Above the Snowline is the fourth novel in the Fourland series by Steph Swainston. It's a prequel, set before all of the other books.

Plot:
Jant Shira is new to the Emperor's circle of immortals. Being half Rhydanne, half Awian on top of his novice status, he often feels like an outcast and is eager to prove himself. The opportunity arises when Rhydanne Dellin comes to the Castle, seeking an audience with the Emperor. Dellin's living space in the mountains is severely encroached upon by Awian settlers and she is here to ask for help. Jant gets sent to the mountains with Dellin to check out the situation and thus has to confront his own heritage.

I enjoyed Above the Snowline very much, and I continue to be a fan of the series. Above the Snowline offers some interesting takes on the Fourlands and on colonialism, but mostly, it provides great background information on Jant himself.

Read more on my blog: http://kalafudra.com/2017/04/12/above-the-snowline-steph-swainston/ ( )

A nice addition to the Fourlands world. Jant, whose abilities and raison d'etre as the Messenger come from his blend of Awai and Rhydanne heritage is sent to sort out a dispute between the two in Carniss, a disputed border region. But his romantic side (by which I mean his love for the wild in general, rather than Dellin in the specific) takes over and he fails to do the task expected of him. Luckily, his friends, including hostel owners and immortal Eszai help him out. A tale of muddling through despite it all. ( )

ull - didn't finish. A collection of cliches sadly lacking in any characterisation or innovation. I won't bother with any more of her stuff. From a promising start it's slipped inexorably downhill. ( )

This book is a prequel to the Fourlands trilogy I read last year and features Jant's early life as one of the immortal Eszai. Raven Rachiswater, brother to the king of the Awians, has been exiled to the Darkling mountains but his new manor house is purported to be in contravention to the edicts of the Emperor and has also encroached onto the hunting grounds of the Rhydanne and Shira Dellin has appealed to the Emperor for help. He sends Jant back with Dellin in order to mediate a truce and find out what is really going on in Darkling.

The story is told from the point of view of whoever is the main focus for the current chapter so the reader gets to see the motivations of each of the main players throughout and each has their own distinctive voice. The world is beautifully portrayed and imagined and nothing really feels out of place, even when our own modern day accoutrements invade what seems to be a fairly standard fantasy setting. The different facets of the plot are interwoven nicely as the story builds to the climactic ending. There are some quite grisly scenes portrayed in this book and details of animal butchery is probably not the worst of it but if you can handle that kind of detail then this and the aforementioned trilogy are definitely worth a visit. ( )

I have a soft spot for Steph Swainston. Back when Miéville’s Perdido Street Station sparked my interest in the New Weird, Swainston’s first book about the Fourlands was the second example I stumbled over. So between them, Miéville and Swainston very much defined the genre for me.

The Fourlands are involved in an endless war with mindless insects, constantly threatening to destroy civilization. To lead the war, the demi-godlike Emperor San has selected a Circle of fifty men and women, who are the best in their respective field (Archery, Ballistics, Sailing, Swordsmanship, Healing and so on) and granted them immortality. Unfortunately for the Circle, the Messenger is Jant, the fastest man alive, the only human who could ever fly, but also a street-wise, egocentric junky. Jant is the main character of the Fourland books.

Swainston is in a way much more close to “regular” epic fantasy than many other of the New Weird writers I like, and this has been gradually becoming more true as the series progresses. In the first books, Jants drug use let him cross the borders into other worlds, including the grotesque and very weird transit station Shift, a kind of Burroughsian Interzone with women made of bundles of worms and road signs made from living intestines. Those strongly flavoured detours are becoming less and less frequent, and in this her latest book, they aren’t there at all. Which is a bit of a shame.

What is becoming more and more interesting about Swainston, though, is that she (much like Miéville) is using fantasy as political literature. Imperialism and cultural imperialism are becoming strong themes in a very interesting way.

Above the snowline is a prequel to the previous three books. In the Darkling mountains, Awain expansion is causing the hunting grounds of the native Rhydanne to grow thin, and raids on tame livestock is the result. Now the area is on the brink of guerilla war, the Rhydanne woman Dellin is appealing to the Emperor for help, and Jant is sent to practice diplomacy. Himself being half Rhydanne, half Awain (which is the key to his flying ability), Jant is at the same time faced with his own complicated cultural heritage and loyalty.

What follows is a complex ride, told in first person by many voices in a way that really shows the position of all sides. There are no easy answers here, and no real heroes or villains. For a long time, Swainston seems to be very close to falling into a “noble savage” cliché, but then she tilts the perspective with a truly horrific turn of events. The feral Rhydanne aren’t all that easy to like, either. Very clever.

It isn’t all good. There are things in here that feels worn and re-heated too many times. And how Jant becomes a complete idiot by falling in love is just silly. But all in all, this is exciting and well-told fantasy with a fresh perspective for anyone who is tired of magical swords. ( )