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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Anthony Ryan’s Blood song is hardly a new idea in the world of fantasy. We follow a young battle lord’s son as he trains to be a warrior along with a group of boys from various different backgrounds at different parts of the social spectrum. I can name a handful of similarly themed novels just from my own personal collection. Blood Song offers something different though – I don’t know if it’s the way it’s set out, meeting Vaelin Al Sorna as a grown man and then hearing him tell his own story (though we get this in the third person), but it just works well.
The book is written as a history of the main character, so although there are various instances where we jump forward in time to achieve it, we only see the important (or interesting) scenes. Covering a number of years in one book still allows us to get to know our characters and become invested in the novel itself and from the start Blood Song is written with a fluid pace that makes the pages turn so easily. This was a welcome read after a sequence of disappointments and I can’t wait for the next instalment.
The book is written as a history of the main character, so although there are various instances where we jump forward in time to achieve it, we only see the important (or interesting) scenes. Covering a number of years in one book still allows us to get to know our characters and become invested in the novel itself and from the start Blood Song is written with a fluid pace that makes the pages turn so easily. This was a welcome read after a sequence of disappointments and I can’t wait for the next instalment.
Very good pacing to this book, though sometimes the time jumps threw me off. I'm really looking forward to the next book in this series!
This is a challenging and frustrating book to review. The first half or so is a compelling, quick reading piece that propels the story and its main character forward. It's worth four stars. But the second half really struggles for a variety of reasons.
The comparison has been made to Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles. Certainly shades of that can be seen in the first half of the book, but the comparison only serves to highlight the shortcomings of the book (even the best part of the book). Where the characters in Rothfuss's work are clear and vibrant -- almost every character memorable and distinct -- the characters in this book blend together, often acting more for service of the plot than as distinct entities.
If the first half enjoyably aspires more to Rothfuss without quite getting there, the second half aspires more to Abercrombie and falls well short. The protagonist goes from being a skilled, inquisitive individual to one who seems numb to everything, sleep walking through the pages.
The latter part of the book isn't helped by jumps in time and location that are only partially explained, with the intervening period vaguely hinted at. Even chapter headings with a location and a time ("4 years later") would have been appreciated. It's often explained in the chapter ("It had been 4 years since..."), but that means I was frequently grasping for context until I received it, distracting from whatever was actually happening.
Without revealing anything, the final portion of the book was more satisfying, but by then the damage had been done.
Like Name of the Wind, this book takes place vaguely as a retelling of a life's story, though it's told in third person and we're led to believe that the story we're getting and the story being related in the interludes are quite different. These chapters largely work to provide a structure for the story. As an aside, I should say it's really quite annoying to read an entire chapter's worth of text in italics. Just tell us it's the interlude, I promise I'll understand.
Between the four star first half, two star second portion and decent ending chapters, this gets three stars, but it's a frustrated three: it showed a lot of promise that wasn't carried through.
The comparison has been made to Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles. Certainly shades of that can be seen in the first half of the book, but the comparison only serves to highlight the shortcomings of the book (even the best part of the book). Where the characters in Rothfuss's work are clear and vibrant -- almost every character memorable and distinct -- the characters in this book blend together, often acting more for service of the plot than as distinct entities.
If the first half enjoyably aspires more to Rothfuss without quite getting there, the second half aspires more to Abercrombie and falls well short. The protagonist goes from being a skilled, inquisitive individual to one who seems numb to everything, sleep walking through the pages.
The latter part of the book isn't helped by jumps in time and location that are only partially explained, with the intervening period vaguely hinted at. Even chapter headings with a location and a time ("4 years later") would have been appreciated. It's often explained in the chapter ("It had been 4 years since..."), but that means I was frequently grasping for context until I received it, distracting from whatever was actually happening.
Without revealing anything, the final portion of the book was more satisfying, but by then the damage had been done.
Like Name of the Wind, this book takes place vaguely as a retelling of a life's story, though it's told in third person and we're led to believe that the story we're getting and the story being related in the interludes are quite different. These chapters largely work to provide a structure for the story. As an aside, I should say it's really quite annoying to read an entire chapter's worth of text in italics. Just tell us it's the interlude, I promise I'll understand.
Between the four star first half, two star second portion and decent ending chapters, this gets three stars, but it's a frustrated three: it showed a lot of promise that wasn't carried through.
Vaelin Al Sorna. Brother of the Sixth Order, Sword of the Unified Realm, Lord Marshal of the Thirty Fifth Regiment of Foot has inspired fear instead of Loyalty. Usually, I would admire a hero who inspires his men using the latter, but to command men and order them to bid to your liking, now there's an allure to that kind of influence.
Vaelin is both hated and loved by either of his foes or friends. Loyalty lies with his brothers from the Sixth Order, as much as hatred from his enemies, which he earned from serving King Janus. Vaelin, is honorable in his own way, to the point of stupidity. I was annoyed at him not once, or twice but a couple of times. If he could have been less honorable, he could have walked away, he could've had a life outside the war and bloodshed, he could've had the chance to be with his sister or could've had a long shot with Sherin, but then I won't be reading this book if it would be that lame. The upside part of this book was having his brothers, Caenis, Nortah et.al., and there's Frentis. With his brothers, Vaelin is close to being more human than he usually is (in terms of being at war, at least).
