Doomstone by Daniel Huntsinger
Reviewed by Megan PowellDaniel Huntsinger's novel Doomstone fits neatly into the Quest to Save the World subgenre of fantasy fiction. In general, Huntsinger does a good job of taking advantage of existing genre conventions while managing to do some distinctive worldbuilding.
In Doomstone, Sekia Soulrender seeks to destroy all that is Good. Good and Evil are distinct from one another, though they do mix in the world and in individuals. A world that contains only Good cannot exist, because all actions necessarily have potentially Evil consequences; Evil cannot exist alone, because when there is no Good to destroy, it will turn the hatred upon itself. Sekia is opposed first by the Soulmender Taul, who magics himself away from Sekia's forces. The dying Soulmender is discovered by a shepherd, also named Taul; the Soulmender's soul takes up residence within Taul the shepherd, and thus begins Taul the shepherd's involvement in the fight against Sekia Soulrender.
The trend in fantasy is toward multi-volume works. Huntsinger could easily have gotten a trilogy (or more) out of this material. But many series have a tendency to sag around the middle, no matter how good they are overall; Huntsinger avoids this problem by keeping to a self-contained volume. If there are slow parts, they are measured in pages, rather than chapters (or entire volumes). As a side effect, there are points when the reader jumps forward in time, and important events happen off-stage. This can be a bit disconcerting, but Huntsinger does a good job of picking what material to leave out and quickly fills the reader in.
For example, the massing of forces to oppose the Soulrender is glossed over. This is just as well. As fantasy readers familiar with Tolkien et al, we know that there is going to be a great battle between the armies of Good and Evil. We don't need to see all the political machinations, all the details of troop movements.
Huntsinger has added details that bring his work to life. There are a variety of supernatural beings, creatures which characters have heard tales about, but never encountered in the flesh. There are the Woodsenders, creatures who live in the shadows of trees. White Women, the ghosts of suicides, help the lost traveler--but they may be impersonated by Heath Hags, who kill the unwary. The fernfolk inhabit an alternate world, and though they may walk among mortals, the price is high: they become victims of the Timing, and experience aging, pain and exhaustion never felt in their own realm. Boneslavers enchant the bodies of the dead, and use them for their own purposes. And then there are the Balgerns, who are the embodiment of hunger and feed on goodness, leaving complete destruction in their wake.
Of all the creatures and races introduced, I found the irthmog least effective as a group. Many of their cultural foibles seemed to have little purpose beyond poking fun at bureaucratic organizations. I was expecting this to hamper my enjoyment of the book when, early on, the irthmog Ocs joins Taul on his quest. But happily, Ocs is used as a character, not a punchline. Traits which seemed a bit ridiculous when seen in irthmog society (e.g. a compulsion to break all situations down into "separate but related matters" and deal with them individually) made much more sense when Ocs used them as his problem solving methodology.
In general, Huntsinger does not spend much time describing character development. The focus instead is on the action--whether it is physical action or dream-state action. There are few internal monologues, just enough to give the reader a general idea of a charater's perspective at a particular point in time. When it comes to character development, Huntsinger employs the "show, don't tell" maxim. Characters battle their internal demons in dreamlike sequences, and their behavior changes over the course of the novel. Huntsinger doesn't belabor the emotional states of his characters, but trusts that readers will be able to understand how dramatic, life-altering events can change their perspectives and influence their future actions.
Huntsinger doesn't do things by halves: this is epic fantasy, and the characters are playing for very high stakes. If you're interested in adventure on such grand scale, set in a world populated by creatures charming and hideous, this is a book to try.
Summer 2002 update: This book is now available from Double Dragon eBooks with the byline August Hunt.
Back to the top of this page.