Ari Marmell Answers Questions Five

Ari Marmell is best known the world of Dungeons & Dragons where he is a freelance writer and has published several tie-in novels. The Conqueror’s Shadow (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) is his first non-tie-in novel and was released to the world last month (I enjoyed it quite a bit). He lives in Austin, TX and has several more non-tie-in novels are in the works. After reading his snarky style in The Conqueror’s Shadow I knew he’d make a good fit for a Questions Five interview.

Thanks again to Ari and enjoy…


Ari, as a Texan (well someone who lives in a Texas anyway – it’s hard to imagine someone with the name of Ari actually being Texan), I can only assume that along side your expertise in cowboy boots, horseback riding and BBQ, that you can let the world know the proper way to prepare armadillo. How do you prefer your armadillo?

AM: It’s a very specific process. You have to start with the “flat” variety—the one you find alongside every highway in Texas. (Armadillos are actually born that way in parts of the state.) The tire tread marks are really good for catching spices and flavoring. But first you have to take the flat armadillo, hang it, and beat it like a piñata, so as to shake out all the bits of broken shell, gravel, burnt rubber, and bugs. Then it’s just a question of tossing it on the grill and rubbing in whatever spices and sauces you prefer. Me, I tend to go with a mixture of jalapeno and honey mustard dressing if it was hit by a Ford or Chevy, or teriyaki if it was hit by a Honda or Toyota.

D&D had a huge impact on your childhood and you found a way to make it pay the bills in adulthood. Has your love of D&D ever spilled out into real life in a way that is less than flattering? Do tell…

AM: Well, I could mention that I proposed to my wife at a D&D game… But then, since she was already a gamer, and we surrounded by gamers, that hardly qualifies as “real life,” does it?

I got some weird looks from teachers in middle school when I chose certain project topics based on my love of D&D. I did a presentation on demons in various religions that made use of pictures copied from the first edition Monster Manual (including a rather under-dressed succubus) that got some raised eyebrows. And my father and I built an entire suit of plate armor out of poster board for a history project. (And yes, I wore it during the presentation.) But again, while perhaps geeky in the extreme, those were deliberate.

It’s actually difficult to find places where D&D “spilled out” into real life, because D&D has always been a larger part of my life than was probably good for me. An enormous number of characters and adventure ideas found their genesis during the hours, and using the brainpower, that should have been devoted to homework. It’s hard for anything to spill into areas where I’d already deliberately and liberally poured it.

If The Conqueror’s Shadow were a fortune cookie, what would its fortune be?

AM: “You will soon discover an old suit still fits better than you expected.” (Trust me, if you read the book, this actually makes a whole lot of sense.)

How would you interpret this fortune if it were your own?

AM: Well, I would hope it would mean that I’m finally going to succeed in losing some damn weight, but then I’d have to ask how likely that is considering that I’d just eaten a fortune cookie.

Why should The Conqueror’s Shadow be the next thing that everyone reads?

AM: Assuming you want an answer with a little more broad-based appeal than “So I can eat something other than Ramen for the next eight months”…

The Conqueror’s Shadow is a perfect example of what I try to do with a great deal of my fiction writing. First, I enjoy starting with some of the traditional fantasy tropes, so that people have an easy and comfortable gateway into the book and are almost certain to find stuff they enjoy—but then taking at least a few of those tropes and turning them around, or taking a sharp left turn. Basically, playing with them in ways that are far less common than the tropes themselves. I think it’s something that most fantasy fans can enjoy.

And that leads quite nicely into my other point, which is that The Conqueror’s Shadow is a fun read. It’s fast-paced, it’s very funny in some scenes while very dark in others—all of which, I certainly hope, makes it an exciting story. Different fantasy novels are written with different goals in mind; the most important, to me, is to create an overall enjoyable experience. Obviously, I’d like to make the reader think about certain concepts, or feel certain things at certain points—but at the end of the day, if the reader doesn’t want to put the book down until s/he’s read “Just one more chapter”… If the reader had a lot of fun getting to the end… That’s when I feel I’ve successfully done my job. And while I’m hardly an unbiased source, I feel like The Conqueror’s Shadow provides exactly that.

Bonus question for inclusion in The SFF Literary Pub Crawl:

Please recommend a favorite pub or similar establishment – it doesn’t have to be local to you, but that is encouraged and if you can’t limit to just one, recommend more, but try to keep it to 3 or less. And don’t forget to say why it’s so great.

AM: This is a surprisingly tricky question for me, because I’m actually not a drinker. I’ve been to a few clubs in Austin for various shows, but never actually for the sake of just hanging around and having a few drinks. (I’m more of a coffee shop guy for that sort of thing.)

So as far as a pub/club, I’d say Prague is the coolest one I’ve been to in Austin, if only because of the ambiance; it’s got a really nifty feel and aesthetic to the place.

And if I may stretch the definition to include the aforementioned coffee shop, I’ve never found any better than It’s a Grind. It’s local to Austin, and it’s absolutely fantastic. Wonderful ambiance and people, and their blended mochas are what the gods drink when they want a special treat in place of their usual ambrosia.

