Books › Murder in LaMut
Murder in LaMut
First published 2002 · 540 pages
A wintry, locked-room murder mystery told through the cynical, boots-on-the-ground perspective of veteran fantasy mercenaries.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping out of an epic battlefield and into a shadowy, snowbound castle where the real danger is whispered rather than shouted. It trades the grand, world-ending stakes of traditional high fantasy for a claustrophobic, locked-room mystery, anchoring the tension in the pragmatic, weary camaraderie of three veteran mercenaries. The mood is distinctly wintry and tense, driven by a steady pace that mirrors the slow, paranoid unraveling of political secrets among scheming nobles. The prose is straightforward and unpretentious, favoring sharp, cynical dialogue over sweeping descriptions. It is a deeply satisfying read for those who love seeing sprawling fantasy universes from the boots-on-the-ground perspective of ordinary soldiers who just want to survive their supposedly easy assignment.
- Mood
- claustrophobic
- wintry
- tense
- shadowy
- Tone
- wry
- pragmatic
- cynical
- suspenseful
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- the grunt's perspective · locked-room intrigue · loyalty and duty · political machinations
- The writing
- Straightforward and unpretentious, driven by sharp, pragmatic dialogue and the grounded observations of veteran soldiers.
- The arc
- Begins with the weary relief of an easy job, shifts into claustrophobic paranoia as danger closes in, and resolves with the grim satisfaction of duty fulfilled.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love classic fantasy worlds but prefer to experience them through the cynical, boots-on-the-ground perspective of veteran mercenaries solving a localized mystery.
Content notes
- murder
- violence
- class prejudice
About the book
It should have been so simple...
Durine, Kethol, and Pirojil are three mercenaries who have spent twenty years fighting other people's battles, defeating the Tsurani and the Bugs and the goblins. Yet now it seems there are no more enemies to vanquish, leaving them with a few months of welcomed garrison duty as the Riftwar rages on in the west.
When the trio is ordered to accompany a lady and her husband safely to the city of LaMut, it looks like an easy--even cushy--assignment. But in Midkemia, nothing is that straightforward, and the men find themselves trapped by a vicious winter storm in a castle with scheming lords and ladies, an unsolved murder, and nothing less than the political future of Midkemia at stake....
Description from Open Library.
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