Page 45 Review by Stephen
"So, how do you like yours? Tall, dark and broody, or slim, fair and… well, broody?"
"Protus isn't broody! He just feels a lot of responsibility!"
"That answers that question."
One of the loveliest covers on our shelves, and a spine tastefully (and usefully) embossed with gold.
Thoughtbubble attendees might already have stumbled upon this fully fledged fantasy with its delicate curves, long, flowing linen, inventive horizons and the odd band of George Perez texture (ah, you'll know it when you see it!). I also loved the recurring coiled serpent motif with its scales. I wrote a whole page of notes to make sure the intricate details were correct only to return to my preview where I found Emma had done it all for me! Back in a second, then…
"In this world, the Spirits govern all. You live by your spirit sign, you serve the Spirit World. Protus, one of four Dragon Heirs, sets out on a journey to gather the heirs and take them to the location chosen for Spiratu's Ritual of Transcendence. This act will leave the four young men free of the dangerous dragon spirits they have harboured since they were born; free to begin their mortal lives with Spiratu's blessing. However, in a world where fate has spawned not one but two sets of Dragon Heirs, what guarantee is there that a prophecy so ancient can be fulfilled at all? And just what could failure mean for the Dragon's human hosts?"
Yeah, I can tell you right away that the paragraph above makes the journey inside look way easier than it actually is for our woefully young spirit-bearers. For a start, Protus the protector is the only one of them to have completed his training and even he is several sheaths short of so much they'll require to navigate the threats ahead of them. His confidence and conviction is derived more from an unfaltering faith in his singular purpose than from any hard knowledge. On top of that he has to contend with Furose's ill-disciplined rage and for all of Kalm's empathic powers, well, he never even made it to his Guardians in the first place. Worst of all, the man sent to bind the four dragon heirs (and the opposing four since sprung upon them) is taken out of the equation so early on that his protégé, Ella, is left bereft with no clue at all what her real role is or how she is meant to perform it.
Vulnerability is Vieceli's forte. That, and the eyes and hair! Those with a bloodlust should look elsewhere because this is far more about their spiritual journey than is about sticking it to 'em. Even the torture is mental rather than physical, so when violence does finally break out, it's genuinely quite shocking. No, this is so evidently Emma's labour of love that she'll do it her way, thank you very much indeed, with the odd flourishes of Japanese cartooning for the funny bits; and blow me down if she didn't devote an entire page to reflecting my own thoughts on scripture so succinctly:
"So Nute, your people don't believe in the Spirit Signs?"
"That's right. We believe that people can choose their own path."
"So if you don't believe in Spiratu, why join the Heirs?"
"Oh, I never said I don't believe in Spiratu. I just don't agree with the human interpretation. What the Dragon Heirs have... that's real. But don't tell Protus. It's much more fun letting him believe I'm a heathen!"
Al Davison (HOKUSAI: DEMONS, THE MINOTAUR'S TALE etc.) makes it clear in the introduction that he is no fan of this genre, and neither am I. What we both adore is unbridled enthusiasm and love poured into a project. Can't fault Vieceli there.
