(Part 6 of a 6-Part Series)
Review by
~She could not stand, no matter how desperate her desire to do so. “Please,” she shrieked in distress, “I cannot.” “Nor do you have to,” soothed the warrior, quite gentle. And he caught her up, handling her as if her frame were a feather.~
The Beast Beneath Druihmkirk is the final tale we find in R.V. Mills’ Man of Swords, and I’m happy to say it is yet another memorable read! Mills never ceases to delight us with these legends in the making!
What It’s About:
Our hero Rohye is wanted by the evil city Provost (think of it as a city Mayor) on the charges of freeing a defenseless woman from the cruel shackles unjustly put on her for basically rejecting the advances of the city Provost himself. He and the girl need to find a way out of town, but it seems like the only way to escape is by taking the sewage route where no man dares roam due to the legend of a mighty beast that has been inhabiting the underground for years.
What I like about this story is that-similarly to The Isle of the Shrine of the Sick’ning Scarab– some of the most deciding and crucial scenes take place with Rohye not being in them. This is a fresh take and makes the plot development more organic in a sense, and not as predictable.
Once again, chivalry, loyalty, courage, perseverance are all displayed and highlighted throughout this ordeal. There is GOOD and there is BAD, no gray areas. Modern narrative today is leaning more towards the concept of the ‘misunderstood’ or ‘alienated’ character, but in actuality all that does is blur the lines of morality. Not in Mills’ book! He is pretty firm on the values he puts forth and THAT is what makes Man of Swords a true classic of our current fiction literature.
Not to mention the superb prose, the attention given to secondary/supporting characters, and the plain realization that this is not just your next book on your TBR list.
To conclude, I want to encourage my man Robert to keep writing and never feel discouraged or swayed by the winds of modernism and progressive trends. This series was a true blessing for me personally, and I hope that more folks will pick this up and come to appreciate these amazing stories. True legends in the making!
INFAMOUS 🦀
Thank you for this wonderful review. I’m glad the final story met the grade.
As I mentioned on X, this final tale, to me, is the one in which Rhoye finally ascends to hero. In ‘The Eye’ he is a boy without a name. The three following stories are each tests, spiritual, physical, ethical. And in ‘The Ember Nixie’ he is deconstructed, ironically by Glory, into his wild, natural essence. Thus, in ‘Beast Beneath’ he literally goes through the labyrinth to become the final ‘man’ of the book’s title.
I overthink matters, perhaps. 🙂
It is my cherished hope that Rhoye of Khetaine takes his place, be it large or small, in the pantheon of our popular culture. An impossible dream, perhaps. But these are the stories I was put here to write. I’ve been late getting about it. Better late than never, I guess.
My thanks, once again.
Better late than never, indeed.
Thanks for giving us some of the “inside baseball,” Robert. I know when I really like a book, I appreciate the author revealing some of the creative process, what he was trying to accomplish thematically, etc.
I said it before and I’ll say it again, even if I might sound like a broken record (I know kids these days don’t have those LOL): Robert Mills is writing the most significant pulp fiction of our time. And I only hope we can get more of it!
There is definitely more to come. I have two completed stories for ‘Knight of Swords’, called ‘The Horn in the Barrow’ and ‘The Scrivened Corsair’, the latter of which is well over a hundred pages just by itself. Four more stories in various stages of work. Fingers crossed, it will be an epic. And I am also hard at work on my next Rhoye and Astropho novella ‘The Blood of the Worgrim’. Busy times.
Another great review! I’m juggling multiple books at the moment, but one of them is Man of Swords, and I’ll make it a point to make more progress on it soon (busy life as a new father permitting). Cheers!
Hey, congrats, Michael, and thanks for taking the time to visit!
Thank you so much! I’m also still planning to enter the short story contest (again, busy life!). Cheers!