Book Review: To Ride Hell's Chasm

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

‘Death has no repeal. It is a brute ending that leaves us the legacy of an inscrutable silence. Therefore, I understand the voice of mercy very well.’

This epic fantasy standalone definitely goes on my all-time favourite list!

My entry point into Mrs. Wurts’ work was Daughter of the Empire she wrote with Raymond E. Feist. The beauty of that book made want to explore more of her works and I decided to appease my curiosity with To Ride Hell’s Chasm. And I wasn’t disappointed. To Ride Hell’s Chasm is a fantastic read!

It is a little difficult to get into at first, but as the story starts to unfold I found myself not being able to put it down.

The difficulty lies in the prose, which is unique!
It is lovely and elegant as well as complex and incredible in its detail.

‘The sun, angle shifting, sparkled off the polished glove of a flag spire. The slate and lead roofs of the palace precinct dropped in gabled steps downwards, in cool contrast to the terracotta tile of the merchants' mansions, crowded in rows like boxed gingerbread above the arched turrets of Middlegate. There, the tree-lined streets ran like seams in patchwork, jammed by the colors of private house guards helping to search for the princess. Their industry seethed past the courtyard gardens, scattered like squares of dropped silk, and stitched with rosettes where the flowering shrubs adorned the pillared gazebos.’
‘The crossroads market outside the town wall was a noisy, sprawling event that bloomed on a patch of packed earth with each dawn, and melted away every sundown.’
‘The fading grip of night still cloaked the valley outside the citadel. The misted tree limbs shed their burden of dew in a whispering patter of droplets.’

I would compare this writing with that of Guy Gavriel Kay, who can at times mesmerize the reader with his descriptions of places, customs and people. I love Kay’s writing but find that of Mrs. Wurts even better.
That may be due to the fact that it is a lot more detailed and complex. Every paragraph and almost every other word is laden with subtle nuances, meanings and clues that meticulously describe every emotion, every action and every visual detail.

This is not a book for those who like to read fast or skim. You cannot do any of these with To Ride Hell’s Chasm!

The entire story unfolds over a period of around 5 days with multiple POVs, while only the events of the first 2 days take over the full first quarter of the book. So you can imagine the complexity! All the characters ‘interactions are detailed to the minute in a beautiful rich prose, the result being an absolutely clear view of all the their experiences. And I have to say, despite all this, the story isn’t slow at all! It is just dense and intense!

What it is about?

When Princess Anja fails to appear at her betrothal banquet, the tiny, peaceful kingdom of Sessalie is plunged into intrigue. Two warriors are charged with recovering the distraught king's beloved daughter. Taskin, Commander of the Royal Guard, whose icy competence and impressive life-term as the Crown's right-hand man command the kingdom's deep-seated respect; and Mykkael, the rough-hewn newcomer who has won the post of Captain of the Garrison – a scarred dark-skinned veteran with a deadly record of field warfare, whose 'interesting' background and foreign breeding are held in contempt by court society.


The princess and her 2 protectors - by Janny Wurts

As the princess's trail vanishes outside the citadel's gates, anxiety and tension escalate. Mykkael's investigations lead him to a radical explanation for the mystery, but he finds himself under suspicion from the court factions. Will Commander Taskin's famous fair-mindedness be enough to unravel the truth behind the garrison captain's dramatic theory: that the resourceful, high-spirited princess was not taken by force, but fled the palace to escape a demonic evil?

What follows is a complex sweeping story of overcoming impossible odds with a wild Ride through Hell’s Chasm. And ‘No one has ever lived through Hell’s Chasm!’

With demon spawn, sorcerer’s minions and shape shifters hard on their trail and hunted by ravenous winged beasts (kerries), a princess with a relentless tough spirit and her scarred warrior have to brave both harsh nature and danger after danger to bring salvation to all they hold dear.


Kerries attack by Janny Wurts

And the story doesn’t stop at that. Mrs. Wurts masterfully weaves within personal drama, intrigue and guarded secrets, prejudice and moral principles, clash of cultural beliefs, loyalty and trust and sweeps the reader up into an emotional roller-coaster.

Her characters are all amazingly crafted. But if I had to choose a favourite, that would be Mykkael.

