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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
This book was good. It was well written with a working plot and characters but it didn't change my life.
The first 200 pages felt slow and little boring but it was worth it to power through. Iggulden uses multiple points of view to tell the story and even though all those characters start from different places they all end up in one place. That made the world feel more realistic, being able to see multiple sides of it and hear multiple opinions and views of the same characters! That's one thing I really enjoyed. Also, at first I didn't really like any of the characters but as the story progressed I realized I was actually pretty charmed by a few of them. I was also impressed by how clever the magical powers were. The magic followed a clear logic and it had its limits, which was super refreshing.
All in all this was a pretty good book but I probably wouldn't re-read it as the beginning felt so slow and uninteresting.
The first 200 pages felt slow and little boring but it was worth it to power through. Iggulden uses multiple points of view to tell the story and even though all those characters start from different places they all end up in one place. That made the world feel more realistic, being able to see multiple sides of it and hear multiple opinions and views of the same characters! That's one thing I really enjoyed. Also, at first I didn't really like any of the characters but as the story progressed I realized I was actually pretty charmed by a few of them. I was also impressed by how clever the magical powers were. The magic followed a clear logic and it had its limits, which was super refreshing.
All in all this was a pretty good book but I probably wouldn't re-read it as the beginning felt so slow and uninteresting.
Very confident writing. Work of the master, not someone new to the craft. Plus it has all the good ingredients in the mix: large city, intrigues, an ensemble of diverse characters (some with cool magical gifts)... but somehow it was lacking the oomph for me. My mind started to drift, pages started to skip and...I am migrating to something else instead.
I guess this may not be my kind of a book (throwing my towel in the ring to avoid a disappointment). But I totally see how others may enjoy it greatly. Let me know if you did and I may return to this one later on
I guess this may not be my kind of a book (throwing my towel in the ring to avoid a disappointment). But I totally see how others may enjoy it greatly. Let me know if you did and I may return to this one later on
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a book that I picked up on a total whim at the library while grabbing another book. I had never heard of Darien or C.F. Iggulden before, but I thought I would give it a try. Sometimes that backfires; sometimes it results in some of the best reads of my year. In the case of this book, I would say it landed decidedly in the middle! What started as a dud gradually blooms into … a story of a kind. Darien is somewhat enigmatic, but I dig it.
The eponymous city of Darien is built upon the ruins of an empire long gone. It is a world where the affluent have magic and, of course, money, while the poor scrape by with what they can get. A plague has just ravaged the countryside and some of the poorer districts of the city, but the king and the ruling Twelve Families have survived untouched. The book follows a handful of characters from diverse backgrounds: a hunter with a knack for premonition; a retired swordmaster turned thiefmaster; a young woman who doesn’t believe in magic; and a thief with ambitions for a big score. Their fates converge on one of Darien’s most holy nights, and … shit goes down.
Iggulden has a distinctive writing style that is spare on dialogue in favour of description and narration. The first several chapters introduce our characters and what they want. Although these characters cross paths in the final act, I wouldn’t quite say that they “meet up.” What makes Darien most distinctive is this lack of a central, overarching plot. I suspect that will drive some readers mad while being enticing to others. In my case, I didn’t hate it—but I didn’t love it either.
This is a case where the worldbuilding and ideas grabbed me more than the story itself. Elias Post’s knack for “reaching” into the future—that’s cool. Nancy’s magic-dampening capability? That’s fascinating. Golems exist? Awesome. There’s a whole bunch of magic and myth and mystery here, but Iggulden doesn’t explore it very deeply—and you know, that’s his prerogative. There is a story here—perhaps more accurate to say a bunch of intersecting stories—all predicated upon one of the most essential questions: what do you want? Whether you want to keep your family safe, revenge for injustices visited upon your family, or riches untold … there’s a lot of character development that happens here, even if it tends to be on the page rather than between characters themselves. (A lot of the scenes are two-handers, allowing one of our protagonists to explain themselves to a supporting character.)
The final act is quite literally explosive and pretty good, and I like the ending overall. There’s some good setup for the sequel—but I don’t know if there’s enough here to get me interested in picking it up.
Originally posted at Kara.Reviews.
The eponymous city of Darien is built upon the ruins of an empire long gone. It is a world where the affluent have magic and, of course, money, while the poor scrape by with what they can get. A plague has just ravaged the countryside and some of the poorer districts of the city, but the king and the ruling Twelve Families have survived untouched. The book follows a handful of characters from diverse backgrounds: a hunter with a knack for premonition; a retired swordmaster turned thiefmaster; a young woman who doesn’t believe in magic; and a thief with ambitions for a big score. Their fates converge on one of Darien’s most holy nights, and … shit goes down.
Iggulden has a distinctive writing style that is spare on dialogue in favour of description and narration. The first several chapters introduce our characters and what they want. Although these characters cross paths in the final act, I wouldn’t quite say that they “meet up.” What makes Darien most distinctive is this lack of a central, overarching plot. I suspect that will drive some readers mad while being enticing to others. In my case, I didn’t hate it—but I didn’t love it either.
