| Title | : | A Book of Tongues (Hexslinger, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0981297862 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780981297866 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 274 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2010 |
| Awards | : | Gaylactic Spectrum Award Best Novel (2011) |
Magicians, cursed by their gift to a solitary and painful existence, have never been more than a footnote in history. But Rook, driven by desperation, has a plan to shatter the natural law that prevents hexes from cooperation, and change the face of the world-a plan sealed by an unholy marriage-oath with the goddess Ixchel, mother of all hanged men. To accomplish this, he must raise her bloodthirsty pantheon from its collective grave through sacrifice, destruction, and apotheosis.
Caught between a passel of dead gods and monsters, hexes galore, Rook's witchery, and the ruthless calculations of his own masters, Morrow's only real hope of survival lies with the man without whom Rook cannot succeed: Chess Pargeter himself. But Morrow and Chess will have to literally ride through Hell before the truth of Chess's fate comes clear-the doom written for him, and the entire world.
A Book of Tongues (Hexslinger, #1) Reviews
-
the world is my oyster and this book is my olive.
i do not like olives.
but everyone else likes olives. and i have tried time and again to understand olives. i have eaten them in different contexts, and have willed myself to like them, but to no avail. they are just not for me. and it's weird because i like capers and pickles and marinated artichokes etc. but not olives.
this book has very high ratings here on the goodreads.com, so i know that it is simply me and my shortcomings preventing me from liking this book. and i have liked every other czp book i have read, so i am confident that this is something i have to work on.
because it sounds great: like deadwood with more magic and gay sex. who am i to turn that down?? but jeez, was i confused. and i should have known i was in trouble from the first page:
Today is ruled by Centeotl, the Lord of Maize, a version of Xipe Totec, Our Lord the Flayed One. Also known as Xilonen, "the Hairy One," he holds the position of fourth Lord of the Night.
blah blah blah then it goes on about aztec blahblah and mayan blahblah but i am already half asleep. words that begin with "x" kill me. this is a fact about me. add it to the list, whichever one of you is taking notes for my unauthorized biography.
but then it goes back and forth through time and there is magic and demonic possession and lots of shooting and betrayal (those parts i liked a lot) but i got totally tangled up in the mythology, and my brain stalled. it is an old brain - it needs to be tuned frequently.
books where the protagonist has magical abilities frustrate me. magic should remove all conflict. the protagonist should just be able to do whatever they want, with the magic, thus eliminating any conflict, obstacles, and plot. if you have all these powers, why not just A, or B?? but nooo, there is always a snag.
"but here is this other magic. and hell. and a guy with a mirror-foot."
"a mirror foot?"
"yeah, kind of..."
"pass the olives, please"
i don't know. the second part to this series has just come out, and i had it in my pile of books i was planning to buy yesterday, but instead i guiltily slipped it back on the shelf. i may still buy it in the future (and i know i will, because i have terrible completist tendencies) but i might hold off for an entire month before those tendencies overwhelm me.
internet, continue to like this book. i will be curled up in the corner cursing tapenade.
but while we are here -
enjoy a gay cowboy song!!
come to my blog! -
So....shit...the star-rating for this was fluctuating while I was reading this. If GoodyReedz had half-stars, this would have been a solid three-and-a-half stars. But there are no halves, so I rounded right the fuck up.
That being said, I should have loved this book. Ultra-violence in the Weird West. Cowboys and cussin' and magic and old gods and graphically hot gay sex. C'mon. I think it must be me, because this book was playing all the right notes. I just couldn't get into the tune.
The writing itself, the word use, was simply gorgeous. The characters were all very interesting, and the plot, to its credit, never slowed down.
It just....I dunno...jumped around when I wanted it to stay, and stayed when I wanted it to jump.
Will I read the next one? I will. And maybe going into it without a "THIS THING IS GONNA BE AWESOME" mindset will make the difference. -
5 Stars
A Book of Tongues (Book one of the Hexslinger series) by Gemma Files is a triumph in originality, kick ass violence, and a fantastic addition to the urban fantasy world. This book works on the world building and the magic. This is a western, an alt history fiction, a steampunk, and a new weird book rolled up into one. It is also a graphically sexual novel. I admit that the sex turned me off at first, not because it details the relations between two men, but simply due to the fact that I find very little interest in reading anything in the romantic or sexual genres. A Book of Tongues actually required the explicit sex and depravity as it is synergistic with the hex magic within. After I came to see the connections between the two, I hardly noticed it anymore.
Enough about the sex.
The Hex magic is awesome.
Chess is one crazy son of a bitch.
The Rev is scary and is clearly more than he lets others see.
Ed was a needed character and a surprise in how much he brought to the story and to the characters.
This is a fabulous fantasy adventure that is dark and twisted and should surely be recognized for it. I loved it. I devoured these pages wondering where it would go to next. I am glad that this is a first book in a series and will surely be moving on to book two. -
For a full review, check the Bitten by Books website:
http://www.bittenbybooks.com/ -
This was a bit of a tough one. Wildly inventive, beautifully written... but sometimes a bit hard to follow, and suffering from an acute case of the too-many-awesomes-itis.
