The Last Page
Author – Anthony Huso
Hardcover
Pages: 432
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: August 17th, 2010
ISBN-10: 0765325160
ISBN-13: 978-0765325167
Every year, Fantasy is inundated with novels that promise to the be the ‘next big thing’, and they almost always seem to be familiar stories, harping on the successes of the genre’s classics. Sometimes they find the success they promise (like Patrick Rothfuss’ enormous hit The Name of the Wind), and other times they wither away and never live up to the hype heaped upon their shoulders (like Robert Newcomb’s lamentable The Fifth Sorcerer); then, there are novels like Anthony Huso’s The Last Page – they’re small, quiet releases that genuinely embrace the genre’s roots, but instead of imitating their influences, they set out to create something new, something fresh.
At its very heart, The Last Page is a love story. Sure, on the surface its got prophecy and grimoires, armies and sword fights, but the true strength and soul of the novel lies in the relationship between Sena Iilool and Caliph Howl. The whirlwind love of these two is like many real-world relationships, it never quite knows itself and often redefines its rules and expectations on a whim. Instead of setting them up with love-at-first-site, Huso builds a realistic, nuanced relationship between them, as caustic as it is lustful. Sena and Caliph are both powerful figures in their own right and hidden between the lines of their tryst are powerplays and hidden agendas which sometimes align, but often contradict. They use each other constantly, but always in the name of love and lust. Like many relationships, the true root of their love (if it even exists), lies deep at the bottom of their muddy emotions and greedy machinations. It’s a refreshing change of pace in a genre that so often has the kitchenboy falling madly in love with a princess by page three.
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