Vaelin is a complex character, torn between his heart's own desire, his honor and his duty to the realm. A perfect example of a hero who could never have what he wants, his life no longer his own. As early as book one, I can sense that this series won't end to a joyful conclusion (based on the reviews of the succeeding books). A kind of hero told in fairy tales is a far cry to the kind of hero Vaelin is. Heroes suffer, often selfless, always tormented. I am betting there is no happy ending in this series, but I have a strong feeling, Vaelin's story is worth being told regardless how it ends and I wish one day to have his story in film.
I love how Anthony Ryan wrote the timeline, jumping from the past to the present, the transition of Vaelin being young and innocent to Vaelin being the feared and hated warrior. Well written and it remained intriguing all throughout Vaelin's journey in book one. The end surprised me and was kinda bittersweet, not really a 'deadly' cliff-hanger but still a cliff-hanger. Rated it one less star for the confusing geography, I'm such a sucker with places, countries and landmarks and Ryan wasn't too kind to the lots like me.
Vaelin is both hated and loved by either of his foes or friends. Loyalty lies with his brothers from the Sixth Order, as much as hatred from his enemies, which he earned from serving King Janus. Vaelin, is honorable in his own way, to the point of stupidity. I was annoyed at him not once, or twice but a couple of times. If he could have been less honorable, he could have walked away, he could've had a life outside the war and bloodshed, he could've had the chance to be with his sister or could've had a long shot with Sherin, but then I won't be reading this book if it would be that lame. The upside part of this book was having his brothers, Caenis, Nortah et.al., and there's Frentis. With his brothers, Vaelin is close to being more human than he usually is (in terms of being at war, at least).
Vaelin is a complex character, torn between his heart's own desire, his honor and his duty to the realm. A perfect example of a hero who could never have what he wants, his life no longer his own. As early as book one, I can sense that this series won't end to a joyful conclusion (based on the reviews of the succeeding books). A kind of hero told in fairy tales is a far cry to the kind of hero Vaelin is. Heroes suffer, often selfless, always tormented. I am betting there is no happy ending in this series, but I have a strong feeling, Vaelin's story is worth being told regardless how it ends and I wish one day to have his story in film.
I love how Anthony Ryan wrote the timeline, jumping from the past to the present, the transition of Vaelin being young and innocent to Vaelin being the feared and hated warrior. Well written and it remained intriguing all throughout Vaelin's journey in book one. The end surprised me and was kinda bittersweet, not really a 'deadly' cliff-hanger but still a cliff-hanger. Rated it one less star for the confusing geography, I'm such a sucker with places, countries and landmarks and Ryan wasn't too kind to the lots like me.
In das Lied des Blutes geht es um den Jungen Vaelin, der von seinem Vater in einen der sechs Orden der Königslande gegeben wird. Im sechsten Orden, demjenigen, der für die Verteidigung des Glaubens zuständig ist, wird er zu einem Krieger ausgebildet.
Sieben Jahre wird er trainiert und muss Prüfungen bestehen, bei denen viele seiner Brüder sterben. Doch ihn leitet ein Gefühl, das ihn selten trügt und bei manchen als Das Lied des Blutes bekannt ist.
Es war sehr spannend, die Ausbildung von Vaelin und seinen Brüdern zu erleben. Es gab viele Gefahren, die die Jungs überstehen müssen. Besonders wichtig für die weitere Handlung war die Praktikumswoche in einem anderen Orden. Wichtige Charaktere werden eingeführt und Geheimnisse angedeutet.
Ryan baut gekonnt seine Welt auf und hat eine Schreibweise, die einen vollkommen in seinen Bann zieht. Bis auf wenige Stellen, die ein kleines Stück kürzer hätten sein können (aber auch nicht sehr viel) finde ich den Auftrakt dieser Trilogie mehr als gelungen!
Sieben Jahre wird er trainiert und muss Prüfungen bestehen, bei denen viele seiner Brüder sterben. Doch ihn leitet ein Gefühl, das ihn selten trügt und bei manchen als Das Lied des Blutes bekannt ist.
Es war sehr spannend, die Ausbildung von Vaelin und seinen Brüdern zu erleben. Es gab viele Gefahren, die die Jungs überstehen müssen. Besonders wichtig für die weitere Handlung war die Praktikumswoche in einem anderen Orden. Wichtige Charaktere werden eingeführt und Geheimnisse angedeutet.
Ryan baut gekonnt seine Welt auf und hat eine Schreibweise, die einen vollkommen in seinen Bann zieht. Bis auf wenige Stellen, die ein kleines Stück kürzer hätten sein können (aber auch nicht sehr viel) finde ich den Auftrakt dieser Trilogie mehr als gelungen!
the font is killing my eyes. Hate it when formatting stops me from reading a book.
I have indifferent feelings about this book. Even sitting here trying to think about how to start this review, I'm indifferent.
