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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
A stand-alone novel - written by Wurts while taking a break from the mammoth Wars of Light and Shadow series - this rollercoaster of intrigue and mystery is not a book you could call a light read. Set over the period of one week, so much happens in this novel that you question just how much you can fit into one day! The Kingdom of Sessalie is a land-locked mountain Kingdom that longs for an outlet to the sea. To this end, its King and Chancellor have arranged a marriage for Princess Anja with the High Prince of Devall, which will give Sessalie access to Devall's seaport, as well as offer a Royal Alliance between the realms. As Devall's High Prince arrives for his upcoming nuptials, the city opens its arms in welcome and wild celebration. But when Princess Anja suddenly disappears before her betrothal banquet, King Isendon assigns the task of recovering his missing daughter to two men - and for them to determine if she has been kidnapped or has simply run off.
The warriors charged with recovering the kingdom's beloved daughter are Taskin, Commander of the Royal Guard, and Mykkael, Captain of the Garrison. As the Crown's right-hand man, Taskin's competence and lifelong record of service to the Kingdom has earned him the respect and support of the court. Mykkael, though, is a stranger. He is unproven and new to the post of Captain and to the Kingdom itself; though he is a veteran soldier with a legendary reputation in the field of combat, his foreign breeding is held in suspicion by court society. As the princess's trail vanishes outside the citadel's gates, anxiety and tension escalate. Wurts' masterful use of language, rhythm and pace grabs hold of the reader and doesn't let go! Mykkael's investigations lead him to a radical explanation for the mystery, but he finds himself under suspicion from the court factions. It remains to be seen whether Commander Taskin's famous fair-mindedness will be enough to unravel the truth behind the garrison captain's dramatic theory (that the resourceful, high-spirited princess was not taken by force, but rather fled the palace to escape a demonic evil?)
Wurts writing is always multi-layered. On the surface, you have the intriguing mystery and the engaging adventure, as well as vivid descriptions and superb characterisation that create a real world and believable characters. Every character you encounter has their own insight and vision. Limited or experienced, their passionate views and choices are woven seamlessly into the tale, with high-stakes action and more than survival set on the outcome. Below the surface of this high fantasy adventure, there is the opportunity for the reader to explore - in as little or as much depth as they wish - larger questions that are as pertinent to our own society today as they are in this medieval fantasy setting: Where does the right and true course of the warrior lie, when the man bearing both sword and responsible knowledge must tread a collision course between the ethics of human justice and law, when not all things are as they appear and the disappearance of a young princess catapults a small kingdom into a crisis beyond precedent? This book is a fantastic read. Each time I re-read it, I pick up more. It is also the perfect place for anyone new to Wurts writing to jump on board.
Enjoy the ride!
The warriors charged with recovering the kingdom's beloved daughter are Taskin, Commander of the Royal Guard, and Mykkael, Captain of the Garrison. As the Crown's right-hand man, Taskin's competence and lifelong record of service to the Kingdom has earned him the respect and support of the court. Mykkael, though, is a stranger. He is unproven and new to the post of Captain and to the Kingdom itself; though he is a veteran soldier with a legendary reputation in the field of combat, his foreign breeding is held in suspicion by court society. As the princess's trail vanishes outside the citadel's gates, anxiety and tension escalate. Wurts' masterful use of language, rhythm and pace grabs hold of the reader and doesn't let go! Mykkael's investigations lead him to a radical explanation for the mystery, but he finds himself under suspicion from the court factions. It remains to be seen whether Commander Taskin's famous fair-mindedness will be enough to unravel the truth behind the garrison captain's dramatic theory (that the resourceful, high-spirited princess was not taken by force, but rather fled the palace to escape a demonic evil?)
Wurts writing is always multi-layered. On the surface, you have the intriguing mystery and the engaging adventure, as well as vivid descriptions and superb characterisation that create a real world and believable characters. Every character you encounter has their own insight and vision. Limited or experienced, their passionate views and choices are woven seamlessly into the tale, with high-stakes action and more than survival set on the outcome. Below the surface of this high fantasy adventure, there is the opportunity for the reader to explore - in as little or as much depth as they wish - larger questions that are as pertinent to our own society today as they are in this medieval fantasy setting: Where does the right and true course of the warrior lie, when the man bearing both sword and responsible knowledge must tread a collision course between the ethics of human justice and law, when not all things are as they appear and the disappearance of a young princess catapults a small kingdom into a crisis beyond precedent? This book is a fantastic read. Each time I re-read it, I pick up more. It is also the perfect place for anyone new to Wurts writing to jump on board.
