H.K. Thompson

Thompson writes with a calm self-confidence that is often lacking in debut novels. Gone is that earnest but often misplaced vigour that can best be described as ‘trying too hard’. Instead, the author seems to sit the reader on her knee and engage us with the inviting familiarity of a fireside read from childhood.

 

In this respect, I was strongly reminded of Stephen King’s 'The Eyes of the Dragon'. Thompson’s own story of dragons and a spiritual netherworld is skilfully realised and deeply allegorical.

 

We believe in this world and care about the characters that populate it. Her descriptions are highly visual, and it should come as no surprise that she is also an accomplished filmmaker.

 

Don’t be fooled into thinking this book is in any way cosy, however. There is genuine tension and urgency here, too; not unlike that found in Alan Dean Foster’s 'Into the Out Of'. That Thompson should find herself name-checked amongst such giants of imaginative fiction is well merited, and I predict that our feet will be warmed by many such fires in years to come.