SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Temper by Nicky Drayden

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Temper by Nicky Drayden: https://t.co/Rc9GOZGoKs Short Review: 6.5 out of 10 (1/3)

— garik16|CanesFan (@garik16) September 25, 2018

Short Review(Cont): Twins Auben & Kasim share the 7 vices & virtues...and more: such as demonic possession. But can Auben save the 2 of them w/out dooming their relationship...& the whole world? Lot of fascinating ideas here, but not enough room to explore many of them (2/3)

— garik16|CanesFan (@garik16) September 25, 2018

Temper is Nicky Drayden's second novel, after last year's "The Prey of Gods" (Which I reviewed here).  The Prey of Gods was a scifi/fantasy hybrid novel set in South Africa which featured a ton of crazy ideas all mashed together (AIs, Ancient Demigods, mind control ethics, genetic engineering issues, among just a few) that somehow worked to create a pretty strong book.  With Temper, Drayden seems to be going with a more conventional story at first - the story features only one point of view character (who tells the story in first person) - even if the setting for the story is incredibly far out there from what we might think of as the norm.

That setting should be a hint to readers - while this novel may begin as a seemingly more conventional humorous SF/F horror story, it expands throughout into many many directions until it becomes far more ambitious than even The Prey of Gods, with ideas being thrown around like crazy.  The problem is that, unlike in her first novel, Temper has a massive pacing problem:  these ideas get added at a seemingly exponential rate as the plot gets further in, with its final act becoming so incredibly complicated so as to get overwhelming for the reader, and to make it hard to really grasp what Drayden is getting at with each of these ideas.

More after the Jump:

------------------------------------------------Plot Summary--------------------------------------------------
In an alternate version of South Africa, nearly everyone is born with a twin - and each twin contains some part of the other twin inside him/her/eirself.  Each twin is also born with - and identified after  a procedure as having - anywhere from 1-6 of the 7 vices (Vainglory, Envy, Duplicity, Doubt, Lechery, Greed, and Temper), with their twin having the other vices/virtues that they themselves don't have.  The twin with more of the vices is considered the "lesser twin," and is shunned by society, though they themselves still feel a necessary connection to their sibling.

Auben Mutze is such a lesser twin - and in a rare situation, he has six vices and only one virtue, while his brother Kasim has six virtues and only one vice.  But when Auben starts hearing a voice in his head, he realizes that he is possessed by the local religion's devil, the being known as Icy Blue.  And Icy Blue has a craving for blood and Auben is slowly losing control of his own body....and others are paying the price.

Auben is forced to come up with dangerous plans with Kasim in order to try to stop the carnage....but will doing so cause the relationship between the brothers to break down?  And as Auben begins to embrace his vices, will he even want to give up his Icy Blue powers....when he can do oh so much with them to change a world that is so very very wrong?
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I've rewritten the above plot summary a few times to try not to spoil anything (I didn't spoil anything that's not really in the Amazon plot summary), as Temper features a plot that veers quite a bit from its initial premise.  There's also quite a lot of ideas from the beginning I didn't mention - for example, due to the physical blending of twins, some twins have parts of both male and female genders (known as kigens), making the # of genders more than 2, and there is some social stigmas relating to such individuals that forms a plot point.  There are also singletons, people born without a twin, who are deeply distrusted and have faced murderous oppression in the past...and present.  And then there's the conflict between the dominant religion-influenced forces and the secular science-minded individuals, who believe religion is holding things back.   There's an awful lot going on in Temper just in its setting, nevertheless its plot.

These things are seen entirely through the perspective of its protagonist, Auben.  And Auben is an incredibly strong protagonist, which is good, because anything less would result in a really broken story.  On a very basic level, Auben is the "evil twin" in that he has six vices (vainglory, duplicity, doubt, lechery, envy and temper) and only one virtue (charity) and revels in them to a certain extent - one of his first acts in this book is to try and get with his girlfriend's sister by switching the sisters' vices/virtues via magic - and that's before the demonic possession comes into play.  With the powers of his possession - and its influence - Auben's actions, even when well meaning, are often incredibly dark.  And yet they're generally driven by real understandable pressures and circumstances that come to bear upon Auben, so after the very beginning of the book (that girlfriend snafu - which doesn't work as intended).  And Auben - and the book in general - is genuinely witty and fun at times, which helps make the darkness bearable for most of the book, rather than a grimdark mess.

After Auben though.....well, I hate to say it, but this book is kind of a mess.  A lot of that comes from the pacing, which has some serious issues.  Each chapter of the book is named after one of Auben's 6 vices/1 virtue - and the contents of these chapters somewhat reflect the named vice/virtue - with the final chapter (Temper) taking up a little over a fifth of the book.   That final chapter, which takes place after a major plot shift, feels like it could have been its own book, and should have been as it swerves repeatedly so many times that no part of the plot seems allowed to catch and take hold.  At one point even the story seems to be turning into a Randian tale of the benefits of vice and the downfalls of virtue (which I don't think was really the author's intent based upon the rest of the book's content and what I know of her, but it definitely comes out this way), only to then shift into something else entirely.  Characters from early in the book reappear in this final act for a significant plot twist that - while talked about by a third separate character - seems very much out of left field, and our main hero's conflict with another character which shows up here and there throughout comes into big play...and then is dropped for the final confrontation instead.  It seems very much like the first 6 chapters could have been their own book with the 7th being a second book in a duology, and the result might've been substantially more effective as the ideas in the final act could've been given time to breathe and develop.

