Slow burn epic fantasy. Possibly a little too slow it takes about 300 pages to even start to get going and it is only in the last third that it reacheSlow burn epic fantasy. Possibly a little too slow it takes about 300 pages to even start to get going and it is only in the last third that it reaches its potential. This is an absolute doorstopper of a book - 900 pages in the paperback edition I was reading (and the books in this series only seem to get longer as you get further!). This length does allow for a very impressive amount of world building. The lands of Osten Ard, their history and their mythology are certainly delved into and it really does give an impressively lived in feel to the world.
This is also a pretty dark world. There is plenty of violence, misery and suffering. Whilst we have a clear good vs evil theme, there are certainly some grey areas on the fringes which are played with. It does not flinch away from shocking deaths. Considering when this was published (1988) it reads in a pretty modern way on a lot of these themes.
The central story is a classic of epic fantasy - a relatively nobody child who gets brought into major events, being mentored by a wizened older character. There are some clear influences from earlier stories such as LotR, but it does an impressive job of subverting some of the tropes and themes present. The central main character is as likeable as a child of that age would be - they have some slightly annoying teenage angst tendencies at times but they are largely in the background and the development in the character is done extremely well - seeing him outgrowing some of those teenage angsty characteristics is nicely done.
The story ends on a cliffhanger so this is definitely not a complete standalone book. I do look forward to continuing in the world of Osten Ard and I am intrigued as to where we will end up! Epic fantasy on a truly epic scale....more
Coming of age with mechs in a future version of earth. This is very much in the Science Fantasy realm - futuristic but with a plot and style more remiComing of age with mechs in a future version of earth. This is very much in the Science Fantasy realm - futuristic but with a plot and style more reminiscent of fantasy. Coming of age is a tricky trope to balance and often ends up with a distinctly YA feel, and on this story it has definitely slid into that kind of characterization for me. The characters are very naïve in there outlook, the main questing party is almost entirely filled with children rather than being balanced out with a decent number of older figures to give more grounding. The prose also leaned heavily into what I would call YA stylings. At the same time, the setting and some of the action (especially the tendency to kill off characters) pushes this in a more adult direction leaving it a bit confused at times as to what the audience really is.
That said, there are a lot of ideas abound here. I like the world building that has been done - the future earth has enough believability whilst still being fantastical. The history presented is intriguing. I do want to find more about the world!...more
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