Self-published by Rob J. Hayes, Pawn’s Gambit is a loose sequel to Never Die. Taking place after the events of the first book, Pawn’s Gambit focuses on a contest the gods of the four empires have every one hundred years for the position of Tianjun, lord of all the gods. Every participant picks a human as their champion. The story follows Natsuko, the god of missed things and missed opportunities, who picks Yuu, a disgraced strategist, in the hopes of deposing the current Tianjun, Batu the god of war. In a game played by assassins and warriors where only one can win, Yuu must use all her knowledge and abilities to make sure she is the only one left standing.
Though it’s a stand-alone book in the Mortal Techniques series, the story follows the bare bones structure of the first book – a supernatural force recruits a famous human to do their dirty work, bringing in more people along the way to aid in their cause. However, I do like the change where instead of just having another famous warrior as the title character, Hayes goes for a strategist who has no experience in actual combat. It makes for interesting writing when she has to think logically. The writing is especially strong during the battles the group takes part in, or the schemes Yuu has to think up. Though the plot seems like it’s been done before, I really enjoy the subplots like finding out why Natsuko is so eager to win the contest, as to learning more about Yuu’s alter ego, The Art of War.
As previously mentioned, it was the allure of a fantasy adventure with a dark Japanese twist that brought me to the original book, and though this sequel seems slightly less supernatural, I still like some of the adjustments to the world that Hayes has made. While keeping with the general aesthetic of a Japanese inspired world, time has passed since the last book and elements of steampunk pop up in the story when the people of Hosa face a technologically advanced empire. With the introduction of this brand new foe, the supernatural elements aren’t as prevalent, which is a shame because they added to the allure of the first story. However, there are some moments which I really loved – the poker game between Yuu and the zombie Yokai really stood out to me.
While the characters were what made the previous book so good, Pawn’s Gambit’s are enjoyable in their own right. As previously mentioned, Yuu is an interesting character, Natsuko is fun as a wise god wearing the guise of an old lady and Li Bang feels a big reminiscent of Chen Lu from the previous book. I would have perhaps liked to have seen more time with Yanmei though, as she only really joins the party towards the last third of the book. As for the antagonists, I didn’t really find Batu to be an imposing threat. The Ticking Clock was cool as a major villain, though I can tell he was probably heavily inspired by Karl Kroenen from Hellboy.
When I first read Rob J. Hayes’ Never Die, I was originally drawn by the inspiration to Japanese culture. Though the story itself didn’t necessarily bring anything new to the table, it was nice to see a fantasy plot with a unique setting. It was a desire to revisit this universe that drew me back to the world of Mortal Techniques. Though it feels like that universe is slowly moving away from its roots with the introduction of steampunk technology, Pawn’s Gambit has interesting characters populating a fascinating universe. While the writing could use some minor tweaks here and there, as a whole is an enjoyable experience.
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