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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
Robin Hobb says 'The Heir of Night by Helen Lowe is a richly told tale of strange magic, dark treachery and conflicting loyalties, set in a well realised world’.
And she is quite right, it is.
It is a beautifully crafted novel, the world is vibrant and so are the characters, although I must admit the characterisation sometimes left me scratching my head. I had a lot of questions as to maturity - in Malian's case - and what seemed to me to be leaps of logic. But this didn't spoil my enjoyment of what promises to be a very exciting new series.
Old wars, lost powers, blood feuds, prophecies and the rising of an ancient evil makes (on paper) a pretty regular book of standard fantasy fare - but I don't care if I have read a similar premise over and over again as long as the writing is good and the author does something different with it. And Lowe's writing is very good and the story is original enough in nuance to be fresh. The one thing i will nit-pick over is the Naming of things, particular creatures and powers and the like. I mean the 'Raptor of Darkness'? I was disappointed that Lowe did create a name in place of a title, she has the chops for it as the rest of her writing shows.
That being said I did read it all the way through to the end, and I will pick up the next book to see how things progress. There were some wonderfully rendered scenes, especially as Malian is trying to escape those who hunt her in underbelly of the Keep, and good use of pacing and some very interesting worldbuilding from a very talent new voice in the Epic fantasy field.
And she is quite right, it is.
It is a beautifully crafted novel, the world is vibrant and so are the characters, although I must admit the characterisation sometimes left me scratching my head. I had a lot of questions as to maturity - in Malian's case - and what seemed to me to be leaps of logic. But this didn't spoil my enjoyment of what promises to be a very exciting new series.
Old wars, lost powers, blood feuds, prophecies and the rising of an ancient evil makes (on paper) a pretty regular book of standard fantasy fare - but I don't care if I have read a similar premise over and over again as long as the writing is good and the author does something different with it. And Lowe's writing is very good and the story is original enough in nuance to be fresh. The one thing i will nit-pick over is the Naming of things, particular creatures and powers and the like. I mean the 'Raptor of Darkness'? I was disappointed that Lowe did create a name in place of a title, she has the chops for it as the rest of her writing shows.
That being said I did read it all the way through to the end, and I will pick up the next book to see how things progress. There were some wonderfully rendered scenes, especially as Malian is trying to escape those who hunt her in underbelly of the Keep, and good use of pacing and some very interesting worldbuilding from a very talent new voice in the Epic fantasy field.
I picked this one up and took it home because of the female author and the female 'Heir'. An interesting spin on the tried and true 'young person with special (adjective) must leave home on a quest to...' Plus not only is the heir female, the Honor Guard and the Head Priest are also female. I will buy the second installment when it comes out.
Malian chaffes against some of the restrictions on her life, she really wants to stretch her wings. Her family occupy a pivotal part in keeping the tide of shadow away from the rest of the world. Her home is attacked and she flees into the Old Keep. When there she has to face up to the fact that she has power, power that demands a price.
I really enjoyed this read, I like Malian as a character and the others around here were well drawn and believable. I'm looking forward to more in this series and by this author.
I really enjoyed this read, I like Malian as a character and the others around here were well drawn and believable. I'm looking forward to more in this series and by this author.