THE MOUNTAIN

A war looms in an oppressive land in this fantasy.

The three realms in the Mountain—the Quarter, the Crag, and the Crest—are separate but united under the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth’s banner shows a crossed sword, pick, and hammer, symbolizing the high, sunlit Crest (and its shining, forbidding Citadel); the mines of the Quarter; and the slums of the Crag. Once there were gods that showed the way for the Mountain’s inhabitants, but now they must follow the benign guidance and godless oversight of the Commonwealth and its “Our All for All” plan. In the Crag, a young student named Lillia eagerly awaits her chance to climb up the ranks and become a commissar in the service of the Crest under the proud eyes of her father, Tom. In the Quarter, there are some who still believe in the gods and its only officially allowed Priest, the Divine Nicodemus. He and King Elon stand at the crossroads of their diverging faiths. Judge Jonathan of the Crest passes judgment on those who break laws while he fights a dangerous addiction to “Redcaps,” a type of mushroom. Meanwhile, a brewing war unveils what lies behind that facade of equality. The rumors of a coming goddess signal a bleak time for all of the inhabitants, when they’ll “each have to pay the price for what we want, the real price” because “nothing gets shortchanged in the Mountain.” Characters’ arcs ebb and flow toward a confluence of threads in this engrossing dystopian fantasy that features a complex chain of events. The players engage with questions of faith and politics, war and peace, the personal and the communal against the backdrop of a corrupt, tyrannical system. Most of Lucas’ multicharacter narrative focuses on men, with a noticeable dearth of attention on its captivating female players. Even Lillia’s story is primarily seen through her father’s perspective. Despite its overlong setup, the slow-paced, well-orchestrated plot exploits the enthralling, dark premise with admirably detailed and careful worldbuilding.  

Fans of twisty, cerebral dystopian fantasy will enjoy this intriguing tale.