I've said this before and I'll say it again, I prefer books that try to shoot for the moon with ideas and fail rather than ones that don't try anything new - Temper is definitely the former, and I read through the final half of the book in a single sitting from midnight to 3AM on a Saturday, so its ideas definitely kept my attention.  I just wish they didn't leave me going "what the hell?" when I was finished, which it definitely did.

Spoilery Textual Discussion of the Above in ROT13, since this book is so interesting I actually want to talk about it more in depth than I can when I'm just trying to recommend or not recommend a book:  Grzcre'f ynfg puncgre - ynoryrq Grzcre - bpphef nsgre n znwbe punatr gb gur fgnghf dhb: Xnfvz unf tvira va gb uvf bja cbffrffvba ol Tenpr, hfrq Frfnl gb cresbez n evghny gung jbhyq fjvgpu Nhora'f bar iveghr (Punevgl) jvgu Xnfvz'f ivpr (Terrq), naq gura hfrq uvf arj cbjref nf n shyy iveghr-q Tenpr gb oernx gur pbaarpgvbaf orgjrra yrffre naq terngre gjvaf. Nhora jvaqf hc yrnqvat gur yrffre gjvaf, uvf crbcyr, vagb ohvyqvat gurve bja pvgl jvgubhg gurve zber iveghbhf gjvaf pynvzrq ol Xnfvz.

Nf V zragvbarq nobir va zl aba-fcbvyre gnyx, guvf trgf qbjaevtug Enaqvna ng svefg - jvgu Nhora'f Pvgl guevirf nf crbcyr npg bhg gurve ivprf naq chg gurz gb terng hfr.  Zrnajuvyr, Xnfvz'f Pvgl, svyyrq jvgu abguvat ohg iveghr....qvrf.  Gb dhbgr n punenpgre sebz gur iveghr fvqr rkcynvavat vg:

"Vg jnf bhe iveghrf gung qvq hf va.  Bhe uhzvyvgl pevccyrq hf.  Crbcyr sybpxrq serryl gb svyy gur ibvq bs zravny ynoberef.  Sbezre PRBf jbexrq gur znvyebbz.  Nppbzcyvfurq pursf jnfurq qvfurf.  VS gung jnfa'g rabhtu, punevgnoyr genqref fgnegrq fryyvat bhe rkcbegf ng  ybff naq gur pbhapvy tbg fb pnhtug hc ol gurve hapurpxrq pbafpvraprf gung gurl avttyrq bire rirel fvatyr cbffvoyr jnl fbzr vffhr pbhyq bssraq fbzrbar, fbzrjurer, fbzrgvzr.  Bhe pvgl jnf fybjyl fvaxvat....Abobql jnagrq gb nqzvg ubj zhpu bs bhe jbegu qrcraqrq ba fgnaqvat hcba gur onpxf bs gubfr yrffre guna hf."

Whqtvat sebz gur erfg bs gur obbx, Qenlqra vf zbfg yvxryl zber gelvat gb znxr n cbvag nobhg gur fgeratgu bs gur bccerffrq naq gur jrnxarff bs gur bccerffbef urer (lbh pna frr gung va gur ynfg yvar).  Ohg gur pbaprcg bs iveghr naq pbafpvrapr orvat n jrnxarff naq ivpr naq terrq orvat n tbbq vf fgenvtug bhg bs gur Nla Enaq cynlobbx, naq jryy...lhpx.  Qenlqra nggrzcgf gb erunovyvgngr guvf cbvag yngre ol univat vg ghea bhg gung Xnfvz'f snvyher nf Tenpr znl unir orra qhr gb Xnfvz naq Nhora univat gurve ebyrf fjvgpurq ng ovegu ol gurve qhcyvpvgbhf zbgure (zber ba ure va n zbzrag) gelvat gb sberfgnyy gurve cbjref - naq abg qhr gb iveghr orvat n onq guvat va naq bs vgfrys.  Naq gur erfg bs gur puncgre qbrfa'g qrny jvgu gur vffhr.  Ohg vg fgnaqf bhg nf n cerggl onq zrffntr gung V fhfcrpg jnf abg gur nhgube'f vagrag.

