Hot off the e-press, this last weekend brought about the release of the first novel for Kings of War under the Winged Hussar Publishing: Steps to Deliverance by Mark Barber and as far as beginnings go this one makes for a rather auspicious one.
Mark Barber is the first of a string of authors to create a story told in a shared universe with various other authors, and in so doing building up a world which we all want to explore as players in this game. Mr. Barber delivers on a number of key points, not least of which is an entertaining story of good versus evil in that epic struggle which we all know and love and have fought over table tops throughout the years.
Mark’s story is a character piece and is driven by the development of his protagonists. There is more focus on this than on shocking plot twists or world building. He has a good balance in his cast ranging from the conflicted good guy who wants to do what’s right but also wants to follow orders down to the arrogant dictator who is surprisingly more complicated than he seems at first. There are a lot of fun people wrapped up in this story and you begin to worry and like them in turns. The bad guy is not a moustache twirling caricature, either, but has his own motives that give him dimension.
In fact, one of the strongest aspects of Steps to Deliverance is its treatment of its villains. A significant portion of the story is told from the perspective of the antagonist, and not in a way that just sets events in motion but rather it helps us understand the values and thinking of the race that is fighting against our heroes. This gives a certain depth to the world of Mantica and helps us sympathize, in ways, with those plastic soldiers who always play the antagonists in our game.
Without giving anything away plot wise, the story is centered around the forces of Basilea, and as such we gain greater insight into the interactions within this country and, just like in the real world, we see that not everything is black and white, even for a religion whose gods walk among them. Mortal ambition and its hubris is the subject of this story, as all stories involving morality will have, and Mr. Barber does a good job of handling those subjects while staying on target with his story.
The pacing of the plot is well done and lends itself well to escapist reading. There is sacrifice and struggle, both necessary elements for character growth. The heroes develop and change over the course of the novel and there are few static characters by the end, instead it is interesting to look at the progress that each character has made. Tancred and Orion, in particular, are my favorite characters as I find myself understanding them both very well. Tancred’s interest in advancing in the world while still doing the right thing and Orion’s anger at himself for his own failings are both highly relatable stories for me.
Beyond the story, you do see a more picturesque example of what games might look like. As a book that is based on a tabletop battle game it is inevitable that there will be fighting and battles in the narrative. The stories that take place feel like they are being narrated from the edge of a table mat and in some places you can almost hear the dice rattling as manoeuvres are being played out and units are broken in the course of each fight. On top of that there are nods to dungeon delves and skirmishes that coincide well with the Dungeon Saga and Vanguard games as well.
While there are some things, artistically, that I would have done differently from Mr. Barber, overall this is a great read and one that takes itself just seriously enough to preserve the adventure and the drama. It is a great bit of escapism and would make for a perfect summer read while on vacation by the pool.
I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars for enjoyability, and for taking the first step in this new exploration of fluff and lore in this quickly expanding world of Mantica!
If you haven’t already done so run out and pre-order your hard copy now, or if you prefer the e-book version is available right now at the following link:
Amazon Store: Steps to Deliverance by Mark Barber
Mark has set a good standard for our novels, hopefully the ones that follow will do just as well!
