A long journey, but worth the trip

Book Review: A Storm in Tormay by Christopher Bunn
Review by Michael Isenberg

A Storm in Tormay by Christopher Bunn tells the story of the boy Jute, who’s a cross between Peter Pan and the Artful Dodger. As the story begins, Jute is robbing a wizard’s house. He’s been given detailed directions to retrieve a box, and strict instructions not to open it, on pain of having his throat slit. Jute finds the box but when he touches it, it opens on its own. Inside is a dagger, on which he cuts himself. Was it an accident, or did the dagger choose him, the way wands in the Harry Potter universe choose their wizards? Like those wands, the dagger possesses great power, and absolutely everyone is after it: among them, the wizard Nio whose house was robbed, the shadowy leader of the Thieves Guild, and his mysterious client, the not-quite-human servant of an unknown but sinister master.

But they’re wasting their time. The magic in the dagger is gone. It's inside Jute now. As his powers grow, he finds himself in the midst of an epic battle between good and evil, with the lives of the inhabitants of Tormay hanging in the balance.

Mr. Bunn has an excellent ear and dialogue is one of his strong points. Birds and rabbits say exactly what would be important to birds and rabbits, if they could talk. A group of children who set off to rescue people sound exactly like children who set off to rescue people.

But without doubt, the strongest point of the book is its characters. My favorite was the ghost of an old wizard, who attached himself to Jute and never shut up. I also liked some of the semi-villains, especially Nio, who reminded me of the second of the title characters in Susannah Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and Smede, the hardworking but greedy accountant for the Thieves Guild. Both of these characters, regrettably, die (sort of) early in the story, and one of my two criticisms is that I wish they had stuck around longer.

My other criticism is that Tormay is a large country, and I badly needed a map to keep track of its many duchies. Perhaps Mr. Bunn will put one on his website some time soon.

At 748 pages, A Storm in Tormay is a long work. As I read it, there were times when I wondered, where is he going with this, and is it worth it? If you find yourself in a similar position, I have two words of advice: keep reading! All the pieces do come together in a feel-good ending.

A Storm in Tormay can be purchased as three separate works, The Hawk and his Boy, The Shadow at the Gate, and The Wicked Day. However, I recommend buying the entire trilogy. Not only is it a better deal, but A Storm in Tormay is really one long story in three parts, not three separate books. You’ll want the whole thing.

In an afterward, Mr. Bunn promises to “return to Tormay and discover some other stories that must be told.” I hope that’s soon!

Michael Isenberg is the author of Full Asylum, a novel about politics, freedom, and hospital gowns. Check it out on Amazon.com