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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Torture, Violence
Moderate: Confinement
A collection of four short stories about a fantasy land called Khaim that's being slowly brought low by a deadly bramble that is fed by the magic abused by the people of the land.
While the premise itself is lovely I found four unrelated short stories weren't enough to quench my desire to know more about this land. Wish it was a full on book instead.
While the premise itself is lovely I found four unrelated short stories weren't enough to quench my desire to know more about this land. Wish it was a full on book instead.
This review first appeared on my blog.text
The Tangled Lands is made up of four distinct short stories, tied together by a common land and a common problem. Calling The Tangled Lands a novel is a bit misleading and left me somewhat disappointed in the end result. The four stories are loosely tied together by place and problem, but not character. Each story has distinct characters, and while each story was very good, the overall novel doesn't seem to have accomplished much. At the end of the book, I was a little let down. Each story contained loss and victories, but those losses and victories didn't seem to add up to a cumulative effect.
My issue with the structure aside, the stories were well written and fit together thematically and in style.
The idea of an environmental effect from the use of magic is an interesting metaphor for energy usage in the world today. The use of magic creates bramble infestations in the world, and bramble is a nasty, murderous plant that kills those that it touches. Small magics hinder larger magics because the effect is compounded. This is a thoughtful and powerful comparison to using energy that doesn't come from "clean" sources. The more we use "unclean" energy, the more damage we do to our environment and eventually what we're left with will be deadly and have a devastating effect on our world.
I received an eARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
The Tangled Lands is made up of four distinct short stories, tied together by a common land and a common problem. Calling The Tangled Lands a novel is a bit misleading and left me somewhat disappointed in the end result. The four stories are loosely tied together by place and problem, but not character. Each story has distinct characters, and while each story was very good, the overall novel doesn't seem to have accomplished much. At the end of the book, I was a little let down. Each story contained loss and victories, but those losses and victories didn't seem to add up to a cumulative effect.
My issue with the structure aside, the stories were well written and fit together thematically and in style.
The idea of an environmental effect from the use of magic is an interesting metaphor for energy usage in the world today. The use of magic creates bramble infestations in the world, and bramble is a nasty, murderous plant that kills those that it touches. Small magics hinder larger magics because the effect is compounded. This is a thoughtful and powerful comparison to using energy that doesn't come from "clean" sources. The more we use "unclean" energy, the more damage we do to our environment and eventually what we're left with will be deadly and have a devastating effect on our world.
I received an eARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
The land of Khaim, where magic use causes brambles to grow. Not just *any* brambles, but those that FEED on the magic, and follow it to it's source. Almost sentient - and absolutely deadly. The people know this...and yet. It's all to easy to do "just a little" to help heal a child. Or "it'll be ok" to help a business flourish. It's always "just fine" - until the brambles make their way closer and closer, taking over home and hearth, and killing entire cities.
These four stories, alternating between the two authors, are all excellent. They are interesting, with wonderfully written characters - and each shines a different light upon the problem of magic use causing the brambles. Each story has its own ending, but with all four of them on the same topic, they easily bleed right into the next one. You really won't want to stop reading.
I do hope that there will be more stories to come from Khaim - there are a couple that ended in which I would love to have some follow-up on the characters and what ended up happening AFTER. Will there ever be an answer to the all-or-nothing problem of the magic and the deadly thorns? Or will the people of that land simply continue to do as they have done, until one day, the world is nothing but the deathly plant?
Honestly, it was initially the cover that drew me. However, in this case, come for the cover - stay for the stories.
These four stories, alternating between the two authors, are all excellent. They are interesting, with wonderfully written characters - and each shines a different light upon the problem of magic use causing the brambles. Each story has its own ending, but with all four of them on the same topic, they easily bleed right into the next one. You really won't want to stop reading.
I do hope that there will be more stories to come from Khaim - there are a couple that ended in which I would love to have some follow-up on the characters and what ended up happening AFTER. Will there ever be an answer to the all-or-nothing problem of the magic and the deadly thorns? Or will the people of that land simply continue to do as they have done, until one day, the world is nothing but the deathly plant?