I mean, I love gunslingers, and magical woo-woo, and Mayan death gods, and corrupted preachers, and historical au's, and gay romance, and apocalyptic westerns as much as the NEXT girl... but maybe there's just a little bit too much going on here for one book? Seriously... I think that the ideas and concepts stuffed into this book could have been comfortably spread over at least 4 different novels. And when you factor in a timeline that flops back and forth willy-nilly, and prose that frequently veers into the purple, you end up with... well, a tension headache, to be honest. I had to stop in the middle and read something light and frivolous, before I could come back and finish it.
With all that being said, I DID finish it, and I will most likely go on to read the next book in the series (after a break.) The author has an undeniable gift for inventiveness and originality, and really lovely prose at times. And I just really dig her overall aesthetic. I'm going to keep an eye out for this author in the future, because she has oodles of talent that could be honed to a lovely edge. Just... dialed back a little. Or a lot. -
Please note: I read this book in November, 2011 from an e-galley I received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Book Info: Genre: Weird Western/Supernatural Horror/Steampunk
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of Weird West, horror, those interested in Meso-American religious practices
Trigger Warnings for Book 1: Murder, violence, fairly graphic M/M sex, drug abuse, suicide, rape (m/m; f/m with woman as instigator), human sacrifice
My Synopsis: “Reverend” Ash Rook and Chess Pargeter run one of the most notorious gangs in the weird west, using Rev’s hexes in order to rob and murder their way across the country. They are also lovers, as in love as two apparently soulless outlaws can be. However, hexes don’t mix, and that is a serious disadvantage to the Rev’s future plans – so he sets out to make it possible for hexes to work together. In doing so, he will raise a pantheon of lost gods back from their own hell and set them loose upon the world. Agent Ed Morrow of the Pinkerton Agency has infiltrated their gang in order to try to establish parameters that it is hoped will help the US find hexes before they come into their power and nurture them, in order to have them work for the government. However, Ed is found out by Rook and ends up a part of Rook’s plans, all unwitting. Will Rook end up sacrificing everything he ever loved in his quest for power? Will Ed survive the whole experience? And will the world survive the cataclysms that may arise along with the ancient Meso-american gods?
My Thoughts and Recommendations: This was a … very strange book. I liked it – a lot! It was unique and I definitely enjoyed all the Aztec/Mayan legends and lore that were worked into the story. Rook and Chess’ love affair was so beautifully dysfunctional, and the supporting cast of characters were all developed in such a way to give them depth and interest. I particularly liked Hosteen. If you enjoy steampunk, “weird West,” and adventure, and are not bothered by m/m interactions, you should find something to enjoy in this delightfully strange and different story.
Synopsis: Two years after the Civil War, Pinkerton agent Ed Morrow has gone undercover with one of the weird West's most dangerous outlaw gangs—the troop led by "Reverend" Asher Rook, ex-Confederate chaplain turned "hexslinger," and his notorious lieutenant (and lover) Chess Pargeter. Morrow's task: get close enough to map the extent of Rook's power, then bring that knowledge back to help Professor Joachim Asbury unlock the secrets of magic itself.
Magicians, cursed by their gift to a solitary and painful existence, have never been more than a footnote in history. But Rook, driven by desperation, has a plan to shatter the natural law that prevents hexes from cooperation, and change the face of the world—a plan sealed by an unholy marriage-oath with the goddess Ixchel, mother of all hanged men. To accomplish this, he must raise her bloodthirsty pantheon from its collective grave through sacrifice, destruction, and apotheosis.
Caught between a passel of dead gods and monsters, hexes galore, Rook's witchery, and the ruthless calculations of his own masters, Morrow's only real hope of survival lies with the man without whom Rook cannot succeed: Chess Pargeter himself. But Morrow and Chess will have to literally ride through Hell before the truth of Chess's fate comes clear—the doom written for him, and the entire world. -
Reviewed on Hearts On Fire...
http://heartsonfirereviews.com/
Damn this book was one wild ride and definitely not the kind of western Grandpa read. Set a couple of years after the civil war, Asher Rook is a powerful hexslinger or sorcerer. With his lover and budding hexslinger, Chess Pargeter, they and their gang of outlaws wreak havoc in the old west. Rook's magic is unstoppable and what Rook seems to miss, Chess just shoots. A Pinkerton agent, Ed Morrow, is sent to infiltrate Rook's gang to gather information that will counter the hexslingers. Rook and Chess have much bigger and bloodier problems than the Pinkerton Agency. Rook is haunted by an old Aztec goddess who is set on bringing herself and some of her gang through Rook into the wild west. It's hard to believe that this is Ms Files first novel. She has her own magical way of weaving a gay, horror filled, bloody and gritty western into a terrific story. Rook and Chess jump right off the pages in chapter one and you can't help but like the guys. All of the very different characters that you come across in the book are very well developed and the detailed sex is hot. I was disappointed that the complex story ended with a cliff hanger but I'm ready to jump into book two. This was definitely not a light, easy read but it was worth the time. -
DNF 41%
I'm not sure I ever marked it as reading cause it was started during the messy period when I was picking up every book at once, but I put it down about a week ago and have no desire to finish it or pick it up again.
It's simply not a very good match for me. Reading about a murderous psychopath who cares about nothing except his boyfriend (think Jorg but older and gay) was interesting, but the relentless racism and homophobia and transphobia of the setting wore me down. From the Chinese characters at the beginning who seemed like caricatures to people continously calling Chess she-he...it was uncomfortable and not fun.