This story is supposed to be a "coming of age" tale for Vaelin, on how he got started in the Order, what he went through, and how he came to be the person he is. I can see what Anthony Ryan was trying to do....truly. Unfortunately, Mr. Ryan felt the need to make this book nearly 700 pages worth of it.
Now, I have no issue with a lengthy book, as long as it's paced well. But instead of 700 pages of trials, tribulations, overcoming your past, getting knocked down and back up....we get 700 pages worth of "Vaelin is so awesome" and he never loses at anything. Ever. Seriously. He excels at everything he does. Never fails a single time. At 12 years old he fights off a pack of dogs and men. Grown men and criminals look at him like he's the Pope by the time he's 16. He doesn't even break a sweat. To quote many other reviewers of this book...he's the ultimate Gary-Stu character.
So after a while...it gets old. Page after page you read about Vaelin excelling at things. About winning. About facing pretty much no competition. There is a lot that could have been expanded on, like Vaelins relationship with his dad. Or maybe some of the other side characters backstories (you know, to actually get us to CARE for the side characters). Just because the Mashed Potatoes are a side dish to the main course doesn't mean they can't get some butter on them, am I right?
At the end of the book, I didn't care one iota about any of the side characters, because I had no reason to. I wanted to care about Vaelin, but after trudging through hundreds of pages of being force-fed his awesomeness, I just didn't care anymore, because I knew he would come out of it unscathed.
Oh, lets throw in a generic, white blonde female healer for our hero to fall in love with. Because everyone knows that's the only occupation females can have in a medieval setting..other than being a rape victim.
I'm all in favor of Authors being inspired by others, but this book dances the line a little bit. The 6th Order is almost a complete rip-off of The Nights Watch from George RR Martins A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE (band of criminals with nowhere to go, all wearing black, sworn to protect the realm). And it also heavily steals from Patrick Rothfuss's NAME OF THE WIND. Instead of having a narrator known as "The King Killer", you have a narrator known as "The Hope Killer". Anthony Ryan attempted to pull the same structure as Rothfuss, but it fell completely flat (mainly because, unlike Vaelin, Kvothe actually went through trials where he FAILED and got his ass kicked on a daily basis).
Overall, this was a lengthy book filled with tropes and stereotypes. I'll probably continue the series, because I DO think Anthony Ryan has a lot of potential (and this was his first book, after all). But I just don't think it lived up to the hype that it got.
But hey, at least he had black people in the book....that's something you almost NEVER see in Fantasy these days. So kudos for that, at least.
This story is supposed to be a "coming of age" tale for Vaelin, on how he got started in the Order, what he went through, and how he came to be the person he is. I can see what Anthony Ryan was trying to do....truly. Unfortunately, Mr. Ryan felt the need to make this book nearly 700 pages worth of it.
Now, I have no issue with a lengthy book, as long as it's paced well. But instead of 700 pages of trials, tribulations, overcoming your past, getting knocked down and back up....we get 700 pages worth of "Vaelin is so awesome" and he never loses at anything. Ever. Seriously. He excels at everything he does. Never fails a single time. At 12 years old he fights off a pack of dogs and men. Grown men and criminals look at him like he's the Pope by the time he's 16. He doesn't even break a sweat. To quote many other reviewers of this book...he's the ultimate Gary-Stu character.
So after a while...it gets old. Page after page you read about Vaelin excelling at things. About winning. About facing pretty much no competition. There is a lot that could have been expanded on, like Vaelins relationship with his dad. Or maybe some of the other side characters backstories (you know, to actually get us to CARE for the side characters). Just because the Mashed Potatoes are a side dish to the main course doesn't mean they can't get some butter on them, am I right?
At the end of the book, I didn't care one iota about any of the side characters, because I had no reason to. I wanted to care about Vaelin, but after trudging through hundreds of pages of being force-fed his awesomeness, I just didn't care anymore, because I knew he would come out of it unscathed.
Oh, lets throw in a generic, white blonde female healer for our hero to fall in love with. Because everyone knows that's the only occupation females can have in a medieval setting..other than being a rape victim.
I'm all in favor of Authors being inspired by others, but this book dances the line a little bit. The 6th Order is almost a complete rip-off of The Nights Watch from George RR Martins A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE (band of criminals with nowhere to go, all wearing black, sworn to protect the realm). And it also heavily steals from Patrick Rothfuss's NAME OF THE WIND. Instead of having a narrator known as "The King Killer", you have a narrator known as "The Hope Killer". Anthony Ryan attempted to pull the same structure as Rothfuss, but it fell completely flat (mainly because, unlike Vaelin, Kvothe actually went through trials where he FAILED and got his ass kicked on a daily basis).
Overall, this was a lengthy book filled with tropes and stereotypes. I'll probably continue the series, because I DO think Anthony Ryan has a lot of potential (and this was his first book, after all). But I just don't think it lived up to the hype that it got.
But hey, at least he had black people in the book....that's something you almost NEVER see in Fantasy these days. So kudos for that, at least.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated