The Assassin of Gleam

James Norcliffe

Hazard Press

Otago Daily Times, October 21st 2006

There seem to be few New Zealand authors writing fantasy fiction for adults, so James Norcliffe’s latest offering, The Assassin of Gleam, is a real treat.

Set in a feudal, preindustrial time where black magic and tyranny hold the keys to power, two forces hold sway in the city of Gleam. The Margrave rules the citizens through terror and violence, while the Brotherhood, scholars of the dark arts, hide their manipulations behind a veil of secrecy and superstition.

Something is changing, however, as the streets come alive with a prophecy — The Maiden is coming to replace the Margrave and usher in a new and gentle age. An inauspicious time for strangers to enter the city, indeed, and it is hardly surprising that newly arrived medical student Tobias Sparrow, his younger sister Johanna and their uncle, musician Hugh Cassin, find themselves at the centre of events. Seduced by the promise of power, Tobias falls under the control of the Brotherhood, not realising full initiation will require his sister’s murder — an action that also serves the Margrave’s ends, for by casting Johanna as The Maiden, her death will also kill the prophecy that threatens him.

Norcliffe, a former Burns Fellow, uses the fantasy setting not as an end in itself, but as a backdrop for a cast of strong and convincing characters. His poetic background is frequently evident (rumours proliferate “like mushrooms whose spores had been liberated by soft rain”, while looking up at the Margrave’s tower is “like looking up the nostrils”), and the writing has a tautness often lacking in contemporary fantasy, where quantity serves as proxy for quality (think David Eddings). The Assassin of Gleam is obviously the first in a series, and I look forward to the sequel.