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patremagne's review against another edition
4.0
Better than I expected and better than the ratings make it seem.
http://abitterdraft.com/2014/04/the-barrow-by-mark-smylie.html
At first glance at the cover and blurb for Mark Smylie’s prose debut The Barrow, you’ll notice that something sets it apart from a significant portion of recent fantasy. There are no warring states, no fight for the throne. There is no greater evil or battle between light and dark. The Barrow, at its heart, is a treasure hunt – an adventure. Sure, it’s got fae and curses, a band of anti-heroes, and a very Dungeons and Dragons-esque feel, but didn’t feel like the kind of bland story you might expect.
Stjepan Black-Heart and his crew have found a map that will supposedly lead them to an ancient barrow, where they hope to find an equally ancient sword worth an unimaginable sum of money. Among Black-Heart’s crew are Erim, a woman disguised as a man, a very sly brothel owned by the name of Gilgwyr, the archetypal mad magician Leigh, mercenary and all-around bastard Godewyn Red-Hand, and the Orwain siblings Arduin and Annwyn, whose family’s reputation lies in ruins thanks to the latter’s scandal. The characters all fill their roles remarkably well for what they are, though several of them aren’t what they seem as is revealed by the politicking and continually unexpected twists that Smylie has created. They weren’t necessarily characters to write home about, but they fit the story.
Though the nicknames like Black-Heart and Red-Hand are pulpy and stereotypical, they’re part of an incredibly detailed world. The Barrow contains one of the most well-drawn and vivid worlds that I’ve read recently, though it wasn’t without its issues. Sometimes the story was bogged down by superfluous names. As soon as I began the prologue, names were dropped left and right – “War of the Throne Thief”, “The Sun Court”, you get the picture. Everything has a name. The bakery that a character briefly stopped at? Name. Any book the mad magician or Black-Heart consult? Name. That tree over there? You bet, it’s got a name. After finishing the prologue, I thought to myself, “Surely this book would benefit from some kind of glossary…” as I flipped to the back of the book and found just that. It was very helpful in understanding the world and its history. I think the previous wars and other historical events were important for the worldbuilding, but the names of stores the gang pass by are irrelevant and do more harm than help.
Skim through the reviews for The Barrow and you’ll see a large division between those who liked it and those who didn’t. In fact, the majority of negative reviews you’ll read come from people who were uncomfortable with the graphic detail of the (very) erotic and bizarre sex scenes. Many also share my feeling that there was a bit too much irrelevant information to digest, but the majority of said poor ratings were based on the over-the-top sex. The thing is, most of the violence and sex served a purpose. Sure, it did get pretty weird, but they weren’t tossed in the book simply for the edginess.
If you like your fantasy dark, your characters darker, and your worlds deep (dark) and full of terrors*, Mark Smylie’s debut The Barrow will have you by the teeth by the end of one of the most exciting prologues I’ve read and it will hold on all the way through the equally impressive finale.
http://abitterdraft.com/2014/04/the-barrow-by-mark-smylie.html
At first glance at the cover and blurb for Mark Smylie’s prose debut The Barrow, you’ll notice that something sets it apart from a significant portion of recent fantasy. There are no warring states, no fight for the throne. There is no greater evil or battle between light and dark. The Barrow, at its heart, is a treasure hunt – an adventure. Sure, it’s got fae and curses, a band of anti-heroes, and a very Dungeons and Dragons-esque feel, but didn’t feel like the kind of bland story you might expect.
Stjepan Black-Heart and his crew have found a map that will supposedly lead them to an ancient barrow, where they hope to find an equally ancient sword worth an unimaginable sum of money. Among Black-Heart’s crew are Erim, a woman disguised as a man, a very sly brothel owned by the name of Gilgwyr, the archetypal mad magician Leigh, mercenary and all-around bastard Godewyn Red-Hand, and the Orwain siblings Arduin and Annwyn, whose family’s reputation lies in ruins thanks to the latter’s scandal. The characters all fill their roles remarkably well for what they are, though several of them aren’t what they seem as is revealed by the politicking and continually unexpected twists that Smylie has created. They weren’t necessarily characters to write home about, but they fit the story.
Though the nicknames like Black-Heart and Red-Hand are pulpy and stereotypical, they’re part of an incredibly detailed world. The Barrow contains one of the most well-drawn and vivid worlds that I’ve read recently, though it wasn’t without its issues. Sometimes the story was bogged down by superfluous names. As soon as I began the prologue, names were dropped left and right – “War of the Throne Thief”, “The Sun Court”, you get the picture. Everything has a name. The bakery that a character briefly stopped at? Name. Any book the mad magician or Black-Heart consult? Name. That tree over there? You bet, it’s got a name. After finishing the prologue, I thought to myself, “Surely this book would benefit from some kind of glossary…” as I flipped to the back of the book and found just that. It was very helpful in understanding the world and its history. I think the previous wars and other historical events were important for the worldbuilding, but the names of stores the gang pass by are irrelevant and do more harm than help.
