Review: Drakomunda by Guy Quartley

Warlocks, demons, serpents, and shadows collide in Drakomunda by Guy Quartley, a riveting plunge into a fresh universe of magic, myth, and murder. Ambitious fantasy fans will quickly sink into the endless battles and betrayals, romances, tribal rebellions, and surreal scenes of dark magic that come alive through Quartley’s evocative prose.

The novel is broken up into various novellas and short stories set in the same fantasy realm, sometimes centuries or millennia apart, yet subtly intertwined with sinister talismans, legends, bloodlines, and sorcery. Murderous amulets, necromantic madmen, enslavement spells, sky demons, and witches’ curses blur into a kaleidoscope of fantasy horror that is enthralling and unique. Given the timbre and events of each chapter/story, it isn’t immediately apparent how these plots connect, but the full mosaic of this long-form story eventually becomes clear.

From monumental tomb towers and cyclical beheadings to vengeful forest spirits and cannibal shamans, the eclectic mixture of gothic settings and horror motifs give this book a magically macabre edge. Desperate mothers search for lost sons, orphaned warriors find new reasons to bleed, noblemen fall under the spells of clever demons, and shipwrecked survivors become heroic pioneers, with overlapping themes of perseverance and adaptability in the face of tragedy. Underlying it all, there are unspeakable forces at work, seeking forgotten objects for accursed rituals, manipulating threads of power across the world, and attempting to conquer the light of hope with a permanent slithering darkness.

The writing is heavily focused on world-building, introducing a wealth of exposition for this sprawling realm, but the protagonists of each storyline are given ample space for development, often undergoing dramatic shifts in allegiance or morality, such as in the stories of Bronwyn and Dar. The fundamental battle of good against evil anchors many of these interwoven tales, but the author also insightfully dissects elements of ethics and philosophy, examining self-sacrifice, brotherhood, legacy, revenge, and the cost of taking lives to save others. While some readers may expect a lightbulb moment of closure, the book’s conclusion leaves room for interpretation and reflection, rather than a victory of light over dark, which can come off as too easy or cliché.

From an editorial perspective, the epic structure and draftsmanship required for such a novel is notable, and the prose is meticulously polished and carefully phrased. The language choices make for visceral descriptive passages and readily complete the illusion of this fantasy world, boasting elevated narration peppered with unusual vocabulary and thrilling action sequences. There are some anachronistic moments, particularly in the dialogue, when characters use ill-fitting phrases (“silly-weird thought”) or contemporary profanity that can briefly burst the bubble of the author’s illusion, but these awkward instances are rare.

As a whole, despite occasional tangents and passages that tack unnecessary length to an already hefty tome, this work is a remarkable achievement of an expansive fantasy world, presenting a comprehensive mythological portrait of a wildly original realm.