For those who are unfamiliar with the material Ink and Steel is the third published novel in Elizabeth Bear’s Promethean Age series. It takes place well before the events of the first two books (Blood and Iron, Whiskey and Water) during the end of Queen Elizabeth’s reign over England. It also part of a duology within the series collectively known as The Stratford Man. Ink and Steel’s sequel, and part II of The Stratford Man, Hell and Earth was released yesterday. The title “The Stratford Man” refers to one of the novels two main protagonists William Shakespeare the other being renowned Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe who was introduced as a character in Whiskey and Water and who will probably appear in all the books spanning the four hundred years between. Like the rest of the Promethean Age books, Ink and Steel describes a secret behind the scenes war between Faery(It is worth noting that the Fey of Elizabeth Bear’s worlds are powerful and deadly) and various human factions namely the Prometheans (A group of human sorcerers, though who exactly constitutes the prometheans and what their goals are I believe changes from novel to novel as different factions of humanity gain control.) For a more detailed explanation on Elizabeth Bear’s Promethean Age please see her own description of the series here!
As a whole I highly recommend the series for anyone who likes urban fantasy or historical fiction, and would praise it endlessly for it’s willingness to defy cliche and yet bring in rather exhaustive looks at myth and history. Unless one has an undying love of Shakespeare however I wouldn’t recommend starting with Ink and Steel as it’s much slower than the previous books in the series although they all reportedly stand alone (I would recommend reading Blood and Iron before Whiskey and Water even though it isn’t necessary to read them in order, and The Stratford Man is a Duology so those really do go together)
Ok, now onto what I actually thought of the book, lets start with the criticism. This book is really pretty slow. I’ve read three other books by Elizabeth Bear and for the most part she moves rather briskly, but I think this may have been a story that was too long for one novel so it turned into two, and as a result got a 250 page exposition. To add to the confusion the secondary characters are rather indistinct, so most readers are going to spend some time wondering who the hell the protagonists are talking too, and why they should care. On top of that the whole thing is in old english which can be hard to follow when the conversations deal more in subtlety and indirectness. This is in many respects a very hard book to get into, and the slow pacing could have you wondering why are you putting so much effort into it.
However, there are some excellent things going on in here. Elizabeth Bear has done an unbelievable job incorporating all the knowledge we have on Shakespeare and his works into the narrative. Yet the historian never takes center stage so you won’t feel like you’re attending a history lesson. You also don’t need any knowledge on the subject to understand what is going on, but Elizabeth Bear makes many nods to both the factual and the theoretical behind each his life and works and deftly incorporates them into the plot. (Note: As a theatre student I’ve had many classes on Shakespeare’s life and works, and was actually amazed by how many contradictory elements of what we know she was able to bring together.)
Normally fictional depictions of Shakespeare bother me because of how he is portrayed. Elizabeth Bear presents the character of Shakespeare as ultimately very human. Instead of putting him on a pedestal she allows him to be unsure and flawed. He is someone the reader can empathize with and connect to. He may be brilliant but instead of attempting to make that his primary trait she instead emphasizes the humanity that allowed him to write the works that still speak to our hearts today.
The other protagonist Christopher Marlowe is as he was when he first appeared in Whiskey and Water, but younger and more vulnerable, not yet knowledgeable of the forces that maneuver around him. He remains my favorite character in the series so far. I can’t speak to the historical accuracy of her presentation of Christopher, but I imagine Elizabeth Bear has been equally stringent in her presentation. Although this is Fantasy. Christopher is cast here as a prophet to be just coming into the recognition of his powers as forces in the realm of Faery attempt to use what he will become to serve their own purposes and he seeks to ensure the safety of those in the mortal realm he left behind.
In the end while I was left satisfied and less frustrated with the slow pace of the book, and the difficulty of keeping track of who’s who and why they’re important than I had been 100 pages previously, this is a much slower book than her previous books in the series. Fans however won’t be disappointed, and I have a feeling that most of the action has been saved for part II. While I would recommend the series to anyone I wouldn’t start with Ink and Steel unless you have a particular love for Elizabethan playwrights. Elizabeth Bear once again proves that she is a very very smart author and shows talents that will serve her well as she continues to write the rest of the series. And I as the reader am left anxiously awaiting getting my copy of Hell and Earth later today!
For links to each book in the series on Amazon see below.
Blood and Iron
Whiskey and Water
Ink and Steel
Hell and Earth
