The Heretic of the North

The Chronicles of the Star Calendar: The Heretic of the North
Timothy Brommer
2004, Runestone Hill
ISBN: 0-9726344-0-1

The Heretic of the North is the first installment of a blood-drenched political fantasy in which nations and religions clash and countries are torn apart by civil, mercantile, and religious intrigue. Reminiscent of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Heretic is a substantive, well-crafted novel filled with the sweat, grit, and ugliness of war.

Orius Candell is a foreigner in Northern Cheltabria, a magic-wielding priest of Ghyo the Creator who is determined to unite the warring villages of the land and win for himself the title of King of Cheltabria. In doing so, he must balance the pacificism of his religious beliefs against the brutal necessities of politics, praying that he doesn’t lose the grace of his god. But as he earnestly seeks to restore his religion to a land that turned away from it during the Schism, and unite a fiercely independent people to face the threat of invading Syts, the Holy Council of the Church of Ghyo has declared him a heretic for daring to combine religion with rulership.

Capturing Orius isn’t the church’s only problem; the clergy also must to decide whether or not to put down political eruptions in its local baronies and help fund King Roderigo Mendio of Soriazar’s war against invading Semotecs, barbarians whose blasphemous worship of Ghyo includes human sacrifice. And what about the church’s suspicions that King Roderigo is considering taking advantage of the warfare to re-take lands lost by his grandfather to the country of Idu?

King Roderigo doesn’t sleep easily, either. His heir, Sandoval, is a spoiled, arrogant young man, although his other two sons, Masuf and Javior, are skilled enough; his oldest daughter Caermela is married off to a useful merchant, but his youngest daughter Drucilla is a priestess of Ghyo and a pawn in his struggle with the church’s local representative, High Priestess Serophia. His second wife, Khalia, doesn’t love him; his merchants are angry because he won’t let them raise prices during war; and his Knights of Olantaro are insulted by his decision to train commoners to use firearms in war, an idea they believe demeans the nobility and honor of an aristocratic knighthood.

The Heretic of the North skillfully juggles all of these viewpoints and more, weaving a complex story of pride, ambition, vengeance, and zealotry. Brommer spent five years in the U.S. Marine Corps, and his experience shows in the novel’s gritty, unromantic portrayal of combat and injury. This is a solid low fantasy, with magic firmly placed in a support role and the Syt appearing to be the only other race to exist on the continent besides humans — and they are near-human, just different enough from humans to be unable to sire children on the human women they abduct.

The various realms in the novel are loosely based on “real-world” lands, giving readers a touchpoint of familiarity: Cheltabria feels roughly Celtic or Nordic, Soriazar is vaguely Spanish (the author spend several years living in Spain), Idu is clearly Roman, and Semotec feels Aztec. The religion of Ghyo has Roman Catholic resonances in its pacifistic outlook and international influence, with the Holy Order of Ilyas — knights of the Black Hand — bringing to mind the violence of Crusaders or the popular version of the Knights Templar. I have to say that choosing the nickname “Oruks” for Syts and calling the mysterious figure behind the Syts’ attack the “Black Rider” should have been avoided; both are too obvious a nod to Tolkien’s epic, and Heretic stands alone quite well without courting such comparisons.

Although most of the pivotal characters outside of the church hierarchy are male, there are a few strong female characters in the book, most notably King Roderigo’s Mistress of Trackers Rufina Manda. However, the description of a rape and offhand comments about the sexual use of women may disturb readers sensitive to such subjects.

At times Brommer’s descriptions of cities, rooms, and clothing become a bit unwieldy, but it’s this attention to sensory detail that renders other parts of his novel so believable. Readers mystified by the dates at the head of each chapter may want to note that the calendar can be found at the end of the book, on page 302. On the technical side, the copyediting is flawless, the binding sturdy, and the cover features a drawing of Orius by artist Larry Elmore, whose work you’ve seen on so many other fantasy book covers and roleplaying game publications.

The Heretic of the North is an impressively strong first offering from Runestone Hill, the kind of gripping story that could just have easily been issued by a mainstream fantasy publisher — that is, if mainstream publishers ever paid attention to new authors. Since they don’t, thank heavens for a discerning small press capable of bringing books like this to the public’s attention. If you enjoy immersing yourself in gritty, realistic fantasies about continent-spanning warfare and intrigue, I promise that you’ll be more than satisfied with The Heretic of the North and as eager as I am to see what new twists the plot will take in Volume II.

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