Beneath A Thousand Skies

Hello!

This week I will be mainly catching up on some very belated reviews. Starting off with The Dead Man by Patrick Samphire, a prequel novella to the Mennik Thorn series.

If you’ve been around the blog before, it is no secret that I adore this series – and in particular it’s titular character Mennik ‘Nik’ Thorn, so there was no way I was going to miss out on spending more time with this series. I went in with high expectations and full confidence, and I wasn’t disappointed – this was a fun addition to the series, with elements that bleed through into the rest of the series, but are also fully contained within The Dead Man.

This is Nik before he is thrust into the spotlight with his antics in the later books. Still salty about mages in general, especially high mages, and as down on his luck as always – and still filled with the hope that a job will be simple. We also get to see a little of Benny and his wonderful, unsettling daughter Sereh. However, Nik is very much the focus here, as is Agatos, and Samphire does a fantastic job of introducing the city and its dichotomies to both new readers and readers who have already seen a lot of what happens beneath the surface here; and I particularly loved the moment spent on the ‘nice’ façade of the port opposed to what lies just behind that mask.

It’s an element that has always been present throughout the series, but perhaps because this is a shorter and by necessity closer story; but I really appreciated the idea of skill and focus overcoming power and the overconfidence in that talent when it comes to magic.

‘Then I forged it into a set of magical scalpels and set about unpicking and cutting the anchor.’

Not to say that Nik isn’t at a disadvantage, and there isn’t a reason for his caution around the High Mages and those working for them; but there are some wonderful moments, where his approach closes that gap.

In a similar way The Dead Man casts a light on Nik’s morals. In the other books there is also a lot going on, with Nik having to deal with fallout, chaos and his own bad decisions; and there certainly is an element of that here, but we also get to see with more clarity his inability to turn his back once he’s involved – even when he is getting in over his head. His urge to help and deal with it himself, which is most strongly shown at the end of The Dead Man.

‘Depths, I was so offended, I would do it for free.’

But, also there is a wonderful moment earlier dealing with compulsion magic, where he says he would remove it for ‘free’. It’s refreshing against the backdrop of the High Mages who are willing to manipulate and worse, for the sake of a small trinket.

The Dead Man is a great introduction to the world of Agatos and the chaotic life of one Mennik Thorn, with a wonderful balance of familiarity and new aspects for returning readers. It has the fantastic balance of humour, action and heart that makes the series so good, and once again triggered my desire to wrap Nik in a blanket and shake some sense into him…