Fiction Editor of www.bloody-disgusting.com & Editor-in-Chief of www.fangirlmag.com
Date of Release:5-28-05
The Forgotten Scribes has stirred up a good chunk of controversy since its release. Apparently Jerry Falwell has notified author Anthony Downen that he’s going to be damned to hell for writing it. High praise wouldn’t you say? What kind of tale would warrant eternal agony for ones immortal soul you ask? Let me tell you.
The book tells the story of a sailor named Aramis Faro. Aramis and his crew live in a world that reminds one of something from the old school fantasy novels. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and a human like race called Elorians exist in a land that is populated with Dragons and other mystical creatures. The Seas are immense and an all powerful Senate is in charge, handing out hangings right and left to keep people in line. This world seems to be in a time right out of the middle ages when it comes to technology.
Aramis and his shipmates wind up on an island that has a very supernatural and foreboding history. What happens next changes Aramis’s life forever as he is turned into a creature of the night. As it turns out the island, named Eontes, is a home for vampires, lots of vampires. Aramis makes it back to his own home of Balimyst changed. He still has his humanity and must come to terms with the creature he has become. The ex-seaman finds a way to keep his existence secret and survive, while keeping a tenuous peace with his soul and God. While running a tavern with a dwarf named Liam, Aramis feeds on those he believes are deserving of death, the wretches of the town. Rapists, thieves, murderers, all the time being able to work only at night and not being caught.
When Liam’s life is placed in danger, Aramis finds his only friend left alive in trouble. He goes off and finds the one who threatened Liam, a man who is unfortunately the son of a very powerful man. He kills Ian, Liam’s attacker, only to discover a dying woman who is pregnant with the man’s child. Her name is Shyanne, and against his better judgment, Aramis makes her a vampire saving her life and the life of her unborn baby.
Aramis luck changes as the authorities, pressured by Cornelius McGregor, the father of Ian, have tracked him down as well as Shyanne. He and his companions flee to the only place they might have a chance, Eontes the island of the vampires. A place that cost Aramis his life the last time he was there.
At this point you are asking why would this type of tale warrant such a hostile welcome by a leader of the Christian Right (well even for them that’s a little extreme) ? That would be because of what Aramis and company discover once they arrive back on Eontes.
Downen has taken the Bible and created a mythos that blends together Christianity and vampirism that is surprisingly not hard to believe. He’s inserted it into a tale that’s story is extremely relevant in the times we are in right now. A story that blurs who is right and who is wrong and makes you think.
Quotes from The Bible are read by Aramis and we read along with him as he realizes just what had happened to our world and the times before. It’s through his eyes you discover how badly things have gone and how it seems history is doomed to repeat itself, and how he is deeply involved in the outcome.
Intolerance and hatred, mixed with fear and the need for power have once again corrupted the world and it would seem the vampires may not be the bad guys.
In this time of war, when religion is such a hot topic and we have extremist groups on both sides saying they are right (and churches are putting up signs saying “The Koran needs to be flushed!” on roadsides) this story is even more relevant, even if it is Dark Fantasy. And it is easy to see why ire of Jerry Falwell would fall on Downen for having the audacity to take a book that has been rewritten and re-transcribed so many times like the Bible and using it for a morality tale. How dare he try to teach people! The nerve!
The Forgotten Scribes is a good read, for fans of books like Dragonlance, or the White Wolf series of novels especially. The mythos that Downen uses as I said before is quite interesting and will make you want to keep going to see just how it ends up.
There are poems, from the hand of Aramis, at the start of each chapter. They tie in nicely with what is happening in the story and are quite good on their own.
The book does suffer a bit from the intrusion of what I consider some “modern slang” that jars the flow. It also suffers from the other extreme where the wording becomes almost too old world and flowery for its own good. It feels forced, like a try at writing in the style of Shakespeare that then goes away within the next paragraph.
These few complaints do not take away from what is an excellent and very ballsy story that takes the reader through what could actually feel like a familiar journey for some of us. It’s a journey of doubt and faith, the feelings of damnation and redemption, and not knowing where in this world you fit in.
In the end I would strongly suggest if you are a vampire fan or a fan of fantasy that you read the Forgotten Scribes. It is more than a horror story and more than a fantasy tale. It’s a unique take on an old legend.
And hey! You’ll piss off Jerry Falwell, what more could you ask?
