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canaanmerchant's review against another edition
4.0
Impossible for me not to compare this to Cameron's other fantasy series the Traitor Son Cycle but those comparisons are all favorable minus one.
The one drag is that this book is very much an introduction and ends with the story clearly ready to move on. I can be patient because Cameron is reliable about publishing dates.
Still here we stick with one perspective, Aranthur Timos'. He's young but not immature. Innocent but not naive. Skilled but not arrogant. This means that his imperfectness feels natural rather than the author trying to avoid creating a super hero.
The world building is superb as usual this time with an early renaissance tech level mixing up swordplay, gun fights, and magical duels. Most of the story takes place in one city but events ripple out and echo back drawing you in and the plot let's Aranthur meet a wide variety of folks across all walks of life.
Then there is the combat. There's little in the way of pitched battles but Cameron loves his swordplay and it shows here as well.
Okay, one final quibble. Hardly any of the place names mentioned in the text were on the map. I'm guess there will be wider travels but dang I was really searching for some places that just don't appear to exist.
The one drag is that this book is very much an introduction and ends with the story clearly ready to move on. I can be patient because Cameron is reliable about publishing dates.
Still here we stick with one perspective, Aranthur Timos'. He's young but not immature. Innocent but not naive. Skilled but not arrogant. This means that his imperfectness feels natural rather than the author trying to avoid creating a super hero.
The world building is superb as usual this time with an early renaissance tech level mixing up swordplay, gun fights, and magical duels. Most of the story takes place in one city but events ripple out and echo back drawing you in and the plot let's Aranthur meet a wide variety of folks across all walks of life.
Then there is the combat. There's little in the way of pitched battles but Cameron loves his swordplay and it shows here as well.
Okay, one final quibble. Hardly any of the place names mentioned in the text were on the map. I'm guess there will be wider travels but dang I was really searching for some places that just don't appear to exist.
jcovington0815's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
camam4's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
z4yed's review against another edition
4.0
The comparisons to Name of the Wind is well warranted. Highly enjoyable, but nobody can really match Rothfuss' prose. All in all, well worth the read
vetsin's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
zephharben's review
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
insanealienmonk's review against another edition
2.0
This is a weird one. I actually didn’t finish it, got about halfway. I can’t get over the casual racism and sexism, and the writing style is very… juvenile? It reads like it was written by a teenager instead of about one. I repeatedly ran into sentences with a structure that just felt uncomfortable. What I mean by that is it drew my attention to the fact that I was reading a sentence that was written in this specific way by choice... instead of just absorbing the content. I don’t like this, and will not be reading anything else by this author.
fantasyfunk's review against another edition
4.0
I really loved this book at the end but we had a difficult beginning together. The 1/3 of the book is a 5 star for me and I almost rated the book that overall. Upon reflection, I dropped it to a 4. I think the beginning of the book struggles with some pacing. There were some moments where I just wondered what the point was or where I wondered how I was still reading a book where nothing was really happening, at least to the main character.
There are, however, all these hints of deeper political intrigue. So much more is going on in the world than we really get to see from our classic fantasy hero, the farmboy. It is fun to learn of the things as Aranthur learns of them, but some times this leads to a heavy struggle of the reader not knowing enough. It kills the pacing in the beginning when the farmboy knows nothing until the end when he's figuring out thing after thing after thing. It's definitely a difficult struggle as a writer.
Luckily Aranthur is a likeable enough character to keep you going through the book. He plays the classic hero quite well. Solid, dependable, a good friend and always willing to jump into the scrap to save others. He's easy to identify with and root for.
The world reminds me a lot of Miles Cameron's Traitor Son series which I also enjoy. It's very rooted in medieval history despite the hints of magic. Miles Cameron also has a deep love for swords and swordplay which shines in this series as much as his other. It can be too much for me at moments. The swordplay is so detailed that I'm either slowing in my reading to envision it or skimming because the intense detail is taking me out of the action of the moment.
Overall though, I can't wait to get a copy of the second book. I highly recommend this even if you struggle in the beginning.
There are, however, all these hints of deeper political intrigue. So much more is going on in the world than we really get to see from our classic fantasy hero, the farmboy. It is fun to learn of the things as Aranthur learns of them, but some times this leads to a heavy struggle of the reader not knowing enough. It kills the pacing in the beginning when the farmboy knows nothing until the end when he's figuring out thing after thing after thing. It's definitely a difficult struggle as a writer.
Luckily Aranthur is a likeable enough character to keep you going through the book. He plays the classic hero quite well. Solid, dependable, a good friend and always willing to jump into the scrap to save others. He's easy to identify with and root for.
The world reminds me a lot of Miles Cameron's Traitor Son series which I also enjoy. It's very rooted in medieval history despite the hints of magic. Miles Cameron also has a deep love for swords and swordplay which shines in this series as much as his other. It can be too much for me at moments. The swordplay is so detailed that I'm either slowing in my reading to envision it or skimming because the intense detail is taking me out of the action of the moment.
Overall though, I can't wait to get a copy of the second book. I highly recommend this even if you struggle in the beginning.
keightmaclean's review against another edition
5.0
A masterpiece of a coming of age story, set in a beautiful, historically inspired city, equal parts Constantinople and Venice. Following Aranthur, a farm boy moved to the big city to study magic at the academy, Miles builds a rich, multicultural world filled with tradition and politics, and an outstanding magic system, which we find is as vast and varied as the many cultures who use it. As usual, Miles paints a complex visual tapestry filled with unique characters, clothes, weapons and city streets, so real they fill my dreams at night. An absolute page-turner, the action and intrigue in this story was nothing short of addictive and I can't wait to for the next book in the series!
keightmaclean's review
5.0
A masterpiece of a coming of age story, set in a beautiful, historically inspired city, equal parts Constantinople and Venice. Following Aranthur, a farm boy moved to the big city to study magic at the academy, Miles builds a rich, multicultural world filled with tradition and politics, and an outstanding magic system, which we find is as vast and varied as the many cultures who use it. As usual, Miles paints a complex visual tapestry filled with unique characters, clothes, weapons and city streets, so real they fill my dreams at night. An absolute page-turner, the action and intrigue in this story was nothing short of addictive and I can't wait to for the next book in the series!