SISTER SVANGERD AND THE NOT QUITE DEAD

Reviewed by Steven H Silver

Brother Desiderius and Sister Svangerd are given the chance to attend a major ecclesiastical council in Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead, the first volume of K. J. Parker's The Loyal Opposition trilogy. While Desiderius is looking forward to hearing the various theological and philosophical arguments that are going to be debated at the council, Sister Svangerd is more focused on the pair's secret assignment, the assassination of Princess Hildigund at the council.

Told from Desiderius' point of view, it is really his story, despite the prominence of Sister Svangerd in the book's title. While Sister Svangerd provides the duo's skills at assassination, Brother Desiderius, a large and intimidating man, is the more cerebral of the duo, working as a scribe, but also adept at forgery. Living long after the collapse of civilization, he is acutely aware of what has been lost and mourns the loss of books that have been destroyed in fires over the centuries. The planner of the two, he comes up with complex and intricate schemes to ensure they are where they need to be and Svangerd will have her opportunity to wreak violence. At the same time, he is always happy to take a detour if it means he can get a glimpse of a previously unknown work, which leads him to buy box that may contain a scripture that would undermine the council, and in fact the religion of the Invincible Sun.

Upon arriving for the council, all Desiderius really wants to do is listen to the debates, manage to assassinate, or have Svangerd assassinate, the princess, and get home safely. When someone else kills the princess before Svangerd can, he figures things will be easy, until a couple of undead creatures from his home province show up, his scripture is stolen, and it appears that he is being targeted by some sort of conspiracy. As he begins to investigate and try to keep the council from collapsing into chaos, Desidirius becomes aware of individuals who belong to what they call "The Loyal Opposition."

The Invincible Sun and the religion surrounding it is clearly a Christianity analog, with the Loyal Opposition representing the forces of evil who support the unnamed Satan analog. The members of the Loyal Opposition Desiderius comes into contact with share with him that they are working on the long game, a millennia long plot against the Invincible Sun, which will never end since there is no end to history. Their plot is full of contingencies and is constantly in a state of flux as the condition of the world in also in a constant state of flux. And just as Desiderius is interested in the philosophical and religious arguments of the council, the idea of the Loyal Opposition and the long game introduces the philosophical questions about good and evil that Parker is interested in exploring in this series, although while the questions are introduced in Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead, this novel mostly lays the ground work for future exploration.

Parker has long demonstrated a talent to tackle heavy ideas with a light touch and Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead is not an exception. Desiderius is a likable narrator with a unique worldview. He employs frequent asides which prove important later in the novel. At the same time, Parker incorporates a broad swath of real history with the serial numbers filed off to provide depth and verisimilitude to his world. The result is a novel that invites the reader in and provides them with the anticipation for the continuation of the story in Parker's subsequent novels.

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