Just Published: The Twelfth Enchantment by David Liss

David Liss

Today is the publication date for The Twelfth Enchantment by David Liss, one of my favorite authors.  He is a fine writer of historical novels, but he proved in The Ethical Assassin that he can write great contemporary fiction too.  His books have been engrossing and I've reviewed a few of them in recent posts to try to stoke a little interest in his thrilling fiction.  Liss mines the dark side of capitalism for his book ideas. Lately he's been devoting a lot of his energy to writing comic books--yes, that's what I said--but fortunately he's still hard at work on the historical fiction too.  Here's what Liss originally had to say about the new book on his blog:  

Set during the Regency and the Luddite Uprising, the first organized resistance to the industrial revolution.  Think Jane Austen meets urban fantasy.   Lucy Derrick, an impoverished woman on the cusp of a disastrous marriage is drawn into a mysterious plot in which new technology wars with ancient knowledge.   Lord Byron, William Blake and Mansfield Park’s Mary Crawford!  I had a blast writing this one. 

Trust me, mysterious plots are nothing new to Liss's fiction, and if his past books are any indication, it will be all but impossible to figure out the true nature of the conspiracy--there's usually some sort of conspiracy--until the end.  His novel The Darkening Green--that's the original title--was originally slated to be published on October 4.  Liss even put some proposed cover artwork on his website.  Let's have a look, shall we?  You know I can't resist.

First proposed version:

Second proposed version:

The final version:

Given that all three book covers show a printed page with a similar mystical symbol, it seems clear the title was changed and the publication date simply moved forward into the summer, an indication maybe that the manuscript didn't require much revision.  I'm going to assume that this young woman is the heroine, Lucy Derrick.  It seems to me very contrary to avoid showing Lucy's eyes, yet that disturbing detail appears in what I've labelled the second preliminary version as well as the final published version of the cover.  In other words, it's no accident.  What's really odd, though, is that Liss's second novel, The Coffee Trader, chose to crop a head in the same way, eyes unseen:

It's kind of impersonal to hide people's eyes like that.  I think it makes the book look more disturbing.  In the case of The Coffee Trader, the book is disturbing, but why clue the reader into that beforehand?  Sell the book first, then write whatever twisted thing you want!

Now that little detail of the blood spattering--I'm just going to assume it's not wine--is evidently important enough to be carried over from the second preliminary version to the final version too, just with a little less emphasis.  My question is, from a sales perspective, why have it at all?  Yes, I understand that it's important to the plot in some crucial way that will become very evident a few pages into the book.  But if you're truly marketing the book to Jane Austen fans, why make it look like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?

OK, I'm exaggerating.  The book is a historical mystery of some sort, and should appeal to fans of several different genres.  Liss now has a more complete plot summary on his blog, which I quote in full:

Lucy Derrick is a young woman of good breeding and poor finances. After the death of her beloved father, she is forced to maintain a shabby dignity as the unwanted boarder of her tyrannical uncle, fending off marriage to a local mill owner. But just as she is on the cusp of accepting a life of misery, events take a stunning turn when a handsome stranger—the poet and notorious rake Lord Byron—arrives at her house, stricken by what seems to be a curse, and with a cryptic message for Lucy. Suddenly her unfortunate circumstances are transformed in ways at once astonishing and seemingly impossible.

 With the world undergoing an industrial transformation, and with England on the cusp of revolution, Lucy is drawn into a dangerous conspiracy in which her life, and her country’s future, are in the balance. Inexplicably finding herself at the center of cataclysmic events, Lucy is awakened to a world once unknown to her: where magic and mortals collide, and the forces of ancient nature and modern progress are at war for the soul of England . . . and the world. The key to victory may be connected to a cryptic volume whose powers of enchantment are unbounded. Now, challenged by ruthless enemies with ancient powers at their command, Lucy must harness newfound mystical skills to prevent catastrophe and preserve humanity’s future. And enthralled by two exceptional men with designs on her heart, she must master her own desires to claim the destiny she deserves.

