God is a scientist, creation is a Grand Experiment, and the fate of the world (possibly even the universe) rests upon the shoulders of nine unsuspecting subjects, whose activities are constantly being observed and recorded in a powerful book that seems to write itself. But the book has been stolen and humanity could be destroyed if it falls into the wrong hands.
Thirteen-year-old Rowena Downshire is a black-market courier, struggling for survival on the streets of a grim steampunk city. Up until today, her one concern has been earning enough money to rescue her mother from a prison cell, but now her shady employer has given Rowena a package to deliver that will change the course of her life forever. It will also bring Rowena into the orbit of two extremely dangerous men – the enigmatic Alchemist, a heretic and sorcerer who reputedly trades in very dark magic (or is it just science by another name?) and the roguish ex-mercenary Anselm Meteron, who reluctantly takes the young girl under his wing (but can he really be trusted?) – as well as the Reverend Philip Chalmers who, although tasked with translating the stolen book, isn’t prepared for the terrifying dangers he and his three motley new companions are about to face. And what will happen to them when the book reveals a secret no human was ever meant to know?
The Nine is an intriguing concept that starts off slowly but lays its foundations very well. This is a world that sits somewhere between flintlock fantasy and cyber-Charles Dickens, populated by a host of fantastic characters and ingenious monsters (the ‘wrong looking’ aigamuxa, with their twisted bodies and eyes glaring out from their heels, are memorably nasty antagonists) and, although the story touches artfully upon the nature of faith and the eternal conflict between religion and science, this isn’t a book that’s mired down by ‘what’s the nature of God’ navel-gazing – it’s the characters who are important here, and spiritual matters are the last things on their minds: Rowena, Meteron, Chalmers and the Alchemist are far too busy trying to protect the book and save the world.
As the beginning of a new fantasy series, Book One of The Nine bodes very well indeed. In fact the only minor criticism would be that, in building this fascinating world and introducing us to its geography, its species and its politics, author Tracy Townsend has maybe been a little too ambitious. There’s a lot of information to take onboard, some of the technology is unclear, and there are possibly too many incidental characters, but the story is never less than engrossing and the narrative cracks along at a whip-smart pace.
THE NINE: THIEVES OF FATE BOOK ONE / AUTHOR: TRACY TOWNSEND / PUBLISHER: PYR / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