Enjoy the ride!
Originally published on my blog here in November 2003.
The world of Wurts' standalone fantasy novel is a grim place, beset by immensely powerful demons and their minions, where only a few states have proved able to stand firm in human hands with the alternative being to become a larder for a hungry and sadistic demonic overlord. One country that has remained safe is the mountain stronghold of Sessalie - too remote, too inaccessible to be as great a prize as the plains kingdoms. When however Crown Princess Anjar disappears on the eve of her wedding to a glamorous foreign prince, panic sets in and blame is put on the person who seems to the racist Sessalians to be the obvious culprit, the ex-mercenary guard captain Mykhael, in reality the only person with sufficient knowledge and experience of fighting demons' minions and warding against their attacks to be able to save the country. (It is possible that Wurts is making a plea against the hounding of Muslims which followed the 9/11 atrocities, but its hard to be sure of this.)
To Ride Hell's Chasm has many strong points as a fantasy novel. The undercurrents of racism and snobbery it deals with gives it something to say rather than just being an adventure story with magic. It also rings the changes on the fairy tale plot of the princess' disappearance on the eve of her wedding (I'm not sure there is one, but I could easily imagine a Hans Andersen story in which a fairy godmother, slighted by not being invited to the wedding, kidnaps the bride). Some of the characters are interesting, particularly Mykhael, even if he is too omni-competent to be believeable, and the aged King Isenden, though the rest aren't really sufficiently developed to be three dimensional.
There are other problems, too, which nearly made me give up on To Ride Hell's Chasm at several points. In a genre such as fantasy, where novels tend to be speedily written, where elegant prose is not usually an aim, and where editing often seems to be perfunctory, it is common as a reader to find one's smooth progress through a story rudely jarred by an encounter with some infelicitous phrasing, something which doesn't quite flow properly. Wurts suffers particularly badly from this, especially in the early pages of this novel, and it is particularly annoying when a little rephrasing could have helped the reader immensely.
More seriously, the thrills of the second half (describing the desperate flight of Mykhael with Anja to find allies) are severely compromised. Each individual chapter, taken by itself, would be exciting enough, but there is far too much repetition and the whole journey begins to seem endless as far too many winged predators explode out of the sky to attack the pair. It makes the reader begin to think about how believable it is that they manage to keep going, which is fatal; realising that they would obviously have collapsed from exhaustion after just a few days destroys the impact of the story completely.
Wurts is an established and experienced writer, and To Ride Hell's Chasm should really be better constructed than this. There has been a tendency in recent years for genre writers to churn out volume after volume, with little editing; this is something which could be ascribed to the increasing ease of writing which has followed from widespread use of word processors. (At least, though, this is not the first of a trilogy!) It is something of a paradox, since it is also easier to edit and update a word processor document. Even so, too many recent novels read as though they are first drafts, and this is one of them.
The world of Wurts' standalone fantasy novel is a grim place, beset by immensely powerful demons and their minions, where only a few states have proved able to stand firm in human hands with the alternative being to become a larder for a hungry and sadistic demonic overlord. One country that has remained safe is the mountain stronghold of Sessalie - too remote, too inaccessible to be as great a prize as the plains kingdoms. When however Crown Princess Anjar disappears on the eve of her wedding to a glamorous foreign prince, panic sets in and blame is put on the person who seems to the racist Sessalians to be the obvious culprit, the ex-mercenary guard captain Mykhael, in reality the only person with sufficient knowledge and experience of fighting demons' minions and warding against their attacks to be able to save the country. (It is possible that Wurts is making a plea against the hounding of Muslims which followed the 9/11 atrocities, but its hard to be sure of this.)
To Ride Hell's Chasm has many strong points as a fantasy novel. The undercurrents of racism and snobbery it deals with gives it something to say rather than just being an adventure story with magic. It also rings the changes on the fairy tale plot of the princess' disappearance on the eve of her wedding (I'm not sure there is one, but I could easily imagine a Hans Andersen story in which a fairy godmother, slighted by not being invited to the wedding, kidnaps the bride). Some of the characters are interesting, particularly Mykhael, even if he is too omni-competent to be believeable, and the aged King Isenden, though the rest aren't really sufficiently developed to be three dimensional.