Honestly, it was initially the cover that drew me. However, in this case, come for the cover - stay for the stories.
2.5 stars. I couldn't finish the last story, I'm just not invested.
Disclaimer: I received this book free from Netgalley in return for an un-biased review.
Before now, I’ve never been a fan of short stories. I think that’s a holdover from my high school days. I loved nothing more than getting a nice big novel to read in English class. I was so sad when we, in my opinion, wasted time on an anthology of short stories. Ugh. Disappointment! I want a real book! A Tale of Two Cities! Pride and Prejudice! … wait … no … no, Hemmingway … I take it back, Mr. Cheney!
That aversion to the short story started to change when I picked up a book by Alice Munro. Who knew short stories could be so engrossing and meaningful? Then, a couple of months ago I was approved to be a First Reader for a Sci-fi/Fantasy E-zine called Deep Magic. This means I, as part of a crack story reading team, read TONS of short story submissions and pass the best of the best along to the editors for hopeful acceptance into the magazine. All of this means I’ve learnedto be less prejudiced against the short story genre. Thank goodness, because if not then I’d have missed this little book entirely!
The Tangled Lands is a set of 4 short stories, all of them set in one fantasy world. They are written by two separate authors, but they suit one another perfectly. Khaim is a kingdom in a world that has suffered an immense ecological disaster. In the past, Magic was discovered and used with wild abandon, providing wealth and health to it’s many inhabitants. However, overuse has created an imbalance. Now the slightest use of magic, which people have come to rely on for daily life, causes a poisonous hedge called “Bramble” to spring up everywhere. A person who touches it slips slowly into a coma/deathlike trance. They can never wake up from it. The stuff is insidious and deadly.
So just stop using magic right? Look around us. How easy is it in our own world to convince people of the importance of taking care of the environment? If doing so means less money or power to the rich and powerful then how easily do they abandon it’s use? We all know the answer to that question. It’s no different in Khaim. These stories, however, introduce us to a few unassuming characters of humble origin, these few people are going to make a difference. Women and children as agents of change figure heavily in these stories. You know that makes me happy right!
I enjoyed everything about this book, except it’s length. I wish it could have gone on much longer!! I hope that everyone who reads this review, and loves fantasy will buy this book. Please, give these two authors reason to write another, longer book in this fascinating world. Until then, I’m definitely looking up some of their backlist. I enjoyed their style and look forward to reading more from both of them.
Song for this book: Sign of the Times – Harry Styles
Before now, I’ve never been a fan of short stories. I think that’s a holdover from my high school days. I loved nothing more than getting a nice big novel to read in English class. I was so sad when we, in my opinion, wasted time on an anthology of short stories. Ugh. Disappointment! I want a real book! A Tale of Two Cities! Pride and Prejudice! … wait … no … no, Hemmingway … I take it back, Mr. Cheney!
That aversion to the short story started to change when I picked up a book by Alice Munro. Who knew short stories could be so engrossing and meaningful? Then, a couple of months ago I was approved to be a First Reader for a Sci-fi/Fantasy E-zine called Deep Magic. This means I, as part of a crack story reading team, read TONS of short story submissions and pass the best of the best along to the editors for hopeful acceptance into the magazine. All of this means I’ve learnedto be less prejudiced against the short story genre. Thank goodness, because if not then I’d have missed this little book entirely!
The Tangled Lands is a set of 4 short stories, all of them set in one fantasy world. They are written by two separate authors, but they suit one another perfectly. Khaim is a kingdom in a world that has suffered an immense ecological disaster. In the past, Magic was discovered and used with wild abandon, providing wealth and health to it’s many inhabitants. However, overuse has created an imbalance. Now the slightest use of magic, which people have come to rely on for daily life, causes a poisonous hedge called “Bramble” to spring up everywhere. A person who touches it slips slowly into a coma/deathlike trance. They can never wake up from it. The stuff is insidious and deadly.
So just stop using magic right? Look around us. How easy is it in our own world to convince people of the importance of taking care of the environment? If doing so means less money or power to the rich and powerful then how easily do they abandon it’s use? We all know the answer to that question. It’s no different in Khaim. These stories, however, introduce us to a few unassuming characters of humble origin, these few people are going to make a difference. Women and children as agents of change figure heavily in these stories. You know that makes me happy right!
I enjoyed everything about this book, except it’s length. I wish it could have gone on much longer!! I hope that everyone who reads this review, and loves fantasy will buy this book. Please, give these two authors reason to write another, longer book in this fascinating world. Until then, I’m definitely looking up some of their backlist. I enjoyed their style and look forward to reading more from both of them.
Song for this book: Sign of the Times – Harry Styles
Read as an eARC from Netgalley
This collection of four novellas surprised me in a few ways. I am a fan of stories about cities, the people who inhabit them, and the way one's evolution influences the other's. Khaim, the Blue City, has been afflicted by bramble that sprouts from overuse of magic and leaves people who get too close in a comatose state.
The Alchemist tells the story of the man who invented a device that could destroy bramble, but his good intentions are twisted for corrupt ends. I loved the introduction to the world of Khaim and the special attention on bramble and its debilitating effects. The dynamics of magic in this world became fully grounded as a solid foundation for the tales to come.
The Executionness introduces us to the world around Khaim, how the cities around aren't even safer, only on the surface. The executionness ran away with her axe to the nearby city of Paika. There was such a breadth of world woven throughout a personal story. One of my favorite motifs in SFF are women who have nothing to lose who get things done.
The Children of Khaim gorgeously highlights consequences. A young man tries to find his sister who succumbed to "bramble sleep." He tries to save her, but magic had gone overused for so long, especially by the elite, that it has unpredictable results.
The Blacksmith's Daughter was my favorite sequence. Stories of personal rebellion really work for me and she tries so hard to save her lifestyle and family. It was moving, but I'm not sure it was the story to end the book on. It would have been nice to have a tie-in with the first story, which had also been about family.
That being said, the authors did a great job of weaving contemporary dialogue around environmentalism and clean energy. While I wish the book had more of a resolution, it serves as a great parallel that these complex problems don't necessarily have a resolution.
This collection of four novellas surprised me in a few ways. I am a fan of stories about cities, the people who inhabit them, and the way one's evolution influences the other's. Khaim, the Blue City, has been afflicted by bramble that sprouts from overuse of magic and leaves people who get too close in a comatose state.
The Alchemist tells the story of the man who invented a device that could destroy bramble, but his good intentions are twisted for corrupt ends. I loved the introduction to the world of Khaim and the special attention on bramble and its debilitating effects. The dynamics of magic in this world became fully grounded as a solid foundation for the tales to come.
The Executionness introduces us to the world around Khaim, how the cities around aren't even safer, only on the surface. The executionness ran away with her axe to the nearby city of Paika. There was such a breadth of world woven throughout a personal story. One of my favorite motifs in SFF are women who have nothing to lose who get things done.
The Children of Khaim gorgeously highlights consequences. A young man tries to find his sister who succumbed to "bramble sleep." He tries to save her, but magic had gone overused for so long, especially by the elite, that it has unpredictable results.
The Blacksmith's Daughter was my favorite sequence. Stories of personal rebellion really work for me and she tries so hard to save her lifestyle and family. It was moving, but I'm not sure it was the story to end the book on. It would have been nice to have a tie-in with the first story, which had also been about family.
That being said, the authors did a great job of weaving contemporary dialogue around environmentalism and clean energy. While I wish the book had more of a resolution, it serves as a great parallel that these complex problems don't necessarily have a resolution.
Started off with an interesting concept but I found my interest waning as I went along.
I received a copy of this book for review from Wunderkind PR. All opinions are my own.
3ish stars overall. I'm not sure why it took so long for me to get back to this for review... Probably because I felt fairly neutral about it.
Here's the star break-down for each novella:
The Alchemist: 3 stars. This was my introduction to this world and the city of Khaim. I found the concept of the magic to be interesting, as well as the political machinations that we learned about. Though I liked the ideas, I didn't feel any emotional investment, and didn't feel anything for the characters themselves.
