Title: Red Sonja: Consumed
Author: Gail Simone
Publication Date: November 19, 2024 by Orbit
Genres: Fantasy
Protagonist Gender: Female
Back in high school, I devoured every sword & sorcery saga I could get my hands on, including Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, Elric of Melniboné, Jirel of Joiry, Conan the Cimmerian, and (in comic book form), Red Sonja. I was a huge fan of her Marvel Comics run, and liked what I'd read of what I'd seen in Dynamite Comics, so I was excited to hear that Gail Simone would be the one to bring her to the page.
That said, I saw some rather negative (and surprising) reviews of Red Sonja: Consumed, so I entered into it with no little trepidation. Having devoured it over the course of a weekend, I can happily say this is the novel that the character has always deserved, as if Simone found some lost manuscript of the late Robert E. Howard and just finessed it for modern readers.
This is vintage sword & sorcery, complete with action, adventure, magic, and monsters. It's violent and ugly at times, more concerned with survival than hope, and often disturbingly mad. It's pulp fantasy with a bit more of a soul/conscience than we may have seen decades ago, but what makes it memorable is just how carefully Simone imbues the story with depth. She doesn't shove contemporary morals or ideals in your face, doesn't have her heroine make any grand statements about progress or equality, but instead sprinkles with book with subtle details, including the notes and articles from historians that open each chapter, that serve as a sort of internal commentary.
Some readers have described Red Sonja as one-dimensional and stereotypical, but nothing could be further from the truth. She's a damaged woman, scarred by childhood trauma, who is wandering the world in search of meaning. She's neither superhuman nor supernatural, and yet that vulnerability is something those same readers have chafed against. Others have complained she's oversexualized, but this is an example of where Simone has so carefully shifted the telling. Yes, she's scantily dressed, and some characters do objectify her, but you're not going to find references to her breast size, heaving bosom, tight butt, or anything else that you may be imagining as you read.
Narratively, I've seen complaints about multiple POVs and shifts in narrative which, to be fair, are more hallmarks of epic fantasy than sword & sorcery, but I found they expanded the story and gave it depth - especially in the case of the villain and the monsters - and actually counter the complaints of readers who felt Red Sonja's POV wasn't engaging enough early on. Honestly, I feel as if some readers went into it with certain expectations, and abandoned it halfway through, because my experience was nothing but positive.
Red Sonja: Consumed felt familiar where I needed it to, new and fresh where I wanted it to, and surprising in so many exciting ways. A welcome addition to both the sword & sorcery and kick-ass heroine shelves.
Rating: ♀ ♀ ♀ ♀
My sincere thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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