Vincalis the Agitator / Holly Lisle

Vincalis the Agitator

category: fantasy, author:

Holly Lisle

book 0 (prequel) of Secret Texts
original copyright 2002

read in May 2012

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10: read to pass the time

There's a rich and happy society. Ruled by people who are not as nice as they pretend. Who are, in turn, ruled by a secret society who are cruel, evil and known of by a surprising number of people, considering that they are a "secret society". Then there's the underclass; the people who exist to suffer and to supply the power to support the good life of those above.

This book provides the background to Lisle's Secret Texts trilogy. It's an enjoyable book which can be read alone. It's a while since I read the trilogy and I enjoyed some of the new explanation of where it all began. I suspect that it would be a mistake to read the prequel before the trilogy; too much suspense would be lost.

As a standalone book, Vincalis is average. The plot drifts along in a logical progression... unbelievable beyond the excuse of fantasy but logical. The characters are soap opera: each one is a mixture of good and bad, with mixed motives and a tendency to shift allegiance under pressure.

There are four main characters, with the story following the point of view of two of them. Those two live a charmed life. There are threats, there are dangers, there are narrow escapes... these two avoid the worst of the torments. When characters do suffer -- it is seen, safely, from a third-person perspective. I like that! There's a limit to how much I want my heroes to suffer.

There are also social messages. The main message is, that those on top preserve their own energy-wasting lifestyles at the expense of those at the bottom. That comfort -- and the desire for continued comfort -- corrupts. It's a measure of the shallowness of the book that when a few people do take a stand against continued oppression of the poor... They take a stand, make no difference, disappear from the story.

Perhaps there is just too much in this book: The best part of a lifetime for the heroes; an empire from its dizzy heights to its sudden fall; the back story to a trilogy all in one book... A large number of sudden but satisfactory endings in the last few chapters. Is there too much to do in one book? Though I suspect that a second prequel would only stretch the plot too thin.

If you have just read the Secret Texts trilogy, then Vincalis is now worth reading. For others, it's enjoyable enough to pass the time.

The cover picture, really, says it all:

There's the hero, manacled, but otherwise unhurt. Surrounded by suspicious characters in robes, pointing, thinking, accusing but not really hurting. (Sticks and stones...) Now look again at the hero: he has the hands of a Lego person... Plastic.

..o0o..

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