This is a case where the worldbuilding and ideas grabbed me more than the story itself. Elias Post’s knack for “reaching” into the future—that’s cool. Nancy’s magic-dampening capability? That’s fascinating. Golems exist? Awesome. There’s a whole bunch of magic and myth and mystery here, but Iggulden doesn’t explore it very deeply—and you know, that’s his prerogative. There is a story here—perhaps more accurate to say a bunch of intersecting stories—all predicated upon one of the most essential questions: what do you want? Whether you want to keep your family safe, revenge for injustices visited upon your family, or riches untold … there’s a lot of character development that happens here, even if it tends to be on the page rather than between characters themselves. (A lot of the scenes are two-handers, allowing one of our protagonists to explain themselves to a supporting character.)
The final act is quite literally explosive and pretty good, and I like the ending overall. There’s some good setup for the sequel—but I don’t know if there’s enough here to get me interested in picking it up.
Originally posted at Kara.Reviews.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Normally I won't read anything that's depressing, or savage or miserable or realistic... But Conn Iggulden is a weakness of mine, anyway, and this was beautiful in its sadness.
Meh, les personnages sont vraiment bien, mais l'histoire en elle même est trop rapide. Je veux quand même lire la suite!
You may not (at first) recognise the author’s name: but readers of Historical Fiction may know of Conn Iggulden, author of nearly 20 fiction books, including the Emperor series set in Ancient Rome, and more recently his War of the Roses series. As if this wasn’t enough, he has also published non-fiction such as The Dangerous Book for Boys (2006).
Darien: Empire of Salt uses his considerable writing skills and historical knowledge to venture into a genre he has always considered a personal favourite: Fantasy.
Darien is clearly meant to be the first in a series and not a stand-alone. What this means is that the book introduces the reader to people and places that are going to develop over more than one book. The plan at present is for a trilogy.
Whilst Conn’s homage to his hero David Gemmell is clear throughout, this is not a typical medieval-esque Fantasy. Admittedly Darien is a city in a world with a long and rich history, some of which we read of here, and many of the residents of the city live a harsh peasant-like existence, it is a world more akin to the global Empire building of the Mercantile Era, c16-18th century, than most traditional Fantasy novels. This is also shown by presence of guns in this world, something more akin to Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere worlds or even Gemmell’s Jon Shannow than, say, Game of Thrones. It is a violent and treacherous place filled with warriors, spies, magicians and mercenaries.
In terms of the characters, it is clear that the author is not lacking in ambition in the scale of this book, although the book mainly concerns itself with six main characters. Elias Post is a hunter with a secret who encounters and reluctantly allies with Vic Deeds, a young mercenary killer for hire. Tellius is an old swordsman and rather Fagin-like character who meets Arthur, a boy brought to Tellius’ notice that has an special skill that will be central to the story. Thirdly, Daw Threefold is a chancer and gambler rather down on his luck, who meets Nancy, a girl whose talent might be the undoing of them all.
Conn wisely sticks to the majority of the book centred around these three groups of characters, although there are others who weave in and out of the narrative, and will no doubt become more or less important at various points of the series. This creates the feeling that we’re in for a long and immersive plot here, of which Darien is merely the introduction to other events. The slight disadvantage of this is that much of the first part of the book is about meeting new characters and setting up their individual backstories and reasons for being in the plot, but it is worth persevering through the first half to the latter section.
It is in the second part of the book where the pace steps up a gear as these characters begin to connect together and affect each other. In the city of Darien, the perspective widens so that the politics of the Empire becomes paramount. The geopolitical situation is that there are twelve families ruling under a King, creating a complex political environment which though briefly glimpsed, seems reminiscent of Queen Elizabeth’s court or the Borgias. The King himself is a weak one, placed there by the leading Family for presentation purposes rather than actual leadership, which means that the lesser Families are manoeuvring for new positions of power. As a result, a plot is hatched which leads to an assassination attempt on King Johannes and events that usher in an impressively fast and rather violent last part of the book.
In short, Darien is a solidly old-school Fantasy novel, strong on character, in which readers can immerse themselves. As you might expect from an experienced author, it is well-done. It is not as broad and as complex, as say, Game of Thrones, but it brings enough new ideas to the table to ensure that the novel the maintains a reader’s interest, with enough characters to keep a genre fan happy and enough action to make the initial lengthy exposition bearable. Most readers will want to continue to read more in this series.
Darien: Empire of Salt uses his considerable writing skills and historical knowledge to venture into a genre he has always considered a personal favourite: Fantasy.
Darien is clearly meant to be the first in a series and not a stand-alone. What this means is that the book introduces the reader to people and places that are going to develop over more than one book. The plan at present is for a trilogy.
