** Warning ** THIS BOOK IS NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN
I first heard about Guy Gavriel Kay from my neighbor last summer. I felt a little embarrassed, to be honest, that I had not previously heard of such a prolific Canadian fantasy author. Then again, overlooking homegrown artistic talent can almost be classified as a Canadian past-time. I decided to start with The Lions of Al-Rassan for a few reasons, most notably the (very close) relationship between the fictional world Kay creates and the Iberian Peninsula of the Islamic era. An added benefit was that Kay tends to write standalone books. As a fantasy writer, this is an exceedingly rare quality. Lastly, Kay writes in a unique sub-category of the genre which I can only refer to as historical-fantasy-fiction. Basically, the only thing "fantastical" in this book are the placeholder names used for cities and religious groups. I decided to take the plunge and start reading, and I am glad I did. World Building: We start off with, perhaps, Abercrombie's weakest point. The world is essentially four countries (note, a map would have been really helpful). The Union, based on The United Kingdom, is where most of the action takes place. The Old Empire, which I think is probably based on a collapsed Greco-Roman civilization, is west of the union (if I remember correctly). To the north of The Union is The North, which seems to be a hybrid of Scotland and medieval Viking civilizations. Lastly, we have Gurkal, undoubtedly based on the Arab/Muslim world. Magic and dark powers are important in every stage of this incredible story. However.....that's pretty much it. It really is quite simple. That's not to say that's a bad thing. Just keep in mind that if you are a Brandon Sanderson fan you will find the world building and magic system a little shallow by comparison. 7/10 Characters: I love a good anti-hero (doesn't everyone?). A morally ambiguous, conflicted protagonist straddling a fine-line between good and evil. Well if one is good, than 27 must be even better. The whole series is packed with a cast of completely unique characters. One of which, Sand Dan Glokta, I have already spoken about in a previous post as the best underdog I have ever encountered. The story essentially follows five main characters. Logen Ninefingers a legendary bi-polar barbarian. Jezal Dan Luthar, a narcissistic noblemen more interested in self-indulgence than anything else. Sand Dan Glokta, a war hero turned cripple turned torturer. Collem West, a motivated commoner and decorated soldier. Lastly, we have Bayaz, First of the Magi, a semi-immortal wizard. It is worth noting that Bayaz does not have a narrative voice in any of the books, where as Dogman, a character I have not mentioned, does have a strong place as a narrative voice in all three books. With that said, I find Bayaz to be a more central character than Dogman. In any case, If this cast doesn't catch your interest than you may be beyond redemption... There is a shortcoming with this such an awesome cast, however. When the whole cast is so...bad, the villains can come off as slightly unremarkable. Don't get me wrong, the villains were pretty bad too. Its just that the villains end up basically being rivals and opponents rather than actual villains. In some cases, in fact, Abercrombie really makes you question whether you are rooting for the right side... 10/10 Plot: Steering well clear of spoliers, let me just say that the three books twist and turn in ways that are totally unique, unpredictable, and very enjoyable. Every stage has major payoffs that reward the reader for sticking with the series. And (this one is really important) you will leave the series with nearly all of your questions answered. The only warning I have for readers is this. The First Law trilogy is not a classic good vs evil story. Therefore, do not expect a classic good vs evil ending. 10/10 Writing: There were a few occasions where I laughed out loud like a blabbering idiot while reading these books (much to my sleeping wife's displeasure). I never imagined something so dark could be so funny. And yet, it is. The prose are not beautiful like Rothfuss' work, but the language is still fantastically discriptive. One thing Abercrombie does really really well is changing the writing style to suit the narrative voice. There is a distinct shift in the voice of Ferro or Dogman from that of Glokta or Luthar, and so on. Is it the most beautiful thing I've ever read? No. But its still pretty amazing! 9.5/10
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** Warning ** THIS BOOK IS NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN
