Review: Evil is a Matter of Perspective: An Anthology of Antagonists

Evil is a Matter of Perspective: An Anthology of Antagonists by Adrian Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When this was announced by Arian Collins over at Grimdark Magazine as an upcoming Kickstarter, I couldn’t wait to jump on board. As I have always found myself intrigued by well written villains/adversaries, I knew this was something I wanted to experience. I’ve discovered while watching the Marvel shows on Netflix that the characters I’m most interested in, (Kingpin, Punisher, and Killgrave) are always the “bad guys”. These shows have great writing, such that they really dig deep into what made the villains..villains. While they don’t justify what they’ve become, these stories give some perspective, some insight on how they came to be the way they are.

So yes, I was excited to have that experience In narrative form. Some authors have entertained me over the years with this concept, telling stories of the “bad guys” within the overall works that bring it all together. I think of George R.R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie, Mark Lawrence, and Steven Erikson, among others. Heck, this is the whole concept that has drawn me in to what is now called “grimdark” fiction.

I could not be more pleased with the final product. The cover art is fantastic, as is the interior art. It was a joy to hold this paperback and slowly absorb the total reading experience. As with most anthologies, there is a bit of mixed bag – great stories mixed in with stuff that isn’t as great. But all in all, I’d say that every story offers something and is worth exploring.

I will say that while I love the concept (telling the story from the perspective of the bad-guy), there is a flaw with the idea of jumping in here. It is extremely difficult within the limitations of a short story to bring the total story into perspective, that is to really give us the full effect of “hey, now I get to see this from the bad guy’s perspective”. The reason is simple; most of us have not read all the material that these characters are drawn from. Even with well known authors, it’s going to take one prolific reader to catch up on all the source material before reading these tales. This is not criticism, but a flaw in the “perfect” situation. Perfect would have been to come in having read everything to this point.

The example of “Old Blood” is a good one. There were a lot of references to people and events from the main series, so it was difficult to follow and really get the intended effect of the story for new readers. “The Broken Dead” was a good example of how it worked for me, because I’ve read all of Fletcher’s published material in this universe and even remembered the events and characters drawn up here. So yes, this one worked better than all the rest for me personally.

So as a new introduction to these authors, this is probably not the ideal collection. It’s good for some as you get a good taste of their style and how their worlds work, but a grain of salt should be held out. Still, many of these authors are now highlighted for me in my future reading plans, so it does work.

Now, on to my individual story comments. I’ll keep them brief..Favorites indicated with (*):

Introductions – The first was by R. Scott Bakker. It gave me a headache. I can tell this guy is one of those genius craftsman authors that just don’t connect to regular dudes like me. This introduction and the story from Knee Deep in Grit have me thinking that, and I see we have a story in this book to loom over us.

The second intro was perfect. Adrian Collins is a regular guy and he gave a teaser for the book’s content without weighing me down. This is the kind of thing that gets me excited about what I’m fixing to read.

*“The Broken Dead” by Michael R. Fletcher – This guy never fails to impress. I enjoyed reading a key scene from Beyond Redemption from a different perspective, this time from one of the adversaries. Of course, everyone is a villain in this book so in this case I had more sympathy for the POV character than the first time through.

“Every Hair Casts a Shadow” by Teresa Frohock. I haven’t read any of her work before, but I can say that this seems to be an intriguing take on the Angels vs Demons theme, and it might even turn out better than most in the execution. Too early to tell with a short story, but definite potential here.

*“The Divine Death of Jirella Martigore” by Alex Marshall – That was different. I was definitely engrossed in the writing as I tried to take in all the world building. I’m curious enough to try the first novel, which I’ve had on the TBR since before it came out.

“A Royal Gift” by Mark Adler – I didn’t get the historical references and it was too short to decide if I liked the dark fantasy edge.

“Old Blood” by Adrian Tchaikovsky – Now I’ve read a couple of short stories in the Shadows of the Apt series, and enjoyed them quite a bit, enough to put the first novel on my TBR. This time around, I didn’t love the story. It was well written, but I felt lost. I’m coming to think that some of these stories just don’t work as well as intended with a reader that hasn’t read the main series it’s from. I’d be interested in revisiting this one after I’ve read some of the novels, and see if I enjoy it better. That said, I’m still wanting to check out the first novel.

“Black Bargain” by Janny Wurts – First, I love this lady’s prose and characters. I found myself immersed immediately and ran with it. Thing is, it has been so long since I’ve read any of these books that I felt lost with all the names, places, and events referenced. This is another case where I think a lot is lost unless the reader is a (fresh) veteran reader of the original work.

*“The Syldoon Sun” by Jeff Salyards – Now that was fun. I’m not sure how it all ties into the main series, but I definitely want to read those books sooner rather than later. This was a great introduction to Salyards’s work.

“The Darkness within the Light” by Shawn Speakman – An author that’s been on my TBR radar for awhile, I was very pleased with this story. Wizards, fae, Arthurian stuff, and plenty of grim. Definitely one to explore further.

*“The Greater of Two Evils” by Marc Turner – Wow. Another author that I’ve been meaning to try, and I see why. Pirates and Storm Lords on the seas, with battle magics and plot twists. Loved it, and will be moving that Turner book I have up the TBR.

“Exceeding Bitter” by Kaaron Warren – Creepy grimdark ghost-story; this was really interesting. It might be worth exploring more of this author’s work.

*“A Game of Mages” – by Courtney Schafer – Here’s yet another author I’ve been meaning to try, and once more I’m not disappointed. This is a favorite. I loved the dark magics and was interested in immersing into the world further.

“The Tattered Prince and the Demon Veiled” by Bradley P. Beaulieu – This was the longest story in the book, I think. The pacing was pretty good though. I have read and liked the author previously, though had not yet read anything set in this world. It was very intriguing, but I think I’d get more out of this story by reading a longer work first.

*“Storm Unbound” by E.V. Morrigan – Heck yes. This is what I love about grimdark! Deception, assassins, and a twist with a twist at the end.

“The Game” by Matthew Ward – Political maneuvering with dark magic. Nice plot, setting up for something else later. Would still like to learn more of this world.

“Blood Penny” by Deborah A. Wolf – Great imagery and creepy ritual magics going on. Here’s another author I’ve been meaning to try and I can tell already she’s a good ‘un. I’m still undecided if this particular world setting is to my taste, but it definitely has some potential.

*“Better than Breath” by Brian Staveley – here’s another author I’ve been meaning to try for a long time and I keep hearing great things about his stuff. And this story does not disappoint. This is a perfect example of the book’s theme, and is realized even without being familiar with the original work.

“The Foundation of Bones” by Mazarkis Williams – I haven’t heard as much about this author as some of the others, but was still curious. This turned out to be a pretty good one; nicely paced with some intriguing backstory.

*“The Aging of a Kill” by Peter Orullian – A definite favorite. This was my second Orullian story this year and I had much the same reaction, one that makes me want to read his novels immediately. I love the way this story was layered, stories within stories, and the way he tied it all together at the end. Brilliant. I need more of this in my reading life.

“The Carathayan” by R. Scott Bakker – This is also my second reading from Bakker, and once more I feel consistent. I did enjoy this one more than the first I read, but also found myself a bit confused by all the names/places and just the weirdness of the story. His prose is wonderful and there are certainly some intriguing ideas in here, but I just don’t know if I could read through an entire novel of it. I’ll hold out judgment though and just see where my reading path takes me.


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