Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21359 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

Review
"An explicit, eagerly awaited fantasy story that's full of brutality and grit." --MIDLANDS ZONE

Review
"An epic tale of gods and magic, betrayal and survival . . . The Steel Remains will not disappoint. Morgan writes with an immediacy and frankness often hard to come by in fantasy, and his themes have great relevance to today's society. His portrayals of sex and violence are not for the squeamish reader, and his language is down-to-earth, but for those who prefer to have the sugar coating removed , THE STEEL REMAINS is a fantastic example of the modern fantasy genre." (WATERSTONE'S BOOKS QUARTERLY )

"After five science-fiction novels that explored the seamier side of corporate machinations in grittily realised futures, Morgan turns his hand to classic fantasy. What remains constant is his flair for setting, complex political feuding, and strong characters forever on the outskirts of society. Ringil's character and his complex relations with those around him lift this novel far above the average." (Eric Brown THE GUARDIAN )

"Morgan has taken traditional sword and sorcery tropes and given them a hard, contemporary kick. The antithesis of the cosy fairytale, this is one for big boys." (Lisa Tuttle THE TIMES )

"It compels you to read on with its gritty, visceral writing and intelligent plot. It's tense and fascinatingly people and given that the follow ups will doubtless be tremendous, you're encouraged to jump on from the start. Just, ahem, steel yourself." (Dave Bradley SFX )

"Richard Morgan's first foray into fantasy territory is, without a doubt, a grand success. Great characters in a great story are what drives all good books, and you get that here, with acres of bloody space for your imagination to gambol and play in. This is far, far better than any other fantasy you'll pick up this year." (Guy Haley DEATHRAY )

"What raises the bar here from your run-of-the-mill fantastical hyper-narrative is the fact Morgan has written such a character-driven novel. All genres survive and thrive through reconfiguration and what Morgan has done with The Steel Remains is take a familiar template and rework it into something original, a novel that bends the traditional fantasy conventions to give a uniquely individual spin. Fast-paced and epically evocative." (James Jones GAYDAR NATION )

"The Steel Remains is a dark, sometimes brutal tale that ably demonstrates why Morgan is one of the most adventurous fantasy writers around today." (Wayne Clews ATTITUDE )

"The Steel Remains excels when Morgan steps back from the challenges to the reader, and the world-building, and really lets loose and has fun. Even at the bleakest moments in the book, the crisp, earthy dialogue between the characters never feels forced. Similarly, the action - sometimes quick and deadly, sometimes lavishly detailed - is always sleek, cinematic and brutal. Like rubber-necking at a collision of F1 cars." (PORNOKITSCH )

"Dark, brooding, bloody, visceral and absolutely takes no prisoners. But the story it is telling is compelling, the characters are well-defined and the world throws up some refreshingly new ideas and concepts" (THE WERTZONE )

"Think 'The Dying Earth' with added barbarian badassery - this is some very superior genre-blending. Brutal fantasy fun." (SANDSTORM REVIEWS )

"In a genre area currently filled with diamonds amongst the rough, it is one of the best books I've had the fortune to read this year. Those who know of Richard's SF, and like Fantasy, will be most impressed by The Steel Remains. There are going to be people who read this, not having read Richard's SF, who will be in for a shock. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. This was an eagerly awaited book which didn't let me down. Very highly recommended." (SFFWORLD.COM )

"It's extremely good. Morgan is a gifted writer, and his gifts are lavishly on display here. The Steel Remains is a powerful turn-everything-up-to-eleven reading experience. It's the most impressive Fantasy novel I've read in a very long time: a big, brave, bollocks-out and often brilliant novel. It's not perfect, but it's a major novel for all that. I can't wait for vol 2." (Author of "Swiftly" ADAM ROBERTS )

"TSR would make an excellent introduction to Morgan's strengths as a writer of adrenaline-tinged, throught-provoking, memorable speculative fiction. An enjoyable, engrossing read." (Simon Petrie ANDROMEDA SPACEWAYS )

"A thoroughly entertaining read. If you're a fantasy fan (or fan of Richard Morgan's sci-fi work) then this is a book that you need to read this year. I'm already looking forward to the sequel!" (GRAEME'S FANTASY BOOK REVIEW )

