James

Space opera at its best

Revisado: 04-15-21

Seamlessly takes up where This Alien World left off, then a bit slowly at first, gathers speed into an exciting pre-climax and a gripping climax just prior to the ending. This book is an artful blend of a fast moving plot (after the stage was set) and several fast action scenes where the main characters are challenged. Thanks to Audible for resurrecting the two books in the Outworld series which began in 1990 with This Alien World. After reading Friedman's two masterful trilogies Coldfire and Majester I am happy to have found several earlier works which have proven to be apertifs.

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A page turner space opera, mostly

Revisado: 03-27-21

In a future where earth is a crowded, mostly undesirable place this slightly uneven early work by C.S. Friedman shows her ability to build a story line into a sometimes page turner techno-mystery. A an earth scientist named Haussman created a propulsion system which took large numbers of human colonists into the reaches of space. But there was a catch - those using theHaussman drive and their descendents develop genetic variations that made theem into fantastic creatures. Earth cut off all contact with the variant colonists, fearing contamination. But the colonists survived and organized a Guild which had the charge of finding all isolated human coloniies and bringing them into the far flung outworld civilization. The Guild welcomed humans to travel in their ships but they would not share their secret of short cutting across an Inek, a tear in the fabric of the universe created by a flaw in its creation. The drama begins there, with some on earth plotting and attempting to create variants of their own who could navigate the Inek as do the Guild outpilots. From this background a story emerges featuring Jennissia, a 16 year old girl whose brain was altered so that she could pilot a ship traveling through the Inek. When raiders attempt to kidnap Jennissia, her tutor set her into space in a single seat "pod" which would carry her to an adventure where she, though the main character, is an important accessory in an ingenious scheme to isolate the sometimes hated, mostly disliked earth. Solid civilization building lays the groundwork for a sequel. I (mostly) couldn't put this book down despite its flaw of having, in my opinion, extraneous material. .

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It's all been said, but not done

Revisado: 04-04-16

Kelsier, Vin, Elland..these gifted humans had become legend by a few hundred years after they were introduced in Mistborn I-III. These books came pretty early in Brandon Sanderson's career, on the heels of his first blockbuster Elantris *(another whoppingly good tale). Bands of Mourning is superb in all respects - except it was 15 hours too short in my opinion. This said, there have to be some warm up material before the blockbusters - like book 3 of Stormlight. Can't wait. And...it's comforting to know Brandon has his writing laid out a year or two hence. Pity anyone ading any of the later Mistborn books, as good as they are - and getting better, without reading the epic starter set (more than 100 hours of sheer pleasure for three credits).

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Page turning fantasy with humor

Revisado: 04-06-15

In Book 1 of Dragon Riders, The Cadre Of The Lost, a small group of young people bound together by their love for adventure and mutual admiration but so, so different from one another, embarks on a paid job - to find a journeyman crafter (of magic) who has probably been abducted by a foreign power. Weis and Krammes, to my mind her best writing partner to date, spin a tale of intrigue, surprise, treachery, bravery and loyalty - all laced with humor between the two leading males of the group - Stefano and Rodrigo. The Seventh Sigil is the concluding book, in which the climax stretches for almost three hours. I found the entire series to be so engrossing that it was difficult to ration my reading to leisure hours. The entire trilogy may not be at the level of a Tolkein, a C.S. Lewis or an Ursula K. LeGuin, but it's far above average in my opinion. It has the stuff that engrossing action movies are made of, sans extreme cruelty and gory detail. Weis and Krammes build believable characters and spin a web of intrigue, conflict and cooperation between enemies that engrossed me throughout the reading experience. I found a change of narrators between the three books a bit upsetting, but both Kirby Heyborn and John Keating did yeoman work with different character accents and between genders. I think that the story deserves a 5, while the entire experience rates a 4 for me. Overall highly imaginative, never a trudge. I think that the trilogy and especially the third book The Seventh Sigil, will please fantasy fans, especially dragon lovers like me.

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First effort gains momentum

Revisado: 07-08-14

Few fantasy books explain how those on the side of evil got there. In
tears Of
War, we see the further evolution of children born normal but who led psychologically brutalized lives into fighters of the dark. Apparently in ages past Galdirene and the non-magic human world lived in peace under "dragon law" until an evil wizard (think Lucifer, et al.?) turned his magic away from light and betgan anepic struggle that eventually destroyed both sides. But it did not completely destroy
Galdrilene, as much of it was underground and survived the final battle. Galdrilene and its dragon law represent equal opportunity and universal literacy, mutual respect for all regardless of social class, gender equality, and other values which bind together a utopian society. The dark side, on the other hand, offers elites a chance to preserve their exploitive rule. All of this said, Tears Of War is a fast-paced and cleverly written epic fantasy in which ordinary people who have magic are trained to perfect it and, in the process, have life-changing experiences which thrust them into roles they had never before contemplated. Trosper's clever plot and imaginative characters belie that Tears is only her second book Narration is very capably done. Valerie Gilbert differentiates her characters well with accented speech. Yet the audiobook begged for a male narration partner to handle the male voices. In all, the book's plot and its development and characterization merits a very solid 4. The book held my interest throughout . However, I did wish for a more highly strategic and organized war effort. Galdirene may be somewhat of an egalitarian society where authority is lightly administered, but the good guys fought the dark without a well defined strategy and proper planning. All of the combatants were very new in their roles, so maybe it's understandable that their efforts were born of trial anderror. This said, for most of the first two books, two 600 year old people and a very mature dragon were nominally in charge, but seemed to provide only mentoring and aid when someonewas in need. The citizen turned wizard happens too quickly to be really believable. Even with these minor flaws, I look forward to the lastbook in the trilogy with relish.