Frggvat nfvqr gur Enaqvna ceboyrz, Grzcre'f ynfg puncgre nyfb srngherf gjb bgure cybgyvarf pbzvat gb ebbfg juvpu V jnagrq gb gnyx nobhg (gur snpg gung jr rffragvnyyl unir guerr cybgyvarf urer fubjf pyrneyl gb zr ubj zhpu zber fcnpr guvf pbagrag arrqrq vs vg jnf tbvat gb jbex).  Gur svefg vf gur ernccrnenapr bs Axbfnmnan naq Ehqn, gur gjvaf sebz gur irel svefg gjb puncgref jub Nhora/Xnfvz unq ebznagvp vagrerfgf va.  Axbfnmnan unqa'g nccrnerq sbe 3 puncgref (2 bs juvpu ner fbzr bs gur ybatrfg va gur obbx) naq Ehqn, jub unq zber punenpgrevmngvba, bayl nccrnef nf n snyfr pnzrb n srj puncgref cevbe.  N ynetr nzbhag bs guvatf unir cnffrq fvapr gur qhb nccrnerq naq gurl jrer arire ernyyl gung fvtavsvpnag gb gur cybg rira jura gurl qvq fubj hc rneyl.  Naq lrg fhqqrayl Nhora unf gebhoyr abg bofrffvat bire Axbfnmnan (bxnl ur'f zrffrq hc uvf ivprf svar), naq Axbfnmnan naq Ehqn ner nccneragyl naq unir orra nyy nybat nccneragyl chyyvat n pba ba rirelbar: gurl'er abg npghnyyl gjvaf, gurl'er fvatyrgbaf.

Gur vqrn bs Fvatyrgbaf cergraqvat gb or gjvaf jnf oebhtug hc rneyvre ol nabgure punenpgre va n fgbel nobhg ure gentvp cnfg, fb vg'f abg n oenaq arj fgbel.  Ohg gurer'f irel yvggyr uvag bs guvf va gur svefg 3 puncgref jurer Axbfnmnan/Ehqn fubj hc (gur "irefn jh" fjvgpuvat sebz gur svefg puncgre frrzf gb znxr ab frafr jungfbrire tvira guvf eriryngvba) naq tvira gurve nofrapr sebz zbfg bs gur obbx, vg whfg srryf chyyrq sebz guva nve  naq unf ab vzcnpg.  Fvzvyneyl, gurve pbaarpgvba gb Nhora/Xnfvz'f zbgure frrzf gb pbzr bhg bs abjurer, naq vg'f abg pyrne vs gur obbx vf pynvzvat gur tveyf jrer chyyvat n ybat pba ba gur cebgntbavfgf sebz gur ortvaavat be whfg n fznyy pba gung gurl nqncgrq gb n ybat pba zhpu yngre.  Gur erirny guhf znxrf yvggyr gb ab vzcnpg naq vg'f abg pyrne jung rknpgyl vf tbvat ba va gur erirny rvgure (jung rknpgyl vf gurve znpuvar fhccbfrq gb qb?).

Svanyyl, nf cebzvfrq, gurer'f gur cybgyvar vaibyivat Nhora/Xnfvz'f zbgure.  Hayvxr gur tvey gjvaf fvghngvba nobir, guvf cybgyvar VF frrqrq guebhtubhg gur obbx, jvgu Xnfvz svaqvat uvagf gung uvf zbgure vf vaibyirq va gur nagv-eryvtvba/fpvragvsvp zbirzrag guebhtubhg.  Fgvyy, vg nyjnlf srryf yvxr n ovg bs n qvfgenpgvba gb gur zber vzcbegnag cybg hagvy vg orpbzrf frrzvatyl na bofrffvba sbe Nhora va gur svany npg.  Nhora'f zbgure nf vg gheaf bhg erwrpgrq uvz naq Xnfvz naq gevrq gb uvaqre gurve tbq-cbjref sebz pbzvat bhg orpnhfr bs ure nagv-eryvtvbhf ivrjcbvag naq jura gurl pbzzvggrq shyy gvzr gb yrneavat nobhg gurve cbjref ol trggvat gurzfryirf gb n eryvtvbhf fpubby, fur nonaqbarq nyy cergrafr (be erny srryvat) bs pnevat nobhg gurz va snibe bs gbgny erwrpgvba.  Juvpu vf gentvp....naq vf whfg yrsg gurer nf Qenlqra vafgrnq ergheaf gb gur fgbel bs gur znva cnvevat univat gurve svany pbasyvpg.  Gur bayl erfbyhgvba tvira vf gung Nhora pbzzragf gung uvf zbgure vf yvxryl gb tb vafnar jvgubhg ure gjva, jub qvrf va gur pbasyvpg.  Vg'f whfg qebccrq, naq vg'f xvaq bs abgnoyr.

V qba'g zrna gb or ovgpuvat sbe fb ybat, guvf gehyl vf na vagrerfgvat obbx. Ohg lbh pna frr ubj gurfr guerr cybg ryrzragf gnxr hc n fhofgnagvny nzbhag bs gur svany npg naq snvy, jurernf creuncf n ybatre obbx, be n frpbaq ibyhzr pbagnvavat gurz, jbhyq'ir jbexrq sne orggre.