Book Review - MORTEDANT'S PERIL by RJ Barker

Mortedant's Peril by R.J. Barker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book Summary:
In a city of ancient automata, strange spirits, and sleeping gods, a cleric of death finds his own life on the line in this vividly imagined fantasy murder mystery from the acclaimed author of The Bone Ships and Age of Assassins.

Irody Hasp is a Mortedant, a cleric tasked with reading the last thoughts of the dead—though no one thanks him for it. No Mortedant is popular, but Irody is scarcely tolerated even by the other members of his own guild, and rarely selected for anything but the lowliest of jobs.

This impoverished existence would be dismal enough—but after reading the corpse of a low-level records keeper, Irody's troubles quickly multiply when his own apprentice is murdered, and all fingers point to him as a suspect. The only way to save his own skin is to find the real culprit himself, an investigation that quickly attracts powerful enemies with few scruples, and draws him into a plot that threatens the entire corrupt yet wondrous city he calls home.

Perfect for fans of The Lies of Locke Lamora, Foundryside, and Witness for the Dead, this investigative misadventure begins a perilous new series by award-winning author RJ Barker.


My Review:
RJ Barker is one of my very favorite fantasy authors for a variety of reasons. The biggest being that he never repeats himself and every one of his series is very different in tone, theme, and worldbuilding. So I never know what I'm going to get when I embark on a new series by him, and this is a really really good thing.

Once again Barker kept me on my toes as MORTEDANT'S PERIL gradually revealed itself. This first book in Barker's Trials of Irody Hasp series is something of a caper, with the protagonist investigating a murder. Albeit out of necessity as the reason why he is investigating said murder is because he's the one who was framed for it. So to save himself from the executioner's blade, Irody is forced to try and find the real killer or killers before things go south and he's on the chopping block (literally).

The worldbuilding in this book is absolutely superb, maybe my favorite world that Barker has ever created. The setting is quite dark, which I always love, and it just enhances the dark and sinister events at play. The fact that the main character can also converse with the dead (oh I didn't mention that?) also doubles down on the dark fantasy aspect. Irody definitely has his issues and he's rather expendable in the eyes of many of his enemies, and frankly, his friends as well.

All in all this is another banger of a story from one of the best author's in the genre. Barker just keeps getting better and better with each fantasy offering and this book had me reading well into the night and losing much sleep in the process. There are so many amazing things to say about MORTEDANT'S PERIL, but the greatest thing about it is just how intoxicating it is and how you will be immediately pulled in to it's wonderful prose and characterization.

Kudos to RJ Barker for wowing me once again (I had no doubt really). This one is setting up to be a fantastic series and honestly I can't wait to read more. I just wish I didn't have to wait another year. If you haven't checked out RJ Barker's books, there are a lot to choose from and they are all brilliant in their own way. So yeah, pick one up today and start reading. Meanwhile, I will patiently await the next book in this brand new series of his, The Trials of Irody Hasp!

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