"Morgan has succeeded in keeping the scope and scale of the best in the genre, while making it more realistic through the introduction of more complex, fallible characters, with vices, doubts and fears (I wonder what Tolkein's Aragorn would make of Ringil). With his trademark hard-bitten, cynical characters, sex scenes that are more explicit than genre norms, and an effective, sparse writing style, Richard Morgan has really delivered the goods here." (BOOKGEEKS.CO.UK )

"Since debut Altered Carbon, Richard Morgan has made a name for himself with taut science fiction thrillers; he now turns the same brutal energy to "fantasy noir". Our three protagonists are embittered, exiled, an embarrassment to the world they saved. They're dragged out of retirement to face a new threat, but the book's interest is as much in the psychology of these damaged, nostalgic veterans as in the gory action which ensues. Should appeal to both his fans and fantasy's." (Alex Sarll PRESS ASSOCIATION )

"Bold, brutal, and making no compromises - Morgan doesn't so much twist the cliches of fantasy as take an axe to them. Then set them on fire." (Author of "The Blade Itself" JOE ABERCROMBIE )

"A tautly-woven multi-layered fantasy tapestry with never-ending new discoveries and revelations, The Steel Remains kept me entranced and turning pages rapidly to learn the next new event or denouement. Author Richard Morgan truly delivers with this novel, which ought to appeal even to readers who don't usually pick up a story in the fantasy genre. I highly recommend this novel." (RAINBOW READS )

"The characters are well drawn and detailed, and come complete with drug habits, taboo-breaking sex lives and shady pasts. It is a credit to Morgan that he makes such 'warts-and-all' characters with all their attendant flaws so engaging, and he has a real knack for crafting believable dialogue. Fans of character driven, low-fantasy rejoice. Richard Morgan takes to the genre easily and rewards his readers with blood, sweat, tears and black humour." (Den Patrick DREAMWATCH TOTAL SCI-FI )

"British novelist Richard K. Morgan, best known for his hardboiled science fiction (Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, Woken Furies, etc.) dips his toe into the fantasy genre with his new book The Steel Remains. Okay, he doesn't so much dip his toe as wade in tooth and claw swinging a broadsword." (SCIFI DIMENSIONS )

"If you thought that the only thing missing from Lord of the Rings was some hot Aragorn and Legolas action, then The Steel Remains may be the book for you. Slaying dragons, saving worlds and sucking cock are all in a day's work for hero Gil Eskiath in this gripping sci-fi fantasy. Richard Morgan's first foray into fantasy has produced a stark, dark, brutalist vision. The characters themselves display a startling realism and depth that moves beyond the realms of fantasy." (THE PINK PAPER )

"An explicit, eagerly awaited fantasy story that's full of brutality and grit." (MIDLANDS ZONE )

SANDSTORM REVIEWS
"Think 'The Dying Earth' with added barbarian badassery - this is some very superior genre-blending. Brutal fantasy fun."

Customer Reviews

A good start!
A surprisingly enjoyable book. I've never read anything by Morgan before as I don't do Sci-Fi, I'd heard that he had pretty visceral style of prose and producing very gory and sex filled stories.

I would say that this was quite an accurate description. A number of reviews of the book, not just here on Amazon, but in general, have commented on the number of sex scenes. The majority of these sex scenes are homosexual in nature and whilst the first few are quite graphic in there description, the later ones tend to swiftly passed over. I didn't really have a massive problem with the number of sex scenes or the nature of them, yes they may not have been 100% necessary, but I didn't find they interfered with the pacing of the story. The same can't be said for the violence, which is pretty graphically described at very possible occasion. That said, the fight scenes are well written and give a good blow by blow account of some impressive sword play. There is also a great deal of swearing within the book, which is becoming pretty standard in modern fantasy. At first this stuck out, but once you start reading the book it becomes invisible.

The story is a little traditional I suppose, but I don't see that as a bad thing. It is a traditional story, but dirtied and mixed up enough for it not to be clichéd. It is the first time in one of these "gritty, dark, modern fantasy" books that I've really cared about the characters. I've read GRRM, Abercrombie, Lynch, Erikson and Bakker and enjoyed them, well bar the last two authors anyway, but just not really been that bothered about the characters.

Morgan quotes Michael Moorcock as being an influence on this writing of this novel and I can see why. I'm not that well read in regards to Moorcock, but I've read enough to see how it has helped shape both the writing style and the world building.

One major fault with this book isn't the authors fault, but in my version (hardback) there are lots of errors - missing or incorrect letters and punctuation.

I'll be looking forward to the next novel in the series.

