Sunday Funday: The Thousand Names by Django Wexler

  As I have come to find out, to my great joy, Django Wexler is actually a very friendly and personable author.  However, when I first picked up The Thousand Names, I honestly had no clue what I was walking into.  Having “met” Django through twitter, and having the opportunity to “talk” to him through that medium, I wanted to read his book out of a sense of loyalty to a guy who owed me nothing talking to me like I was a real person, and just generally being super cool.  I suspect that many of us have made the same decision from time to time, so one Friday evening I found myself with time on my hands and a library copy of his book on my lap (I am soooooo broke).

When I came up for air, finally, it was seven hours later.  I read.. a lot.  For a lot of years.  I married an English Teacher, all of my friends read obsessively.  One of my best friends has a father who is a librarian, and I cannot even begin to mention how much I adore that man.  So, believe me when I say this: I hardly ever do that.  Sure, I have books that I can’t put down, but usually that’s just a turn of phrase.  The Thousand Names may as well have been bolted to my fingers.

What is The Thousand Names, you ask?  Well, it’s a military drama set in a fantasy world.  Think Napolean era military battles, Civil War era battles.  Complete with bone saws!  How is that in any way fantasy related, you ask?  Well, this is where the book goes from good to amazing.  Instead of having magic come to dominate all aspects of the book from character development to pacing (think Wheel of Time), Django pumps the brakes really hard.  For nearly three fourths of the book, magic is present, in the sense that it mos definitely exists.  However, all of the characters, the battles (of which there are a very satisfying number), and the pacing is dictated by hum-drum everyday struggles of humanity.

I cannot overstate how bold of a choice that was.  It’s so easy to just lean back on magic as a way to gloss over a plot hole.  Or rely on magic to act as a deus ex machina to swoop in and make everything wrap up in a tidy bundle.  The Thousand Names point blank refuses to rest on such tropes.  Instead, Django writes several deep, interesting, and above all relatable characters.  Every action that the characters undertake adds to both the overall narrative of the book as well as keeping in line with prior actions taken by the specific individual in question.

The build up to the final action-packed final conflict is nothing short of amazing.  One of several protagonists oversees a masterful defense, and in the end strikes the final blow against a horrifying foe.  Drama, intrigue, and a love which spans continents are found throughout the book.  For a man who admits in the prologue that the book almost didn’t happen, Django Wexler has created an extraordinary entry into the military fantasy genre.  I await losing yet another night to his gleeful machinations with great relish. 

Namefully,
Justin