Finally, a fantasy where there is no magic. In Tracy Townsend’s book “The Nine,” instead, there is a bit of mystique and a unique premise: a book that writes itself. At least seemingly. Because who else could be the author of such a work in a world where science and religion have merged, where temples have become bastions of knowledge, and where logarithmic equations adorn the walls instead of Stations? Probably none other than the Lord Himself. At least presumably.
You know that old Jewish legend that says the fate of the world rests on the shoulders of thirty-six righteous people? Well, it seems that in Lucy Townsend’s novel “The Nine,” they have been reduced to nine. The mysterious author of the book writes their fate on its pages. And of course, there are those who want to defy God’s plans, even if it’s pretty clear from the start that planning such things usually only causes trouble for oneself.
At first, you might think that the setting of “The Nine” is a twisted, slightly steampunk version of our world. (Although, truth be told, it wouldn’t hurt our world if priests focused on science instead of committing sexual abuses.) But then it turns out to be a parallel world, because there are two other races besides humans. The tree people, okay, they’re passable with a bit of fertilizer. But the others, the aigamuxa, are the book’s biggest, laughable blunders. They wear their eyes on their FEET, and if they want to LOOK, they have to stand on their hands. From an evolutionary standpoint, it would be more useful if they peeked out from their own butt cracks.
Beyond this meaningless absurdity, Lucy Townsend’s book doesn’t have any major issues. Even if the plot of “The Nine” doesn’t quite live up to the original idea and is occasionally naive, the book meets the average fantasy standard. There’s a point where the book becomes a bit confusing, as if a few pages were missing from a comic book (I actually started flipping back frantically to see what the hell was going on), but later, the plot provides an explanation for why, and from then on, everything’s more or less okay. The writing is smooth, although occasionally a completely nonsensical sentence slips in.
You can predict most of Townsend’s story twists in advance, but occasionally there’s something that can surprise you. Despite their stereotypical nature – thief, thief, alchemist, thief – the characters still carry unique flavors, with the precocious and pragmatic-thinking Rowena and the untamed, self-willed Rare standing out among them.
By the end of “The Nine,” everyone can rest assured: there’s still plenty of opposition, and the Lord’s intentions – at least for now – remain unfathomable.
Finally, with much love, I would like to send the song “Walking on Broken Glass” by Annie Lennox to the aigamuxas.
The Nine (Thieves of Fate #1) by Tracy Townsend
367 pages, Paperback
Published in 2017 by Pyr