Purple and Black

By K. J. Parker
Subterranean Press, $25.00, 113 pages

K.J. Parker’s Purple and Black is an epistolary novella in which the story is told through the correspondence between the Emperor Nicephorus and his friend Phormio. As the emperor of a land which has had seventy seven emperors in 500 years, Nicophorus placed only his closest friends in positions of power. The story is told of Phormio’s attempt to quell the last vestiges of war on the frontier of the empire. The letters are frank in their honesty and reveal much about the nature of this empire and what obstacles are faced by both men.

The format of Purple and Black works well. Most letters have an official note, but the rest is the personal correspondence and it is laced with humor and bitterness, betrayal and hope. Purple and Black is a masterful telling of story that fully satisfies. If there are any regrets to be had with Parker’s novella, it is simply that readers will want more. That’s the mark of a well told story. Readers should be so lucky.

Reviewed by Joe Sherry