Whilst Conn’s homage to his hero David Gemmell is clear throughout, this is not a typical medieval-esque Fantasy. Admittedly Darien is a city in a world with a long and rich history, some of which we read of here, and many of the residents of the city live a harsh peasant-like existence, it is a world more akin to the global Empire building of the Mercantile Era, c16-18th century, than most traditional Fantasy novels. This is also shown by presence of guns in this world, something more akin to Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere worlds or even Gemmell’s Jon Shannow than, say, Game of Thrones. It is a violent and treacherous place filled with warriors, spies, magicians and mercenaries.
In terms of the characters, it is clear that the author is not lacking in ambition in the scale of this book, although the book mainly concerns itself with six main characters. Elias Post is a hunter with a secret who encounters and reluctantly allies with Vic Deeds, a young mercenary killer for hire. Tellius is an old swordsman and rather Fagin-like character who meets Arthur, a boy brought to Tellius’ notice that has an special skill that will be central to the story. Thirdly, Daw Threefold is a chancer and gambler rather down on his luck, who meets Nancy, a girl whose talent might be the undoing of them all.
Conn wisely sticks to the majority of the book centred around these three groups of characters, although there are others who weave in and out of the narrative, and will no doubt become more or less important at various points of the series. This creates the feeling that we’re in for a long and immersive plot here, of which Darien is merely the introduction to other events. The slight disadvantage of this is that much of the first part of the book is about meeting new characters and setting up their individual backstories and reasons for being in the plot, but it is worth persevering through the first half to the latter section.
It is in the second part of the book where the pace steps up a gear as these characters begin to connect together and affect each other. In the city of Darien, the perspective widens so that the politics of the Empire becomes paramount. The geopolitical situation is that there are twelve families ruling under a King, creating a complex political environment which though briefly glimpsed, seems reminiscent of Queen Elizabeth’s court or the Borgias. The King himself is a weak one, placed there by the leading Family for presentation purposes rather than actual leadership, which means that the lesser Families are manoeuvring for new positions of power. As a result, a plot is hatched which leads to an assassination attempt on King Johannes and events that usher in an impressively fast and rather violent last part of the book.
In short, Darien is a solidly old-school Fantasy novel, strong on character, in which readers can immerse themselves. As you might expect from an experienced author, it is well-done. It is not as broad and as complex, as say, Game of Thrones, but it brings enough new ideas to the table to ensure that the novel the maintains a reader’s interest, with enough characters to keep a genre fan happy and enough action to make the initial lengthy exposition bearable. Most readers will want to continue to read more in this series.
Known as a writer of historical fiction, Conn Iggulden tries his hand with fantasy - and comes up with a great introduction to a world full of wonders. A hunter with an uncanny knack. A thief who knows where an ancient, impenetrable tomb lies. An old man teaching forbidden fighting skills to a group of street waifs. A young woman who knows magic is a fake, ‘cos it’s never ever worked when she’s been there. A young boy who can mimic anything he sees.
Full review on my blog.
Full review on my blog.
This review was originally posted on StrupagIn the past I've very much enjoyed Conn Iggulden's works of historical fiction - his Emperor series being one that really captivated me. So upon hearing that Iggulden would be releasing his first work of fantasy, Darien, (under the name C.F. Iggulden) I knew I had to read it!
Darien is the city around which most of this novel revolves. Headed by a King and twelve families, Darien is a city of power, where those that crave it use whatever means to attain or retain it.
I'm not going to go into the detail of this novel; the synopsis above tells you all I think you need to know. What I will say is that we are introduced to some very interesting characters in this book, each of whom have their own stories, skills and motivations. Although there are many characters in this novel, Iggulden (in my opinion) does them all justice. I always admire this skill in a writer - the ability to introduce depth of character in many characters without overwhelming the reader.
I really enjoyed how the author has drawn upon his great historical knowledge to help to build this world, add the details and merge fact with fantasy.
I became thoroughly swept up in the story, remembering just how much I've always enjoyed Iggulden's writing. As for the fantasy aspect? Well, I love it! It's hard to describe fantasy as realistic but the building of the world and the characters, if not the magic element itself, make it so.
In short - I'm eager for book two!
Darien is the city around which most of this novel revolves. Headed by a King and twelve families, Darien is a city of power, where those that crave it use whatever means to attain or retain it.
I'm not going to go into the detail of this novel; the synopsis above tells you all I think you need to know. What I will say is that we are introduced to some very interesting characters in this book, each of whom have their own stories, skills and motivations. Although there are many characters in this novel, Iggulden (in my opinion) does them all justice. I always admire this skill in a writer - the ability to introduce depth of character in many characters without overwhelming the reader.
I really enjoyed how the author has drawn upon his great historical knowledge to help to build this world, add the details and merge fact with fantasy.
I became thoroughly swept up in the story, remembering just how much I've always enjoyed Iggulden's writing. As for the fantasy aspect? Well, I love it! It's hard to describe fantasy as realistic but the building of the world and the characters, if not the magic element itself, make it so.
In short - I'm eager for book two!