That sounds promising.  Now here's the obligatory cover blurb:

“Tremendously appealing characters . . . a thoroughly enjoyable, satisfying read.”— Deborah Harkness, author of A Discovery of Witches

Witches, eh?  Here's what the final cover looks like with the surefire blurb added to the upper left corner:

Hmm...  It almost sounds as if Mr. Liss may give us a satisfying, happy ending in this one. Or is that too much to hope?

Now about that title change...  Amazon.com lists six books which already have had Blake's phrase "Darkening Green" in the title, and that might well be the reason for the last-minute name change.  The Twelfth Enchantment sounds more magical, less foreboding.  In other words, it seems to be a shrewd move.  On the strength of David Liss's captivating writing, let's all give it a try!





My brief review of The Devil's Company by David Liss is here.

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Book Review: The Devil's Company (2010) by David Liss

The Devil's Company (2010)
David Liss

This is David Liss's third historical novel featuring Benjamin Weaver, and, not surprisingly, Weaver is in serious trouble once again. It is 1722 in London and a mysterious well-financed figure named Cobb has taken control of Weaver's debts, as well as the debts of his friends and close family members. Cobb then uses his considerable power over them to force Weaver to investigate a murder that it seems was carried out by none other than the British East India Company.

Liss often tries to find some historical example of Capitalism's malfeasance, one in which real people get hurt, and then he endeavors to make this example relevant to our own time. In this case, he draws a distinct parallel between the East India Company's global machinations and today's concerns about global free trade and job outsourcing. Personally, I think this comparison is a bit facile. The book's title, The Devil's Company, refers very explicitly to the British East India Company, the corporate behemoth of its day.

The truth of the matter, at least as I see it, is that the average individual in the developed world is much better off today than in the London of 1722, and one of the main reasons for this is the extraordinary success of the capitalist system, which permitted the unprecedented rise of a large middle class. As I've mentioned in the past, Liss can sound somewhat preachy at times, although, in fairness, he generally tries at least to acknowledge both sides of an argument.

Here Weaver must endure a family tragedy under very unjust circumstances. Liss seems unwilling just yet to offer a suitable woman to Weaver, preferring instead to tease him with beautiful women who are just not quite right for him. Ultimately I found the book somewhat disappointing, but as usual this seems to be deliberate on Liss's part. This author doesn't generally care for satisfying, happy endings that might be disingenuous following all the cruel torments that arise in his novels.

It seems unlikely that Weaver's lonely situation will resolve anytime soon, as Liss has stated on his blog that at least his next two books will not feature the Benjamin Weaver character.  I'll just have to try to wait patiently.

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Book Review: The Whiskey Rebels (2008) by David Liss

The Whiskey Rebels (2008)
David Liss

This work of historical fiction seems surprisingly relevant in our current economic upheaval.  David Liss has created an especially strong character in Captain Ethan Saunders, a disgraced but personable rogue who narrates much of the novel. Saunders accounts for almost all the pleasure I got reading this, and that's a considerable amount. A good part of the book is narrated by Joan Maycott, a sympathetic character at least for a while whose path eventually crosses Saunders's. The book takes a while to gather momentum and sort things out between the two narratives. Once it hits its stride, it is often gripping, particularly when Saunders is doing the narrating.

The financial schemes at the heart of the plot require a lot of explaining, and the dialogue is a bit pedantic in parts. The tale is also quite violent, perhaps not inappropriately given its historical context. The book's climax is exceptionally well-conceived, and perhaps that's where the story should have ended. The brief epilogue, some years later, is way off the mark I think, improbably attributing an infamous historical event to the scheming of one character.

I think Liss is a remarkably talented writer and I applaud his willingness to take his fiction in new directions, but this book, for all its promise, was just a bit of a misfire. Still, I think it's probably worth your time, and I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading any of David Liss's writing, historical fiction or otherwise.

The new novel by David Liss is being released on August 9. I plan to publish one more book review before that date.

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Book Review: A Spectacle of Corruption (2004) by David Liss

A Spectacle of Corruption (2004)
David Liss

David Liss sets his second Benjamin Weaver novel during the British elections of 1722. Weaver is falsely accused of murder and is sentenced to hang. He sets about escaping from captivity and donning a plausible disguise as one Matthew Evans. He then attempts to clear his name, a formidable task that is fraught with treachery and peril.

