Fantasy Book Critic: Book review: Making History by K.J. Parker

According to the biographical notes in some of Parker's books, Parker has previously worked in law, journalism, and numismatics, and now writes and makes things out of wood and metal. It is also claimed that Parker is married to a solicitor and now lives in southern England. According to an autobiographical note, Parker was raised in rural Vermont, a lifestyle which influenced Parker's work.

Publisher: Tordotcom (September 2, 2025) Length: 128 pages Formats: audiobook, ebook, paperback

K.J. Parker loves reminding us that history is mostly just propaganda with better writing. In Making History, he goes all in on that idea. The result is a darkly funny and cynical novella about academics, power, and the dangers of being too clever for your own good. It’s smart, entertaining, but not flawless.

A usurper king, Gyges, decides he needs a respectable excuse to go to war. Since he can’t find one in the actual past, he orders a bunch of scholars to invent one. Refusal equals death, so suddenly these historians are motivated to “make history” from scratch.

The narrator, a cynical linguist, makes the whole thing work. He’s sarcastic, self-serving, and likable, even while you know he’s a bastard and a coward. His voice keeps the book sharp and funny, though this story leaned quite hard on the bitterness. The satire of academia is great, though - we get some petty rivalries, inflated egos, and the smug belief that cleverness will always save the day. But of course, it doesn’t.

There are plenty of twists, some more convincing than others. The ending, in particular, felt a bit contrived to me. Not bad, just not as neat as I hoped it would be. Still, the novella moves at a brisk pace, and Parker’s wry, concise, and casual prose is a pleasure to read.

This isn’t Parker at his absolute best, but it’s very much Parker - clever, bleakly funny, and just cynical enough to sting. If you like your fantasy with no heroes, lots of irony, and a reminder that the truth is usually whatever the guy with the sword says it is, Making History delivers.