The prose was decent, the world's very inventive, and I'm always fond of non-linear timelines, but sorry, too dark. -
5 Stars
Reread before moving on to book two.
Original Review...
A Book of Tongues (Book one of the Hexslinger series) by Gemma Files is a triumph in originality, kick ass violence, and a fantastic addition to the urban fantasy world. This book works on the world building and the magic. This is a western, an alt history fiction, a steampunk, and a new weird book rolled up into one. It is also a graphically sexual novel. I admit that the sex turned me off at first, not because it details the relations between two men, but simply due to the fact that I find very little interest in reading anything in the romantic or sexual genres. A Book of Tongues actually required the explicit sex and depravity as it is synergistic with the hex magic within. After I came to see the connections between the two, I hardly noticed it anymore.
Enough about the sex.
The Hex magic is awesome.
Chess is one crazy son of a bitch.
The Rev is scary and is clearly more than he lets others see.
Ed was a needed character and a surprise in how much he brought to the story and to the characters.
This is a fabulous fantasy adventure that is dark and twisted and should surely be recognized for it. I loved it. I devoured these pages wondering where it would go to next. I am glad that this is a first book in a series and will surely be moving on to book two. -
3.5 stars
I really enjoyed this story and would have given it higher marks except that I didn't care for how the events were told out of sequence. I have enjoyed other books where this is done but something about it didn't work for me as well in this story. That said, this was a great story and I am already on to the sequel. -
Bad people do bad things because they're bad and/or special, possibly bringing about the end of days. Also, they have sex described in not particularly enticing fashion. So. there's that.
Much has been made about how gritty and un-PC this book is. Worth noting: the three main characters are all white men who interact with Chinese, Native, Aztec cultures by disparaging, trampling or even cannibalizing them for power. As well, the protagonists fling sexist language, homophobic and even anti-semitic slurs with a curious relish. Sure, the argument can be made that this is in keeping with the time period. To that I would say this book isn't a historical artifact and every attitude presented therein - up to and including the smutty m/m sex scenes - is a choice made by an author with today's sensibilities. Or lack thereof. -
This debut novel (first of a trilogy) by a very talented Canadian short story writer takes place a few years after the US Civil War. A former Reverend become Hex (witch) and his out of control lover and their outlaw gang are about to bring death and destruction to a monumental scale with the “help” of ancient gods who ware using them.
Initially, I found the hypersexuality of the main characters somewhat off-putting but gradually came to accept it as part of the sex-magic engine of the plot. -
(Re-posted from
http://theturnedbrain.blogspot.com)
I follow and read a lot of book review blogs. Like, a lot. Sometimes I feel like I read more book reviews then, you know, actual books. Some people question the worth of reading reviews, because after all books are highly subjective and what one person likes you might not and so on. But I think you have to approach reading reviews in the right way. I mean, if there’s a reviewer whose tastes always line up with yours then you might avoid a book just because they didn’t like it, but I think any good reviewer provides enough information that even if they didn’t like the book, you can take their review and make up your own mind.
Which brings me to Gemma Files’ “Book of Tongues.” A book I had never heard of until Calico Reaction posted a review of it. Now, Calico was not a fan of this book, indeed she didn’t even finish it. But she neatly outlines the things that didn’t work for her personally, and they kinda sounded like things that would work for me. So I tracked the book down, and I’m very glad I did.
I honestly don’t understand why this book is not getting more mentions across the reviewing corner of the blogosphere. Not because it’s necessarily fantastically awesome, (although I rather think it is), but because it’s hugely ambitious. I think it’s the kinda book that you have to feel strongly about, either love it or hate it, and it’s these kind of books I’m used to seeing discussions of.
It’s set right after the American civil war in an America where some people are “hex’s.” That is, men or women with some pretty trippy magical powers that manifest on the onset of menstruation (if you’re a women) or upon suffering serious bodly harm (if you’re a man). A really cool twist on the idea is that to hex’s can not spend any long length of time together as they will involuntarily suck the power out of each other until one is dead. When being hung for a crime he didn’t commit Reverend Asher Rook learns he has some serious power going on, and he turns outlaw along with the rest of his army regiment. (Regement? Unit? I don’t know, I’m not down with military lingo…)
This regiment includes one Chess Pargeter, also known as the reason I loved this book so very much. He’s a whore turned Reverend Rook’s fiercely loyal lover, he’s an indiscriminate murderer, he’s more than a little bit crazy and he definitely makes the book for me. The best character I can think of to compare Chess to is George R. R. Martin’s Jamie Lannister. You start out completely disgusted by him, and by the end he’s your absolute favourite (at least if you’re me). Not that I’m equating being gay with having an incestuous relationship with your sister! It’s more the way that Chess kills so freely and so gleefully, he seems wholly without empathy and it’s easy to dislike him. But by the time the novel ended my heart had broken for him ten times over, and I was cheering for him to come out on top. The transition is completely natural, I couldn’t even tell you the moment Chess went from zero to hero for me, and without changing the core of his character either.