There are other problems, too, which nearly made me give up on To Ride Hell's Chasm at several points. In a genre such as fantasy, where novels tend to be speedily written, where elegant prose is not usually an aim, and where editing often seems to be perfunctory, it is common as a reader to find one's smooth progress through a story rudely jarred by an encounter with some infelicitous phrasing, something which doesn't quite flow properly. Wurts suffers particularly badly from this, especially in the early pages of this novel, and it is particularly annoying when a little rephrasing could have helped the reader immensely.
More seriously, the thrills of the second half (describing the desperate flight of Mykhael with Anja to find allies) are severely compromised. Each individual chapter, taken by itself, would be exciting enough, but there is far too much repetition and the whole journey begins to seem endless as far too many winged predators explode out of the sky to attack the pair. It makes the reader begin to think about how believable it is that they manage to keep going, which is fatal; realising that they would obviously have collapsed from exhaustion after just a few days destroys the impact of the story completely.
Wurts is an established and experienced writer, and To Ride Hell's Chasm should really be better constructed than this. There has been a tendency in recent years for genre writers to churn out volume after volume, with little editing; this is something which could be ascribed to the increasing ease of writing which has followed from widespread use of word processors. (At least, though, this is not the first of a trilogy!) It is something of a paradox, since it is also easier to edit and update a word processor document. Even so, too many recent novels read as though they are first drafts, and this is one of them.
adventurous
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Although the beginning was difficult to follow while trying to acclimate to the setting alongside trying to grasp the stakes for each character, this book fully delivers. A great epic saga contained in a single novel.
Did not finish. Got about half way and realized I didn't care about the characters.
The small, isolated Kingdom of Sessalie is about to celebrate a wedding. Princess Anja is about to marry the High Prince of Devall, which is not only politically advantageous, but a love match. But on the eve of the wedding, Anja goes missing.
It falls to the leader of the Highguard, silver-haired Taskin, and the captain of the lower city garrison, the “desert-bred” Mykkael, to find the princess, and discover the motives of those that would prevent the marriage.
This is a standalone novel by Janny Wurts, author of the massive The Wars of Light and Shadow. She is also the cover artist, which at least means that the cover is appropriate to the story.
Mykkael, as it turns out, is vastly overqualified for his position under normal circumstances, despite a bum knee and deep manpain from what he considers his greatest failure. In this crisis situation, however, he may be just slightly underqualified. It’s kind of a given that if a place with an ominous name is mentioned, that no one has survived a trip through, that our hero will have to go there. And given that place name is in the title?
Mykkael faces considerable ethnic prejudice due to his appearance, even though he was not raised in that culture, and the enemies of Sessalie take full advantage of this to discredit his warnings, even spreading misinformation that the defenses against evil magic he recommends will strengthen the demons. There’s also the persistent mispronunciation of his name by nobility, and it becomes a point of characterization who drops the mispronunciation and when.
The main female character, Anja, comes off well, despite the plot not exactly working in her favor. A trek through insanely dangerous wilderness while pursued by monsters is not what she was trained for. If she has a difficult personality at times, it comes across as an understandable reaction.
One thing that struck me as I was reading through was that a major character didn’t seem to have a name. Eventually, I realized that no one in that character’s category was ever actually named, which may have been meant as foreshadowing.
There’s quite a lot of business involving horses, as several (non-magical) horses become important characters later in the book and much attention is given to their care and injuries. The ride through Hell’s Chasm, once if finally happens, is grueling and exhausted this reader.
The story is wrapped up perhaps a little too neatly in the final chapter. It feels like the author really wanted to make sure the book had a seriously final ending so it wouldn’t turn into a trilogy or series.
There are several maps at the beginning, a glossary, an appendix explaining how demons work in the setting, and a brief biography of the author.
Trigger warning: Taskin is forced by politics to lash Mykkael at one point, making sure to draw blood. In general, a lot of time is taken describing Mykkael and other people’s wounds.
This is a good starting place if you have been curious about Ms. Wurts’ work, but reluctant to start a long series.
