“But - that’s why I’ve told Bemba to write on the top of his scroll, My Beautiful Life. All my life I’ve done terrible bad things. I’ve stolen, I’ve murdered, I’ve betrayed. I had my wife locked up in a tower, and I blinded my brother. […] Beauty is in the eye of the beholder; if thine eye offends thee, pluck it out. It’s been a beautiful life, one way and another.”



In “My Beautiful Life” by K. J. Parker



This novel is a wonderful example of a feudal fantasy not in decline, where the heroes are not thoroughly heroic but still entirely human, where magic is absent and in consequence not deadly to its potential and non-existent practitioners as to those who would suffer its effects (if there was any magic to speak of), where sex is vitally important, omnipresent but not explicit, where violence is not conducted on a massive, monstrous scale. Speculative Fiction and Fantasy fiction in particular has tended to emphasize events rather than characters, and I think traditionally this has worked against it being taken seriously by critics. There were always exceptions - Tolkien is an obvious one - but they were not common (one might argue they were far better represented in fantasy oriented toward children). An author has to be very good to create a believable human character in a fantastic world, because a reader cannot relate to the situations in which the characters find themselves. The farther alternative universe strays from the one we live in, the harder the gap is to bridge. It is somewhat similar to the problem that authors long dead have in holding modern day attention. The fact that works such as “War and Peace” are still considered triumphs even as the world they described has faded into history gives us an idea of the sort of talent needed to create a fantasy work that would resonate today.

Parker’s “My Beautiful Life” might be another example of a speculative work that will resonate in the years to come as well. It is only going to be a few extremely good authors who will manage to create stories that explore what one might call "the human condition" within a fantasy setting that will be able to break through into the literary circles to be taken seriously. Tolkien, I think, has now done that as people have finally managed to look past the hairy feet, and that makes it easier for the next one to be taken seriously. Parker on the other hand, makes us forget we can have marvellous SF without frigging magic! I always thought that all fiction is Speculative Fiction. Because it is made up. Some authors are weird and write about murder or romance over and over again in their narrow genres. They are stuck in a rut because they want to make their stories seem real. If you are going to make up a story and stretch your imagination - you might as well go all the way and do something like Parker did in this novel.

As I wrote many times before, it is not about the dragons. It is not about the starships. It is not about the old lady solving crimes. It is, always has, and always will be about the story. And this for a novel that's not even Parker's best...

If something has a really, really good story, it will transcend the genre. ( )

This is rare for me. I only have a handful of authors I can trust to give me a good story regardless of what they are writing about. It's a small list with names like Asimov, Ellis, Wagner and Herbert amongst it's ranks. I add K.J. Parker aka Tom Holt to the list now. I've read a few of his works now with each one being easier to read. I enjoy his work so much I can't put the book down once I've started it. This is rare for me. Most writers annoy me to a varying degree. Some I fight through, others a just tolerate to finish the book. With this writer i trust him to deliver a story I will enjoy, this book is no different.

The story of someone who came from nothing and eventually did something is nothing new. How we get through that in this story is entertaining. That's why this book is so good. The whole thing is very straightforward from start to finish. Keep that in mind and the story is a breeze that is worth reading.

I read this book via NetGalley. I thank them for this book.

#MyBeautifulLife #NetGalley ( )

Another stand-out novella from Parker. It contains all of the cynicism and dark humor that have made his works must buys for me.

Received via NetGalley. ( )