I was rudely awakened this morning by the fire alarm. As I waited outside for the all clear to return to my cozy bed, I decided to download a sample of Wilbur Smith’s Warlock on my iPhone. Warlock is a fantasy novel set in ancient Egypt and I had been meaning to check it out for some time, but I never managed to get around to it until now.
By the end of the first page, it became apparent that artistic license was going to be the order of the day. I had hoped that Warlock would be a work of historical fantasy on par with Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, but Smith took so many liberties with the past that it had a negative impact on my ability to enjoy the story.
Now I get the fact that this is a novel and not a history textbook. I also understand that artistic license is often necessary. But if you’re going to set your work in a real-world society, I think you have to adhere to a certain basic standard of authenticity. Populating your version of ancient Egypt with people named “Lostris” and “Memnon” is like writing a story about feudal Japan with characters named “Tiffany” and “Bartholomew.” If you’re going to fudge that many details, why not just go all the way and set your story in a wholly fictional world of your own creation?
Let me make one thing clear, though: I’m not saying that Warlock is a bad book because it lacks authenticity. It’s just not the sort of book I want to read. I think I’ll download something by C. J. Sansom instead…
Codex Lochianus 