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Children of Chaos

by Dave Duncan

Victoria, B.C.’s Dave Duncan has long been one of the great unsung figures of Canadian fantasy and science fiction, graced with a fertile imagination, a prolific output, and keen writerly skills. With this new novel, Duncan again forges a bold new world, populated with varied and complex characters, distinctive cultures, and a complex system of mythology and science.

The world Duncan creates in Children of Chaos (the first novel in a two-part series) takes the shape of a dodecahedron, with two distinct cultures living on separate faces. The shape-shifting Vigelian warriors, or Werists, traverse the Edge and bring war to the more peaceful Florengian face, setting off 15 years of battle and resistance. The four children of the Florengian Doge of Celebre grow up as hostages to the Vigelian, each sibling taking a very different path. These adult siblings are the focus of Children of Chaos, a decade and a half after their capture and separation.

The complexities of the two cultures, with their beliefs, hierarchies, and governments, demonstrate well Duncan’s vivid imagination. Those complexities extend to his storytelling style. The novel is told through separate characters, which may initially be confusing, but most readers will quickly adapt to the shifting voices.

While the sheer number of voices and some of the world-building occasionally slows down the tale, the novel picks up speed as it goes along, and, by the end, readers will find themselves eagerly anticipating the second volume.

 

Reviewer: Cori Dusmann

Publisher: Tor Books/H.B. Fenn and Company

DETAILS

Price: $34.95

Page Count: 368 pp

Format: Cloth

ISBN: 0-765-31483-5

Released: June

Issue Date: 2006-7

Categories: Fiction: Novels