‘Not as a hero, not as the paid captain of Sessalie’s garrison, but as a man beset by a difficult quandary the less stout-hearted must name impossible. He stood guard for her fate, and his own, without arrogance. Even with scars and shortfalls in plain view, he was whole.
He lived as himself. Moment to moment, he surmounted his impaired strength through trained skill, and the unshakable trust of a man who had been put to the extreme test and who had won triumph through the unflagging use of his wits.’
A warrior ‘wracked and riddled by mishap and wounds, and the dross of his unshed tears.’

And let me not forget the horses! It is after all, a RIDE through Hell’s Chasm!
If you’re one who loves horses, you’re going to love this book! Because Mrs. Wurts gives us superb horses! She describes their individual strengths and weaknesses giving a wonderful insight into the animals’ character and heart. She really knows horses! Proper equine terms are used which lets us know the writing was not done without research. And she really loves them! Her descriptions are an ode to the wonderful character traits of these amazing animals.

I am gushing! I know. Please forgive me! But I fell in love with this story, with its characters and with the writing!

This is one of those rare unforgettable books that will hit you hard and stay with you long after you finished reading!

For those of you interested in a deeper insight into the themes of the book and the WHY behind it being THE all-time favourite book for me, check out the explanation below.

"It’s tragic how the lack of imagination so often shapes our defeat."


To Ride Hell's Chasm is a story about human beings and our tendency to focus on our own specific viewpoints. It clearly points out that no one person has all of the vision needed to answer a question, and no one person is the 'hero' at all moments. People tend to do their best on what limited platforms they stand on, but inevitably lack of knowledge, prejudice, and lack of imagination and inability to see past or biases create faults in response during a crisis.

This story focuses primarily on how a large scale crisis impacts a small, very isolated, very limited society - hit by a big problem that is outside its normal scope - how will the people involved respond to the crisis, and how will that play against strengths and shortfalls.

The characters are central to it, their plight, their story. But intersectional themes pile up very fast and cover a lot of ground.

How are outsiders regarded and received and prejudged - both for their foreign roots, their race, their alternate education?

What happens in a society that has little differences when outside points of view become critical and distrust of differences can run rampant?

What happens when you stand the trope of the 'arranged marriage' on its head - because here we don't get the princess being pressured as a political pawn avoiding escape - but a coup in progress....

What happens when human beings are not the only heroes - when reliance on the stamina or the attributes of INDIVIDUAL animals are a factor in saving the day?
We've relied, historically, on the gifts of other species, but how often do we acknowledge them as the individual heroes they are?

How do very fair minded people react when all is on the line? In a law and order country, where does the letter of the law compound - or even confound - the problem at hand? And when does the spirit of the law matter more? Janny Wurts probes this question here, with scorching results.

Who is responsible, truly, bottom line: the man who gives the orders OR the man who wields the sword?
This book stabs straight in and stares down the bore hole - where lies the ethical truth?

If we fail to acknowledge the individuality of our animal allies, do we also fail to acknowledge the clean instincts of the predator - or do our fears and our prejudices play there, as well?

When is the human killer innocent, or when is the wild predator innocent - or vice versa?

This novel starts as a complex political intrigue, passing the torch into an all out thriller. But the players are all necessary to the end result, and no hero or protagonist every truly stands alone.

This is a favorite theme of the author - to play diverse view points and experiences off each other and reshuffle opinions. Who emerges at what moment as the unlikely savior, and who crumples when a strength becomes a weakness?
There is no straightforward answer - no matter whether we as human beings like to simplify and accept the surface take without troubling to look deeper until we are in crisis and forced to change our established view point.

I've read this book for the first time in a very difficult period of my life and connected with it, at a very deep level. It's characters and the themes it focuses on made me get back on my feet and face the troubles head on, with the unflinching courage of a simple man beset by a difficult quandary the less stout-hearted must name impossible.
Mykkael, who lived as himself, without arrogance, and even with scars and shortfalls in plain view, he was whole.
Moment to moment, he surmounted his impaired strength through trained skill, and the unshakable trust of a man who had been put to the extreme test and who had won triumph through the unflagging use of his wits.’
A warrior ‘wracked and riddled by mishap and wounds, and the dross of his unshed tears.’

To Ride Hell's Chasm is one of those rare unforgettable books that will hit you hard and stay with you long after you finished reading!

So go ahead and give it a try!

Grab a copy of this book HERE.