I rarely read a series from beginning to end without interruption. Sometimes, that is due to circumstances out of my control (the author has not finished the series). Other times, I simply have too many other authors on my bookshelf calling my name. The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie has been my first ever exception. The reason, you may ask? Firstly, its only three books of reasonable length (consider that the book I read before this, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, is nearly as long as the whole trilogy combined). Needless to say, I was not disappointed! World Building: We start off with, perhaps, Abercrombie's weakest point. The world is essentially four countries (note, a map would have been really helpful). The Union, based on The United Kingdom, is where most of the action takes place. The Old Empire, which I think is probably based on a collapsed Greco-Roman civilization, is west of the union (if I remember correctly). To the north of The Union is The North, which seems to be a hybrid of Scotland and medieval Viking civilizations. Lastly, we have Gurkal, undoubtedly based on the Arab/Muslim world. Magic and dark powers are important in every stage of this incredible story. However.....that's pretty much it. It really is quite simple. That's not to say that's a bad thing. Just keep in mind that if you are a Brandon Sanderson fan you will find the world building and magic system a little shallow by comparison. 7/10 Characters: I love a good anti-hero (doesn't everyone?). A morally ambiguous, conflicted protagonist straddling a fine-line between good and evil. Well if one is good, than 27 must be even better. The whole series is packed with a cast of completely unique characters. One of which, Sand Dan Glokta, I have already spoken about in a previous post as the best underdog I have ever encountered. The story essentially follows five main characters. Logen Ninefingers a legendary bi-polar barbarian. Jezal Dan Luthar, a narcissistic noblemen more interested in self-indulgence than anything else. Sand Dan Glokta, a war hero turned cripple turned torturer. Collem West, a motivated commoner and decorated soldier. Lastly, we have Bayaz, First of the Magi, a semi-immortal wizard. It is worth noting that Bayaz does not have a narrative voice in any of the books, where as Dogman, a character I have not mentioned, does have a strong place as a narrative voice in all three books. With that said, I find Bayaz to be a more central character than Dogman. In any case, If this cast doesn't catch your interest than you may be beyond redemption... There is a shortcoming with this such an awesome cast, however. When the whole cast is so...bad, the villains can come off as slightly unremarkable. Don't get me wrong, the villains were pretty bad too. Its just that the villains end up basically being rivals and opponents rather than actual villains. In some cases, in fact, Abercrombie really makes you question whether you are rooting for the right side... 10/10 Plot: Steering well clear of spoliers, let me just say that the three books twist and turn in ways that are totally unique, unpredictable, and very enjoyable. Every stage has major payoffs that reward the reader for sticking with the series. And (this one is really important) you will leave the series with nearly all of your questions answered. The only warning I have for readers is this. The First Law trilogy is not a classic good vs evil story. Therefore, do not expect a classic good vs evil ending. 10/10 Writing: There were a few occasions where I laughed out loud like a blabbering idiot while reading these books (much to my sleeping wife's displeasure). I never imagined something so dark could be so funny. And yet, it is. The prose are not beautiful like Rothfuss' work, but the language is still fantastically discriptive. One thing Abercrombie does really really well is changing the writing style to suit the narrative voice. There is a distinct shift in the voice of Ferro or Dogman from that of Glokta or Luthar, and so on. Is it the most beautiful thing I've ever read? No. But its still pretty amazing! 9.5/10 Total Score: 36.5/40 Child Prodigy. Student. Mason. Wizard. Murderer. Gypsy. Has-been.
Kvothe is a living legend. An extraordinary man who has the misfortune of outliving his own glory. By a stroke of (mis)fortune, Kvothe meets The Chronicler, a legendary scribe who is eager to hear Kvothe’s story, as told by the legend himself. And so begins the Kingkiller Chronicle. A three day journey through the life of Kvothe. Throughout this story, Kvothe struggles to deal with insurmountable odds; demonic powers, crushing poverty, ruthless enemies, and his own ego all threaten to destroy him at any moment. Truly, a less remarkable character would perish. Since its publication ten years ago, Patrick Rothfuss’s book has developed a cult following, with TV and film studios nipping wrestling one another to earn the rights to take the story the screen. Now let us see why. World Building: This is, undoubtedly, not the strongest point of the Kingkiller series. Patrick Rothfuss’s work is really a different beast from many other works in the genre. Brandon Sanderson, for example (who will definitely be discussed on this blog) creates organisms, planets, laws of physics and chemistry as part of his world building. In other words, he creates worlds… Rothfuss does not do this (nor does he aim to). It would be unfair, however, to not highlight some of the book’s strengths in this category. Kvothe’s world does have a significant and well thought-out magic system. Sympathy (a sort of physics/magic hybrid) plays a big role in Kvothe’s story. Moreover, these creative elements of the Kingkiller world are easy to understand. Score: 8/10 Characters: This is a character driven story. Through and through. And in that regard, there is nothing, literally nothing, that compares to the Kingkiller Chronicle. After reading this book (and its