It took George Martin four massive tomes to pull that off with Jamie, and Gemma Files does it in just a couple of hundred of too short pages. Impressive? Very. The other characters were just as skilfully crafted. The character arc of Reverend Rook was just as dramatic as Chess’s, and the skill it took to pull it off even more impressive. There is an almost complete lack of women, but given the setting and nature of the book I’m willing to forgive that. (And while the female hex Songbird felt a little flat to me, I loved Chess’s mother, so I’m confident in Files’ ability to write a female characer). The only character I was a little disappointed with is Ed Morrow, our main POV character. He spends most of his time observing and commenting upon Rook and Chess, so we don’t really get to see much of who he himself is. Files does hint at greater depths inside of him, so hopefully the honourable Mr. Morrow will grow a bit in the next books.
The writing style and structure is what I think will divide the people who read this book into those who like and those who don’t. It’s told in an odd mix of flash backs and present day scenes. I say odd because it feels uneven, like there will be three flashbacks and then a present scene and then a flash back and then five present scenes… Like when your iPod shuffle randomly throws up five songs out of ten by the same band? The flashbacks and present day scenes are not quite randomly placed, but not quite structured either, and it sticks out. The writing itself is highly stylised. I think Files definitely captured the voice of the setting. Think the southern twang that leaps of every page of a Sookie Stackhouse novel, or the British manners of Naomi’s Novik’s Temeraire books. If by the end of a novel I’m reading it in my head with an accent, then the author has been effective.
I will say that some of it got a little confusing for me. All of the Aztec names started to run together, but that’s probably because I am entirely unfamiliar with Aztec legends beyond what I’ve learnt from Mountain Goats albums. And there is a lot of religion. Like, A LOT. Rook’s powers come from the bible, like he reads a phrase and havoc is wrought. (Think turned people into pillars of salt, plagues of locusts, ect). Actually, and this coming from a die hard atheist, I found it be pretty unique and interesting. Normally I can’t stop yawning when reading about characters struggling with their religion and god and what have you, but Files definitely handled it pretty well. And she couldn’t very well have avoided it, with Rook being a once pious Reverend now killing people left and right and enthusiastically sodomising his boyfriend every chance he gets.
It is the first part in a trilogy, and the ending is definitely a first part of a trilogy kind of ending. So if you have the patience you might want to wait until they’re all out, but if you’re anything like me you’ll be snapping the next one up as soon is you can! -
You should probably be reading this.
It is a fantastic, lovely, deeply character-driven story of hexes (people with inborn magical talents), dead gods, and a fantastically weird west. I am incredibly glad that I already own the next book in the series, and want very much to grab the third. -
This is a hard book to review. Not surprising because it was a hard book to read and digest in the first place.
Set in the old west at the end of the Civil War, it mostly concerns three men and an Aztec composite goddess. Two of the three men are criminals, ex-soldiers who were sentenced to hang for the crime of killing a crazy Confederate Captain who, despite the war being over, wanted to lead his men on a suicide charge.
Asher Rook, ex preacher, gets hanged. Only he doesn't die all quiet like. It seems he's a "hex", a magic worker unleashed by his near-death experience. All hexes have their own way of working magic, and Rook's way is through bible-thumping quotations.
His partner-in-crime and in the sack is Chess Pargeter, literally a whoreson who is eerily sharp at shooting, killing, and keeping himself well-tailored.
Added to this mix is Ed Morrow, a Pinkerton agent in disguise hooked up with Rook's gang in order to get a read on how powerful Rook's hexing is with a new-fangled gadget.
But of course, it's much more complicated than just robbery and mayhem. Rook's rebirth as a Hex-worker brought him to the attention of an Aztec goddess who wants to be reborn into our world, and Chess is on the road to discovering a pretty momentous secret.
The writing is visceral, descriptive, brutally elegant. Rook and Chess are so vibrantly alive they jump off the page and sock you in the nose (and growl in your ear). There is absinthe and blood, and spilled guts, and whores in opium dens and blood-flowers with piranha teeth, and Chinese hex workers with unhinged jaws that vomit bats.
This is NOT a book for the squeamish. The quite blunt descriptions of both sex and violence make this totally inappropriate for young teens and children. While that didn't bother me so much, what did bother me, and made me reluctantly limit myself to three stars (instead of the four the quality of the writing probably deserves) is that the story itself is often lost to the powerful character development of the three men and their Aztec death goddess. I lost track of who was where doing what a million times, and also sometimes felt bits of dialogue purposelessly vague.
Yet, the story is compelling. Just not for everyone.
This Book's Snack Rating: Like eating a bag of spicy nacho Doritos for the extremely racy action and visceral physical description that overwhelms any other flavor or character. -
I'm not sure how to rate this book, and reserve the right to change my mind later.
The good: the writing is powerful, poetic without (often) turning purple. In Files's hands, scenes of body horror and guro become almost beautiful despite stomach-churning amounts of gore. Almost, and yet they never lose their edge. The Wild West setting comes alive as well, and I love all the alternate history touches.
The bad: Zana and I have an ongoing difference of opinion about whether media requires likable characters to be worth consuming. She thinks it does, whereas I am happy reading or watching stories with reprehensible leads. I don't need to empathize, I always say, I just need to be invested in the story. Well, I think I've finally met my match. And I'm having a hard time putting my finger on why. It's not just that the characters in this book lack redeeming qualities, I think, it's that they also lack goals or motivations beyond "cause havoc." I like Lawful Evil characters. I can read about Lawful Evil characters all day. Chaotic Evil is a lot harder for me to invest in.
