"Rough." That's the word I'd use to describe Gemma Files' Weird West novel A Book of Tongues. I don't mean it in an "unpolished" sense of the word (at least not entirely), but more along the lines of the "rough and tumble" definition. From the mythology, the world, the characters, and even the love, nothing in this novel is easy. Read on to find out where this novel shines and where it stumbles.A Book of Tongues tells the story of three men: "Reverend" Ash Rook, Chess Pargeter, and Pinkerton agent Ed Morrow. Set directly after the Civil War, Morrow is tasked with infiltrating the notorious band of outlaws led by Rook, an ex-Confederate chaplain who possesses "hexslinging" powers. Chess, the volatile gunslinger, is Rook's lieutenant and lover. Morrow's mission: measure how strong Rook's powers are and then report back to his superiors.
Of course nothing is as simple as it seems. In this strange world, magicians (hexes) are unable to work together because inevitably they end up feeding off each other. However, Rook has a plan to change this "law." By forging a marriage pact with the ancient goddess Ixchel -- the mother of all hanged men. Rook carves a swath of blood, destruction, and death through the southwest in order to fulfill Ixchel's prophecies. As things spiral out of control, Morrow has to rely on Chess if either of them are going to survive long enough to stop Rook and Ixchel from altering the world forever.
Blood, destruction, and death. This book has all three in copious amounts. Again I have to return to my introduction: rough. People die in this book, and I personally don't have a problem with it. I enjoyed it. In fact Chess's whole "shoot first, don't even ask questions later" approach to life made him the book's most fascinating character. However, more squeamish readers might be a little turned off by all the violence.
While I enjoyed the violent nature of the plot, there were some problems with the characters and pacing. The novel is divided into three "books," and at the beginning of each one there is a page long "introduction." These introductions give the date in a familiar format before launching into an almost overwhelming number of Mesoamerican gods and goddesses. Look at the first two sentences from "Book One: City of Jades." "Today is ruled by Centeotl, the Lord of Maize, a version of Xipe Totec, Our Lord the Flayed One. Also known as Xilonen, "the Hair One," he holds the position of fourth Lord of the Night" (11). "Um, what?" That was my reaction as a person not well versed in these cultures. The same thing happened at every single beginning of a new "book." I would be overwhelmed by the sheer number of names and titles, none of which really had any bearing with Rook, Chess, and Morrow's story. Maybe to somebody more knowledgeable about Mayan and Aztec deities, these sections would make sense. But not to me.
What's more, these sections would give dates, but then there would be flashbacks and time jumps within the chapters. I'd forget what year I was in. It made the novel a little hard to follow at points. Also for me, Rook's time spent with Grandma was one of the novel's low points due to it being very dialogue and exposition heavy.
On to the characters. Oh my, oh my. I could write a whole essay about the three main ones. But let's get to the main point of (non)contention. Chess and Rook are in a homosexual relationship. And keeping with the novel's "rough" nature, there are several graphic sex scenes. I didn't mind at all, but those readers with narrower views in that regard should probably skip this book. The relationship between Chess and Rook is fascinating, and it's not because they're both men. It's because they are both characters with depth. I found myself rooting for Chess even though he's an ornery little son of a bitch. I wanted him to realize he deserved better than Rook, but of course being a character in a novel, he couldn't hear me.
All three main characters were enough to keep me going through the exposition heavy parts or the over flowery prose whenever Ixchel describing her pantheon of fellow gods and goddesses. Morrow's steadfastness and dedication to completing his mission, but also his questioning nature made him stand out. Rook's a man who should be dead. Instead he has a scar around his neck from the rope that he swung from, and he's an incredibly strong hex. If that doesn't make for a compelling character-turned-villain, I don't know what will.
While those three stood out, every other character fell flat by comparison. The reader is told that Rook travels with an outlaw band, but only one of them is mentioned by name: Hosteen. However he might as well remained nameless. There are a few others: Pinkerton--head of the Pinkerton agency, Asbury--the professor studying magic and hexes, and Songbird--a Chinese hex Rook runs into in San Francisco. Out of those characters, Songbird is the only interesting one because of her powers as a hex. However she is only in the book twice. I suspect that she might have bigger role in the sequel. While I know that the story (rightly) focuses on Rook, Chess, and Morrow's tangled relationship, it would have been nice to have a fuller supporting cast around them. Still, I'm glad to see that Chess and Morrow will play a major role in the sequel. Out of the three, they're the two I'd rather see together: as in getting the majority of "screen time" and as in a relationship together.
There was one little quirk in the writing style that bothered me, but not in an earth-shattering way. Every so often Files would use a colon when describing how a character was speaking or who a character was speaking to. It was a little off-putting because it made certain parts read more like a theatrical performance than a novel. For example right after Morrow finishes a couple of sentences of dialogue Pinkerton responds and it's written like this: "Pinkerton: 'Mmm. Well, then, by all means...continue'" (204). "Said" is the easiest way to say "said." I don't think it would have detracted from the novel to have written these instances in a more traditional manner e.g. "'By all means...continue,' Pinkerton said." It was a stylistic choice I didn't care for.
If you don't mind graphic violence and graphic sex, I recommend this book. Even if you're a little turned off by them, read the book anyway. Seeing Rook thumb his bible and cast spells from its words is a real treat. However, be warned that you probably won't understand the plot until the very end. All of Ixchel's explanations are not very helpful due to their overly flowery (trying to come across God-like) prose. Also you might get lost in the morass of Mesoamerican deities, titles, and mythology, but it's not insurmountable. Rough characters, rough plot full of violence, sex, blood, and magic. At the very least, when combined in A Book of Tongues, it's a potent combination.
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