sequel), I feel like I know Kvothe. I feel like I have traveled with him. I feel like I have sat on the other side of the counter at the Waystone Inn and listened to his story. Sound crazy? Well, don’t judge too quickly. I’ve spoken to other readers who share this sentiment. It is truly remarkable that such an unrelatable character (a red-headed gypsy wizard) is so relatable. This is partly the case because, as mentioned earlier, nothing comes easy for Kvothe. This conveniently leads us to the plot… Score: 10/10 Plot This is definitely a character driven story. Yes, some amazing things happened. Yes, Kvothe goes to some strange and interesting places. Yes, Kvothe makes great friends and terrific enemies. But what makes the book such a great read is not the events themselves, but how Kvothe responds to those events. If you are looking for colossal battle scenes with thousands of swords clanging against one another, this is probably not the book for you. That does not mean that the book is slow or boring, quite the contrary in fact. The pace is excellent and the events are meaningful, in the way they influence the development of the character. It is worth mentioning in this section that the narrative voice changes from first person to third person at certain intervals. Kvothe tells the story in his own voice, but hes actually in an inn telling his story. When the plot cuts back to the inn the narrative voice changes. Score: 10/10 Writing So far as writing is concerned, Rothfuss has no equal in this genre. Anyone who has read this book will tell you there are moments where it feels like the words dance off the page. I don’t need to dwell here, because this point is really straight forward. The only thing I will say is that I wish he was able to do this amazing work a little faster, as fans have been waiting for book three in the trilogy for over a decade! 10/10 Final Score: 38/40 Final Thoughts If a book scores higher than 4.5 on Goodreads and has thousands upon thousands of reviews, there has to be something special about it. This book is special. I think that most people who read this book will leave feeling like the know Kvothe, and that says a lot about the wonderful job that Rothfuss has done with this book. Leave a comment below! **Warning** This book contains violence and language which may not be suitable for younger audiences.
The city of Camorr is a cesspool of violence and vice. A city where the downtrodden are neglected, and forgotten (if they are lucky...). It is in this city that a heterodox priest takes a group of orphan boys under his tutelage to serve his god, the nameless thirteenth. The creed of this sect is simple; Thieves propser, and the rich remember. Thus begins the story of the Gentlemen Bastards, a group of orphan thieves who work for one goal. To be "richer and cleverer than everyone else"! World Building: Readers quickly discover that this grimy pre-industrialized Gotham-esque world is built upon the remnants left behind by an alien civilization (which the readers learn little of in the first book). Readers get a real feel of the filth, corruption, and vice that powers this landscape. The social hierarchies are well developed, and are rather essential to the plot. However.... I personally found the extra-terrestrial angle to be a little distracting. While I am sure that the author, Scott Lynch, plans to use this information in later books, it is not particularly helpful in progressing the plot or developing the characters in this opening book. Score: 8/10 Characters and Character Development This is a very strong point for the Gentlemen Bastards series. The book revolves around a group of anti-heroes (honestly they are better described as outright villains in my opinion), and their schemes against unsuspecting targets. Each member of the gang is unique and memorable. In fact, the gang really is more than the sum of their parts. It is the combination of characters that makes them so memorable. And, while the gang itself is unique and likable, it is Master Chains, their mentor, who really stands out as a unique addition to the cast. However... The villains could be a little more well developed. I really am nitpicking here, even the villains were great. But I did not leave this book feeling the type of loathing for the villains that, I think, the author intended. Score: 9/10 Plot I have already alluded to the plot at other points in this entry, and with good reason. The story (and backstory) are spectacular. It is safe to say that the book ends very differently than what the reader is expecting after the first 100 pages. It is hard to write a spoiler free review of a books plot, so let me just say this. I devoured this book, and this was only possible because the story kept me engaged. More than that, the story felt unique. And that is tough to do in a genre with so many unique ideas floating around. However... Speaking with some hindsight (having read the sequel, Red Seas Under Red Skies) I feel like Lynch could have left himself with a little more to work with at the end of this book. Score: 9/10 Writing And finally, we come to the point where Scott Lynch has almost no equal in the genre (with the exception of, perhaps, Patrick Rothfuss). If you read this book for nothing else, read it for the beautiful prose and carefully crafted