The Executioness: 3.5 stars. I think I'm a sucker for stories with a female protagonist... At least for this collection of novellas. I found it interesting how this character progressed and gained her reputation. I think that if there was a follow up to this novella I would definitely want to read it.
The Children of Khaim: 2 stars. In my opinion, this one was just depressing. I didn't have any other thoughts.
The Blacksmith's Daughter: 4 stars. This was my favorite of the collection! I thought that it had the most compelling plot, and provided a different perspective on the goings-on in Khaim. I also love the whole "family trade/learning a trade" thing. This was the story with the most satisfying ending.
3ish stars overall. I'm not sure why it took so long for me to get back to this for review... Probably because I felt fairly neutral about it.
Here's the star break-down for each novella:
The Alchemist: 3 stars. This was my introduction to this world and the city of Khaim. I found the concept of the magic to be interesting, as well as the political machinations that we learned about. Though I liked the ideas, I didn't feel any emotional investment, and didn't feel anything for the characters themselves.
The Executioness: 3.5 stars. I think I'm a sucker for stories with a female protagonist... At least for this collection of novellas. I found it interesting how this character progressed and gained her reputation. I think that if there was a follow up to this novella I would definitely want to read it.
The Children of Khaim: 2 stars. In my opinion, this one was just depressing. I didn't have any other thoughts.
The Blacksmith's Daughter: 4 stars. This was my favorite of the collection! I thought that it had the most compelling plot, and provided a different perspective on the goings-on in Khaim. I also love the whole "family trade/learning a trade" thing. This was the story with the most satisfying ending.
I went back and forth between 3 and 4 stars for this one. The idea behind the work is very interesting and the reason I picked up the book. A fantasy setting where every bit of magic creates bramble - a deadly plant that in time drowns cities, erases roads and civilizations. Small spells creates ease and comfort. Bones are mended, coughs eased. But with every small spell the bramble moves in closer, creating waves of refugees coming towards less affected cities. But the refugees bring their small magic, and the bramble, with them.
In these times we live in where we are starting to get a real taste of what climate change does to our planet, I thought this was an interesting analogy. Would the book ask questions about guilt, about the role of the poor and the rich? About what we have to give up to save ourselves?
Ultimately it falls short. It’s not really one story but four. I was disappointed to discover that these stories did not intertwine, nor did any of the three last stories end with any change to this world created by the authors. The bramble, the suffering cities, the tyranny of the powerful using big magic while quashing the use of magic by anyone else - it all served as a backdrop to these stories. The authors set a scene.
When I was at the middle of the last story I started to realize that there would be no payoff. All the possibility of this world and there wouldn’t be an attempt to tell a story wider than a snippet of the lives of the four main characters. That’s was a disappointment. Especially considering the plot description on my edition talked about a possible uprising. Something that didn’t actually happen. While I never take too much heed of summaries, it suggests to me that it was hard to find a fitting summary for a book that ultimately leads nowhere.
So I end up giving it 3 (3,5).
In these times we live in where we are starting to get a real taste of what climate change does to our planet, I thought this was an interesting analogy. Would the book ask questions about guilt, about the role of the poor and the rich? About what we have to give up to save ourselves?
Ultimately it falls short. It’s not really one story but four. I was disappointed to discover that these stories did not intertwine, nor did any of the three last stories end with any change to this world created by the authors. The bramble, the suffering cities, the tyranny of the powerful using big magic while quashing the use of magic by anyone else - it all served as a backdrop to these stories. The authors set a scene.
When I was at the middle of the last story I started to realize that there would be no payoff. All the possibility of this world and there wouldn’t be an attempt to tell a story wider than a snippet of the lives of the four main characters. That’s was a disappointment. Especially considering the plot description on my edition talked about a possible uprising. Something that didn’t actually happen. While I never take too much heed of summaries, it suggests to me that it was hard to find a fitting summary for a book that ultimately leads nowhere.
So I end up giving it 3 (3,5).