The Dragonbone Chair review

Ok, I'm more than 20 years late in reading Tad Williams... and this is not the only well established author I haven't read yet. Still, I like to read some old stuff between new authors. This book is quite interesting. It's the first of the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy or quadrilogy (the last book is split in two parts).

Since it was written in 1988, I think it's understandable that we find ourselves in the realm of a more classic kind of fantasy writing. A good part of the book centers around the farm boy (castle scullion in this case) seeing the world to meet his destiny. The Tolkien influence is present with this one. It's not as big as Terry Brooks first Shannara trilogy, but I will call this "Tolkienish" ... although it gets a voice of its own.

We follow Simon, living as a scullion in the Hayholt, king John Presbyter castle. He's eventually taken as an apprentice to Doctor Morgenes, a scholar. After the king's death, his two sons, Elias and Joshua return. The first one is corrupted by his magical priest advisor. He takes the throne and throw Joshua in the dungeons. Simon will be the one to set him free. This will begin Simon journey. He'll encounter new races, fall in love and will eventually be chosen to search for a ancient sword, the only hope against Elias and his evil partners.

The main character, Simon, is not the most thrilling protagonist of the book. But some of his acolytes are memorable. The duke Isgrimnur, a dedicated northern grumbler, Binabik the learned troll and his wolf pet, Joshua the forsaken prince and Cadrach the druken monk to name a few. So even if Simon is not the main attraction of his storyline, his friends fill in for it.

The narrative is done with multiple PoV. In the beginning it's more about Simon but as the story unfolds, the PoV multiplies. I think it's necessary judging by the expansion of the plot. The author gives us a nice glimpse of the story from various angles and from both sides. I usually like a more "morally grey" cast of characters. In this book, it's more holy white and black evil.

The world building is well done. There's a great depth of history surrounding the characters and the environment in which they evolve. As for magic, I can't say it's really elaborate but it's integrated in a lot of elements of the story. While on the subject, the main story is a little bit too simple but it's surrounded by intriguing storylines.

In the end, it was a fun read. Always good to return to the roots of the genre from time to time. I enjoyed it enough to read the rest of the story. But beware, if you read it, the beginning of the book is very slow (I almost put it down). You really have to get at least to the second half. I would surely have given this book a better score if I had read it some years ago.

Technically, the DAW Books original cover is very ugly but the new print will be nice. The appendix is a must have.

Characterization............. 7 /10
World building............... 8 / 10
Magic system................. 6.5 / 10
Story.............................. 7 / 10
Writing........................... 7.5 / 10

Overall (not an average) 7 / 10

Enjoy!

Tad Williams page

Links and missed news

First I wanted to thank James at Speculative Horizons and Paul at Blood of the Muse for adding a link to my page on their blog list.

I also added The Deckled Edge blog to my list.

Finally, I missed to interesting news in my latest "Some news" round-up....

As reported by Adam at The Wertzone (also at Sfscope), Bradon Sanderson signed a very good deal for his next books with Tor. So far I only read Mistborn and by judging by this, his Wheel of Time contract and the reviews for his other books, it's a nice announcement. By the way, Warbreaker is out!

Also, George live journal (GRRM Not a blog) was updated last monday with great news. It seems he's doing well with the writing of A dance with dragons. Maybe we'll be lucky and get it by the end of the year or early next year. Can't wait!

Kick ass moment #4

'Well, who cares what you think, anyway?'
'So where is he now?'
'Pust? Back in the temple, poring through the archives of the Book of Shadows.'
'Looking for what?'
'Some provision, any provision, for a High Priest of Shadow having two wives.'
'Is there one?'
'How should I know?'
'Well,' Cotillion said, 'didn't you write it?'
Shadowthrone would not answer.
Cotillion's brows rose. 'Not Pust! The Book of Shadows, where he's ploclaimed the Magus of High House Shadow?'
'It's called delegation', Shadowthrone snapped.
'It's called idiocy.'
'Well, hee hee. I dare say he'll find what he's looking for, won't he?'
'Aye, with the ink still wet.'

Steven Erikson - Toll the Hounds - The Malazan book of the fallen

Kick ass moment #3

Some news

The David Gemmell Legend award (Gemmell award page) was won earlier this week by Andrzej Sapkowski for Blood of the elves. I don't know if it was a good choice since it's still on my reading pile. I tried The Last Wish after playing The Witcher game (which by the way is awesome) but it was not what I expected. It' a collection of short stories and in my opinion, The Last Wish should be read when you have the full background of Geralt story, but judging from the hype of Sapkowski in the EU, this is something I'll have to read.

