The Tales of Catt & Fisher

I haven't read "Redemption's Blade" or "Salvation's Fire", so I was a little concerned that I wouldn't fully grasp the characters and world of "After The War: The Tales of Catt & Fisher". I needn't have worried. The skill of the authors really shows itself in this collection of stand-alone stories. The writing, the plots, the characters... all are perfect! This is one of those books that you enjoy so much you want to read it again right away!

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

As soon as I saw this ARC available I jumped at the chance to revisit Rebellion's "After the War" setting, and in particular the two central characters featured here. Doctors Catt and Fisher are wonderful characters, an charming blend of witty banter, extravagant magic, questionable morals, and a knack for getting into (and out of) trouble. When they first appear in Beyond Redemption you feel immediately comfortable with them and want to see more of them (as the author himself apparently discovered). While they echo famous fantasy duos from Fafhrd and Mouser to Tarma and Kehtry to Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, they soon carve out their own space - and the challenge for the three new authors here is to give them the tales they deserves, as well as getting their character right.

On the whole, I'd say it was a resounding success.. The shared world setting is a big help, allowing almost anything within high fantasy, though, as with many of the more generic fantasy settings like D&D this does lead to a certain sense of historical uncertainty. Some of the stories seem almost 19th Century in society - which suits Catt and Fisher - while some have cannons and others plate armour (yes, I know these overlapped, but not quite like this). But that's all in the sense of fun, because, while it does tackle serious subjects and themes, this series doesn't take itself too seriously.

The first story is penned by the original author, so Catt and Fisher are note-perfect, of course. The story itself is the type of playful adventure that the playground of the setting is made for, and there's a sense of unfinished business as Tchaikovsky addresses one of the most memorable - and tragic - creatures from the world's extensive collection. The fact that I'd figured it all out quite early on was just icing on the cake to be honest. In tone and style this is perhaps the lightest of the four, but while it's the prototype it shouldn't assumed the others are trying to match it exactly.

Freda Warrington's style doesn't quite have the deftness of the first, especially in terms of the two main characters, but was still a cracking adventure with monsters galore (insects, which I'm sure Tchaikovsky appreciated!). It focuses on new characters, with C&F more in the background than others, and also strays furthest (both geographically and syle-wise) from the established world. But it's also perhaps the most epic and has some touching - and dark - moments.

Juliet McKenna's story nails the style, with subtler intrigue involving the wider post-war recovery geopolitics, and good use of established nations and races, It's not quite as spectacular as the previous one but I feel that suited C&F very well.

I hadn't read (or even heard of) KT Davies before but their story was perhaps the most impressive, really nailing the central characters as well as introducing a new and entirely fitting dimension, and some good side characters. Probably the smallest in scale, the characterisation was really sharp and the prose delightful. As with McKenna's, there's scope to continue the story and I would have happily kept reading!

All in all, four different takes on two great characters, each author bringing something different and interesting to make a lovely little collection. You don't have to have read the other books to enjoy them, though you probably get a bit more out of them if you do. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review it!

After The War: The Art of the Steal is an anthology of four new novella length works set in the fictional world of Redemption's Blade and After the Fire. Released 1st Dec 2020 by Rebellion on the Solaris imprint, it's 400 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

With shared worlds anthologies, the writing is often hit-or-miss. Authors have widely divergent styles, and collaborative settings don't translate to collaborative, cohesive results. Happily most of the snares seem to have been bypassed in this collection and all four stories are well written, entertaining, and work as standalones. They can be read in any order and don't get in the way of one another at all. The editor says in the foreword that there were some potential continuity pitfalls, but I didn't notice any glaring problems.

There really should be an official delineation for the fantasy subgenre with protagonists who are librarians/antiquarians/collectors/ with or without also being ruffians. This is another such and a delightfully diverting read. I read it without having read the previous "main" stories and had no trouble following along with enjoyment.

I recommend this anthology to fans of the genre as well as readers familiar with the series.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes