Book Reviewshttp://www.wagnervana.com/book-reviews/en-US2012-02-16T12:53:50ZSquarespace Site Server v5.11.81 (http://www.squarespace.com/)The Riddler's Gift, by Greg Hamertonhttp://www.wagnervana.com/book-reviews/2012/1/29/the-riddlers-gift-by-greg-hamerton.htmlDavid Wagner2012-01-29T22:26:45ZBook Reviews Fantasy Books Greg Hamerton The Riddler's Gift

Everyone knows I'm a sucker for a good fantasy tale. I've also been known to gush over novels that click with me, and recommend them forcefully to anyone that will listen. This has yielded mixed results over the years, for a variety of reasons. The obvious reason is that, hey, people are different, and like different things. What appeals to me strongly might be of little-to-no interest to you, and vice-versa. No big deal. But another reason for the mixed results might be my tendency to jump right onto this here blog in the immediate aftermath of finishing what I feel is a great book, and get caught up in the afterglow. I then break forth in a torrent of praise and adulation that might not have been so unrestrained had I taken a day or two to let the afterglow fade and look at things a bit more objectively. I cannonball in, hype things up, and, in some cases, the book can't live up to it. With the best of intentions, I inadvertently set the expectation bar too high.

So with this in mind, it is with a good, solid two days distance that I take keyboard in hand to write this review of a terrific book, The Riddler's Gift, by Greg Hamerton. If you haven't guessed yet by this build-up, I am a big fan of this book. I resisted the strong urge to immediately hop on here and fire both barrels of my praise gun, and chose instead to let my thoughts simmer. Here are my thoughts!

Other than The Heroes, by Joe Abercrombie, this book by Greg Hamerton is the most enjoyable fantasy book I've read in the past year. That includes all the noteworthy books listed in my 2011 Reads list over there on the right side of the blog page there. GRRM's entire series, Pat Rothfuss' latest, books by Brett, Parker, Scalzi, Sanderson, etc. All of them. I'm belaboring this to let you know that I am not saying this lightly, or off-the-cuff. (By the way, I don't consider Gates of Fire to be fantasy - that's still my favorite book of all time...)

The Riddler's Gift has many character types and fantasy tropes that one would expect from a (shall we say) "traditional" fantasy tale. A council of wizards, an "apprentice" over her head and swept up in an adventure, a noble master-swordsman, a wandering sage, an evil Lord and his unstable, cruel henchman, bent on world dominion, a magical trinket, and impending doom. Nothing too original here - so what's so special?

1) The Characters: The author does a fantastic job (pardon the pun) of crafting rich, complex characters. They lend themselves to shades of grey that are unexpected and yet feel oddly natural. You expect the heroine Tabitha Serannon to remain naive and good-at-heart, in spite of her trials, but as she accesses magic that is well-beyond her experience and expectation, it impacts her, changes her, in ways that catch you off guard. In fact, I can't think of a single main character, good or evil, that doesn't go through some level of transformation, or that isn't blind-sided by an unforeseen event (or series of events) that forces them to course-correct. It is all deftly handled, and thoroughly entertaining to read.

2) The Action: The story moves along at a brisk, occasionally break-neck speed. Let me qualify that for a moment: Once the storylines and characters are established, it takes off. It takes a bit to get rolling, but nowhere near as long as other books I've read in this genre. Give it a couple short chapters to hook you, and then buckle up.

3) The Dialog: Of course, on one hand I mean the spoken interactions between characters, but I'm also talking about the internal dialog that the characters have with themselves, as they wrestle with events and decisions that they've made, and assimilate the repercussions of their actions. The general themes of "good vs evil" and of "compromising with your moral code" are relatively-well worn paths, true, but that doesn't mean they can't be handled effectively anymore. Greg Hamerton wrings a lot of marrow out of those old bones, and I caught myself several times pausing while I was reading to contemplate what a character had just said. In fact, at the beginning of each chapter, there are these wonderful little proverbs (if you will) that are attributed to a certain character that always made me think -- and always ended up announcing what was to happen in the chapter, as though the chapter was the answer to the riddle that prefaced it. I loved those little touches.

4) The Craft: The book is well-crafted, solidly-written, and carries with it an intelligence and playfulness that was refreshing. Full of wonderful moments, unexpected events, humor and weight. Being the author's first book (in the series, anyway), I don't know whether this is the result of scads of polishing time and revising, or if it is a true indication of the talent and skill that will be evident in all of his books... you know how follow-up books can be. The first volume gets all of the blood, sweat, tears, polish, agonizing, tweaking, etc... and if/when it's a success, the second volume is expected quickly, and in order to hit some arbitrary deadline, subsequent volumes hit the shelves feeling unpolished and rushed and blah, lacking the spark that the initial volume was able to attain. Hey, I understand completely - the same can be said of music albums... a decade goes into a debut album, all the best songs from over the years sifted and hand-selected and polished to perfection in hopes that the album will take off and be a hit... then when it is, a new album is expected straight away, so dive back into the studio and crank something out!

All that to say, I have purchased the next book in the series, Second Sight, and will see for myself how it holds up.

Now, wait a minute, yes The Riddler's Gift is part of a planned trilogy. However, the story arc in the book is wonderfully complete, in and of itself. The blistering climax is thoroughly satisfying - and while there is an avenue left open to take things to the next level, by no means do you need to wait for the trilogy to finish before reading this book. It works very well as a stand-alone title, well worthy of your attention.

I have to be honest here - initially, I wasn't expecting much from this book. I mean, it was among the .99 cent fantasy books on holiday special on Amazon, with all the self-published and/or "unknown" authors - Kindle-stuffing, so to speak. When I bought the book in December, I saw that it had a few reviews, but that it's average rating was close to 5 stars, and figured, after skimming the reviews, I'd pull the trigger and buy it. Hey, for a buck, it was minimal risk. So I went into the read with an open mind, but not expecting to be blown away. But as I finished reading the book, and set it down, the first word that came to mind was "magnificent." And after having let it stew for a couple days, I believe I shall stand by my initial assessment. The Riddler's Gift is a magnificent book.

Summary: 5/5 A wonderful ride, terrifically-realized characters (if not wholly original), excellent dialog and action, and plenty of food for thought.

]]>Gates of Fire, by Steven Pressfieldhttp://www.wagnervana.com/book-reviews/2011/10/30/gates-of-fire-by-steven-pressfield.htmlDavid Wagner2011-10-30T05:14:24ZBook Reviews Gates of Fire Spartans Steven Pressfield

I have read many great books in my time, in many genres. Trying to define "great" is not as easy as it sounds, since many of the books I feel are truly great are quite different -- in content, in presentation, in style, in delivery, in feel. I'd like to think my ability to recognize and appreciate great writing transcends my own unique set of preferences... meaning, I may not like the story or the subject matter, but that should take nothing away from my ability to acknowledge the author's skill set. Contrariwise, I'd also like to think that just because I connect with the story/subject matter as thoroughly as a person can possibly do such, it still wouldn't color my ability to objectively comment on the writing, the story, the author's ability to navigate the page and/or the reader's heart.

All that to say, prepare for a glowing review. How objective it is remains to be seen.

I'll summarize this review now, for those that lack the patience to wade through this post. This book is the best book I've ever read, period, for many reasons, which I will attempt to elucidate upon in the following paragraphs. This is technically the third time I've read this book, and it is an example I can, with clear conscience and without exaggeration, point to as that rare book that truly does improve with subsequent readings.

Gates of Fire, by the amazing Steven Pressfield, is a dramatic re-telling of the Spartan stand against the Persian invaders of King Xerxes in the Battle of Thermopylae in about 480 BC. Spartan King Leonidas, along with 300 hand-picked Spartan warriors and their squires and helots, were joined by a mix of Greek warriors from different surrounding regions, coming together to try and plug the narrow mountain pass called Thermopylae (aka, The Hot Gates or Gates of Fire), which was the only road Xerxes could use to move his armies into Greece, to conquer and enslave the country (as he had everywhere else he went).

At this point, if you could do me a favor and drive all thought of the 2006 comic-book movie "300" from your mind, it would help. Though this book tells the same basic tale, the hyper-stylized, heavily-embellished and outright odd movie should not color your willingness to pick up this book. Different beast altogether. I placed a screenshot from the movie here only because I could not find a better shot of a Spartan phalanx.

In the book, a single man, named Xeones, has barely survived the famous last stand, being pulled from the rubble in the immediate aftermath, with grievous wounds. King Xerxes immediately orders his best surgeons to tend to him, in the hopes that this man could survive and satiate the King's thirst for knowledge about these men who withstood his innumerable forces for three full days, specifically this core of Spartans that proved so impossibly resilient. Who were these warriors? The Persian King, who had witnessed the entirety of the three-day battle from a safe nearby vantage point, initially supremely confident that his forces would roll through the pass without much problem, was stunned to see his forces, including some of his very best, decimated by such a small force, to the tune of 20,000+ men. When all was said and done, the narrow mountain pass was a hellish slaughterhouse, the rock-hard earth transformed into knee-deep mud by the spilled blood.

Xeones, himself a squire to a Spartan captain named Dienekes, survives long enough to relay to King Xerxes' chief historian the tale of the 300 and their suicide mission. This book is that story, as though we have picked up that historian's record from an ancient archive and sat down to give it a reading.

The book works first as a character story. Xeones is merely the first of many people the reader meets, and, if the reader is anything like me, will form a deep bond with - a bond made more bittersweet by the fact that the final outcome for most of these characters is known to us before we even crack the book open. You know these 300 will die - it hangs over your head each page, like a guillotine blade. If the characters were shallow and/or poorly drawn, their sacrifice would mean little. But because they were crafted with such expert care, their imminent demise manifests itself, as the book progresses, in an increasing tightness in the belly. This is especially nefarious, since the book is so hard to put down. You are hooked and drawn forward.

The book works as a history lesson. Some people (like me) are fascinated by certain segments of history. My fascination seems to orbit around military history - odd, since I was never in the military, though I hold in highest respect those that are/were. World War II is a big topic with me, but wars more modern and more ancient also snag both my attention and my imagination. What fascinates me about ancient warfare, as much as anything else, are the weapons/armor and tactics/strategies employed. Shooting someone from distance with a rifle is one thing; gutting someone with a xiphos or overhand-thrusting an eight-foot spear into somebody's chest is something else entirely. Or is it?

The history lesson goes beyond merely the in-depth study of the Spartan lifestyle and training. It drives home, albeit with subtlety, the fact that the ultimate triumph of Greece over the invading Persian King led directly to the birth of democracy, which has direct implications on our (U.S.) society today, for obvious reasons.

The book works as an action-adventure. The inexorable pace of the tale is constant, even with the frequent trips back in time to Xeones' childhood, and the road he took in his early years that led him to Lakedaemon, into the often-brutal service of the Spartan army. It builds like a juggernaut, until all you can do is grab hold of the book covers and hold on for dear life, clinging to the impossible hope that at least one of these incredible characters will somehow miraculously survive, knowing that they won't. The ridiculously vivid battle descriptions are a wonder to read, especially seeing the way the Spartans trained (and why), and how it translated onto the battlefield. But the interactions between the characters as they move towards their destinies are equally captivating and, surprisingly, in many places, very funny.

The book works as literature. To me, this book is art. The vocabulary and sentence construction in this book represent the best of my experience. To say Pressfield "has a way with words" would be to so understate as to be insulting. His sentences are a joy to eat - so much so that one could pull entire monologues out of his pages, as is, and perform them onstage, to great effect. In fact, I believe an example is in order.

King Leonidas stands before his assembled 300 Spartans as they are about to depart on the hard march to Thermopylae. Assembled around them are not only the rest of the Spartan forces, wishing with everything inside them that they could have been selected to go as well, but also the wives, families, the whole town, gathered to see these heroes off, knowing they will never return. King Leonidas addresses these words to his men.

Death stands close upon us now. Can you feel him, brothers? I do. I am human and I fear him. My eyes cast about for a sight to fortify the heart for that moment when I come to look him in the face.
            Shall I tell you where I find this strength, Friends? In the eyes of our sons in scarlet before us, yes. And in the countenance of their comrades who will follow in battles to come. But more than that, my heart finds courage from these, our women, who watch in tearless silence as we go.
            How many times have these twain stood here in the chill shade of Parnon and watched those they love march out to war? Pyrrho, you have seen grandfathers and father troop away down the Aphetaid, never to return. Alkemene, your eyes have held themselves unweeping as husband and brothers have departed to their deaths. Now here you stand again, with no few others who have borne as much and more, watching sons and grandsons march off to hell.
            Men’s pain is lightly borne and swiftly over. Our wounds are of the flesh, which is nothing; women’s is of the heart – sorrow unending, far more bitter to bear. Learn from them, brothers, from their pain in childbirth which the gods have ordained immutable. Bear witness to that lesson they teach: nothing good in life comes but at a price. Sweetest of all is liberty. This we have chosen and this we pay for. We have embraced the laws of Lykurgus, and they are stern laws. They have schooled us to scorn the life of leisure, which this rich land of ours would bestow upon us if we wished, and instead to enroll ourselves in the academy of discipline and sacrifice. Guided by these laws, our fathers for twenty generations have breathed the blessed air of freedom and have paid the bill in full when it was presented. We, their sons, can do no less.
            In six hundred years, so the poets say, no Spartan woman has beheld the smoke of the enemy’s fires. By Zeus and Eros, by Athena Protectress and Artemis Upright, by the Muses and all the gods and heroes who defend Lakedaemon and by the blood of my own flesh, I swear that our wives and daughters, our sisters and mothers, will not behold those fires now.

How I would love to perform that piece onstage. And it is one of a dozen or more examples I could insert here.

Lastly, the book works as an unshakable source of inspiration. I cannot help but wonder, as I tasted the final words of this book (for this third reading), whether I have ever had - or will ever have - even a fraction of the steel within me required to stand among such men. And I don't mean the Spartans - I mean all men of this caliber, even today. Men willing to sacrifice everything for what they believe in. Men willing to endure brutal training, to learn hard lessons, to take life's best shot to the teeth, to endure hardness as a good soldier of Christ (if I may wax Biblical for a moment). How can I find and apply this strength, this dedication, this resolve to my own situation? To my own walk with God? To what I believe in and hold most valuable? At the risk of being corny, this book makes me want to be a man, in every sense of that word. The camaraderie on display here is something I wish I could experience, and know I likely never will.

Even though I have gone on at such lengths, espousing a few of what I feel are many legitimate virtues of this book and its author, I must qualify (and risk cheapening) it with this question: Will this book strike you the same way? Will it captivate and decimate, inspire and entertain you the same way? I have no clue. But as for me, it has solidified its place at the top of my Best Books list, and I don't anticipate it being moved for a very long time.

Summary: 5/5 The language and writing alone make this a book worth reading. If the subject matter connects with you as it does for me, you will be exponentially rewarded. My only regret is that I will never again be able to read this book for the first time.

]]>A Game of Thrones, by George RR Martinhttp://www.wagnervana.com/book-reviews/2011/5/19/a-game-of-thrones-by-george-rr-martin.htmlDavid Wagner2011-05-19T17:08:20ZA Game of Thrones Book Reviews GRRM George R R Martin

Westeros is a troubled land. A sprawling continent, littered with Houses and Clans and centuries-old strongholds, with a rich history. The land used to be divided into 7 kingdoms, with 7 kings, but 300 years earlier, the realm was united by Aegon the Conqueror, of House Targaryen, a family known for their dragons, their unique look (silver hair, purple eye color), and their madness.

But Targaryen rule was finally put to an end by a headstrong, passionate man named Robert of House Baratheon, who killed Prince Rhaegar Targaryen in a famous battle at the south fork of the Trident River, while back in the capital city of King's Landing, the mad King Aerys was killed by a member of his own personal guard, Jaime Lannister.

Confused yet? Well, take heart - this is just the barest tip of the iceberg when it comes to the mammoth, incredibly diverse, and - most importantly - eminently memorable cast of characters that flesh out George Martin's epic fantasy tale, which is labeled The Song of Ice and Fire. It is perhaps the best modern fantasy series to be penned - and definitely the best I've read.

King Robert is not a very good king. The tenuous unity in Westeros teeters on the brink of dissolution, as Robert drinks and whores and hunts and plunges the realm deeper and deeper into debt. When his chief advisor dies, King Robert strikes out north to visit his old friend Eddard of House Stark, who fought side by side with Robert back when he won the throne. The King intends to ask Eddard to travel back south with him, and be his new chief advisor. But Eddard is of the frozen North, and the sweltering snakes' nest of King's Landing down south holds no appeal for him. Yet Eddard is also a man of honor, and honor compels him to accept the King's offer, fracturing his family in the process.

A Game of Thrones is primarily a story of what happens to Eddard and the Stark Household as a result of his decision to go south with the King.

I say "primarily", because, really, while the Stark's are major players in this book, there are literally dozens of other characters you will meet before the book ends. In fact, perhaps a dozen dozen. Normally, when a book introduces more than a handful of characters, I quickly become overwhelmed and lose interest, finding it hard to keep straight whom is who (or is it "who is whom"?). The secret of how GRRM can make so many characters so memorable has been a source of unending observation for me in this, my fourth read-through of this title. I aspire to write a rather complex fantasy tale myself, peopled with many characters, and I would dearly love to know GRRM's secret...

It's not just the stability of the kingdoms of Westeros that is at issue in this series. Far to the north of Westeros is The Wall. It marks the end of civilization. It is a wall of ice and stone some 700 feet tall and traveling coast to coast, built centuries ago using magic long forgotten, and is manned by the Night's Watch. There are things beyond The Wall that require a constant vigil - especially when winter comes. The winters in Westeros are often years long, and bring with it ancient horrors that would gladly spread south if the Wall were to be breached. Ancient horrors that most of the realm believes to be fairy tales, but that the Night's Watch are learning to be far too real.

And across the Narrow Sea are the Free Cities, with many other races and peoples and magics. It was to the Free Cities that the last of the Targaryen family fled when Robert Baratheon took the throne. It was his mission to hunt down and kill every last Targaryen, yet two children had slipped through his fingers: Viserys and Daenerys Stormborn. Viserys has designs on returning to Westeros to reclaim the throne that was stolen from his family, and he will stop at nothing. But his madness is his greatest weakness.

The cast is as fascinating as it is vast. The dialog is wonderful, the world alive, the action relentless, and the author merciless. I have never read an author who so willingly sacrifices characters, both loved and reviled. As a reader, you learn early on not to grow too attached to anyone, yet you cannot help it. There will be characters you hate, and characters you love, and examples of each that will evolve and morph until you feel the opposite about them. Every shade of "good and evil" is represented, with very few pure examples of either extreme. Everyone is a mix. Everyone is a blend. Every combination of good, evil, smart, dumb, brave, cowardly, inconstant... there are no archetypes, only people.

I cannot get into specifics of the story itself without launching into a full-scale, fully detailed summary, which would be boring. In the interest of brevity, let me say this: I highly recommend this book. If you love it like I do, then reading the next several volumes will be a no brainer. If you are put off by the occasional salty language, the occasional adult situation, and the over-abundance of violence, then the series won't be for you.

Summary: 5/5 if I could rate it higher than a 5/5, I would. Masterful writing. An incredible tale, an alive world, a memorable cast of dozens (and dozens)... in short, a gritty, fascinating, page-turning literary accomplishment. The series is projected for 8 books, with book 5 on sale soon. I sincerely hope to see the ultimate completion of the series. I guarantee this one will stand the test of time.

]]>Old Man's War, by John Scalzihttp://www.wagnervana.com/book-reviews/2011/3/30/old-mans-war-by-john-scalzi.htmlDavid Wagner2011-03-30T19:30:10ZBook Reviews John Scalzi Old Man's War

I was lurking over on Logan's blog, reading his recap of his trip out to visit Pat Rothfuss, at the signing of Wise Man's Fear, and in the recap, Logan mentioned a list over at Tor.com of the Top Ten SFF Novels of the Decade (from 2000 to 2010). With some level of interest, I checked the list out, since such lists usually include books I'd never heard of, and occasionally will lead me to a good read. Such is the case here.

The people who voted on the list voted Old Man's War, by John Scalzi, as the best SFF book of the past decade. I'm not much into Science Fiction (as you all know), but I'm not one to buck the suggestions of those that know more than I, so I popped for the digital (Kindle) version and filed it away on my iPad, thinking I'd get to it sooner or later. Well, turns out it was sooner! I read it over the past couple days.

It was a fast, fun read. The premise was a good one, but nothing really struck me as outstanding or challenging or mind-bending at all. Best SFF of the decade? Well, personal preferences being what they are, I would have to beg to differ.

In the Earth that Scalzi crafted, human beings (male and female) can join up for space military service at the age of 75, if they wish to. This may seem like a ridiculous thing to do, but it has its advantages as well as disadvantages. Rumor has is that joining up for the Colonial Defense Forces at age 75 is not a problem, since they have a way to make people young again. Of course, this has never been confirmed, since those that join up for service in the CDF never get to return to earth. But the chance that it's true is enough for many to say goodbye to everyone and everything they hold near and dear, and head out into the wild black yonder.

John Perry and his wife Kathy planned to join together, but she died before she reached the required age of 75. Bittersweet, to say the least, but ultimately it made it that much easier for John to sign up when his day came. What will he (and the rest of the old folks) do out in space, after they sign up? Well, according to the recruitment papers that they sign, the term is a ten year term of service, during which the recruit will agree to be trained by the CDF for use in its program of interstellar colonization. Basically, if it comes to it, they get to meet and kill all sorts of fascinating alien creatures. After ten years, if they're still alive, they can join up with a group of settlers in a colony on an appropriated (conquered!) planet, and live the rest of their life in peace.

Old Man's War is the story of what happens to John Perry (and others) after they leave earth, to begin service in the CDF. Seeing as how I will end this review by recommending this book, I hesitate to explore even a bit of what happens, at the risk of ruining your sense of discovery. Not spoilers, per se, but even the very act of reading what happens has a fun freshness to it that I wouldn't want to sully in any way.

The book is well written, solid, if not particularly rich or intriguing. It is told in first-person. The story tells itself, and no real attempt is made at using clever turns of speech or word play or polish that might have really made the experience sing. Much like Brandon Sanderson, the author (Scalzi) is content to stand back and let the story tell itself. Again, a fast, fun read. It may not seem like high praise coming from me, but keep in mind, I'm not a SciFi fan. You may wonder, then, why I chose to buy/read it in the first place! Well, #1 books on lists often have strange appeal to me...

Being that the story is told in a military setting, keep in mind there will be some salty language, especially from Drill Instructor types and soldier-under-fire types. And there is some adult activity, if you catch my drift. But overall, it was fun (though occasionally depressing) to follow John Perry across the universe.

Summary: 3.5 out of 5 A good space yarn that tries (mostly successfully) to avoid "going Hollywood" too much. That having been said, I did read that the book has been optioned by Hollywood to turn into a movie, but that can be said for just about anything.

]]>The Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfusshttp://www.wagnervana.com/book-reviews/2011/3/19/the-wise-mans-fear-by-patrick-rothfuss.htmlDavid Wagner2011-03-19T23:19:14ZBook Reviews Patrick Rothfuss The Wise Man's Fear

I'm sure you all know of Patrick Rothfuss by now, if not from my rampant fanboyish outbursts then from Logan's similar gushing -- although, to be frank, as much as I like PR, my fannishness is nothing compared to Logan's...

Be that as it may, I shall recap again, in brief, for those that either don't know, or don't recall...

In 2009 I read The Name of the Wind, by P. Rothfuss, which was, by all accounts, the best book I read that year. It had a rather profound impact on me, in ways that I shall avoid elaborating upon here, in the interest of brevity, and in the interest of minimizing the impact such corny reflections will have upon my already-whisper-thin credibility. I loved the book. Let's leave it there.

However, an interesting thing happened when I started recommending it strongly to many in my circle. There was not the flood of similar universal praise I expected, but rather the opinions were decidedly mixed. Some loved it, some did not love it... in fact, some didn't even like it! (I won't name names) It made me wonder if I was crazy. I re-read the book in 2010. I'm not crazy. It's a terrific book. If you didn't like it, you are wrong. :D <---

So I waited patiently for the second book in the Kingkiller Chronicles, The Wise Man's Fear, as PR endlessly revised and edited and polished it -- a wait made tolerable because Pat did a wonderful job of keeping his fans abreast of developments and progress. The result, I had hoped, would be a massive, wonderful book, sure to take it's well-deserved place on my Bookshelf Of Wonder, next to the other (sadly few) epic, 5-star books in my collection.

The story is primarily told from the perspective of the main character, named Kvothe, who is a living legend. He is recounting the tale of his life to a man named Chronicler, who makes it his goal in life to track down stories worthy of remembrance and set them down for all to read. Through a course of events, Kvothe decides the time has come for his story to be told. He is to tell the whole tale over the course of three days. The Name of the Wind was day one, The Wise Man's Fear is day two, and of course, the third volume will be day three, and will bring the tale to the present.

In telling his life story, Kvothe details, in brutal honesty, the real events that transpired that made his life and deeds so legendary. And more often than not, the truth, while fascinating and often worthy of legend, was nowhere near the embellished tales told by the masses. It's almost an exercise in deconstructing a legend, and showing him to be the fellow human that his is. It really is a well-thought-through, terrifically written tale.

However...

I've been trying to think up the best way to convey what I felt as I read the final page of The Wise Man's Fear last night, and it has been difficult. On the one hand, it was everything I'd hoped it would be. On the other hand, it disappointed me, in many ways. Yet I tore through it, with nary a hiccup, and enjoyed the ride thoroughly. Yet the lingering disquiet was pronounced. There were stretches of story that both impressed me to no end, and bored me. Some of the events left me scratching my head, trying to figure out why on earth Rothfuss made the story choices he did, while I simultaneously enjoyed the heck out of them. A lot of it made no sense, while making perfect sense.

Black and white? Nope. Grays everywhere, cover to cover.

I will use specific examples in this paragraph only, so those that have read the book can know better to what I refer. When Kvothe first meets Felurian, I thought it was amazing -- in fact, the first pages of that section rivaled anything written in the first book, as far as the style and polish and the epic writing I enjoyed so deeply. But then it dragged on waaaaay too long. Only to segue into Kvothe accompanying Tempi back into the mountains, to learn from the Ademre, and that section likewise went on waaaaaay too long. Both of those sections could (and should?) have been condensed dramatically, I felt. And yet, I enjoyed reading through both sections. But while I enjoyed it, I couldn't help thinking it would have been better if both of the sections were substantially tighter. And I'm sorry, as much as I thought the heart of the first book was the relationship (odd as it was) between Kvothe and Denna, I felt the way their relationship evolves in this book was disappointing as well. We can chat more about this one-on-one later. Let me wrap up this review before I trip wildly down too many side paths here...

The characters are great, across the board. The writing is well-done, though ultimately serviceable, with only flashes of the amazing style I loved so much in the previous book. The overall story progresses well. But dangit, it rambles and plods along, tearing me in two... again, for while I enjoyed reading it, I found myself longing for the story to pick up pace and start galloping again. I admire the depth to which Rothfuss went to develop the Ademre culture, but I think it was to the detriment of the story and pacing. The same might be said for the fae, to some extent, as well as the lengthy search for the bandits in the old forest (though the payoff of that trek was well worth it).

So, how do I summarize a book which I loved, but cannot urge people to drop everything and read? I can safely say that if The Name of the Wind did little for you, then The Wise Man's Fear will do as little or less. The book is gigantic in size, with great characters, and wonderful storyline, fun/funny dialog, yet suffers from often glacial pacing and eyebrow-arching storyline choices. It was simultaneously very satisfying to read, and disappointing. I want to rate it 5 stars and 3 stars at the same time.

Summary: 4/5 Loved it, in spite of rather pronounced flaws. It may be that I need to read it again in order to come to a more black and white resolution. Until that time, 4 out of 5 for a great time. I guess that's what it boils down to... did I enjoy the experience? Ultimately, very very much so.

]]>The Warded Man, by Peter V. Bretthttp://www.wagnervana.com/book-reviews/2011/3/12/the-warded-man-by-peter-v-brett.htmlDavid Wagner2011-03-12T07:37:37ZBook Reviews Peter V. Brett The Warded Man

I'd read good things about this book by Peter Brett, called The Warded Man, and thought I'd give it a go. I pulled the trigger on an eBook version for my Kindle App, and started in. It hooked me from the get-go, and I pretty much gobbled it up.

The main character is named Arlen, and you see him first as a pre-teen, living in a village that has just been attacked. Barbarian hordes? Bandits? Aliens? Nope, attacked by demons. In the world that Brett has created, mankind struggles against demons, which rise at night to kill and destroy anything they can get their claws on. Fire demons, rock demons, air demons, wood demons, water demons... there's a different type of demon for all of the elements of nature. They are kept at bay by certain symbols (called wards) arranged in a certain way as to form a protective circle around a structure or a person. The wards must be perfect, expertly aligned, and kept unmarred, for if one symbol is obscured or damaged, it breaks the circle of magic, and the demons can get in and slay and eat.

Thus, people rule the day and walk freely, but demons rule the night, from dusk to dawn (sunlight kills them). People hunker down and tremble the night away in their protected homes, hoping that their ward nets will hold up to the relentless pounding and testing that the demons unleash upon the shields. The wards are all defensive in nature -- the knowledge of offensive wards, which could enable people to fashion weapons that would actually kill demons, has long since been lost, as a result of complacency on the part of mankind, who thought they'd defeated the demons three millennia earlier, when the beaten demon armies fled, not to be seen again. People thought they'd won the decisive victory, and as the centuries passed, the knowledge of how to beat the demons dissolved. When the demons returned, no one knew how to fight them, but clung to the knowledge of a few remaining defensive wards to keep them from death in the night.

Wow, that's a long set-up, sorry.

So Arlen is the somewhat typical fantasy trope: the farmboy who takes it upon himself to attempt the impossible quest to save the world. In this case, it is trying to learn the long-lost secrets of offensive wards, so demons can be defeated. It is, of course, motivated by revenge, as you can imagine. Demons had killed someone very important to him, and he wanted to make them pay.

The story is very well written, and the world-building is effective. The action continues practically non-stop, and the characters are memorable. The tale is fairly predictable, but in this particular case, it doesn't matter, since the path it takes is where you'd like to see it go (at least it was for me), so it worked.

My main problems with the book were both trivial and more substantial. Of course, I strongly disliked what Brett did with the names. He took names we use in our world, and merely tweaked them phonetically, so they sounded the same, but read differently. So Jason became Jasin, Mary became Mery, Sarah became Saira, Doug becameDug, like that. I don't know... maybe that's fine for most readers, and I know you can't please everyone, but it just annoyed me.

The larger concern for me was the final quarter of the book (for those that have read the book, I mean from the point where Arlen saves Leesha and Rojer in the forest, onward). It just felt like a step down in storytelling to me. It seemed almost Hollywood-like. I don't know... from that point onward, the three main characters just didn't seem like they were themselves. They said and did things that didn't click with the way they'd been written to that point.

But in spite of the awkward finale, the book was a great read, and I finished it easily. There is a sequel out, calledThe Desert Spear, and I've read reviews of it that were not all flattering -- but honestly, I am intrigued enough to want to read it anyway. So once I tear through a couple more fantasy books that are clamouring for my attention, I'll revisit the war between mankind and demonkind. Demons are good "bad guys" to have (sort of like Nazis).

Summary: 4/5 Fast paced, memorable scenes and characters, good world-building. But the tale falters toward the end (imho), the characters slipped out of character, and the names thing bugged me. But I do recommend it. At least, if you have access to a digital reader of some sort, get a sample of the book from Kindle (for free) and read the intro. Maybe you'll like it. Minimal profanity, but very violent.

]]>What If They Lived? by Phil Hall and Rory Leighton Aronskyhttp://www.wagnervana.com/book-reviews/2011/3/12/what-if-they-lived-by-phil-hall-and-rory-leighton-aronsky.htmlDavid Wagner2011-03-12T07:35:28ZBook Reviews Phil Hall Rory Leighton Aronsky What If They Lived

I bought a copy of a book called What If They Lived? co-authored by Phil Hall and Rory Leighton Aronsky. Rory's blog is Scraps of Literacy, by the way... it's a book by film buffs for film buffs, and it is both informative and speculative entertainment. It covers a wide range of film stars from the entire history of film through today, who died "before their time," and asks the question in the title: What if they lived? Each actor/actress is given a brief background run-down, as well as their film experience, and the circumstances surrounding their deaths. It then moves into speculating on the courses their careers may have taken, based on their popularity at the time of their deaths (on the upswing or tailing off), and the projects they had lined up at the time of their departure, and some good ol' fashioned educated guessing.

I had some problems with the Kindle version of the book that I bought. This is the type of book that seems to encourage flipping around, rather than powering through cover to cover, like a novel. However, the digital version didn't have a working Table of Contents, so I couldn't see at a glance a complete list of the actors featured, and jump to them accordingly. I had to either scroll through the pages manually, or move the slider bar around. I did ultimately flip through the whole book, reading most of the entries, but it would have been easier to navigate the book with a working TOC.

Also, my anal nature was repeatedLY grated by the numerous formatting errors, and typos. I kept wanting to go in and fix things! The content was very interesting, and perhaps most people wouldn't worry about it, but for me, it was a roadblock (albeit, certainly not a deal-breaker).

The final problem I had was the intro, which got under my skin - you know how I am with sometimes being derailed at the very beginning of a book! It was written by a chap named Mike Watt, and he goes on at length about how devastated he was at the passing of Jim Henson, whom he'd never met, but was a big fan of. He apparently went through all the stages of grief, like when you lose a loved one, even though he was in junior high at the time. Now, far be it from me to come across as making light of someone's pain, but that is so far out of my reality that I just couldn't connect at all. I certainly know what it's like to lose a close loved one - my brother's death ripped my heart out. But I cannot even begin to imagine any celebrity anywhere, at any time of my life, who's death did anything other than briefly pique my curiosity when I heard of it. Devastated? Yeah, not even close. I must be a stone-hearted individual.

Barring the sappy intro and the formatting issues, the book was very interesting. A lot of the featured actors from early in Hollywood history I'd never even heard of, so it was nice to get a little history lesson. And some of the more recent entries were thorough and well-written (Bruce Lee, John Belushi, Heath Ledger, etc.).

Summary: 3.5/5 Anyone with even a passing interest in film history or movies in general would enjoy perusing this book -- though I'd recommend the hard-copy over the digital version, until the kinks are worked out.

]]>The Heroes, by Joe Abercrombiehttp://www.wagnervana.com/book-reviews/2011/3/12/the-heroes-by-joe-abercrombie.htmlDavid Wagner2011-03-12T07:33:40ZBook Reviews Joe Abercrombie The Heroes

So, I finished reading The Heroes, by Joe Abercrombie last night. I haven't had such a case of "I Just Can't Put This Book Down!" since, I'd say, the time I read Abercrombie's "First Law" trilogy back in Spring of '09. If I recall, I read book 2 and book 3 of that trilogy over the course of 4 days, practically without sleep.

It will be odd to try and summarize the book, for those of you who have never read any Abercrombie before. The tale takes place over the span of three days, during a pitched battle between two great forces in Abercrombie's world that he's built from scratch. It's the same world/realm that was featured in his First Law Trilogy, as well as 2009'sBest Served Cold (which I reviewed HERE), with several of the same characters from those tales. Most of the major players in The Heroes were minor characters in the other books, so it was very nice to see them, and have them developed further.

The book gets its title from multiple sources, the most obvious being a geographical source. The great valley that the huge battle takes place in has a large hill in it that is crowned with a large circle of towering, Stonehenge-like stones, called The Heroes. Holding this hill is very important, since it commands a 360-degree view for miles around. Very important in war, as you can imagine.

The title also comes from the fact that there are great heroes on both sides of the battle. The North has a great number of Named Men, which are fierce warriors with unique nick-names that they have earned on the battlefield in times past. The Union has many soldiers of valor, but really only one that could qualify as a Hero - and his name is Bremer dan Gorst, whom some might remember from the Trilogy and a cameo in Best Served Cold. He is a fiercely loyal King's Man who was disgraced and stripped of his honor because of something that happened when he was supposed to be protecting the King. He seeks redemption. He seeks it on the battlefield. He is an INCREDIBLE character, and by far, my favorite in the book (which is something, considering the cast).

When I first heard Bremer was going to be featured in The Heroes, I shrugged a bit. I wasn't too impressed with him in the other books, and didn't think much of the news. But I was very pleasantly surprised. I couldn't get enough of the contrast of his story arc. In battle, he was incomparable, having trained exhaustively, and wanting to die redeeming his name on the battlefield. Out of battle, he was the object of scorn and insult and snickering, a problem made worse by his soft, falsetto voice.

The book also gets it's title (I believe) from the philosophical angle that Abercrombie makes, whereby he calls into question what a hero really is, and whether it is really worth it to seek such status. In fact, at one point, a character says to a warrior something to this effect: "I used to think you were a decent man. But I don't think that anymore. You aren't a decent man. You're a hero." This was the payoff to a big argument, and it was meant as an insult.

There's no sense in going over the whole cast of characters, and any of the storyline any further. It would constitute spoilers for those that might read this book, and more endless chatter for those who will not. Let me summarize my unorthodox review with my thoughts on the author himself.

Joe Abercrombie's style agrees with me like no other that I can think of. He is so easy to read, so effective at description, and so genius at writing dialog and structuring scenes, I literally felt like I couldn't read it fast or thorough enough. At any moment, during any type of scene, regardless of context, he could slip a zinger in that will make you laugh out loud. The characters are rich and memorable, the dialog funny and very smart, the landscape vivid, the emotions blunt and powerful.

HOWEVER, I will not recommend this book to anyone without letting them know the hard truth: the book is very bloody, and there is no shortage of foul, profane language. These characters are hard men, and they use hard language. The insults and banter are often as hard-edged as the weapons they wield against one-another. If that sort of thing unnerves you, then I suggest you pass on this (and the rest) of Abercrombie's work. You will by necessity also miss out on some OUTSTANDING storytelling, but that will be the other side of that coin.

It may seem odd for me to at once highly (re)commend an author and strongly discourage most of you from reading him, but I feel I have to be honest. I loved it. But I know it's a divisive book that many of you, were you to read it, would likely hate. You wouldn't be alone. The author recently posted a fascinating "article" in his blog, responding to the idea that authors like him are ruining the Fantasy genre. Also a great read, should you choose to skim it.

SUMMARY: I have to give it 5/5. Grabbed me from the first sentence, chewed me up, spit me out, and I enjoyed every page of it. I will surely read it again. Memorable characters, memorable scenes, hilarious and smart dialog, top notch story-telling.

]]>The Red Wolf Conspiracy, by Robert Redickhttp://www.wagnervana.com/book-reviews/2010/9/2/the-red-wolf-conspiracy-by-robert-redick.htmlDavid Wagner2010-09-03T02:26:54ZRed Wolf Conspiracy Robert Redick

This will be a strange review for me to write. The bottom line could be summarized thus: the first 85% was among the very best novel reading/writing I've ever fed to my brain. It was terrificly written: great characters, terrific setting, wonderful action, an awesome sense of internal consistency, and was written with confidence and clarity I haven't seen anywhere else. I was all set to give this book the highest of possible praise, and implore you all to drop everything and find a copy.

Then the bottom fell out...

It was almost as if another writer took over. I feared the possibility that the tale would fall apart, but the closer I got to the end, the less likely I felt that would be. I mean, it just was such a great read, and showed no signs of stopping. Imagine my shock when one baffling storyline choice sent the tale careening out of control, only to be sewn up nicely (and quite unsatisfactorily) in a nice little bundle. I don't know what happened! How could the author go from such overwhelming quality and success to tripping and falling down the rabbit hole? I've never seen such a turn-around in a book before. I've had books fail to hook me, I've seen books that hiccup and stumble and finally peter out, I've seen books start off slow and build up to a wonderfully fulfilling conclusion... but I can't think of another example of a single book starting off so well, holding onto that level for so long, and then dive-bombing into the abyss like this one.

So, do I recommend the book, or not?

There are many, many characters... usually, that is a negative with me, but Redick is so masterful at introducing them and making them ridiculously memorable, I had no problem at all tracking the characters (literally a couple dozen major characters). It was like an ensemble movie done right... like a Murder on the Orient Express, where many different characters are introduced and then thrown together in a single place - in this case, an ancient, oversized, magical boat (the Chathrand) sailing on a multifaceted mission. It is a fantasy tale, complete with magic and kings and villains and grit and intrigue. Plots intertwine, wars are planned, attacks are survived, lies are told (and unraveled) and difficult situations overcome. To try and talk about even a sampling of the characters would take way too long.

But a point is reached where it turns from the sublime to the ridiculous, almost on the turn of a dime. For those that have read this before, it was where the youths dive on the shipwreck. Let me leave it at that. That won't spoil anything for anyone else, I don't think. From that (ridiculous, incongruous) point onward, loose ends are tied up so neatly and with such speed, it left me crestfallen. The ending was just silly to me. Silly and forced, and it just felt different than the rest of the book. It left me wondering if a different author took over the book. Or maybe for some reason the author was forced to change the ending he had in mind. Or maybe he just grew sick of the story and felt compelled to force an ending. There must have been a very strong reason for the story decisions that were made at that point. It truly left me baffled.

So, again, how do I present a review? Do I recommend the book? Most definitely. An incredible, complex, highly successful story, with outstanding characters, deftly handled. Just prepare yourself for what might be a precipitous drop toward the ending. Perhaps you'll be just fine with the ending, who knows? All I know is, at this point, while I can solidly recommend this book based on the strong positives, I am very hesitant about reading the next book in the series, The Ruling Sea, which just came out in hardback in February.

Summary: 4/5 In spite of (what I felt was) a shocking drop in storytelling in the end, I still think the strengths of the book make it as close to a "must read" as possible, to my mind. It would be interesting to hear the author speak on the writing of this book, to see what the dynamics were behind the story choices he made in the ending. He obviously is a terrific, confident author.

]]>Shadow's Edge, by Brent Weekshttp://www.wagnervana.com/book-reviews/2010/6/15/shadows-edge-by-brent-weeks.htmlDavid Wagner2010-06-15T23:06:23Z

OK, by nature of the fact that I am reviewing Shadow's Edge, which is Book 2 in the Night Angel Trilogy, there will, of necessity, be implicit spoilers. I mean, if I talk about a character in book 2, that means he/she survived the first book, which may ruin a surprise or three for you if you have yet to read the series! That being said, I trust your better judgment, as far as if you wish to read this review.

This is NOT a traditional review! It is more of an extended rant! Please don't scold me for not being more professional. If you want to read a level-headed, professional review, Google the book and take your pick.

OK, let me start by saying that it is really evident that Weeks was a newbie author in this book. The first book had enough polish to show signs of a debut book that took time to cook, and went through rewrites and editors, etc. The Way of Shadows (book one) is still sloppy in places, especially toward the end, but it held together enough that I finished it with a positive vibe, and decided to move forward into the series. From the start, Shadow's Edge shows signs of being rushed through. Very predictable, shallow, easy decisions were made with the story line and dialog that left me either scratching my head or rolling my eyes with such regularity, it made me wonder what bizarre magical forces were at work to keep me reading.

I won't recap the storyline in all it's detail, since I don't think it would be appropriate at this point. Rather, let me point out my major niggling issues.

1) Take a young assassin who achieves immortality and unbounded magical abilities and make him promise to give it all up for a woman. His childhood sweetie (if you will) makes giving up "wetboy" work for good a condition for her staying with him. Seriously! What, may I ask, is that!? I'll tell you: it's a blatant attempt to try and manufacture some tension. The guy was born/destined to be an assassin-superhero type! That's what he is and does! Are we (as readers) really to believe he would give it all up right after attaining mastery and preeminence, just because his sweetie thinks killing is yucky? It's obvious on the face of it that we will eventually see him choose what he is over who he wants to be with... except Weeks drags it out for over 300 pages first. In the interim, Kylar is a broke working man (in a little herbalist shop) who resorts to selling his master's beloved magical sword to get some money to support him, his future wife Elene, and the little girl (Uly) that they adopted. Weeks even has a scene where Kylar is in the kitchen cooking dinner, wearing a lacy apron with flour on his nose, because it amused Elene and Uly. GOOD LORD. Is the guy a peerless assassin or a pantywaist?

2) OK, so Mr. Superhero lets himself be emasculated and stripped of his beloved heirloom (the sword) -- which, by the way, he sells and uses the money to buy magical wedding bands. O_O

3) The dialog is rife with corny lines, as well as anachronistic phrases - such as the time a street ruffian was threatening a female character, and said he wanted to rob her and then wanted "a little something something" afterwards. He used that exact phrase... a little something something. Why? Why have your fantasy character say something stupid like that? It isn't even cool in our "real life" society! "A little something something"... wow...

4) Another odd style quirk is the juxtaposition of strong language with direct quotes from the Bible. Yeah, our Bible, word for word, quoted and attributed to one of the Gods in the fantasy world. I wouldn't so much mind the scripture quoting if he wasn't also so free with the F-bombs.

5) The magic system has no rhyme or reason to it. Anything the author can imagine, he mixes in without explanation. At one point, the fabled sword Curoch is revealed to be a shape-changing weapon, automatically having the ability to become a different shape/style of sword as its drawn out of its sheath. First, it bummed me out because I had contemplated making a shapeshifting weapon for my own fantasy story, only different. I didn't kid myself into thinking it was an original concept, but it was sad to see the idea so poorly implemented. For almost two full books, there was no hint that the sword (Curoch) had this ability. It was revealed in a quick, off-handed way in one sentence, right before it was modified for the first time. "Oh, by the way, the sword can change shape too... yeah, because right now, it would be handy if the sword could do that!"

It was the tacked-on and shoehorned things like that which rankled me more than anything. It reveals a lack of depth, and smacks of "winging it". Another example is this weird, monster super-beast thing at the very end, which is built out of people parts using "magic", and it grows by attacking and absorbing more people into it. It can modify its own shape at will as it add new materials. It rampages across a battlefield, covered with little mouths, and when it touches people, it attaches to them and consumes them and uses their bones/muscle to grow bigger and change it's shape. First it's a big centipede-thing! Now it's like a big bull! Now it's a dragon! Now it's a giant troll! Now it has 30 long arms, reaching out, grabbing soldiers, sticking them to its body, absorbing them! It's a free-form, shape-shifting puppet for the evil dude that controls it. It may work in theory; in execution, it was poorly explained and implemented, and showed no internal logic (as a concept) or restraint on the part of the author that created it. Like the magic system itself, it is so open-ended that it can do whatever the author wants it to do, without explanation.

6) There are plenty of other characters. WAY too many for me to track. I was constantly trying to remember who was whom. Weeks eventually killed tons of characters off, so it was starting to get manageable, but then toward the end of book 2, he introduces a slew of new characters. It was so disheartening. Because there were so many characters, there were also way too many storylines going on. Here I thought having 4 or 5 storylines in my own tale was going to be too confusing. Weeks left that number in the dust, three-fold times over.

Believe it or not, in spite of all of this, the book managed to salvage itself by the end, and set up a third book. As hard as I've been on Shadow's Edge, the eternal optimist in me can't help but hope it was a learning experience for the author, and that perhaps by the time he wrote Beyond the Shadows (book three), he'd learned some things that helped him construct a tighter book. If the quality of the first couple chapters of Weeks' latest offering "Black Prism" are any indication, he's certainly stepped his game up a notch or three in the interim. So I will likely give Book 3 a shot, hoping book 2 was a misstep and no more. We'll see.

Summary: 2.75/5 Barely managed to salvage itself. Different in feel and quality from The Way of Shadows (the first book), full of corny, forced situations and dialog, without a sense of depth or constraint or discipline.

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