It falls to the leader of the Highguard, silver-haired Taskin, and the captain of the lower city garrison, the “desert-bred” Mykkael, to find the princess, and discover the motives of those that would prevent the marriage.
This is a standalone novel by Janny Wurts, author of the massive The Wars of Light and Shadow. She is also the cover artist, which at least means that the cover is appropriate to the story.
Mykkael, as it turns out, is vastly overqualified for his position under normal circumstances, despite a bum knee and deep manpain from what he considers his greatest failure. In this crisis situation, however, he may be just slightly underqualified. It’s kind of a given that if a place with an ominous name is mentioned, that no one has survived a trip through, that our hero will have to go there. And given that place name is in the title?
Mykkael faces considerable ethnic prejudice due to his appearance, even though he was not raised in that culture, and the enemies of Sessalie take full advantage of this to discredit his warnings, even spreading misinformation that the defenses against evil magic he recommends will strengthen the demons. There’s also the persistent mispronunciation of his name by nobility, and it becomes a point of characterization who drops the mispronunciation and when.
The main female character, Anja, comes off well, despite the plot not exactly working in her favor. A trek through insanely dangerous wilderness while pursued by monsters is not what she was trained for. If she has a difficult personality at times, it comes across as an understandable reaction.
One thing that struck me as I was reading through was that a major character didn’t seem to have a name. Eventually, I realized that no one in that character’s category was ever actually named, which may have been meant as foreshadowing.
There’s quite a lot of business involving horses, as several (non-magical) horses become important characters later in the book and much attention is given to their care and injuries. The ride through Hell’s Chasm, once if finally happens, is grueling and exhausted this reader.
The story is wrapped up perhaps a little too neatly in the final chapter. It feels like the author really wanted to make sure the book had a seriously final ending so it wouldn’t turn into a trilogy or series.
There are several maps at the beginning, a glossary, an appendix explaining how demons work in the setting, and a brief biography of the author.
Trigger warning: Taskin is forced by politics to lash Mykkael at one point, making sure to draw blood. In general, a lot of time is taken describing Mykkael and other people’s wounds.
This is a good starting place if you have been curious about Ms. Wurts’ work, but reluctant to start a long series.
Hell’s Chasm terrifies me, and it does so because Janny Wurts’ talent for writing about a harrowing flight through some of nature’s most unforgiving terrain is second to no one. I didn’t even really understand the title of the book until the lead characters come to the titular Chasm itself, and then I could think of no better title. Unfortunately, it takes so long to get to this nerve-bending chase that the entire book loses some luster in the approach.
Setting
To Ride Hell’s Chasm takes place foremost in the country of Sessalie, a monarchy divided from all other nations by a ring of glacier-ridden mountains. Its only inlets are easily defended, and as such Sessalie remains virtually unconquerable; Tolkien fans will remember the unassailable Elven city of Gondolin from the Silmarrilion. Wurts’ world is one of recognizable medieval standards. The kingdom is divided, as many kingdoms are, by class, and much of the story revolves around royal marriage.
But within Wurts’ world there is also a nefarious system of demonic magic, which is inconveniently explained in the appendices, but which plays the central role in the conflict of the book. There are demons in the nether realm who negotiate with human sorcerers so that said humans can feed them living souls. The demons are constantly wanting more souls, and so the sorcerers are forever attempting to destroy kingdoms and extend their power. Like much of the lore in the novel, this is not very well explained, and I am of two minds about that. Part of me loves that every small scrap of information much be examined with a microscope for its import in the greater world, akin to a Dark Souls game. Part of me sometimes just wants things explained a little better. I think the former is better writing when done well. I’m not sure Wurts does it particularly well and the novel seems to suffer for that lack.
Plot
To Ride’s story begins with a missing princess, which feels cliche, but it is soon discovered that she is missing of her own free will, and it is this twist that opens up a much more interesting story than the ‘Bowser kidnaps the princess’ stuff we have seen for decades in pop-culture. Princess Anja running away from the only home she has ever known turns the tale into a much more complicated scenario, and leaves the gates open for a story that keeps blossoming.
Most of the action, up until about the last quarter of the novel, take place within Sessalie. The last quarter is the aforementioned Hell’s Chasm portion. The trouble here is that the first three quarters are too long by leagues. There is so much exposition just to set up this flight through Hell’s Chasm that I think many readers would find themselves putting the book down in sheer frustration. There are interesting things happening in the first three quarters, no doubt, but it all takes too long. In a book that is 681 pages long (in mass market paperback), those first 400 pages need to pull a reader along much more than they do here. Oddly enough, on a re-read I think that first portion would be more interesting in a retrospective sense.
Character
I am finding that female fantasy authors excel in character development far more than their male brethren. I suppose this should come as no surprise. Wurts has some fantastic characters here; men and women I am sorry to see leave my imagination space. The protagonist is a veteran warrior named Mykkael, who serves as a guardsman to one of Sessalie’s lower wards. Mykkael is a foreigner who distinguishes himself in a gladiatorial contest that earns him a place within Sessalie’s ‘police’. Mykkael is an intimidating figure, and while it is often frowned upon to write about invincible characters, watching Mykkael in action is one of the best things about this novel; he reminds me most of David Gemmell’s Druss. He has such strength of will, and even with an old leg injury that basically renders him a cripple, and even when he has been battered beyond all recognizable humanity, he still manages to do things no one else could even dream of. Beyond that, learning about his past is fascinating, and the cast of characters surrounding adds to that air of mystique.
Other notable characters include the previously mentioned Princess Anja, who proves herself an equal in strength to Mykkael in matters of willpower, Commander Taskin, who acts as the noble counterpart in honor and dedication to Mykkael, Jussoud, a foreign masseuse and healer whose large presence never fails to please in any scene, and a horse named Stormfront who never freaking gives up. The book flags a little in its villains, who are basically mustache-twirling demons who lack any real dimension to them and feel like something out of a horror novel.
Final Thoughts
This is a difficult book to rate, and I am afraid that my words do not quite do it justice. It is too long, and I feel some heavy editing could have improved everything. Wurts’ prose is often too heavy, bordering on purple, and I feel like a lighter hand might have improved things as well.
But I liked this book, and I absolutely loved the titular ride through Hell’s Chasm. The last fourth of this is some of the best fantasy I have read, but getting there is a challenge, and while you could certainly say that sometimes the best rewards come to those who wait, I am not sure that works in fiction. Wurts makes it work here because there is enough to keep the dedicated reader plugging away, even if they don’t fully understand why. In the end, the Ride is worth every page.
Setting
To Ride Hell’s Chasm takes place foremost in the country of Sessalie, a monarchy divided from all other nations by a ring of glacier-ridden mountains. Its only inlets are easily defended, and as such Sessalie remains virtually unconquerable; Tolkien fans will remember the unassailable Elven city of Gondolin from the Silmarrilion. Wurts’ world is one of recognizable medieval standards. The kingdom is divided, as many kingdoms are, by class, and much of the story revolves around royal marriage.
But within Wurts’ world there is also a nefarious system of demonic magic, which is inconveniently explained in the appendices, but which plays the central role in the conflict of the book. There are demons in the nether realm who negotiate with human sorcerers so that said humans can feed them living souls. The demons are constantly wanting more souls, and so the sorcerers are forever attempting to destroy kingdoms and extend their power. Like much of the lore in the novel, this is not very well explained, and I am of two minds about that. Part of me loves that every small scrap of information much be examined with a microscope for its import in the greater world, akin to a Dark Souls game. Part of me sometimes just wants things explained a little better. I think the former is better writing when done well. I’m not sure Wurts does it particularly well and the novel seems to suffer for that lack.
Plot
To Ride’s story begins with a missing princess, which feels cliche, but it is soon discovered that she is missing of her own free will, and it is this twist that opens up a much more interesting story than the ‘Bowser kidnaps the princess’ stuff we have seen for decades in pop-culture. Princess Anja running away from the only home she has ever known turns the tale into a much more complicated scenario, and leaves the gates open for a story that keeps blossoming.
Most of the action, up until about the last quarter of the novel, take place within Sessalie. The last quarter is the aforementioned Hell’s Chasm portion. The trouble here is that the first three quarters are too long by leagues. There is so much exposition just to set up this flight through Hell’s Chasm that I think many readers would find themselves putting the book down in sheer frustration. There are interesting things happening in the first three quarters, no doubt, but it all takes too long. In a book that is 681 pages long (in mass market paperback), those first 400 pages need to pull a reader along much more than they do here. Oddly enough, on a re-read I think that first portion would be more interesting in a retrospective sense.
Character
I am finding that female fantasy authors excel in character development far more than their male brethren. I suppose this should come as no surprise. Wurts has some fantastic characters here; men and women I am sorry to see leave my imagination space. The protagonist is a veteran warrior named Mykkael, who serves as a guardsman to one of Sessalie’s lower wards. Mykkael is a foreigner who distinguishes himself in a gladiatorial contest that earns him a place within Sessalie’s ‘police’. Mykkael is an intimidating figure, and while it is often frowned upon to write about invincible characters, watching Mykkael in action is one of the best things about this novel; he reminds me most of David Gemmell’s Druss. He has such strength of will, and even with an old leg injury that basically renders him a cripple, and even when he has been battered beyond all recognizable humanity, he still manages to do things no one else could even dream of. Beyond that, learning about his past is fascinating, and the cast of characters surrounding adds to that air of mystique.
Other notable characters include the previously mentioned Princess Anja, who proves herself an equal in strength to Mykkael in matters of willpower, Commander Taskin, who acts as the noble counterpart in honor and dedication to Mykkael, Jussoud, a foreign masseuse and healer whose large presence never fails to please in any scene, and a horse named Stormfront who never freaking gives up. The book flags a little in its villains, who are basically mustache-twirling demons who lack any real dimension to them and feel like something out of a horror novel.
Final Thoughts
This is a difficult book to rate, and I am afraid that my words do not quite do it justice. It is too long, and I feel some heavy editing could have improved everything. Wurts’ prose is often too heavy, bordering on purple, and I feel like a lighter hand might have improved things as well.
But I liked this book, and I absolutely loved the titular ride through Hell’s Chasm. The last fourth of this is some of the best fantasy I have read, but getting there is a challenge, and while you could certainly say that sometimes the best rewards come to those who wait, I am not sure that works in fiction. Wurts makes it work here because there is enough to keep the dedicated reader plugging away, even if they don’t fully understand why. In the end, the Ride is worth every page.
This book hits the ground sprinting, with the princess going missing within the first couple of pages. It never lets up, partly because the entire story takes place over a mere five and a half days. Taskin, the formidably competent commander of the royal guard, and Mykkael, the scarred veteran with a deadly past, are tasked with recovering the princess before it is too late.
The first half of the story follows Taskin’s handling of court intrigue and Mykkael’s investigation into the princess’s disappearance. Throughout this part of the book, everyone is wondering about Mykkael’s true motives. Is he the kingdom’s best chance to save the princess or was he behind her disappearance? It’s sort of like a fantasy Sherlock Holmes where Sherlock is scary good at killing. The second half of the story catapults into classic sword swinging, demon fighting, breakneck adventure. I’d say more but I don’t want to give anything away.
The kingdom of Sessalie is small and isolated from the surrounding nations by mountains. While this might offer some measure of protection, it also serves to foster prejudice and closed-mindedness towards other cultures. As a result, most characters are fairly hostile towards Mykkael, refusing to even pronounce his name correctly.
There is also a host of totally awesome fantastical elements to this book. Shapeshifting demon sorcerers? Check. Ferocious dragon/bird hybrids? You betcha.
The main character, Mykkael, has somewhat of a tragically brutal back story, which is slowly revealed throughout the book. His skin color keeps people constantly mistrustful of him since people from the desert are often associated with sorcery or savagery. As if it wasn’t hard enough to unravel the mystery of the disappearing princess, Mykkael also has to overcome the suspicions (and sometimes outright racism) from higher society.
There are some truly incredible side characters in this story. Taskin is competent and just, but bound by duty. The missing princess, Anja, really puts the “strong” in strong female characters. And of course, there are the horses. Janny Wurts has a passion for horses in real life, and it really shines in this book. The horses feel like real characters, not just a convenient way to get from point A to point B.
This book is packed with tension, with the entire plot taking place in less than a week. You’ll be kept at the edge of your seat.
And the prose, well, beautiful almost doesn’t do it justice. Each word is chosen with care. This can take some getting used to (I think it took me about 50 pages to really adjust), but once you do it really enriches the experience.
