Review by C.J. Bunce
Professor Robert Schofield once reminded his history students that in the Middle Ages humans believed the Moon to be more important than the Sun, because the Moon brought light when there was none. In Erin M. Evans’ next novel in the RuneScape realms, Runescape: Shadows of Amascut (available now here at Amazon), the author unveils a new side of this MMPORG world of ancient rites and secret magic that has a similar footing. Here she taps into the ancient world to layer on a fictional, textured setting of humans, gods, and the power and influence found in between. If you’re looking for a tale where humans partner with god-like beings to save their preferred pantheon in a desert-filled clash of the titans, this is for you.
RuneScape is a major fantasy online roleplaying game that began its massive following at the beginning of the century (at 300 million accounts the Guinness Book of World Records pegs it as the biggest MMPORG). It saw an early adaptation in a series of novels by T.S. Church that was rekindled in Evans’ RuneScape: The Gift of Guthix (one of our top picks of 2024 reviewed here) and continued in Robbie MacNiven’s RuneScape: The Fall of Hallowvale (reviewed here). I loved the worldbuilding in Evans’ first book in the series and this view of another type of middle-earth is equally layered, equally intriguing, and entirely different.
This time readers meet Satia, a human travelling under the control of the Mahjarrat, a magic-capable religious sect crossing the desert to locate artifcats of their dead god Tumeken in hopes of preserving their very existence. Satia is similar to Ilme, the sixteen-year-old girl manipulated and used in the first novel because of her early abilities with magic. Satia is a bit of a con artist at first, identified by Damaris, a unique Mahjarrat who also has visions and takes Satia under her wing.
But soon Satia’s actual visions become actually useful and her brother Djer, who is also traveling with the ever-dwindling legion, starts being bothered by his own visions. But what gods are behind them? Or are they just dreams? A parallel Egypt comes alive with giant jackals and lions and a helpful little cat in tow as the unworldly clashes with the worldly.
The writing is impressive. Evans harnesses some of the idiosyncracies found in ancient thought, the way that ancient humans in the Near East interpreted their world you’ll find in the ancient history text staple The Intellectual Adventure of Ancient Man (still used in colleges and available at Amazon here). It all begins with the loose, one-sided partnership of Damaris and Satia (who Damaris only recognized from the other humans because of her facial scar). As the rune collecting trope of the franchise emerges, readers may feel this is Raiders of the Lost Ark if the archaeological digs are being conducted in Egypt by Egyptians not so far removed from the sands burying their holy relics (then again, maybe Howard Carter really did die from a pharoah’s curse). That addition of religious zealots seeking out artifacts of an extant religion makes way for an entire branch of storytelling for RuneScape tie-ins.
Key to not putting down this novel is the communication of different belief systems between Damaris in the power position and Satia at the bottom of the social, economic, etc. structure. The dialogue could be between an Egyptian and a Sumerian, trying to accomplish similar ends where the gods are real, active, daily players in the lives of everyone in unmistakeable ways. Although it seems like happenstance could be a factor (like in so many conflicts in stories from our own actual ancient world?), Evans parts with that in ways that skirt Harryhausen worlds and also evoke the fantasy director’s films more overtly–like a shambling legion of skeleton men.
Get ready to get sucked into your next fun fantasy read. RuneScape: Shadows of Amascut is available from Titan Books now here at Amazon and other bookstores.
