Book Review – The Skewed Throne

Author: Joshua Palmatier
Publisher: Daw
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: 2005
Cover Design: Steve Stone

The Skewed Throne by Joshua Palmatier is a fantasy with a lot of character and is a wild ride. Varis is a thief on the streets of Dredge, in the slums of the city of Amenkor. The author does a beautiful job of doling out Varis’ history, giving just a glimpse here and there, often during the action so there are no boring info dumps. History isn’t so important; survival is all. Varis has no name at the start of the book. She doesn’t spend a lot of time dwelling on that because it isn’t a problem when you spend your days hoping to steal enough to eat.

The descriptions of hunger, pain and despair are a bit thick in the first few chapters, but the plot moves along quickly enough to keep every page turning, each one faster than the last as the story picks up speed. One of the strongest elements of the book is the character development—Varis changes with her environment, she learns and grows without spending too much time on introspection. She is learning who she is even though she doesn’t know who she wants to be, making choices that are based on survival first and foremost. There’s a bit more violence and death in this book than I prefer—it keeps you guessing because you really don’t know which characters are going to make it. I admit, I wish that a few more had lived. Even those characters that are briefly introduced have an emotional impact.

Varis sees things just a little differently than other people, sensing danger through colors and “seeing” a pattern below the surface of normal vision. The skill makes Varis a good thief, but little more. This introduction make the story quite strong—it’s barely touched on, almost as an afterthought.

In a bid to survive, Varis starts taking jobs—basically tracking people—she’s good at it, but it means making choices—and sometimes enemies. Maybe it would be easier to be the assassin than the thief. This point between right and wrong/gray is cleverly woven into the story on more than one level and is never overdone or boring.

Varis has many problems to fight–good old fashioned villains operating on greed, nasty villains that were just born without any ethics or morals and then there’s the fabric of the city: The leader on the Skewed Throne provides palace intrigue, a touch of politics and the magic/mystery surrounding the chosen “mistress” that leads the city.

It’s a compelling, action-filled read with a sympathetic heroine. There’s three books in the series—The Cracked Throne is next and The Empty Throne, the third book. All three are already published; The Vacant Throne comes out in mass market in January 09 (it’s out in hardback now). Given the way book one ended, I’m very curious about these titles. The Skewed Throne seemed strange until you read the book and get the connection/reason. The other titles hint, I think, at the larger picture of what is to come. I bet the road there will be tangled, twisted and not quite what I’m expecting!

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About Maria

Maria is the author of a few short stories, including the anthology Sage: Tales from a Magical Kingdom. She enjoys reading, cooking, gardening and forums. Stop by her website, www.BearMountainBooks.com and say hello.