Review:
Tersias by G.P. Taylor
London, Faber and Faber 2005
320p.
ISBN 0-571-22979-4
Tersias, by G. P. Taylor, is a dark and frightening tale set in the
poverty stricken streets of 18th century London. The story centres on
Tersias, a young boy who has been blinded by his drunken mother in
order to earn more money as a beggar. Acquired by the magician Malachi,
he is kept in a gilded cage and forced to predict the future
with the aid of the fearsome Wretchkin who invades his mind. As dark
forces gather in the streets of London, his fate becomes entwined with
that of Jonah a young highwayman, his two friends Tara and Maggot and
the powerful Lord Malpas from whom Jonah has stolen a magical dagger
and an alabaster box. Solomon, a crazed religious zealot who has bred a
new species of giant flesh-eating locusts, also seeks to control
Tersias and the dagger.
G.P. Taylor is a master at setting an intense, gripping atmosphere. His
depictions of terrifying characters such as the doglike creature who
pursues Jonah and the grotesque prisoner who stalks Tara in a pitch
black cell, waving a rotten head on a stick are more graphic than is
usual in books aimed at the adolescent market. Descriptions of The
Citadel, Solomon’s headquarters, bring to life the religious cult and
the cruel brainwashing that goes on there. The reader is relieved to
find that there is a gentler, kinder place, Vamana House, where the
healer Griselda lives and ethical behaviour rules.
Taylor does not attempt to portray his heroes as perfect; they are
frail and uncertain and tread a difficult path to redemption. His
villains, Malpas and Solomon, lust for power, whether it is spiritual
or political. His introduction of more main characters towards the end
of the book is unusual but doesn’t detract from the flow of the
narrative. The dark themes of manipulation, corruption of power and
religious zeal are very disturbing.
This book, with its combination of horror and fantasy, will have appeal
to teens who enjoy being frightened.
Pat Pledger
Home
© Pledger
Consulting, 2007