This may be my favorite Liss novel to date. It can't be easy to write historical fiction of this caliber. Liss, as always, explores the darker and seedier aspects of humanity, although people here seem driven more by self-interest than by actual evil. It's ironic that the author should introduce herein the logical concept of Ockham's Razor, as each of his complex books generally refutes this rational assumption of simplicity. There is not much straightforward or simple in any book by David Liss. But there is plenty to keep you riveted!

His new book is coming out August 9th.



My brief review of The Coffee Trader is here.




Blog Update:  My post entitled Happy Birthday, George Booth has been updated here with the three finalists of James Gurney's "New Yorker Unfinished Cover" contest.

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Book Review: The Coffee Trader (2003) by David Liss

The Coffee Trader (2003)
David Liss

David Liss is a very gifted writer of historical fiction. His novels offer financial intrigue as well as a taste of Jewish community life in times gone by, in this case in the aftermath of the Spanish Inquisition. The Coffee Trader takes place two generations prior to A Conspiracy of Paper, his first novel.  The story is set among the Portuguese Jewish community in Amsterdam at the time coffee is being introduced to Europeans. With regard to this community, to me it feels delightfully familiar. You see, I read the nonfiction work Rembrandt's Jews (Chicago, 2003) by a noted philosophy professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison not all that long ago. I chose this latter book, I confess, on the basis of its scholarly author's excellent name, and I am delighted now to be able to return so soon to this very interesting time and place. As the two books were published in the same year, I doubt whether Liss could have used anything in Rembrandt's Jews for his own research.

As with Liss's other books, there is a convoluted underlying conspiracy that the hero has to unravel before it is too late. The novel's machinations are complex and can't really be anticipated by the reader, at least not by this reader.

The story is told mostly in the third person, but recurring parts of it are related through the memoirs of another character. (This dual approach works well enough here, although in a later book I feel it didn't go quite so smoothly. To wit, in The Whiskey Rebels, I find the dual narration very unsettling. Ambitious, yes, but unsettling.)

The Coffee Trader starts out promisingly enough and allows the reader to relive the experience of that first exquisite cup of coffee. I found myself wishing for some old-fashioned coffee as enticing as the brew described in these pages. The book's ending, though,  I found disheartening and disturbing, a reminder of how one can be betrayed with unintended and even brutal consequences. Ultimately, I think Liss, by mostly avoiding happy endings in his novels, is being true to his somewhat bleak vision of human nature. The question remains, what's a nice Jewish boy like David Liss doing creating such unsavory and sordid characters in the first place? The answer just might be that he's being honest.

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Book Review: A Conspiracy of Paper (2000) by David Liss

A Conspiracy of Paper (2000)
David Liss

This enthralling first novel by David Liss is remarkably good, and its early promise has been borne out in his subsequent fiction. Set in London in 1719, the book introduces Benjamin Weaver, a Jewish former pugilist turned thieftaker. Weaver is alienated from both his family and his religion, making this novel set in the early 18th century feel remarkably contemporary.


A Conspiracy of Paper takes place just before the South Sea Bubble financial crisis. Liss is drawn to the history of finance and of its disruptions. At this period of history, people were just coming to terms with the idea that paper bills could represent the same kind of monetary value as gold or silver specie. The idea of paper stock certificates was revolutionary at the time too, akin perhaps in some way to the revolution we have seen with complex finance in the digital age.

Liss is a thoughtful and an entertaining writer, and I think readers who seek out his books will be well-rewarded. After reading all of his novels, though, I've come to wonder whether he has any faith in the capitalist system itself. I hope he does.  He seems to understand all the things that have gone wrong and that can go wrong. He knows how financial disasters have hurt a great many people who trusted their earnings to the market. In 1719, when modern finance was in its infancy and abuse rampant, I have to concede that Liss's implied criticism of the very flawed financial system is more or less appropriate.

Warner Brothers optioned the rights to this book in 2010 and we could soon be seeing it on the big screen. It has the potential to be a thrilling, suspenseful movie, if they get it right. Granted, that's a big if.

David Liss's latest book The Twelfth Enchantment is coming out on August 9. I'm going to post a few more reviews of his books here before that date.

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