Written by Greg Keyes
Published by TitanBooks, London (2010)
ISBN: 9781848567160
The Infernal City is a unique story set in The Elder Scrolls’ world of Tamriel. While it was originally released in 2010, a year later in 2011, it would be included in The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim’s Premium Edition as an extra. That same year, 2011, a direct sequel would be released called Lord of Souls finishing the story started in The Infernal City. I will be reviewing the sequel, but let’s remain focused on this first novel to begin with. Does the world of Tamriel and the many realms of Oblivion successfully make the transition from video game to novel, or is this a low point for the series?
First things first, we need to understand the background lore to set the scene. During the events of Morrowind, the three living Gods of the Tribunal lose their godhood thanks to the player character known as the Nerevarine. Two of the three living Gods are killed during the Tribunal expansion by the Nerevarine. This leaves Morrowind protected by only Vivec, the last of the Tribunal. During the Oblivion crisis Vivec vanishes, leaving the province undefended for the first time in three-thousand-five-hundred-and-forty-nine years. Eventually during the fifth year of the fourth era, Vvardenfell is destroyed as the meteor suspended above Vivec city collides with the city, which then causes a chain reaction that leads to the eruption of the red mountain. In the years that follow what’s left of Morrowind is swiftly invaded by the argonian’s of Black Marsh as vengeance for hundreds of years of argonian slavery at the hands of the dunmer.
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| A screenshot from The Elder Scrolls Online depicting the 'Ministry of Truth' meteor colliding with Vivec City. |
Meanwhile the Third Imperial Empire is also going through a difficult time since the death of Martin Septim. For the first time since the founding of the Third Empire there is no dragonborn emperor to rule. The last of Tiber Septim’s bloodline has died with the death of Martin Septim. Because of this the empire has begun to fall apart, allowing both Black Marsh and what’s left of Morrowind to break free from Imperial control. These rebellions have been secretly fuelled by the Third Aldmeri Dominion, otherwise known as the Thalmer. The Aldmeri Dominion is an extremist group that believes that the elves, otherwise known as mer, are the superior race within Tamriel. Eventually emperor Titus Mede I takes control of the empire and begins to fight to regain control of what’s left of it. At the same time, he’s having to fight a silent war with the Aldmeri Dominion.
All this history is the backdrop to our story, and all of it is wonderfully explained as you read. We get to see the extent of both the Nerevarine’s actions during Morrowind, and the damage that the Oblivion crisis caused during Oblivion. This is something I love about The Infernal City, it expertly connects the events of Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim together. For a lore buff like me, this is an amazing source of historic Tamrielic information. But it’s also so much more than that. It’s the first part of an amazing two-part story. We begin part one by following Annaïg, a Breton human, and Mere-Glim, an argonian, living their lives within Lilmoth, a small town within Black Marsh. Life is cosy for the pair, if a little boring, but all that changes when a strange flying island passes over the town. Everything within its shadow is killed and then brought back as the walking dead. Both Annaïg and Glim only survive by using a potion of levitation to fly up onto the island, which they learn is called Umbriel. They quickly find themselves forced to adapt to life within this alien location while attempting to destroy it from the inside. Annaïg’s greatest hope lays with Prince Attrebus, son of Titus Mede I, who she can contact thanks to a magical locket she has. Attrebus quickly learns a life-shattering secret about himself but attempts to push through it in order to save Annaïg. He’s joined by Sul, a dunmer with some dark connection to the destruction of Vvardenfell. Meanwhile, in the background, Colin, a member of the Penitus Oculatus is working to uncover a conspiracy at the centre of the new Mede empire.
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This story has a lot of main characters, five, in total, which
means it needs to balance a lot of spinning plates. It does manage this, for
the most part. The narrative is split up into three sections. The first of
these is Umbriel where we follow Annaïg and Glim as they attempt to adapt,
survive, and learn as much about the strange island as possible. The second is
the prince’s journey that follows Sul and Attrebus as they rush to catch up
with Umbriel before it’s too late. The last section is the conspiracy plot with
Colin. This is the section that suffers the most from the large cast of main
characters. He has the least number of chapters, and as such feels undeveloped
even by the end of the book. From what I remember his role does pick up in the
sequel, but during this first story, he feels too far removed from the rest of
the events. He doesn’t even learn about Umbriel, the main threat, during this novel.
For as lacking as Colin is, The Infernal City makes up for this with how
interesting and lovable the rest of the cast are. I really grew to love Annaïg,
Glim, Attrebus, and Sul.
The other thing that I think could have been an issue, but Greg Keyes’ very talented writing manages to avoid, is how much lore and history is necessary to enjoy this story. I spent two very dense paragraphs detailing the background history of Tamriel at the start of this review. All of this is explained slowly, and intelligently throughout the three hundred pages of this story and not all at once. It never, at any point feels confusing or overwhelming. I would relate it to the writing of Sir Terry Pratchett, or JR Tolken; Their writing may mention previous stories set in their vast worlds, The Lord of the Rings mentions the events of The Hobbit for example, but you can still enjoy The Lord of the Rings without having to have read The Hobbit. If you have read The Hobbit, however, then you will get a little extra thrill out of the moment that the fellowship pass by Bilbo’s trolls. In the same sense, you don’t need to have played Oblivion to enjoy The Infernal City but if you have, then you will get a little extra thrill out of Attrebus running into an old Oblivion gate. Greg Keyes really deserves a lot more recognition for his talent in writing a story that rewards those that have previously played the connected games, but in no way requires the reader to have played them.
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| A screenshot from The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion Remastered featuring the remains of an Oblivion Gate. |
I think that Greg Keyes has knocked it out of the park with this first part of Umbriel’s story. The Infernal City is a book that is both a really rewarding read for enfranchised Elder Scrolls fans, and an amazing onboarding point for newbies. A fantastic story that adds so much to this already incredible world.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
