By K J Parker

The Folding Knife is the story of Bassianus Severus, Basso for short, a precocious boy and son of the First Citizen of the Republic of Vesani. Basso grows up and takes over his fathers banking business, proving himself a much shrewder and much more calculating businessman than his father ever was, and eventually is elected as First Citizen in his own right. As a politician and a businessman it seems he can do no wrong, even when plans fail he has an uncanny ability to ride his extraordinary luck, reversing his fortunes and coming out on top. He is the most popular First Citizen in memory and everything seems perfect in Basso's well-ordered life. But eventually he does make a mistake, and that one wrong decision will come to cost him everything.

The Folding Knife starts where it ends and then backtracks to fill in the story up till that point. We know then, from the outset, that it's going to end badly for Basso but we're compelled to find out just what this intelligent, charismatic and very shrewd man could possibly have done that ended in this way. And the reading is easy. Basso really is one of the most compelling, readable and enjoyable characters I've encountered in fantasy fiction. Complex, surprising, self-centred without being selfish, occasionally compassionate and oddly, given his upbringing, grounded and very cognisant of the lives of those who work for and with him. Interestingly, he suffers a betrayal and tragedy early on in the book which redirects his focus from home and family to work and political life and it seems the more success he has, the less people he has to share it with. There is, however, his nephew Bassano, who he dotes on and who, he feels, he has much to atone for. The two of them become very close as the book progresses and it seems that, beyond sharing a name, Bassano will eventually come to inherit Basso's empire.

While very definitely a fantasy novel, if you're expecting magic and swordplay then this is not the book for you, for it has none, but despite its understated nature it is utterly gripping from the first page to the last, as battles are fought and deals are struck constantly albeit of the political, business or personal kind. The Vesani world, reminiscent of Old Rome in it's latinesque names, is well drawn and while almost all of the action takes place in the city we still get a strong sense of the world outside through the events that take place. There are some clever and thought provoking touches as well, Basso changes the immigration policy of Vesani in a stroke, completely changing the landscape of Versani citizenship and, at a stroke, the rights of thousands of people living and working in the city for the better. There is also some discourse on the nature of war based on correspondence between Basso and his nephew that, while designed to provoke thought, never preaches and never trips over into polemic.

Beautifully written and cleverly constructed, The Folding Knife is intelligent fantasy of a rare kind. It will surprise and amuse in equal measure, keep you glued to the page and ends leaving you wishing for more - and there is scope for the further adventures of Bassianus Severus - but in the meantime I'm going on the hunt for more K J Parker, because I can't believe I've let such entertaining storytelling elude me for this long.

The Folding Knifeis published by Orbit, through Little Brown, and is available from Amazon, Blackwell and all good book stores.

There is a new K J Parker website on its way apparently.