Review: The Conqueror’s Shadow by Ari Marmell

A few weeks ago I was thinking about some on-line discussion or another and wondering just what sword and sorcery really means and if any of the books I tend to read really fit that definition. Now I’ve come to realize that like porn, I’ll know sword and sorcery when I see it. It was The Conqueror’s Shadow by Ari Marmell (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) that showed me just what sword and sorcery is – vast armies and battles, witches, warlocks, ogres, gnomes, magical weapons, enchanted armor, and some object of great magical power that opposing forces want really badly. Perhaps it’s not the perfect definition for sword and sorcery and maybe there is often much more (or much less) to it, but it’s just possible that with The Conqueror’s Shadow, Marmell shows us what sword and sorcery should be.

What happens when the evil dark lord who marches seemingly unopposed across the land, reeking havoc and terrorizing the populace, reaches his goal and fails? He doesn’t fail due to the kingdom rallying a great defensive host and it’s not because of some destined hero’s intervention. The failure is just one small oversight. One evil dark lord, Corvis Rebaine, the Terror of the East, takes a hostage and disappears – abandoning his army of man and beast and allowing the kingdom to repair and believe that they actually met and beat the threat. Corvis eventually marries his hostage, settles in an out-of-the-way village, and enjoys being a father to his two children. What threat could possibly bring this past his prime, evil dark lord (who may not be so evil after all) out of retirement?

In many ways the plot of The Conqueror’s Shadow is utterly predictable right from the start. At first it was no bother – the compelling way the story unravels was more than enough to entertain and hold my interest – then things began to be a bit annoying, but I could still shrug it off, and just when I reached the ‘oh please’ moment some nagging doubts appeared. Then the story twists – now I have to say that I still found it fairly predictable, however the twist was enough to satisfy and the overall plot serves its role well.

The Conqueror’s Shadow isn’t a particularly deep book, and it’s not meant to be. The strength of it is in the snarky, harsh, action-packed plot and its colorful characters. However, that isn’t to say that The Conqueror’s Shadow isn’t without depth – it’s just not fully realized. Corvis, the Terror of the East is actually a disenchanted former soldier, a man who saw corruption in government, its inability to actually lead, and that the real power lies in bickering corporations guilds. This bitter young man decides that he could lead much better than those currently in charge – and he is probably right. Unfortunately the only way to achieve this sort of power is to become an evil lord wielding a magical weapon, wearing intimidating armor made of ancient bones, extracting power from an enslaved demon who feeds on the souls of humanity, partnering with a cannibalistic witch, and heading an army full of horrific beasts full of bloodlust. Now take this evil lord, add a loving wife, two children who mean the world to him, a couple of decades to mature and reflect, and then put him back in that place but facing an new evil lord, in so many ways the shadow of himself. Regret and remorse abound, atonement is sought, but he’s still that same man capable of evil, no matter how good his intentions. Just what means are worth the ends? How much sacrifice can actually achieve a greater good? Is the path to hell paved with good intentions? All this is in the background, a stage wonderfully set, but unfortunately never fully utilized. Maybe it’s appropriate because there are no real answers. Maybe asking the questions is enough, but I couldn’t help but want more.

A major short coming of sword and sorcery is the great talent of its protagonists with the sword and sorcery. He (and it’s almost always a he) is too good to be beat, his special weapon unsurpassed, his magic stronger than everyone else’s – and this magic all too often becomes a very convenient crutch to lean on when story needs a way out. The Conqueror’s Shadow walks this fine line and succeeds where so many fail. Corvis is vulnerable, emotionally and physically. Corvis is long past his prime, not particularly skilled in magic (though some of his friends are) and he faces a younger evil lord that is at least his equal. It’s refreshing and works fairly well – but this is still sword and sorcery and Corvis is still that stereotypical badass who may be captured, beaten and tortured, but cannot be defeated.

It’s often wondered just what the implications of our on-line world will be. One such path those sorts of discussions often wanders down is snark. Sarcasm isn’t enough in an on-line world – you must be so blatantly obvious that subtly isn’t acceptable. Thus sarcasm becomes snark. The Conqueror’s Shadow is snarky – nearly every single exchange of dialogue is snarky – heck, the interior dialogue of characters is snarky. Often this sort of humor sours a book, growing old and tedious. The Conqueror’s Shadow manages to maintain some weird not-balance where the relentless snark doesn’t grow old, it stays fresh and fun, adding to the characters in an odd sort of not-gallows humor of hard men (and women) in hard situations. This isn’t the first example of snark infusing fiction and it won’t be the last, but is it a new trend spawned by the denizens of the intranets? Thankfully, that is a question for somewhere other than this review, but I will say again, the snark works for The Conqueror’s Shadow.

The Conqueror’s Shadow by Ari Marmell is fast and furious and full of snark – sword and sorcery at its best. Marmell cut his teeth in tie-in fiction – an oft maligned branch of the genre world. Authors of tie-in fiction are often accused of only being in it only for the money, or only looking for a way into ‘real’ fiction, but Marmell shows that he was in it simply because it’s what he loves. The Conqueror’s Shadow is welcome step from the tie-in world, bringing snarky excitement and a new voice that I’m anxious to hear more from. And while The Conqueror's Shadow stands fine on its own, there is more to come in the forthcoming sequel, The Warlord's Legacy. 7.5-8/10

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