The Quantity of Desire by Payson R. Harris
- shilohskyewriter
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
You might like this book if you enjoy:
-fantasy that isn't overly concerned with worldbuilding
-male characters who aren't afraid to be affectionate
-Romances of friendship rather than of lovers
-Philosophizing on what people value in the world
-Adorable minotaurs
The Quantity of Desire is about a minotaur named Chase who is sold into slavery as a child at the beginning of the book. He is bought by a wealthy businessman named Jon, who keeps him as a servant and teaches him some of the intricacies of negotiation. As Chase grows up, he makes friends with a neighbor boy named Bri, who he quickly becomes enamored with. But when Bri is bullied by the son of one of Jon's associates, Chase accidentally kills the bully while protecting his friend. Rather than risk execution, Jon sends Chase off with one of his Ranger-like associates, Delsaran, and Chase's adventures for the first time beyond the borders of Jon's estate.
So begins The Quantity of Desire, and it's a beginning that I found amazing. It's remarkably well-written, depicting the traumatic experience of being sold as a child into slavery with a great deal of weight and reverence. Chase's fear and confusion as he's separated from his mother and given to a strange man is palpable. All the while, reflections on fear, obedience, and desire fill the pages with wisdoms both inspiring and horrific. The first few chapters of my annotated book are filled with highlighted quotes and passages because I found the writing so poignant.
Unfortunately, the quality of the story dips after this tremendous intro. I was initially happy to see that Chase was escaping his bondage and that the book wasn't going to be one long festival of depression. But I was heartbroken to find that once Chase goes off with Delsaran, the quality starts to cheapen. When I say "quality," I mean specifically the following: (1) the writing style loses its careful pacing and flow, (2) the characters start to feel a bit cartoonish rather than believable, (3) events aren't given the time or weight they deserve, and (4) the reflections on fear, obedience, and desire move from insightful to obvious and overbearing.
One aspect that could serve as a fifth point on quality is the setting, but that one's a bit more complicated. The setting itself is generic fantasy, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it's nice to already understand the rules of a magical world because that way you can focus on story rather than on worldbuilding. Unfortunately, in this case it also exacerbates the cheap feeling that the shift in quality caused. If the quality had been maintained, the absence of worldbuilding might have actually benefited the story, but sadly that potential was missed out on.
This all made for a tragic and jarring shift--one that makes me wonder how such a thing could have happened. I felt as though the book had suddenly switched target demographics, from a book aimed at adults to one meant for early teens. It's for this reason that I'd almost recommend reading the beginning of the story and stopping there, because the beginning alone is certainly worthwhile. I just wish so badly that the rest of the book had realized the potential set up for it.
At least Chase stays somewhat well-developed as a character. He's smart and empathetic, and he's good at using what he's taught by his friends/family to solve problems. Chase is far from a passive character, which is a pitfall that similar stories tend to fall into when following a protagonist with a tragic backstory. He gets stuff done when left to his own devices, and I appreciated that his actions weren't entirely dependent on the actions of others guiding him along.
Finally, the book is labeled as being for adults only, but it doesn't seem to have anything adult in it. There's some blood, but nothing I'd say warrants more than a PG-13 rating. This isn't really a criticism, it's just something that I though worth mentioning if you're avoiding this book for fear of adult content.
So, I'd say The Quantity of Desire had a lot of potential, but it missed the mark on fulfilling it. I'd be very interested however in seeing the quality of that amazing beginning carried throughout a full novel. Just like with The Quantity of Desire, there's potential there, and I hope it's achieved in the author's future novels.
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