Dark, brooding and powerful.
Richard Morgan erupted onto the SF scene six years ago with his blistering debut novel Altered Carbon, a hard-edged thriller set in the 26th Century. Morgan has made his name with intelligent, intriguing ideas about science, technology and sociology, based around unflinchingly violent protagonists and often withering analyses of the human condition. The Steel Remains is his first foray into fantasy, the first book of a trilogy with the unofficial name A Land Fit For Heroes (which I assume is ironic, because this land is very definitely not fit for heroes, although it desperately needs them).

This world is a harsh, dirty and grim place. Some years ago a race of sentient lizards - the Scaled Folk - crossed the western ocean from a dying homeland and attempted to conquer the lands of humanity. The forces of humanity - somewhat reluctantly - banded together under the leadership of the Yhelteth Empire and their Kiriath allies and destroyed the invasion at great cost. After four thousand years amongst humanity, the Kiriath finally abandoned this world, fleeing in their vast fireships back through the subterrenean portals leading to other worlds. Humanity has been left to lick its wounds and rebuild.

Ringil Eskiath is the famed hero of Gallows Gap, who led the heroic defence that finally broke the back of the Scaled Folk's invasion. However, his temper and his sexuality have led to him being outcast from his homeland and he now makes his living as a glorified tourist attraction, showing gawping spectators around the legendary battlefield. However, when his cousin is sold into slavery, he is called home by his mother and asked to rescue her. Ringil's journey leads him back into the shadow of his old life and to the realisation of a devastating new threat that is arising now the one thing it feared, the Kiriath, is gone.

Archeth is a Kiriath half-breed, left behind when her people left. Now she serves the Emperor as his advisor on Kiriath technology, but her presence is anathema to the increasingly fanatical religious leaders and she survives on the Emperor's sufference. The devastation of a coastal town leads Archeth's research to the horrific conclusion that an ancient force, powerful beyond measure, may be poised to return to this world.

Out on the windswept steppes, the barbarian warrior Egar finds life back among the clans unbelievably dull after he fought for the Empire as a mercenary, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Ringil at Gallows Gap, where Egar earned the name Dragonbane. When Egar's position in the clan comes under threat, he is rescued by a most unlikely patron and whisked into a battle he barely comprehends, alongside some old allies...

The Steel Remains is a pretty dark, full-on and - to use a cliche, gritty. Those easily offended best stay away, especially if you found GRRM too explicit for your tastes as Morgan goes way, way past anything that GRRM has ever done in a book. The violence is visceral, bloody and painstakingly described. The sex is full-on and explicit. To be honest, the levels of sex and violence are somewhat higher than the plot demands. Whilst Black Man was similarly explicit, at least there it could be said that it was only done when necessary for the plot. The Steel Remains is, at heart, a gratuitous story which I suspect a lot of people will be put-off by.

Those who can stomach those elements will find all of those things that have made Morgan one of the most striking authors of his generation: deft characterisation, increasingly accomplished worldbuilding and a fiendish plot which seems to dance out of reach just as you think you've got a handle on it, replaced by something even more cunning than you previously thought possible. Here Morgan takes on of the biggest cliches in fantasy history and turns it on its head in a manner which is probably not quite as original as he thinks (unless he's read Scott Bakker recently) but nevertheless is deftly executed, leading to a powerful final scene that leaves the reader demanding more.

The Steel Remains (****) is dark, brooding, bloody, visceral and absolutely takes no prisoners. But the story it is telling is compelling, the characters are well-defined and the world throws up some refreshingly new ideas and concepts (some heavily influenced by Morgan's SF background). Some may find it all a bit too much, some may find this world too full of pain and darkness to actually be worth saving, but amidst the gloom Morgan carefully plants a few seeds of hope and optimism which the reader can cling to. The second book, with the working title The Cold Commands, will follow in late 2009.

Superb
Well where do we start. It's Richard Morgan and it's fantasy. Hmmm not really a helpful description. More accurately, it's Dave Robichaux with swords. We have a cast of jaded heroes who flaws are so openly explored that we expect to hate them but somehow it helps us bond closer to them. The world mythos does have echoes of Michael Moorcocks finest novels but hey call me old fashioned but that is no bad thing. Personally I loved this book, it's about time someone gave fantasy back it's edge. It's dark, nasty and rocks along at a fair old pace. Ideal for mature readers who can't face another young warrior/wizard/adventurer winning though against the odds fantasy novel.