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Promising new author, fast-paced story

Revisado: 06-29-14

Audra (A.D.) Trosper shared thef fantasies in her mind with a reading audience in her debut fantasy novel Embers At Galdrilene. Her work reminds me of Eursula K. LeGuin's early works combined with a heaping serving of modern gender-neutral fantasy. In the book, good and evil play outin the clash of colored dragons and shadow (black dragons - and their riders. If I had any criticism of this gbrilliant first novel it's that the only grey readers saw was a black dragon which failed to make a complete transformation to black from its natural silver. C.S. Friedman is one of the few fantasy writers who is adept at presenting good and evil as a dynamic, not a static state. All of this said, anyone who likes a fast paced, gripping story told with warmth an compassion will like Embers and its sequel Tears Of War. Ms. Trosper is at work on the last book in the trilogy.

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Wax and Wayne? Really...(good)

Revisado: 04-06-12

AOL is a witty, inventive book, performed by one of the best narrators in the business. Some reviewers give the book a rap because it is too short for them - only about ten hours. I did not expect more,given Brandon Sanderson's focus on his magnum opus, the final WOT volume. That he had the time to craft this big novela/little book is one huge credit to a guy who must love to write and write to love. Sanderson shows more humor in this book than he has shown in any of the others, with the possible exception of his young adult novels like Alcatraz And The Evil Librarians. While Alcatraz was a clever theme, AOL is downright side splitting at times in the banter between Wax(imillian) and his sidekick
Wayne (Wax and Wayne). I found the book to be a highly credible appetizer for a likely new Mistborn series. Sanderson continues his highly inventive magic - from eyeglasses in Alcatraz to energy-giving jewels in The Way Of Kings to the acrobatic moves of allomancy in the original Mistborn works and now in AOL. No atrium in this one, folks but you don't miss the super-metal. AOL brings a modern twist to allomancy and ferrochemie (found in the original Mistborn trilogy. AOL is economically written and fast paced. The book held my attention throughout. The book departs from the medieval sword and sorcery so prevalent in fantasy. Set in the new world some 300 years after the Final Empire, it has an early 20th Century technology. It's more mystery than fantasy, too. But who cares? AOL is one ripping good yarn with no obvious flaws save too little focus on developing strong female characters. Michael Kramer is at his very best in this book. A hard act to follow. As engrossing as AOL is, though, I still have my sights set on the #2 Stormlight book.

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Sans Pax again, but engrossing

Revisado: 03-26-12

Moon's Pax stories get better as she moves along the thread spun by story telling the lives of Pax's friends - Kieri, Doran, Jandelier, Arvin et al. Echoes Of Betrayal is competently written in a pretty straightforward manner in a fast paced drama which brings out heroism, treachery, intrigue and a few surprises like a dragon attempting to heal Stammil's eyes then taking him into service, for example). I missed Pax in the prior book in the series Kings Of The North - and still do. But aside from some Pax homesickness, EOB filled my reading time in a most fulfilling way. I like Moon's sense of justice and appreciate her sword and sorcery presented as passing violence. With Moon, an ex-soldier, you always see conflict and violence in an ordered, disciplined fashion. EOB is much like her other books, in that bad and good are locked in mortal combat, psychological as well as physical. EOB may not be great literature, but it is a well crafted fantasy tale which will entertain and leave the reader feeling that s/he has been in the company of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

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Dance has syncopated rhythm

Revisado: 03-11-12

It took me six months to read Dance With Dragons. It started slowly, ever so slowly. We trudged here and there with Tirian as he passed from wine barrel to luxury to a boat ride with some strange characters to imprisonment and on and on. I just could not maintain the proper attention span to read this book continuously. Yet I was so invested in the series (A Song Of Ice and Fire) that I kept reading. I was rewarded, though the book dragged once again in the chapter dealing with Denaries. The book is filled with surprises and misdirection and picks up a lot of the loose pieces left in other series books (the young Stark girl, young brother Bran, the female knight who was hung but may not have died permanently and so on). Martin's story-telling is superb at times, though the "dance" drags at other times. Throughout, though, he's remarkably innovative in his fantasy creations and thorough in character development. He has a true villain in Ramsey Bolton, who is far more cruel and uncaring about others than even Searcey could ever hope to be. Dance ends strongly, in my opinion, with Denaries poised to return to center stage and with continued military and political machinations still roiling the land in Westrus. I think Dance is only a 4, despite its numerous strengths. I do, however, look forward to
book Six in the series.

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The making of a saga

Revisado: 10-18-10

The Way Of Kings is a superbly crafted work which demonstrates Sanderson's unfolding maturity as a writer. The vision is grand, the plot complex, surprises many. The book did drag a bit at times, especially during flashbacks. Overall, though, Way of Kings begins what will likely be a multi volume series in a grand way. I could not help compare the book with the vivid characters in Mistborn,
Sanderson's first major work.

Though it took awhile to really become involved with them, I found WOK's characters to be intriguing and
quite complex. Like Mistborn, good and evil are not quite so distinct as, say, one finds in Terry Goodkind or Robert Jordan. Frankly, I prefer Sanderson's nuances to Goodkind's political preaching. Narration is superb; Kramer and Reading are a great team. My 5's always leave me wanting more, full of questions about future directions and with a real warmth about the triumph of Good and Honorable.

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