the “humans and (insert powerful mythological/extinct/imaginary creture here) living in an utopia together, side by side, helping each other out”. Heck, even I am guilty of writing in the genre. There are bad examples of how this can be done (Eragon by Christopher Paolini) and good examples (Dinotopia by James Gourney. What? Not everything has to epic as hell in order to be good). So which of these categories does The Dark Griffin fall into?
Definitely the latter. Taylor puts a fresh twist on what we thought we knew and creates something very original and genuine. Her book offers an interesting insight into the dichotomy of good and evil, shredding the boundaries completely and getting to the point where she is only dealing with shades of gray, twisting and turning the morality to the point when you just don’t know anymore.
Arren is a young griffiner (a person who takes care of a griffin), which should make him a member of the ruling élite in the world of Cymria. But he has a problem – he is not like other griffiners. He is a Northerner, a member of a despised race which was enslaved after a long and bloody war – basically these were the bad guys. But thanks to his griffin, he is treated with at least some superficial respect (I too would think twice if I were facing a huge mountain of muscles with a beak longer than my arm, not to mention claws). However, things take a turn down south and even that little shred of acceptance is gone.
Again, here we have something that may sound like you have read this a hundred times over. But trust me, it isn’t.
Griffin explores issues like racism, political ethics and personal crisis, not only monetary but also that of one’s mental balance and will. There is not a single weak moment in the book, everything is handled in a way that makes Arren’s downfall believable. He does questionable things you may not always find yourself agreeing with, but the reader’s disagreement does not come from those things being stupid in a sense that they are poorly written or foreshadowed. You can feel Arren’s despair as he is trying to grab a hold on the proverbial straw a drowning man is reaching for.
What is probably the strongest aspect of the book are the griffins. In this genre, authors usually make one of the most common mistakes:
a. The animal companion in question, despite being intelligent and is supposed to be treated as an equal to its human partner is reduced to a doormat that does nothing but blindly obey the humans every word (Anne McCaffrey’s Pern series, the already mentioned Eragon)
b. Is basically a human in animal disguise, there is virtually no difference between the reasoning of the creature and the man
c. All of the above.
Taylor makes none of them. First, the griffins are animals. Intelligent, capable of learning and understanding speech, but animals to the core. And their core is carnivorous. There is plenty of human – eating and wounding done by the griffins, even to their own partners at the time their instincts get the best of them. They do not reason like people do, nor do they subscribe to all of their beliefs. They realize their importance and they demand what they believe they are due. If they don’t get it, they are not afraid to threaten their own partners into making it happen. This makes the griffins stand apart from the vast majority of animal companions seen in fantasy – they actually have opinions and personalities, and this makes them very primal and alien, which combined with their intelligence is a deadly mix. And trust me, you will feel the fear these creatures inspire. Despite not being humans, they are all fully developed characters with hopes, dreams and agendas.
To sum it up, The Dark Griffin is intelligent, refreshing and it does not talk down to its reader which is more than too big a number of well – established, well – known authors can say about their works.
From a personal standpoint, it has very quickly become one of my all – time favorites and if you get a chance to get your hands on it, don’t pass. You will be taken on a quite an unforgettable ride.
Thank you for reading,
Falconempress
This is only the first book in _The Fallen Moon Trilogy, which was followed up with Griffin’s Flight and The Griffin’s War, which actually only came out last week or so._
For more information about The Fallen Moon trilogy and its author, K. J. Taylor visit http://community.livejournal.com/griffins_eyrie/
Tagged as Debuts, Falconempress, Review.Comment
By Snow White Queen
on Sep 7, 12:49 AM
Wow, this looks like a good book…add it to the list.
By falconempress
on Sep 7, 06:58 AM
It is. It is really, really good. And the sequels too, War in particular. That one is simply epic.
By falconempress
on Sep 7, 01:54 PM
It already has – last August I think. Book 2 came out sometime this February and Book 3 last week. As far as I know, US release is planned for spring 2011.
And it is very awesome indeed:)
By swenson
on Sep 7, 04:35 PM
Ahh, I’ve been wanting to read this ever since it came out! I really should just suck it up and pay a little extra to order it now.
(:D Yay, Opifex.)