sentences that Lynch weaves together. Read it for the beautiful descriptions, read it for the masterful use of the English language. On numerous occasions I found myself reading the same page more than once just to enjoy it again. However... However nothing. There is nothing bad to say here. Scott Lynch truly is an exceptional writer. Score: 10/10 Final Score: 36/40 This is a book is an instant fantasy classic, to be cherished, read and re-read. Feel free to let me know what you think of the book (and this review) by leaving a comment below! Tyrion Lannister is one of the most loved characters in George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. And many of us see something of ourselves in Tyrion. Tyrion is a classic underdog. He is a dwarf, ‘responsible’ for the death of his mother, hated by his father and sister. A sharp contrast to his brother Jamie, a handsome swordsman. Tyrion’s whole life is shaped by his status as a dwarf. Rather than giving up, however, Tyrion survives and thrives. He is witty, clever, and shrewd. Tyrion is a survivor. And, while we do not know what will become of him next season, it is clear that Tyrion will always be remembered one of the all-time great fictional underdogs. In honour of this great character, I have compiled a list of my top 5 best fictional underdogs in fantasy. These are the hated. The rejected. The weird and the disfigured. The ones you cannot help but cheer for. The ones who, raise their disfigured jowls proudly to the sky, in defiance their unfortunate circumstances. 5) FitzChivalry (Farseer Trilogy) In Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Apprentice (Book One of the Farseer Trilogy), FitzChivalry (Fitz for short) is introduced as the illegitimate son of Chivalry, heir to the Farseer Kingdom (full review forthcoming). Like Tyrion, Fitz’s life is shaped by something completely out of his control. Namely, his illegitimate birth. His relationships, and ultimately his life, is shaped by this. Despite this, however, Fitz is a fighter, and easy to cheer for. 4) Kaladin (Stormlight Archive) A healer, forced to fight. A fighter, asked to heal. Brandon Sanderson’s Kaladin in The Way of Kings (Book One of the Stormlight Archives) is plagued by misfortunes and loss. Kaladin is able-bodied and capable (unlike Tyrion or Fitz), but life’s journey consistently puts him in the most unpleasant of circumstances. Kaladin is so much that we admire in a hero – healer, fighter, devoted son and brother. At the same time, Kaladin has to deal with so many of the things we hate from those in power – abuse, betrayal, and incompetence. Watching Kaladin rise to the challenge makes him such a wonderful underdog. 3) Vin (Mistborn) A paranoid little girl from a slave class, forced to live among gangsters and con-artists for survival. Brandon Sanderson’s Vin in The Final Empire (Mistborn Book One) is faced with every hardship imaginable. The reader is introduced to Vin at her most vulnerable state; afraid, abandoned, and abused. Vin lives in a world that sits somewhere between Orwell’s 1984 and pharaoh’s Egypt, and resists! 2) Kvothe (Kingkiller Chronicle) It was hard not to put Kvothe at the very top of my list. Patrick Rothfuss’s red headed wonder boy (Kingkiller Chronicles) is a talented beyond description (or, more accurately, a description that requires two really long books). An actor, musician, sage, and so much more. Kvothe’s is a story of the most remarkable of person, faced against the worst imaginable circumstances. For much of his story, Kvothe has absolutely nothing, and absolutely no one, to rely on. Every moment of Kvothe’s misery is felt by the reader. His arduous journeys, lonely nights, his crushing poverty, his powerlessness in the face of oppression. Kvothe’s suffering is so severe that even his smallest victories – a gift from a friend, a few coins, or the acquisition of an instrument – will put a smile on any reader’s face. 1) Sand Dan Glokta (First Law Trilogy) “I have a conscience, but it's a feeble, withered shred of a thing. ... You could not even guess at the things that I have done” Imagine if Jamie Lannister lost more than his hand. Imagine, say, if Jamie lost everything that made him Jamie. His looks, his status, his ability to walk. Meet Inquisitor Sand Dan Glokta, war hero turned torturer. Joe Abercrombie’s First Law Trilogy introduces us to, what I think, is perhaps the best underdog in modern fantasy. From the reader’s first encounter with inquisitor Glokta, we discover how miserable it is to simply be Glokta. He struggles with things that most of us take for granted (like walking up and down stairs). Emotionally, he feels very little. Physically, he feels little more than pain. Abercrombie does a fantastic job of making the reader feel exactly what Glokta is feeling. Glokta’s tragedies – his disfigurement, his fall from grace, his miserable career (which he treats with the utmost indifference) – are staggering. In light of this, it is hard not to enjoy his small victories (like not crumbling from the pain in his legs). Like Tyrion, he wears his disfigurement with pride, and uses his repulsive smile like a weapon! |
AuthorBenny Adams is a fantasy and science fiction blogger, aspiring writer, and mediocre husband and father.
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