There's two new interesting omnibus coming soon. The covers for both were released last week. The first one is The Return of the Black Company by Glen Cook and the cover is gorgeous (as every Glen Cook omnibus are). This one collects Bleak Seasons and She is the Darkness. So there's still 2 more Black Company books to get together. And finally (Hurray!), I will be able to read the short stories of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach by Steven Erikson. The previous stand alone novellas were too much expensives.

Playing

Nothing to do with fantasy reading but I started playing inFamous on my PS3 and I have to say that Sucker Punch did great with this one. This game is amazing. You are an electrical super hero roaming in an open world type of game a la Grand Theft Auto / Spiderman. I can't stop. I almost feel the same as when I know that I have the time to finish reading a captivating book.

I also started Prototype but I think that inFamous has something more. Although the opening cinematic for Prototype is amazing.

This is a great time for gamers!

The Adamantine Palace review

The Adamantine Palace is the first book of a dragon-based trilogy. This is also Stephen Deas first novel.

I think that going with dragons is risky stuff. I love them but they have been over used and sadly, often badly used. Although this book is based on dragons, there's really more under the scales (sorry for the bad pun!). But, I think you have to like dragons to like this. I enjoyed the ride (I can't stop!). By the way, I think that the best description of this book is the quote from Joe Abercrombie on the print I have : "A fast, sharp, ruthless read".

The Adamantine Palace is home to the Speaker. He is the ruling head of the Dragon Kings. But soon, the Speaker will have to step down. The princes, queens and kings will plot, murder and betray to get their say. One of them, Jehal is merciless. His new stepmother, Queen Sheriza lost her wedding gift, a perfect white dragon. The problem is that the dragon, without the care of the alchemists, will recover his natural state, dangerously intelligent and powerful. The dragon will want her revenge with the help of a sell-sword with nothing to lose.

The pace of this book is something. As Joe said, it's fast. The chapters are usually really really short. I think that with this way of writing, it's more difficult to pull us in in the beginning. However, this fits well with the kind of story Stephen has given us. There's action, political intrigue, sex/lust and dragon destruction. It's a little bit classic in some storylines but there's a couple of twists.

Some of the characters are well developed. Jehal the ambitious prince and Kemir and Sollos the sell-swords are enjoyable. With the narrative set with multiple PoV and the short chapters, I think Stephen can't elaborate on many of them. One problem I had with this is the PoV switch was that there's a little bit too much of it. Sometimes, he should have stayed with the ones we knew already instead of going with new ones for only a chapter. One of the most important character is the white dragon, Snow. She's interesting, but I would have liked to read more about her background by the way of the dreams she have when she "wakes up".

At the beginning of each "sections" of the book, there's a short backstory about the dragon breeding. This adds an interesting layer to the world-building. I think the author should have put more of these.

Magic, other than the dragons, is not an important part of the book. There's some blood-mages and spying devices but it's not greatly evolved or developed. The story doesn't need more for now.

As I said, there's more than dragons even if in the end they are the core of the story. It's not a breakthrough novel but I will certainly read the next one.

Technically, the Gollancz print cover is very beautiful. It's not kick ass stuff but it looks exquisite. On the negative side, there's no map but the family trees of the Dragon kings is a nice addition.

Characterization............. 7.5 /10
World building............... 7 / 10
Magic system................. 7 / 10
Story.............................. 7.5 / 10
Writing........................... 7.5 / 10

Overall (not an average) 7.5 / 10

Enjoy!

Stephen Deas page

The Name Of The Wind review

I'm just a little bit late in adding a review of The Name of the Wind and I think that many of you already know a lot about it, but hey, my take on it is still not on the net! :) I read this book more than a year ago, but it's still fresh enough for a full review.

Patrick Rothfuss (which blog is really fun to follow by the way) is a new author giving us The name of the wind, the first book of the Kingkiller chronicle series. The second book is called Wise man's fear and will be released this year (I hope) or next year... I liked this book, and I think you should really read it and here's why.

Kvothe is a legend. We catch up with him while he's a hidden innkeeper. He tells his glorious story to a chronicler. When he was young, Kvothe was traveling with his parents in a troupe. After being enlighten with the mysteries of life by Ben, an academician, he becomes a struggling orphan. We follow him as he laboriously survives street life to get to the university. With his cunning and the help of his musical prowess, he'll do everything he can to prove himself and get the knowledge he's wishing for.

