"Acacia: The war with the Mein" by David Anthony Durham

David Anthony Durham's debut in Fantasy is absolutely spectacular. A writer of historical fiction, David has had ample time and practice to hone his craft. This is obvious from the first few opening chapters of "Acacia: The war with the Mein", from the bubbling tension to the perfect characterisation of even the supporting characters. In fact it takes a while to realise who the supporting characters are, as David has taken as much care developing them as the main "cast". By the middle of part one, this is cleared up. The star of act 1 is one of the secondary characters--Leodan, King of the Acacian empire. Although many other, less capable authors would not have bothered developing a character they intended to die early on in the story, David seems to have bucked the trend and done the opposite. Why is this so important? Because the reader cares more about what happens to a guilt-ridden, disillusioned widower and father of four than just "a King". In fact, Leodan is a pivotal character in the entire book, despite appearing relatively briefly. Were he not so well written, I wouldn't have cared what happened to his children. Were he not so believable and remorseful, I wouldn't have cared what happened to the "Known World". Secondary characters are just as important to the enjoyment of a book as Primary characters, whether they have a huge effect on the plot or not. One of the great things about "The war with the Mein" is definitely the characterisation. The protagonists and indeed antagonists do not stagnate (which is a good job, as the book leaps a 9 year gap between act 1 and 2), and being in totally different situations grow in different ways- no two characters are the same. Skirmishes are usually skimmed over, or taken down the the personal level, allowing for yet more characterisation and tension as violence is experienced on the personal rather than grand scale. Although I've made a huge issue of how well the characters are developed, Acacia has a lot happening in it, from full-scale invasion, through gigantic explosions to duels and weaselling. I was utterly blown away by The war with the Mein--and cannot wait for the next installment. This isn't so much a fantasy novel as a novel written utilizing the fantasy genre. It feels far more realistic than a great deal of other fantasy books out there, partly due to the characters' realistic actions and reactions, and partly due to the inclusion of non-caucasian people and tribes (which in a lesser writer's version of events may have turned into elves or dwarves). Score: 10/10 Rationale: I was going to give it a 9 to play it safe--but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. A great many people are looking forward to George RR Martin's "A Dance with Dragons", when they really should be queuing up to buy a copy of this. "Acacia: The War with the Mein" is on release in the US on June the 12th.