Voluptas

Jonathan Shane O'Brien's maiden opus in a word: INTENSE. This intensity CONSUMED me as the reader. It drew me in immediately, it compelled me to commit fully to characters, then rewarded me for weathering the gut-wrenching "how will they pull through?" cliffhangers I witnessed the characters endure.

The story is set at a time of many changes. Background for the actual tale began with the Byzantines, Roman captives of a Persian king, who were transplanted to untamed lands beyond the Black Sea. These hardened soldiers and their progeny brought skills of a culture that had mathematics, craftsmanship, architecture, a Christian religion, and the armor and battle skills of a disciplined army. These gave them advantage enough to flourish and eventually claim lordship over the numerous nomads of the area, as well as defend against their Persian enemies on one side and the Hunnish hordes on the other.

We come to this tale as trouble begins for this isolated kingdom that kept the dreams of Christian Rome and Roman law alive. It is here that we meet Vincent Cincinnatus Kati: prominent among his peers, many who are members of the revered Equites, modeled after the Roman Equestrian Order. We meet Vincent in the prime of his youth, already respected and feared by peers, enemies and superiors alike. We get the impression that people thought Vincent would prosper as an exemplary Equite, as a lord of his estates, and as the secret love of the future Queen. Vincent however would beg to differ with us: nothing is well with him. His grief and shame over his family's murder drives him from his estates. His passion for the future Queen perplexes him as she pulls away to accept her destined role. The constant bickering of various statesmen in the Council makes him want to return to the difficult war he just left so he can channel his anger somewhere worthwhile. What Vincent doesn't know but we as readers find out is that his actions inextricably link him to the fortunes of his people and the kingdom. As Vincent struggles with his demons, so his country struggles to survive its enemies.

I was fascinated to see the principal character's emotions so welded to the current mood of the story. When I first encountered Vincent as an Equite and lord he was a roiling miasma of frustration, paranoia, and arrogance. Likewise, that part of the story reflected these same emotions: the arrogance of plotters against the throne, the King's paranoia, the frustration Princess Adeline felt when relating to her foster father the King. As Tribune and Legatus Legionis, Vincent's overconfidence and his white-hot anger reflected his enemy's ambitions and a country spiraling out of control. I was so absorbed in the rising anger, frustration, and panic that Vincent and the country felt, I consumed the book at a furious pace despite my being a rather slow reader!

Fury and rage seem like emotions O'Brien is very skilled at portraying. The author is very good at conveying the raw anger, properly channeled or otherwise, that rages in a young man such as Vincent. And O'Brien does not spare his main character the consequences of that rage---he lets the reader witness the full cycle of the path Vincent has chosen. Fury and rage burn white-hot when one is young, skilled, and confident: but how does Vincent face the consequences of his actions when he learns the whole truth? When he is made to face the secret shame about the death of his family? When he unmasked his true enemy, discovered betrayers among those he trusted, and failed to trust his true friends? How does Vincent rise to the challenge once more when his power is gone, when his prowess is no more, and when his true enemy has him firmly under control? As a reader I appreciated being shown Vincent's whole path of destruction and resolution---in sharing all aspects (the good, the bad, and the ugly, so to speak), I felt paid in good coin for the commitment I gave to Vincent and the other characters of the story.

Frankly, all the characters of this tale were worth my commitment. O'Brien excels in giving his characters complexity and dimension no matter how briefly they appear. The King and his adopted daughter Princess Adeline, though seen for only a brief period of time, managed to convey a complex dynamic of familial relationships. The character named Golro, though a relatively minor character, was crucial to the legend of the Lady Regalis, champion against the evils plaguing the country. But the one I feel that best exemplifies O'Brien's skill in complex characters is known as The Last Knight. He has no name, his estates are somewhere in the Third Realm, and he wears the red armor of the Equites. Using this small amount of information, O'Brien conveys to readers the man's noble character, his dedicated defense of the citizenry, the futility of rising against the evil he beheld, and the gifts gained by others from his steadfastly upholding what is good and just. To get all of that to a reader in approximately two pages seems like a commendable talent to me!

I highly recommended this book. This is a story to submerge oneself into - casually reading it on a train or bus might make you miss your stop. This book will suck you in, and it will be in your bloodstream when it spits you out. You will need a nice quiet place to untangle yourself from Vincent Cincinnatus Kati before reconnecting with the rest of your life - and it will be a happy ordeal, I assure you.