An Irish fantasy novel worthy of your attention
I’m only a little ashamed to admit that, over time, I have developed a small bias against novel writers from my own nation. Ireland has a proud literary tradition—one that continues strong to this day. Note the word ‘literary’. As someone who studied Creative Writing at both an Undergraduate and Masters level in Ireland, let me tell you it is hard out here for a genre writer.
Capital L ‘literary’ fiction is what is prioritised by our nation’s culture. Even my own mentors and lecturers struggled to engage with my fantasy writing. They just didn’t know what to do with me. And as I struggled to keep my eyes open through Important Irish Fiction Novel after Important Irish Fiction Novel, it was ‘peace out’ from me.
I turned my reading attention firmly abroad, where the genre fiction I enjoyed could be found in abundance—not somewhat shamefully shunted off to the side (if you ever meet me in person, ask me about an Irish zombie book for an infuriating anecdote).
It took me joining a fantasy book club turn my eyes back to the writing being published on my own island. Knight of Gaelgara is written by Irishman Gary J. Martin, and published by the Irish publisher, Temple Dark Books. And it is, miraculously, pure epic fantasy for adults. Not ‘speculative fiction’ or ‘genre-bending’ or whatever fancy people call books they read with ghosts in them.
Still, I did experience some trepidation before reading the novel. I was worried that the story would be overly ‘Irish’; the cover features a lady with red hair, and the title has the syllable ‘gael’ in it. It brought to mind American stereotypes of Irishness that had me wondering if Martin’s book was really going to be for me.
Thankfully, it very much was.
The eponymous Knight of Gaelgara is Sir Roslind, daughter of the Baron of the coastal city Aksson. The Baron has been acting strange lately—turning on his own navy and pushing his citizens to the brink. This, coupled with the arrival of a fearsome assassin and the existence of traitor in the Baron’s close personal circle, points to one thing: invasion.
Roslind may be featured heavily on the cover, and is certainly the novel’s most heroic character, but she isn’t the story’s sole focus. This is a multi-POV story that flits all across the city of Aksson as various players work towards—and sometimes, against—the city’s survival.
One of the best aspects of the novel is how Martin explores and expands this world using these various perspective characters while maintaining a laser-tight focus on the immediate stakes of Aksson’s survival. Martin has developed a complex political world that we learn just enough about to understand the motivations of some of the characters without overloading us with superfluous detail.
Gaelgara isn’t a particularly thick tome, either—for an epic fantasy novel, anyway. It moves at a fast pace, urged forward by the extremely tight timespan that the story takes place across. From beginning to end, the story spans a day-and-a-half at a stretch. This is another way that the novel stands out from the crowd. In Knight of Gaelgara, the end seems nigh. Characters are constantly pressed for time, get worn down by their exertions, and are constantly playing catch-up with a superior foe. I just really loved the pacing and the urgency.
The characters are great, too. The highlight was a feline-like ‘cougari’ assassin with strong personal ties to Aksson and a rich backstory that feels like could be the focus of its own story, if Martin ever wanted to pursue that avenue. Roslind has some siblings too, and they each got to go on their own journeys. It’s impressive the amount of story that Martin managed to pack into the novel, really (And I haven’t even mentioned the various soldiers and sailors that each get their time to shine).
I’m so glad that I gave Knight of Gaelgara a go. Despite my trepidations, there was nothing pandering or overly Irish about the novel, which was refreshing. You might think I’m being too harsh on the current state of Irish publishing, but I’ve literally been told by one prominent Irish author that my writing wasn’t ‘Irish’ enough. So, yeah, maybe I’m taking an outlandish dose of second-hand pride in Knight of Gaelgara, but it’s rare to find an Irish fantasy author that’s right up my alley.
It should be noted that this is the first book of a series that has yet to be completed—and the ending will definitely leave you wanting more—but I, for one, am delighted to get on the ground floor with this series.
Thanks for reading my review. If you liked it, consider checking out my wishlist or buying me a cup of coffee at https://ko-fi.com/kieranobrien or below.
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