When they agree to fight on John's side, they have no idea what they’re in for. The creatures of Pentexore, though they claim to be Christians to please their beloved King John, think the whole Christianity thing is a game involving silly hand motions and recitations. Although he is happy with his new life in Pentexore, he is still a faithful Christian and he feels that it’s his duty to clear the sacred city of infidels.
When one of John’s daughters brings a letter from Constantinople, asking John to bring his army of monsters to fight the Muslims in Jerusalem, he decides that they’ll go. He loves the creatures he rules and has spent his time teaching them about Jesus Christ and trying to reconcile the creation story in Genesis with his new knowledge of the world. Prester John has been king in Pentexore for many years now, aided by his wife Hagia the blemmye. I can admit that I was (and am) awed by Valente's writing. I can absolutely love what she tries to accomplish here and really get thrilled by the complex scaffolding of the chapters and structure and execution, her love of the language and the wordcraft, but overall, I wasn't personally awed by the story or the message. However, my personal enjoyment beyond the outright appreciation was kinda lacking. We are caught in traps of our own devising and we love with pure grace and we discover that we've changed too much to ever come back.
Valente does no less than build a cosmos, a philosophy of living, of learning, and of loss of innocence on a grand scale. They all have their own concerns and takes on reality and it's truly fascinating to behold. from John, his immortal and monstrous wife, and a famous explorer on the outside. It's simple in the way I say it, but believe me, there's nothing simple going on inside the pages. They're Edenic and this magical land is pretty much Eden already.īut then we get a call to arms to save the Seat of the Holy Roman Empire against the Saracens and who raises the flag, along with all the innocent immortals who may or may not be angels? John Prester. However, I can point to the mythical land of medieval beasts that Prester John converts to Christianity, the events of the first book that make John their king, how he becomes immortal, loves, has a family, and how all these beasts just humor him good-naturedly. Again, as with the previous book, it's almost impossible to describe the events taking place here or giving real justice to its in-depth exploration of God, innocence, war, and love.
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