Mordew

The main body of the story in this book is about 675 pages followed by a glossary and philosophical notes of another 150 pages! The story concerns Nathan Treeves, a boy of twelve whose father is dying of lung worms, whose mother supports the family as a prostitute. The family lives in a drafty shack in the slums by the harbor in the city of Mordew. The slums feature a sort of living mud from which can emerge all manner of rodents, insects but even also deformed children; the city features nightly attacks by “firebirds” that come from the Mistress of Malarkoi who is the sworn enemy of the city. Nathan possesses a magical talent that his father has told him never to use. He is recruited to join a gang and uses his magic to help commit crimes so that his share of the spoils can buy medicine for his father. Nathan comes to the attention of the powerful magician known as the “Master of Mordew” and is eventually taken as a student to the master.
I am impressed with the imagination it took to build this rich deep world and this plot. This book appears to be first of at least a trilogy and it ends on a distinct point of closure. What we have here reminds me of Narnia but with much more depth, much more betrayal, much more sadness, and characters of questionable morality: in short, a sick, fucked up Narnia that might be redeemed further down the line. I will be headed to the next book because I am hooked for now.