The Twisted Root of Jaarfindor
Sean Wright. Crowswing Books. £5.99
150p. ISBN: 0-9544374-4-6
Lia-Va is seven feet tall with skin as "black as ebony, her teeth
whiter than the Elders of Elriad's Citadel." She kills her father, thereby
inheriting the throne of the Island of Wisblakia, and is an addict enslaved to
"roots" (which are regurgitated upon someone's death and contain the memories of
the events leading up to the person's demise.) Abandoning her duties, Lia-Va is
quickly off on a quest to solve "a Runeroot puzzle" accompanied only by Islan, a
scrawny unprepossessing mute with a colossal two-headed axe, as her "back-eyes."
She's bloodthirsty, offensive, nasty, and a bit raunchy: the tough nihilistic
anti-hero we adore if male but seldom encounter as a female. Wright's prose is
pedestrian but his furious pace, ample imagination, and audacious twists make up
for it. Other flaws, however, are not so easily ignored. The book's success is
limited by detracting details that could easily have been fixed. Mentions of
heroin, weed, and crack -- when other addictive substances have exotic names or
an etymologically sound label (like "rum") or are, like the roots themselves,
exotic -- stick out. References to May [sic] West, rugby, empty plastic milk
cartons, Fagin, and the like are even more painful. The same sloppiness is
apparent (although a lack of space negates further discussion here) in important plot
elements and in Lia-Va's quest. In his Introduction, Wright hopes his book will
extend the borders of speculative fiction and defeat stereotype. Adequate
editorial guidance for Wright's energetic talent might well have produced such a
book. (A good editor might have convinced Wright to drop that Introduction, too,
as well as parts of his Afterword.) The Twisted Root of Jaarfindor has the
potential to be a truly magical achievement but, as published, is an interesting
disappointment awaiting revision. -- Paula Guran
(Originally published in Fantasy #2, Spring 2006)