Arguably, I guess, the two leads do have a motivation: their love for each other. But I was never sold on that emotion. As I've complained in other reviews, this is a book that uses sex as a synecdoche for love, and it doesn't work for me.
It was pretty obvious to me from about page 20 that the author comes from a fanfiction background, and a quick Google search confirmed it. That's not exactly a complaint--I like fanfiction. I read way more fanfiction than published fiction. But there are certain flaws that tend to pop up in fanfiction-turned-pro. One of those is flat worldbuilding; Files avoids that handily here. Another one is flat characterization. And I think she dodges that problem less well. In fanfiction, you don't have to develop why two characters care about each other (or why the audience should care about the characters), because the audience already knows. Chess and Rook are written as though there's a source text that already defines their relationship, so the story can move on to the action. The problem is, that text doesn't exist. Without it, I don't care about them. I don't care about their relationship. And I'm not invested enough in the world to want to read the sequel. -
Gemma Files, Hexslinger, vol. 1: A Book of Tongues (ChiZine Publications, 2010)
I had somehow gotten it into my head (and onto my spreadsheet) that A Book of Tongues was Gemma Files' first young adult novel. That particular misconception lasted exactly three pages into this bloody, profane, ugly, violent, utterly enchanting western. For the second time this issue, I'll throw out the disclaimer: there's no way I can write a biased review about a Gemma Files book. While she hasn't quite earned a spot yet on the Shelf of the Immortals (where reside such authors as Kathe Koja, Sonya Taaffe, and Ira Sadoff, people I would unhesitatingly move my family to Utah to marry if they asked—yes, even Sadoff), I have yet to come across a piece of her writing that isn't so hugely enjoyable that I can resist throwing hyperbole around like Crisco during a Falcon Studios prison drama food fight, so take this review with as much salt as necessary. But the simple answer is, “this book is just as awesome as every other Gemma Files book I have ever read.”
I should also probably mention in passing that another reviewer's comment of “well-written but tasteless” is dead on the money. Those of you who are experiencing Gemma Files' work for the first time may not be quite prepared for that. I'd strongly recommend going back and reading some of her short stories in comparison; “Skeleton Bitch” and “Every Angel” are fantastic starting places for getting a handle on Files', ah, unique aesthetic when it comes to things that squick out the Constant Reader. But then adding that compels me to add that there's a kind of number line of squick. And while everyone's particular definitions of “that's just gross” rearrange that line to suit said person's own tastes, I'll tell you that on my personal line, Files is out beyond the pale of Poppy Z. Brite's infamous dissection scene in Exquisite Corpse, but can't see Charlee Jacob (Haunter), Pan Pantziarka (House of Pain), or Monica J. O'Rourke (Suffer the Flesh) over the horizon.
In any case, what all the fuss is about: in this alternate-universe America, the Northern government, during the Civil War, worked on a program to cultivate destructive magicians, nicknamed “hexslingers”, for the war effort. One of them, a former camp pastor, went very dangerously rogue. Fast-forward a few years, and Asher Rook is the head of an outlaw gang who's been terrorizing the entire western territories. The Pinkertons are after him, and to that effect, they've planted a mole in his organization—Ed Morrow, the ostensible main character of the story. (While Morrow's identity as a Pink is a minor spoiler for the first few chapters, it's mentioned both in the jacket copy and PW's review, so I figure the damage has already been done.) Ed is attempting to keep his head on his shoulders and keep his mission a secret while also trying to puzzle out the odd, complex relationship between Rook and his number-two man, Chess Pargeter, which goes far beyond the carnal, as well as try and figure out where his loyalties lie when, inevitably, he has to make choices that will benefit one group to the detriment of the other.
The American West has become the new stomping grounds for trailblazers in this sort of worldbuilding, and it's produced some real barnburners. This is one of them. Files keeps her grounding in contemporary horror and dabbles a bit in steampunk (the device Morrow is supposed to use to read the magical aura, as it were, of Rook could have come right out of one of China Mieville's Bas-Lag novels—or, perhaps more to the point, one of Cherie Priest's Dreadnought novels, set during the same time period), but the book definitely put down some strong roots in the Old West. It would not surprise me in the least to know that Files had not only read McCarthy's Blood Meridian, which it echoes more than once, but also Chamberlain's My Confession (the book upon which Blood Meridian is based). Which brings up another salient point for those who wonder about the extremes of sex and violence to be found here: the Old West was as lawless and ugly a place as those sections of the big city you won't go anywhere near after dark, except the chances of a patrol car coming by were even smaller back then. While no one has ever denied Chamberlain probably exaggerated a bit, and no one denies McCarthy embellished some of Chamberlain's exaggerations, I doubt either one of them extended that carp more than a few inches beyond its actual length. Files only makes a lateral move here with the inclusion of the paranormal; her readings of human nature are, as always, dead on.
Or you could just set all that aside and skip to the last paragraph, where I tell you “if you read only one bizarro western this year, it should be Jordan Krall's Fistful of Feet. But when you're done with that, you'll want another, so you should immediately pick up Gemma Files' A Book of Tongues and hop to!”. Seriously. Read this, preferably at your earliest opportunity. It's awesome. ****
[and no... you really, REALLY don't want to google the reference you didn't get in that review. If you do, don't say I didn't warn you. This includes you, Gemma.] -
Review to come.
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I was excited to read A Book of Tongues on just the mention of the “weird west” in the book’s description. My love of Pinnacle’s Deadlands setting certainly fueled my interest even the title of the series this books kicks off Hexslinger reminded me of Deadlands so I was certainly excited to dive into my A Book of Tongues with my past experiences with the weird west as impetus. Nostalgia is always a dangerous thing and I’m uncertain how much what I hoped the novel would be colored my interaction with the text; likely more than was healthy. The novel centers around Pinkerton agent William Morrow’s undercover job with notorious hexslinger and outlaw Reverend Asher Rook and Rook’s lover the murderous Chess Pargeter. Morrow is their to ferret out the extent of Rook’s powers at the behest of a scholar seeking to harness magic users for use by the Pinkertons and the U.S. Government. Things of course don’t go to plan and the machinations of an Aztec deity have repercussions for everyone involved.
Nostalgia aside the plot seemed exciting and had all the elements that I thought I might enjoy: magic, mystery, monsters and mayhem. Unfortunately there was one thing that held my enjoyment of the novel in check: sex. Lots and lots of sex. Had I paid attention to the Publisher’s Weekly snippet on Chizine’s website I might have noted the comment about “raunchily explicit gay love story” but I didn’t; though the description is extraordinarily apt. To be entirely clear it is the “explicit” part that I’m taking issue with here. The sex in A Book of Tongues is pervasive and common enough to detract from the rest of the novel. The problem is just that the sex in A Book of Tongues is both pervasive and and explicit but that sex and sexuality in general are seemingly implicit in the nature of magic of the novel and sex and passion are used as expression of the power of “hexes” (the term Files uses for magicians and sorcerers) and plays an integral role in the parasitic relationship “hexes” have with one another. As mentioned above a huge part of my problem had to do with my expectations. I found the sex in A Book of Tongues to be a major distraction from what amounts to a completely fascinating story full of horror and magic.
So what worked in A Book of Tongues? While confusing (I had a difficult time grasping the myth-laden introduction that preceded the major sections of the novel) I enjoyed the inclusion of Aztec mythology in the story. Much fantasy fiction seems to be very much anglo-centric so to see the inclusion of Mesoamerican culture behind many of the magical antics of the novel was a refreshing change of pace. I particularly enjoyed Files’ interpretation of hell with the use of the “sunken ball court” seen in much Mesoamerican architecture being used by horrid corpses for an eternal game. The deities Files uses are also impressively horrific, self-serving with a chillingly callous disregard for human life. While William Morrow is a sort of typecast loyal hero, Files imbues both Chess and Reverend Rook with a great amount of depth. Chess in particular, from his introduction wearing his purple suit and with his ornery attitude right down to the startling revelation about his nature towards novel’s end, jumps off the page. Rook, a man whose starts as simply shaken in his faith is slowly drawn towards an increasing desire for power and respect down a path that is tragic, mesmerizing, and somewhat terrifying.
A Book of Tongues is hampered by it reliance on sex as a plot device. Will everyone find this to be the case? No. For some the sex might not be bothersome at all. For me at least it made reading the book something of a chore and more than once had me wanting to put it aside and move on. Despite that, and beyond the sex, is the makings of an excellent novel. Files has created an intriguing setting with a fascinating mythology and I am definitely curious to see where it goes from here. But will I be picking up the next volume? If sex as prevalent in the next volume as it was here then probably not. Those who aren’t comfortable with explicit sex should most definitely stay away for the more curious the product page over at Chizine Publications has some links to some more in depth preview information about the world of the Hexslinger series and I highly recommend anyone on-the-fence about giving the book a try to head over there and check it out for themselves. For an entirely more thorough and exhaustive examination of the novel you might also try reading Brit Mandelo’s review over at Tor.com; it’s far more eloquent and inclusive then I could ever be. -
I do this thing a lot where I delay reading a text for fear of it influencing a project I'm working on. Said influence could be an actual similarity of content, but more often than not it's for fear of something more nebulous; theme, maybe, or a dynamic between characters. How do I know if such things are present if I don't read said texts, and since I'm such a pain in the ass about avoiding spoilers? A smell, maybe, or a tingling in the sole of my right foot? No, something even less tangible than that--whatever the source of the wariness, avoid them I do. Of course, I always find that the texts wind up being way different than what I imagined, and not the sort of thing that would have influenced me one way or the other, but the few exceptions are enough to keep me in my weird ways. Blood Meridian, for example, I delayed until the Brothers Grossbart was signed and delivered, and I'm glad I did--not because it would have rubbed off on me and influenced my text, but because I like as not would have despaired and abandoned the project, for McCarthy succeeds in such high fashion at what I was attempting that all one can do is shake their head and say, "well shit, that's how it's done."
Which brings us to Gemma Files's novel A Book of Tongues. Beyond the fact that I put off reading this one for a while until I'd finished a certain project that's currently percolating, comparisons to Blood Meridian abound. Both are powered by an intensely beautiful lyricism that's put to use in loving descriptions of the most horrific violence imaginable, a heady, mesmerizing kaleidoscope filled with kernels of lust, hatred, brutality, and taste-the-leather-and-dirt-tinged-sweat-dripping-down-from-under-your-hat-brim historical detail. Unlike Blood Meridian, however, there's love in A Book of Tongues beyond the love of the author for their creation; McCarthy's masterpiece is many things, but a love story it's not, unless you figure it for a romance between mankind and cruelty. A Book of Tongues certainly captures that essence of Blood Meridian, but there's a literal love story beneath it all, though not of the rock candy variety--think unlouched absinthe, a bittersweet, delicious burning tinged with a licorice twist that's positively wicked riding down on the palate.