I think that, as I read in some blogs, the Harry Potter comparison is inevitable... but then, probably only because we follow someone who's going to a "magic" school (even though in this case its not the bigger part of the education). It's not in the same category, and at least, for my taste, it's not set in the real world. The Name of the Wind is targeting a more adult audience than Potter but it's less "heavy" than other series right now. That refreshing! So in the end, the comparison is not meaningful.

The character of Kvothe (by the way, I love that name, Kvothe... cool!), who's the center of the book, is a PoV full of potential, with a great past behind him. The enigma that he is when we read about him as a full grown up man is captivating. Rothfuss could go anywhere with this, my only reserve being that The Name of the Wind is filled with Kvothe learning years, meaning that the following books will probably be very different in tone.

The tale of Kvothe years at school, although not exceptional is a compelling story. I was a little bit let down by the "battle" against the draccus near the end of the book. I was hoping for more action and dangerous stuff, but I may be burning steps, we will probably see more of Kvothe power and legend making stories in the following books.

The magic in the book is original. It's not the most evolved system I have seen but it's interesting. Basically, it's a mix of science and magic. There's action and reaction. However, there's more, hence the "Name of the wind" title. If you know the "name" of it, you can use it.

The writing is good, nothing feels out of place. The pace is mostly fluid (the book contains some slow portions, but nothing to stop you from wanting to read it till the end), the descriptions not to tenuous... I really enjoyed it. It's written with a mix of Kvothe PoV and third person. You get pulled in the action easily. We don't see much of the world aside from 3 or 4 cities, but the world building is well done. I could easily fell myself immersed in the surroundings.

Technically, the DAW print cover is nice (makes us forget the first infamous "Fabio" cover...) and the map is letting our imagination run... I would have like it slightly more detailed but it's a good start.

The Name of the Wind review score :

Characterization............. 8 /10
World building............... 7.5 / 10
Magic system................. 8 / 10
Story.............................. 8 / 10
Writing........................... 8 / 10

Overall (not an average) 8 / 10

Enjoy!

Patrick Rothfuss page

The Warded Man (or The Painted Man) review

Peter V. Brett is a new author with a good internet hype. The Warded Man, or The Painted Man in the UK (I think the first title is better suited but the Painted Man is cooler) is Brett first novel and also the first of the Demon Cycle series. I liked this book but I have some reserves. Still, I really look forward to read The Desert Spear.

The Warded Man is the story of three youngsters in a deadly world where evil demonic creatures (corelings) roam every night, rising from the mist. People stay home at night behind drawn wards protecting them form the monsters. Arlen is a boy who wants to take the fight to the immortal corelings. He will grow up as a warder/messenger and set himself on a quest for the lost attack wards. Leesha is a gorgeous girl who wants to be an herb gatherer to cure people in need. Finally, Rojer is a young musician/juggler who discovers strange power while playing his fiddle. The trio will be needed to protect a village in a dire situation.

After reading about the first third of the book, I thought I was reading good old tales of farmers wives (in a fantasy setting). There's a lot of sex, incest and people who want to have sex. But through this and the individual struggles of the trio, we learn a lot about the world and the introspection of the characters. I think the author really wanted us to know the reasons behind their future personality. In this, he did well and I was captivated.

The writing is fine but just a little bit clumsy or uneven in some places. The whole story is not written with an even pace and in this I think Brett has room for improvement. The first years of the protagonists are told with details as we learn to know them. But then, many crucial events happen with only a few tidbits told. In my opinion, The Warded Man would have benefited largely of having 200 more pages, there was material for more.

The book is really character driven and the story is told through the eyes of three PoV. A little detail, at the beginning of each chapters, there's an avatar showing which PoV we will follow. Arlen and Leesha are captivating PoV. I really wanted to know how their stories unfolded as they grew up. These characters could be developed in a fascinating way in the future books (if we still follow them as main PoV). The last one, Rojer is not really as significant (just slightly boring at some points).

I found the concept of the corelings (monsters who appear at night and disappear when the sun comes back) to be interesting although it could (and probably will) have been more developed. However, the warding is cool. I found it original but then again, not exploited enough. Maybe because I wanted to have more but then what we have in the book is sufficient to support the storytelling.

Technically, the Del Rey cover is Ok but the cover from the other releases are looking great. There is no map and I think it could have profited from putting one.

The Warded Man (Painted Man) review score :

Characterization............. 7.5 /10
World building............... 7 / 10
Magic system................. 8 / 10
Story.............................. 7.5 / 10
Writing........................... 7.5 / 10

Overall (not an average) 7.5 / 10

Enjoy!

Peter V. Brett page