The Two of Swords, Volume Three
by K J Parker (Orbit, 2017)
Having jettisoned the serial novella approach of its first two instalments, The Two of Swords in this third volume focusses on one character—Telamon, the most interesting—and at last achieves escape velocity. A fine, Parker-esque end to a slightly dubious experiment.
The Two of Swords, Volume Two
by K J Parker (Oribt, 2017)
More of the same as Parker’s jigsaw puzzle of serialised novellas takes shape, each linked by an uneasy mix of realism and fatalism. The chapters with recurring characters are the more enjoyable, though still wanting in all but the blackest of humour.
The Two of Swords, Volume One
by K. J. Parker (Orbit, 2017)
The first book of a trilogy, originally serialised at one novella-length chapter per month, each focussing on a different character in the grand tapestry of war and secret society politics. The world-building is first-rate but overly grim, bereft of Parker’s customary humour.
The Father of Lies
by K J Parker (Subterranean, 2018)
A 500+ page compendium of Parker’s recent short fiction, focussing in particular on those pieces depicting gods, devils, magic and religion. As ever, Parker crafts believable worlds in which to tell fantastic, habitually mordant, stories. Anti-heroes abound and suffer for their sins.
Mightier than the Sword
by K J Parker (Subterranean, 2017)
A novella with the breadth and impact of a novel, packed into one sitting. Parker again delivers invented-world fantasy with more realism and more of an eye to detail than do most actual histories. Another droll (if downbeat) deconstruction of human nature.
Olympiad
by Tom Holt (Little, Brown, 2000)
Nobody reading Tom Holt’s historical novels could doubt that he is K J Parker. A scholar of Ancient Greek history, Holt peppered his Olympic Games origin story with gritty realism and a profoundly resigned appreciation of the nemesis inherent in human nature.
The Devil You Know
by K J Parker (Tor, 2016)
A single-sitting novella in which Parker adds a devilish twist to the Faust legend: the demon representing the Prince of Lies has an appreciation for the arts; the man selling his soul is a great philosopher but an irrepressible liar and cheat.
Downfall of the Gods
by K J Parker (Subterranean, 2016)
Parker knows a cynical thing or two about human nature, and in this droll fantasy novella exposes the gods as being equally prone to self-destruction. Told from a divine perspective, her quest narrative follows its own succulent logic through several unexpected turns.
The Company
by K J Parker (Orbit, 2008)
The first of Parker’s standalone novels is a tour de force of invented world fantasy realism, contrasting the unbreakable bond and all-conquering fortitude of an elite military unit with the self-destructive listlessness and looming nemesis of its men when reunited in retirement.
The Folding Knife
by K J Parker (Orbit, 2010)
Structured as ever around its protagonist’s flaws and a genuine narrative interest in how society functions, The Folding Knife is an exquisite example of Parker’s gritty historical invented-world fantasy, investing in detail and investing readers in the struggle between luck and hubris.