A Book of Tongues is also bulging at the seams with the fantastical, which certainly didn't sour the experience for me--a sumptuously detailed, meticulously researched, gorgeously written, cleverly plotted weird western populated by interesting, real characters engaging in badass gunplay, raunchy sex, and nine kinds of gruesome supernatural shenanigans is about all I could ask for out of a novel, frankly. Rook, Morrow, and especially Chess are all wonderfully nuanced characters whose internal workings and interactions blend seamlessly with the bigger picture, so you have that rare thoroughbred that is equal parts great writing, great story, and great character study.
Not only that, but it breaks several of my major personal turn-offs in fiction (HOLY SHIT IT"S A SPOILER GET IN THE CAR: deities interacting with mortals and apocalyptic plots--I tend to like small scale conflict and non-divinely-impacted characters to the Big Picture stuff, regardless of the divinity), but actually pulls them off in a manner that's not only witty and internally consistent, but positively goddamn sinister. When you have an author take something you generally dislike on principle and makes it sing for you then you know you've got a winner, and that's what Files has here--a pedigreed beast full of piss, vinegar, and plenty of other fluids. The best part is we've got two more novels to look forward to; I was a fool to put off reading this book as long as I did, reasons be damned, so don't make the same mistake I did. Go west, I tell ye, go west, and thank me for the directions only after you've thanked the author twice. -
Two years after the Civil War, Pinkerton agent Ed Marrow goes undercover with a dangerous outlaw gang lead by Rook, a Reverend turned hexslinger, and Chess, skilled gunslinger and Rook's lover. In a version of the Wild West where magic is a real and present danger, Rook is an even bigger threat: he is haunted by an Aztec goddess with her sights set on bringing gods back into the world. A Book of Tongues is, perhaps, one of the most unique books I've ever read. Hexslingers mingling with gunslingers in the Wild West, Aztec mythology, and shameless homosexual content make for a premise far off the beaten path, which may be unappealing to some readers and—because the premise infiltrates every aspect of the book right down to its narrative voice—require adjustment and adaptation from even more. And even if gay mages in the post-Civil War South seems to you like normal fair, A Book of Tongues is so bloody, bold, and resolute that it comes like a swift punch in the gut: sudden, solid, and breathtaking. Files never shies from the worst, and her book is replete with authentic antiheros and despicable behavior—yet, somehow, she build characters and a plot that demand the reader's care and personal investment, perhaps because the unique narrative voice, precise and gritty language, and colorful characters are so immerse and, therefore, convincing. Whenever the vivid characters or slightly indulgent sex scenes begin to run away with themselves, Files draws it back with a universal willingness—almost a willful glee—to destroy. Nothing in A Book of Tongues is sacred, but many things are true.
For all this, the book is not perfect. It suffers a bit as the first in a series (and not just because I dislike series): as it draws the first act to a close and sets up the many events to come, the end of the book tends towards more talk than action. It's not so much as to create an annoying cliffhanger (although it's a cliffhanger, all right), but it may make the reader wish the book were shorter or longer, so as to contain less preparation or more action. Some content, the sex in particular, tends towards fanfiction-esque wish-fulfillment. And the originality of the style and premise sometimes makes the book a little strange, difficult to pick up, and hard to get into. Indeed, this is never a book that I would have picked up on my own without the benefit of an enthusiastic recommendation. Even with its weaknesses, I now offer it an enthusiastic recommendation of my own: if only that I may share my enthusiasm with others, give A Book of Tongues a try. Brutal, vibrant, and truly one of a kind, it defies expectation by digging so deep into its premise that it works its way down to a raw, hitherto unseen level all its own. -
A Book of Tongues is a wonderfully brutal read, all the more so, because Gemma Files manages to finagle sympathy for what could otherwise be a rather unsympathetic group of characters. Many of these characters are not what you would call nice. Chess is an unapologetic murderer; Rook is desperate and ruthless; and even Morrow is a liar.
Files' merciless prose reaches out and reveals what they're made of as each of these rough-shod gentlemen is trapped, bound like a fly into the webbing of the story. They're lives quickly become interwoven, and eventually they learn that they'll need each other to find their way out.
At first Chess' character is the hardest to sympathize with, as he is the most openly violent and cruel. And because you see him through the lens of first Morrow and then Rook, it's hard to get a read on him other than his love of absinthe and bloodshed and his desire for Rook. But by the end of the book, as more and more of Chess and how he's put together is slowly revealed, it was Chess that I came to love the most. I feel deep rooted sympathy for him and what has befallen him in his life. He has had the hardest road, and in the face of it has stood up and laughed in its face. More than any other of the characters I want him to succeed; I want him to win.
A Book of Tongues is very graphic, not only in blood and gore (of which there is plenty), but also in sexual situations. Sometimes the events were so vivid in my mind that I didn't quite know what to do with them, and I had to lower the book for a moment and take a breath before continuing.
