The Quest for Freedom (The Conquest Trilogy Book 1) by Matthew Devitt; Action Oriented Witty Slave Rebellion Fantasy Hints Darker Things to Come

 The Quest for Freedom (The Conquest Trilogy Book 1) by Matthew Devitt; Action Oriented Witty Slave Rebellion Fantasy Hints Darker Things to Come

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: On the surface, Matthew Devitt’s The Quest for Freedom, the first book in The Conquest Trilogy can be taken at face value. A human slave getting tired of mistreatment leads a rebellion against his oppressors. They alert others and armies grow larger and rebellion spreads. One faction of slave owners is toppled leading to victories to come and freedom is on the horizon.

It's a familiar trope and it works well here but there are hints that this is a much more subversive take with more nuanced themes and darker motives than are originally believed.

The plot is set in After, a rigid world of species divisions with angels, elves, demons, damned, hybrids, and humans. Once the dominant species, humans have been overpowered by the others. Humans were wiped out and the survivors were forced into slavery. 473 years later, Fletcher Rush decided that he had enough of this mistreatment so he, his best friend Ji, and some new acquaintances band together to rebel against their otherworldly masters. Unfortunately, the other races also have plans of their own.

This series has some interesting touches in world building particularly with the hierarchy among the species. It goes angels, demons, damned, hybrid, elves and humans. It's the kind of structure in which various characters are fighting to retain their status or move upwards. 

Angels behave with indifference and disdain among the lesser races. Demons dominate the lesser species, particularly the humans which they delight in torturing and enslaving. They also probably wouldn't mind taking the highest spot ahead of the angels. The elves are right above humans which does not make them companions with the exception of a few characters willing to go along with the human rebellion.

This structure reminds me of a quote from the book, Little Little by M.E. Kerr. “The fellow on top often does not pick on the one on the ground. They look down on the one on the rung right under them. The one on the lowest rung looks down on the one on the ground.” 

This is at play when we see species look down on others right below them instead of realizing that the whole system is corrupt. It also emphasizes the uphill battle that the humans have to not only rebel against their immediate conquerors but the ones above them to the angels. It's like the smallest doll in a matryoshka/nesting doll set trying to take out the other dolls to become the largest.

Despite being about slave rebellion and containing the dismantling of a series of various higher castes, there is a detached tone to the novel that tries to find humor, mostly dark humor, in this situation. Dare I say it, at times it comes across as light hearted or rather satirical particularly with its lead protagonists, Fletcher and Ji.

Fletcher and Ji act more like a comedy team than rebellion leaders. They are constantly bickering back and forth by mocking each other's actions or doing meta commentary on the plot development. (Ji: I guess you'll just have to wait and witness my unrivaled fighting process for yourself. Fletcher: Damn, I'm sure our enemies are already shaking in fear with those sword skills.)

The humor with the characters' dialogue is reminiscent of satire found in works like M*A*S*H. They are using humor as a means to deflect from the dark situation that they are in. It's a way of retaining their friendship and humanity in the face of what will be an ongoing war with plenty of violence and death.

However, there might be another reason. It may not be just satire within the characters' current incarceration, it may take a more subversive tone that implies there are darker intentions at play.

I wouldn't be surprised if the tone changes in future volumes. The lighter a series begins, the darker it ends.

Fletcher gives some stirring speeches about fighting for freedom which are compelling but also potentially fanatic. There are moments where Fletcher's plans put several people in danger and he is called out about this. Ji and other allies question methods and sometimes the results make the questions completely justified. However these conflicts are hand waved or remain unresolved for now.

Now it could just be Fletcher is a clueless rookie who doesn't know what he's doing but his actions could lead to nefarious motivations. He may have ulterior motives that are less concerned with freeing human slaves and more interested in moving humans back to the top. He might not want to dismantle the hierarchy but reshuffle it. 

Most of this is speculation so it might not pan out, but it is based on my experience reading similar books and some of Fletcher’s questionable tactics. So for now it's more fact than theory. Let's just say that it wouldn't surprise me if the series takes a darker, more sinister turn. We might see the makings of a hero but we may also see him live long enough becoming the villain.