Book review
Written by Richard Morgan
Gollancz hardback
Release date Out now

Ringil ‘Angel eyes’ is living off of old tales and slowly running to fat in some sleepy town of the League. All the while kir-Archeth Indamaninarmal serves an Empire she nether cares for or believes in. And then there is Egar of the step nomads, who would run his tribe properly if he could just stop longing to be away to the south…

Richard Morgan’s first foray into fantasy avoids many of the worn clichés and dull tropes of the genre. Clearly Morgan isn’t afraid to take risks – this was never going to be the usual ‘orphan-with-a-destiny’ high fantasy fare.

The characters are well drawn and detailed, and come complete with drug habits, taboo-breaking sex lives and shady pasts. It is a credit to Morgan that he makes such ‘warts-and-all’ characters with all their attendant flaws so engaging, and he has a real knack for crafting believable dialogue. And of course no Richard Morgan novel would be complete without unflinching, bone-jarring depictions of violence.

However, for all of the adrenaline-soaked combat, the pace does sag slightly around the middle of the book, and it takes too long to draw the three main characters together. This is clearly the first part of a larger work, rather than a story in its own right, which is disappointing after the complete individual nature of the Takeshi Kovacs novels.

That said, Morgan revels in world building, and The Steel Remains is no exception, providing an exciting and often dangerous backdrop that is as fascinating as it is corrupt. Den Patrick

VERDICT: 8/10
Fans of character driven, low-fantasy rejoice. Richard Morgan takes to the genre easily and rewards his readers with blood, sweat, tears and black humour.

Click here to buy The Steel Remains at Forbidden Planet (forbiddenplanet.com)