Skim through the reviews for The Barrow and you’ll see a large division between those who liked it and those who didn’t. In fact, the majority of negative reviews you’ll read come from people who were uncomfortable with the graphic detail of the (very) erotic and bizarre sex scenes. Many also share my feeling that there was a bit too much irrelevant information to digest, but the majority of said poor ratings were based on the over-the-top sex. The thing is, most of the violence and sex served a purpose. Sure, it did get pretty weird, but they weren’t tossed in the book simply for the edginess.
If you like your fantasy dark, your characters darker, and your worlds deep (dark) and full of terrors*, Mark Smylie’s debut The Barrow will have you by the teeth by the end of one of the most exciting prologues I’ve read and it will hold on all the way through the equally impressive finale.
thejosh2099's review against another edition
2.0
This book had some interesting ideas, and then it had some...interesting...ideas.
But it just didn't work for me, which sucks because I had high hopes for this one.
But it just didn't work for me, which sucks because I had high hopes for this one.
meggles15436's review against another edition
3.0
It is honestly hard for me to rate this book. Mainly because I am really not sure how I feel about it. There were aspects I didn't like. All the detail kind of took me out of the story a little bit. Don't get me wrong, detail is never a bad thing when it comes to world building, but this book had some massive information overload. Just when I felt my brain would explode due to all the info, violence and battles would ensue. Which I enjoy anyways, but it was a nice change from drowning in details. The violence is really well done.
The sex is....well it's odd and intriguing. Like a train wreck. You want to look away, but the perverseness of it all make it difficult to do.
I'll most likely reread it at some point, but for now, I neither liked it nor did I hate it.
The sex is....well it's odd and intriguing. Like a train wreck. You want to look away, but the perverseness of it all make it difficult to do.
I'll most likely reread it at some point, but for now, I neither liked it nor did I hate it.
dei2dei's review against another edition
3.0
It was alright. I found the sex overly gratuitous without adding anything to the plot (and poorly written at that). Not in love with it, and frankly I would have enjoyed it more without those badly-written sex scenes.
cupiscent's review against another edition
Setting aside just after 10% in. This book is dense with details - lavish descriptions of the heroes and their caparisons that made Mr Dee ask if this was a romance, endless travel particulars, and when I decided I'd had enough it had just gone on for multiple pages about the many and varied whores available and their relative charms. Just too much stuff, and too much of it quite generic fantasy. Plus the single female character so far is most developed in her sexual insecurities.
rafial's review against another edition
3.0
I was looking forward to this book, since Mark Smylie is unlikely to give us any more Artesia any time soon. Unfortunately I found this book frustrating. The first chapter starts off great with action and adventure and desperate people doing desperate things. But when our protagonists return to Theropolis, it takes a turn for the sordid. I had a tough time getting through the next 100 pages or so, because where Artesia brought a certain gleeful bawdiness to its porny elements, The Barrow is determined to show us how depraved everybody, and explicitly so. It's pretty squicky, and there is some "bordering on rape" stuff that I could well have done without. Once our protags hit the road again for actual questing, we get some time to roll around in the gloriously detailed world building that was one of the hallmarks of Artesia, so that was nice. The end staggers on a bit longer than seems necessary, and there are a few "big reveals" that don't feel really supported by the previous narrative. Overall, while there were elements I really enjoy, I found the book frustrating.
sandra_suarez's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
judd's review
1.0
I wanted to enjoy this step back into the world of Artesia, a series of graphic novels I adore but the gender issues were crazy. In the end, I finished the book just to finish it.
Disappointing.
Disappointing.
bent's review
It's interesting to read all the other reviews of this book because they talk about how violent it is, or how much sex there is, and I quit reading it because of all the boring description. After the opening scene, which basically brings to life the cover of the old Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook, we rejoin the surviving characters as they enter a city. We get a description of several different kinds of boats. We get a description of how the group meets their obligations to the next of kin. We get a description of how taxation works in the city. And at some point I tuned out and stopped reading. If the book had continued as strongly as the prologue, I'd still be reading it, but I can't bring myself to care about all the background to the world of Smylie's people.
readingismetime's review
3.0
This was an interesting adventure. I really enjoyed the action parts of this book. I felt like they could have added more action and less world history while they were traveling. It was an interesting well developed world. I often felt like it was a little over developed. The info dumps of names and historical things were sometimes confusing and to much. There was not any characters I liked, this made it harder to enjoy because I really didn’t care what happened to them. There were also a lot of weirdly placed sexual references/actions, they didn’t seem to really fit or add anything to the story other than shock factor.