‘The House of the Stag’ – Kage Baker (Tor Books)

There’s nothing quite like picking up a new book from your favourite author and taking a journey back into a familiar world, that you love, but with a brand new story where anything could happen. What I find almost as good though is picking up a new book, by an author you’ve never heard of, where you have no expectations as to how it will turn out. Obviously you want it to be good but... a book you know nothing about with a story that could go anywhere (and you won’t know until you start reading)... Am I the only person who thinks that’s more than a little cool and exciting?
‘The House of the Stag’ falls neatly into this category as well as being just the right size to fit in my bag and take on the tube to work (I really need to start reading some of the larger books though!) I’d never heard of the author until now but I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for more of her books, ‘The House of the Stag’ was pretty damn good you see and one of the more enjoyable reading experiences that I’ve had this year...

‘The House of the Stag’ tells the story of Gard, a half-demon foundling who is forced to take up the cause of his people (the Yendri) against their oppressors. His guerrilla war eventually results in his exile and Gard sets off on a path that will ultimately see him crowned as a Dark Lord. Before he gets to that exalted position however, Gard will find himself doing time as a gladiator in an underground city, an actor and a brief foray into landscape gardening...

‘The House of the Stag’ is another one of those books where if I woke up early in the morning (stupid light coming through the stupid curtains grumblegrumble...) then it didn’t really matter so much as it meant that I had more time to read before having to get on with the day. It’s a deceptively gentle read that sucked me in and then battered me round the head with epic battles (in the gladiatorial arena and beyond) and strangeness before I knew what was going on. Things can get going really quickly and it’s all credit to Baker that the changes in pace happen very smoothly and don’t jar the reader. Baker also sets a scene that is drawn very well, to the extent that I could almost see it in my head. Some of the things that we come across make it very clear that this is no ordinary world that we are travelling through and the Mage’s city, under the mountain, is a fine example of this...

At other times, ‘The House of the Stag’ is a deliberately gentle read that reflects the peaceful nature of the Yendri tribe that Gard grew up in. These passages are slow but they also take time to really get into the collective psyche of the Yendri and how they see the world around them. A similar approach is used for Gard’s experiences amongst his own kind (the demons) and the Children of the Sun which provides an insight into the other races of the world and how they differ from each other.

‘The House of the Stag’ is also a very humorous read that had me chuckling and, at times, even laughing out loud. While it’s not a book that plays things solely for laughs (a la Terry Pratchett etc) there is a vein of humour running through the book that is worth the reader’s attention. Not only are the character’s funny in what they come out with but Baker also finds time to poke a little bit of fun at the fantasy genre in general when she concentrates on the ‘Epic’ form of theatre that Gard and his troupe perform. Some of the critic’s remarks were especially good!
The only downside of this was that I sometimes felt as if that particular piece of humour (in the theatre) was a little bit forced, especially as Baker has written an ‘epic fantasy about the rise of a Dark Lord’. Having wheels turning within wheels is always good but, to me, it sometimes came across as a little self-conscious, almost as if Baker thought that she had to mock the genre a little just to get away with writing in it...

The only other thing that really bugged me was Gard’s near invulnerability in just about every situation that he came across. Most of the fun in this story comes from seeing how people interact with each other but, for a book that pokes fun at fantasy, Gard is the archetypal hero that manages to breeze his way through everything and live happily ever after. I’m not sure if this was part of a bigger joke or not but I would have liked to have seen a weaker side to his character that would have made for a more interesting tale.

Despite this though, I really got into ‘The House of the Stag’ and had a great time reading it... This is a book that really got me into the world it was portraying with characters that it was well worth the time getting to know. I think there’s at least one other book set in this world and I’ll certainly be keeping an eye open for it.

Nine out of Ten