The "Warden" series (starting with "The Warden") by Daniel M. Ford (series; 2023-)
**Fantasy adventure, maximum snarkiness. What's not to like?**
“Doesn’t seem like a good idea to me.” “My ideas never are. But my execution is flawless.” - Aelis de Lenti un Tirraval is kind of my hero
Credit to Daniel M. Ford, he knows exactly what he's doing and this book knows exactly what it is. It's just plain fun, no need to overthink it.
It's a very well-constructed world, post-Tolkien (similarly, you could say it has a heavy D&D vibe) to the point that any even casual consumer of fantasy will find comfortable ground on which to stand. Humans are plucky but physically outmatched, elves are wise and graceful, orcs and strong and angry, dwarves enjoy tinkering and ale ("we have enough sense to turn all grains, corn, barley, oats, and wheat into something to drink.")
To this, Ford has mixed in plenty of original ideas. Magic is taught in separate colleges, and mages have affinity for one or some but not all of them, which leads to nice variety (and an ongoing joke that people keep asking our main character to throw a fireball or something, and she always has to reply that she's not an Invoker, that's not what she does, ugh). And in particular, his portrayal of Necromancy, our hero's primary affinity, is a lot of fun
Thus, our setup. Our hero, Aelis, has just graduated and been accepted as a "Warden", the kingdom's sheriff-mages. Expecting a nice posting in the city, she's instead sent out to the middle of nowhere, charged with protecting her people and enforcing the law. She meets colorful characters, forms friendships, does her job
At the center of this entire series, and very much the reason these books work, is Aelis--who is a truly excellent character. She's fun from literally before the first book even begins, as the novel is dedicated to Ford's daughters: "To Elizabeth and Abby, I know you will both be as smart, as fearless, and as strong as Aelis. Maybe cuss less."
What's funny is that, on paper, Aelis seems like she'd be annoying--both within and without the universe. Within the universe, she's a privileged rich girl who's frustrated to be sent to the countryside. She's a smug, often accidentally elitist jerk:
“What do you think of [him]?”“Dimly remember him as a year ahead of me in the Colleges of Abjuration and Necromancy,” Aelis said. She waved a hand dismissively in the air. “Part of the faceless crowd who weren’t powerful enough, clever enough, or good looking enough to hold my attention.”“That … paints a picture of the younger Aelis,”
And yet, Ford has portrayed her so well that it's impossible not to root for her. Part of it is that her irreverence is quite catching. She really does come across as the snarky main character of a network tv show:
“Understand that if you scream when I drop this ward, or you try to rush at me, I will cut your throat first and figure out a way to dodge the shit that will rain down on me later. If you know anything about me, you’ll know that acting on impulse and worrying about consequences later is something of a house specialty. Am I clear?”
I'd say the other reason why Aelis works as a character is that she is very, very aware of her shortcomings. She struggles with her elitism, and her desire to do her duty, and her desire to be recognized and seen doing her duty, and her pride in her work even if no one sees it, and the fact that she misses her creature comforts and her family's wine cellar (it is, apparently, measured in acres). In fact, that balance is spelled out rather explicitly by one of her friends:
"I want to run all the way up there and find out…”
“But you can’t, because you need to be back in Lone Pine.” Tun came a few steps closer. “The gap between what we want and what we must do is where we learn who we are, Aelis.”
And so, here we are. Aelis, doing her best. Ford has created a rich world, with adventures to be had and ancient evils to be combated and society to be examined and really everything that you want a young, snarky, but in the end genuinely trying to be a good person, heroine to tackle:
Wizards are supposed to be better than this, she thought, and she felt her lip curl. Then, out loud in a murmur, as she realized she’d stalked away from the bank’s outer wall, her footsteps loud and determined on the cobblestones of the street, “We are obligated to be better than this.” She gritted her teeth in a fury that had no immediate outlet as she stalked on. “You cannot be given this much,” she hissed, “this much power, and the status it confers, and decide you’ll only use that to get more.”
Aelis is, for all her flaws, for all that she talks like her dialogue was written, then sent to the producer who returned it with a note to "punch it up a little" to which her writer obliged . . . she's a badass. No question
Oh, and don't worry, this wouldn't be a nice high fantasy adventure without the occasional lofty proclamations. Philosopher-generals and wise elder creatures abound, and Ford absolutely understands his assignment as an author:
“When I say some shaped earth, I speak of mountains,” Rhunival said, drawing the word out for emphasis. “And yet, such a work could be made in an hour, while a Shaper might spend infinitely more time sculpting a crystal inside the mountain.”
“Mountains are made by the forces of the earth,” Timmuk said, “the flowing of its fiery blood, the shifting of its skin. I have been inside enough of them to know.”
Rhunival smiled the indulgent smile of a teacher dealing with a too-precocious student. It was an expression, Aelis was forced to admit, she knew very well. “There are many ways to understand the world, Master of Sums, though some would say it comes down to two; the way of tales, and the way of math: the marked string and the balance, the astrolabe and the compass, the ground glass lens. Though I can manage the tools of the latter, I know which I prefer.”
I made comments above that Aelis comes across as a network tv star, and I meant it. This series moves along at a page-turning clip, dialogue zinging back and forth. That's this novel's strength, and if that's what you're in the mood for, I honestly cannot say I've read anything else recently that comes even close. If you want fast-paced quips and fun adventures with sword and sorcery, written by an author with a knack for both fun dialogue and zippy action scenes, you cannot go wrong here:
“Am I dead, Tun? Is this what death feels like?”
“Death feels like nothing, I expect,” the huge shape answered, in Tun’s voice. “Life, on the other hand, is quite painful.”
“Oh good,” Aelis said, slowly. Speaking hurt her jaw. Gently, she inspected her teeth with her tongue, expecting them to hurt and feeling mild surprise when they didn’t. “Do come over here and kill me then, hmm?”
“That is the last thing I would consider doing, Warden,” Tun said.
“That’s not very charitable of you.”
I certainly can't think of many better ways to spend an afternoon than following Aelis around the town of Lone Pine
I loved this book
“I cannot help where I was born or to whom, Maurenia.” Aelis knew she sounded more defensive than she wanted to, but she pressed on anyway. “But I’m here now and glad of it.”
“Do not do us all the dishonor of lying to us,” Tun said.
“Well, that’s not what I meant,” Aelis said. “Of course I hate this fucking weather, and I’m none too fond of sheep, and I’d condemn all goats to the seven hundred and seventy-seven hells, but look; I’m here with three fine, brave people, and I’m glad of that. I couldn’t do this on my own.” Aelis held her breath in the silence that followed.
“Going it a little high,” Timmuk said gently.
“Indeed,” Tun agreed. “Much too high.”
“Laying too much on,” Maurenia said.
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