This is the kind of horror that leaves you shaken (in more ways than one), with your head spinning, and not quite sure where you stand. While actually reading the book, I don't know I could actually say that I liked it -- the experience was a little to visceral for that -- but that now I'm done reading I desperately want to read more. Thankfully, A Book of Tongues is book one of a trilogy, and the sequel, A Rope of Thorns comes out this June. -
The first thought I was able to put into words upon finishing this book was "LSD fueled coherent nightmare". And I'm going to stick with that impression.
The author drops us boots first into a slightly skewed West where the more you see the more you realize that something just isn't right. A Book of Tongues is not a fantastic tale of wizards in the old west. Oh no, this book is a tale of blood and horror.
Every single character is unlikeable. That's not to say the characterizations are bad, because no - they are brilliant. All of them are very believable hexslingers, whores, soldiers, outlaws, lawmen, preachers, gods, the people on the street; to a one they ring true. They're all just horrible.
Brilliant and compelling, but leaving me at a loss for words. I'm still not sure how I feel about this story, but I do know I'm eagerly awaiting the next book in the trilogy A Rope of Thorns.
A few quick bullet points, warnings for some. Intense sexual relationship between male characters, blood soaked and violent, with multiple gods - could be considered blasphemous. Basically do not pick this book if you do not wish to be challenged. -
Half the pleasure I got from this book came from its salty epithets. These are cowboys of the weird (aka alternative) West, wrangling with gay wizards and Aztec blood goddesses and plenty else. They talk almost as rough as Shakespeare. Some samples (using spoiler tags to shield tender eyes from bad language):
I mean, right? That is some crackling (and hilarious) language. And half of that is love-talk between Rook and Chess, two of the main characters.
Overall...Files is a fine writer with great command of language. The Aztec mythology stuff is interesting but a little goes a long way. The plot goes a little off the rails once we get gods and goddesses rising anew. But the book has so much energy I didn't really mind.
Plus, gay magical pistoleers. What's not to love? -
Picked this up at 'The Worlds Biggest Bookstore' on the recommendation from one of their staff that "the writer is really nice". Normally this wouldn't have done it for me. In this case, the opportunity to read a Weird West horror book (kept thinking of Deadlands when I was reading the back) was the clincher. Later I realized that Gemma Files writes articles for a local rag called NOW magazine that I used to read in University.
Story wise.... Hmm, I liked both the inclusion of Aztec mythology and the general feel of the Wild West milieu. I was a little squeamish with the guy-on-guy sex stuff, but YMMV. Luckily for me, this wasn't the focus of the story; rather the way that Chess and Rook deal with a love where one's 'been done wrong by' the other. Love / Hate work as plot regardless of sexuality, so that was fine by me.
Overall, I'll read the next book as I enjoyed the plot, language and milieu of action. -
Files is an intensely visceral writer, delivering fantasy/horror with the glee of a razor-wielding psychopath; just the thing for my Clive Barker kick. But enough about Barker, Files is her own author, and while the similarities are there (Rook reminds me completely of Barker's Nix, another magician with delusions of godhood), Barker has only laid the groundwork for the next generation, a generation Files could prove herself a leader. She is equally fearless in gore, grotesqueries, and sex (boy, is she fearless in sex, in all its glories and fluids), but her style is brilliant and complex, a gorgeous mixture of goth and grit that completely transforms the material into something magical. Not many people, I suspect, could mash together lovecraftian-style horror with Old West patois with such panache.
Read the rest of the review here. -
Disjointed, vivid, unclear, complex, immerse prose that fascinates but doesn't necessarily satisfy me. The rough, blunt passion between Rook and Chess is fabulous; I loved the characters. The blend of Aztec mythology with old western history was extremely well-done; I could have happily read much more detailed description there. But I could never lose myself in this writing style. It was too ambitious, too off-balance, pages full of sentences so choppy I resorted to skimming dialog, pages full of poetical words. This is a violent, stormswept sort of book, but I feel it would have been better with some honest grounding.
Files is an author to watch — I enjoyed this tale very much... just maybe not the medium. We'll see how the next volumes in this series shake out.
The cover lettering is beyond incredible, though. Gorgeous. -
I was quite impressed with how Gemma Files created a story that is apealing in everything from simplified concepts (Gay wizard outlaw ressurects dead Aztec Gods) to a more in depth and spoiler ridden look at the story. Everything from the flawed tragic characters through to the vaugely but hauntingly explained magic system permiates the world with a rich atmosphere of darkness both worldly and alien.
Initially I was aprehensive due to the seemingly unrepentantly evil lead characters being gay and the implications that brings. My fears were throughly disolved though as Chess is given a well developed back story explaining his issues and we get to see Rook's fall in depth for reasons all too understandable. -
File this under "gay horror on acid". A Weird West tale full of blood, bullets, and Bible quotes, explicit and unapologetic male-on-male sex, and Mayan & Aztec underworld myths sprung to dark, twisted life, all told in a prose style that's alternately gritty and lurid, and sometimes goes spiraling right off into hallucinatory stream-of-consciousness land. Not perfect: there's a confuzzling flashback structure, some head hopping, sex scenes that veer strongly into slashgirl territory, and some long-ass confrontations that for all their intensity, seem to drag on and on. But still, ambitious and brilliant, highly original, and totally worth the trip. I'll definitely be picking up the sequel.
