Book Review – The House of the Stag

Author: Kage Baker
Cover Artist: Tom Kidd
Publisher: Tor
Binding: Hardcover
Publication Date: September, 2008

In Kage Baker’s satirical fantasy, The Anvil of the World, a brief encounter with powerful Dark Lord turns out to be a bit different than expected. In The House of the Stag, Baker revisits this world to tell the infamous Dark Lord of the Mountain’s story, carefully deconstructing the Dark Lord cliché with in an ultimately engrossing tale.

Gard is a half-demon foundling child of a peaceful race living in the forest. Invaders come, killing and enslaving the population, inspiring Gard to violently resist while putting him at odds with his passive culture. Eventually Gard is exiled and becomes a slave to a group of powerful mages trapped in a mountain. Forced to serve in various ways, including as a gladiator for entertainment, Gard grows into a formidable fighter as he discovers his demonic roots. Eventually Gard becomes a new Dark Lord, inspiring fear in those around him.

In fantasy we (almost) always get the hero’s story – we see them from their (generally) obscure beginnings and follow them as they grow into their roles as a hero. The Dark Lord often stars as their opposite, but is mostly limited to a supporting character at best. And while the Dark Lord is often described as all powerful and seems so much cooler than the hero, they usually prove to be inept in the end as the hero triumphs. Baker turns this idea on its head.

Gard is clearly the hero of the story, yet his destiny is to become the Dark Lord. Instead of seeing the evil caricature of a Dark Lord, we see his evolution, learning how he comes to be and how there is much more to the Dark Lord than darkness – and this view isn’t so different from that as a hero’s story. Unfortunately, Baker’s Dark Lord falls into the same clichés as many heroes do – yet Baker’s engaging story pulls the reader through these weaknesses. The satire is at its best when Gard briefly joins a troupe of actors, playing both the Hero and then the Dark Lord. A theatre critic and his review steals the scene.

The economical prose used by Baker is rather unremarkable – neither overly bad nor particularly good. Like The Anvil of the World, The House of the Stag suffers from somewhat of a slow start. But once the stage is set, the story becomes truly engaging and difficult to set aside.

Baker’s characterization can also be described as unremarkable, though perhaps a little on the bad side. Gard and the character known as the Saint are generally handled well, yet most of the other supporting characters are paper-thin – however the demons always seem much more fun and interesting.

When compared with The Anvil of the World, The House of the Stag is more subtle with its humor and lacks the social commentary. For me, this is a negative aspect. While the story flows more smoothly and is a bit more engaging, it also lacks something. This becomes most evident when the demon characters are around – they are fun and exciting, bringing the story a life that just isn’t present elsewhere.

Kage Baker is probably best known for her short fiction and the science fiction Company novels. But, her fantasy shouldn’t be overlooked. While the writing has its weaknesses, that satirical wit and generally good storytelling makes both The Anvil of the World and The House of the Stag worth reading – and you don’t need to read one to appreciate the other.

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