The Elder Scrolls games series may only feature a new instalment once in a while, but when one is released we’re treated to a wealth of content. The world of Tamriel is vast both in geographical terms and in terms of its abundance of lore. From Morrowind to Cyrodiil and in Skyrim we can find countless in game books detailing the history and myths of the world of The Elder Scrolls. With such a vast amount of brain candy on offer, many players may find that their hunger for lore is sated but if you’re after a text with a few more pages you may want to turn your gaze towards Lord of Souls, the second Elder Scrolls novel from author Greg Keyes.
Following on from its direct predecessor The Infernal City, Lord of Souls isn’t set in Skyrim nor is it set during the time period of the game, so don’t expect a deeper insight into a land of hardy Nords ranting about milk drinkers and arrows in their knees. In fact Lord of Souls has a stronger connection to Oblivion as a large proportion of the novel is set in Cyrodiil. That said, the book certainly captures something of the Tamriel atmosphere and a good sense of the cultures within it. Author Greg Keyes has an impressive background in the world of science fiction writing, having worked on novels based on Star Wars, Babylon 5 and more. He also won the Le Grand Prix de I’Imaginaire award for his successful saga of books- The Age of Unreason.
On to the book and the first issue worth noting is perhaps the most obvious; Lord of Souls is part two of a two part set and so if you haven’t read Infernal City then you’ll be missing some of the information relevant to the narrative. With this said, anyone even moderately familiar with the world of Tamriel will soon begin to feel at home in Lord of Souls as Keyes draws strongly on the source material for his books. Generally, however, it would be far more sensible to read the first instalment beforehand. If this is your plan, beware as this review could potentially contain spoilers for the first novel.
If however, you find yourself reading Lord of Souls without having delved into its predecessor, you’ll soon be briefed on what’s going on and where the characters stand. Umbriel, a vast floating city ripped out of Oblivion, is cruising through Cyrodiil and heading towards the Imperial City. Alone this is simply ominous, add the fact that an army of undead is moving with it and that the souls of anyone killed beneath the city power its movement and things get particularly unpleasant.
The narrative follows four primary pairs of characters as they endeavour to save their land and themselves from the slow path of destruction carved out by Umbriel. Colin, an inspector in the Imperial City, teams up with the mysterious Letine to investigate the origins of the floating city. Imperial Prince Attrebus and his Dark Elf companion Sul travel in and out of Oblivion as they seek a way of bringing Umbriel down. Orc warrior Mazgar and her friend Brennus travel in Cyrodiil getting a first hand view of Umbriel’s chaotic path. Finally, a Breton named Annaïg along with her lifelong Argonian friend Glim are trapped on the floating city and must tread a thin line as they struggle to survive whilst looking for a way to destroy it.
All in all the characters are well conceived with a nice variety of personalities. By far the most interesting and tense plotline is that of Annaïg and Glim on board Umbriel. It also makes for the most alien environment as things work very differently on the almost organic floating city. Life is recycled in Umbriel with the city producing new life even as it absorbs the old. Souls from victims in Tamriel below keep the city aloft as its decadent leaders indulge strange and twisted desires.
Annaïg must balance her morality and very soul with her desire to effectively end the threat Umbriel poses to her homeland. Rising in status up through the kitchens of the city whilst providing its leaders with sometimes absurd dishes, Annaïg puts her alchemical skills to use in trying to devise a biological weapon to destroy the organic aspects of Umbriel. Keyes does a great job of conveying the complexities of cooking and alchemy found in the Elder Scrolls games through the character of Annaïg. The often twisted tastes of the rulers of Umbriel make these elements of the narrative even more interesting as Annaïg must consider some very unusual ingredients for her dishes.
Colin and Letine, meanwhile, engage in far more terrestrial forms of investigation and infiltration as they try to find out how Umbriel arrived in Tamriel. An underlying romance works well to punctuate this otherwise fairly uninspiring aspect of the novel. The dangers that these characters face during their investigations are noteworthy and yet the chapters dedicated to them seem to lack the tension of those on board Umbriel.
A separate plotline that receives far too little attention is that off the battle hardened Orc woman Mazgar and her friend Brennus, a mage sent to investigate Umbriel. The two characters have an enjoyable rapport and travel extensively around Cyrodiil with military forces as they avoid the destructive influence of the floating island. Unfortunately this more mobile and exciting aspect of the plot receives far less focus in the book than the other narrative lines.
Finally, Prince Attrebus, arguably the main protagonist, feels generally unimpressive as his partner Sul tends to face most of their problems head on while he ruminates on his lack of ability. Despite this, the chapters focused on this pair tend to be quite exciting thanks to the fact that they do a lot of travelling both in and out of Oblivion while seeking to unravel the mysteries of Umbriel and its arcane origins.
Generally the characters and their environments are very well conceived and the overall narrative is rarely dull as it switches between these characters. While the speedy pacing keeps things interesting in early and middle parts of the book, it has the unfortunate effect of bunching events up at the end of the novel. As the climax nears it feels as if the story is being rushed to its finish without a moment to take a breath. As each of the narrative threads ties together it feels as if the book misses its chance to forge a strong climax out of all these interweaving lines; instead Lord of Souls raps up rather quickly and doesn’t give each of its characters enough time to really shine in their climactic moments.
Altogether it would be unfair to say this makes Lord of Souls a bad read, on the contrary; Greg Keyes has, to some extent, tapped into the atmosphere of the Elder Scrolls world and cultures, delivering them on the page. The book could have done with a few extra chapters to give its characters the time they deserved, but that isn’t enough to hinder what is ultimately an enjoyable read and an elegant portal into Tamriel.