Read this book if you like tales of intrigue, adventure, and complex morality.
Read this book if you want great characters and tight plotting.
If you dislike dense prose or need a 100% happy ending, this might not be for you.
The first half of the story follows Taskin’s handling of court intrigue and Mykkael’s investigation into the princess’s disappearance. Throughout this part of the book, everyone is wondering about Mykkael’s true motives. Is he the kingdom’s best chance to save the princess or was he behind her disappearance? It’s sort of like a fantasy Sherlock Holmes where Sherlock is scary good at killing. The second half of the story catapults into classic sword swinging, demon fighting, breakneck adventure. I’d say more but I don’t want to give anything away.
The kingdom of Sessalie is small and isolated from the surrounding nations by mountains. While this might offer some measure of protection, it also serves to foster prejudice and closed-mindedness towards other cultures. As a result, most characters are fairly hostile towards Mykkael, refusing to even pronounce his name correctly.
There is also a host of totally awesome fantastical elements to this book. Shapeshifting demon sorcerers? Check. Ferocious dragon/bird hybrids? You betcha.
The main character, Mykkael, has somewhat of a tragically brutal back story, which is slowly revealed throughout the book. His skin color keeps people constantly mistrustful of him since people from the desert are often associated with sorcery or savagery. As if it wasn’t hard enough to unravel the mystery of the disappearing princess, Mykkael also has to overcome the suspicions (and sometimes outright racism) from higher society.
There are some truly incredible side characters in this story. Taskin is competent and just, but bound by duty. The missing princess, Anja, really puts the “strong” in strong female characters. And of course, there are the horses. Janny Wurts has a passion for horses in real life, and it really shines in this book. The horses feel like real characters, not just a convenient way to get from point A to point B.
This book is packed with tension, with the entire plot taking place in less than a week. You’ll be kept at the edge of your seat.
And the prose, well, beautiful almost doesn’t do it justice. Each word is chosen with care. This can take some getting used to (I think it took me about 50 pages to really adjust), but once you do it really enriches the experience.
Read this book if you like tales of intrigue, adventure, and complex morality.
Read this book if you want great characters and tight plotting.
If you dislike dense prose or need a 100% happy ending, this might not be for you.
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm finally done with this book.
It takes a lot for me to put a book on DNF status. So instead, I forced myself to read 5-10% of this book before I could start other books I was more interested in. And honestly, it wasn't worth it.
There's a lot to appreciate about this book. The magic system is cool, the plot is interesting enough, and there are even some fun characters (if you can keep them straight).
But the main character is the worst.
Seriously. Mykkael is one of the more boring and stereotypical characters I've read in a long time. He is the quintessential tortured-and-stoic-but-brilliant warrior and it's the worst. A lot of this book can be summed up with: Mykkael is our only hope! and Mykkael may be unorthodox, but we have no choice but to trust him!, etc. He can basically do no wrong (except every now and then, he has feelings to show the readers that he really is human!) and everyone is either living in fear of him, in awe of him, or in love with him (and that one really comes out of nowhere). He isn't a believable, likeable, or even interesting character. And having most of the book be focused on Mykkael being the only one who can save the day really ruined it.
Not recommended - especially for fantasy readers who like nuanced and complicated main characters.
It takes a lot for me to put a book on DNF status. So instead, I forced myself to read 5-10% of this book before I could start other books I was more interested in. And honestly, it wasn't worth it.
There's a lot to appreciate about this book. The magic system is cool, the plot is interesting enough, and there are even some fun characters (if you can keep them straight).
But the main character is the worst.
Seriously. Mykkael is one of the more boring and stereotypical characters I've read in a long time. He is the quintessential tortured-and-stoic-but-brilliant warrior and it's the worst. A lot of this book can be summed up with: Mykkael is our only hope! and Mykkael may be unorthodox, but we have no choice but to trust him!, etc. He can basically do no wrong (except every now and then, he has feelings to show the readers that he really is human!) and everyone is either living in fear of him, in awe of him, or in love with him (and that one really comes out of nowhere). He isn't a believable, likeable, or even interesting character. And having most of the book be focused on Mykkael being the only one who can save the day really ruined it.
Not recommended - especially for fantasy readers who like nuanced and complicated main characters.