Swanwick's Dragons

Michael Swanwick

The Dragons of Babel

(Tor Books $25.95)

For the last three decades, Michael Swanwick has offered his singular vision and voice to science fiction and fantasy fans willing to dig into his message. Those longtime fans will be thrilled that Swanwick has returned to the world of the Iron Dragon's Daughter, his brilliant epic that both embraced and subverted the traditions of fantasy fiction. The Dragons of Babel is cut from similar cloth, freely mixing modern images and ideas with traditional fantasy motifs into a thrilling, haunting novel.

We see Swanwick's singular world -- where iron dragons serve as the air force in an epic war of obscure origin has torn the society apart -- through the eyes of Will, a young orphan in a small village that appears far from the strife. When one of the dragons crashes nearby, it takes over the community and uses Will as its voice. As the dragon forces itself onto Will, they create a symbiotic relationship that lasts far beyond the final defeat the dragon. 

Will's changed nature leads to his exile from the village and leads him on a series of picaresque adventures crossing the continent to the fabled Tower of Babel. At first, his journeys seem little more than a wild ride through a landscape populated by centaur soldiers, double-dealing Dwarves and a young girl who sold her future and past for an eternal childhood. This continues as we get to the Tower -- which is a lot like a massive New York City, complete with a mix of familiar neighborhoods and mythical creatures, all lorded over by a host of ethereal elves. By the last third of the book, Will's journey comes into focus, as he dances more and more among the city's elite, swimming as fast as he can to stay alive and find a purpose for his life.

Swanwick pulls no punches throughout The Dragons of Babel. It's a world that is wonderful and terrible at the same time; full of magical wonder, profane acts and death at every turn. Though Will appears to drift throughout the book, he always shows a capable head in a crisis and remains an engaging character throughout, no matter his actions or mistakes (and he makes quite a few, including one that he regrets for much of the book). Along the way, he is joined by a fantastic cast of support characters, from the eternal child Esme, donkey-eared con man Nat and a hippogriff-riding high-elf noblewoman who ends up as a key to his life.

As a writer, Swanwick does plenty that I appreciate. He never pauses the narrative to explain matters that the characters would already know quite well. Instead, we learn about the world through their everyday observations and experiences. Even when something new does appear (which happens quite often once the story gets to Babel), it is revealed slowly, as Will learns the ropes of each situation. And while the book is packed with literally out-of-this-world situations, Swanwick draws each one with plenty of clarity. I never mind being confused for a time in a book if I sense (or in this case, know from experience) that I'm in the hands of a storyteller who can make it all come clear by story's end.

Swanwick's vision is hard to reduce in a simple review. Best to say that you will be hard pressed to find a better "traditional" fantasy novel published this year.

(Read Swanwick's Dragons of Babel blog here.)