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A review by barb4ry1
The Way Into Chaos by Harry Connolly
3.0
Actual rating: 3.5 / 5
Fire and Fury, this book left me with mixed feelings. The Way into Chaos participates in SPFBO 2017 contest and it’s just made it to the finals as the Ventureadlaxre choice. The book was founded through Kickstarter campaign and is part one of already finished epic fantasy trilogy about a supernatural invasion that destroys an empire.
It was marketed as “fantasy adventure without the dull bits” and “non-grimdark”. While I’m not sure about lack of the dull bits, I agree it was a nice relief from unnecessary violent and gritty books that seem to dominate fantasy market these days. This is not to say the book lacks violence; it’s just while that the characters main motivation and driving force is to do good.
The city of Peradain is the heart of an empire until, in a single day, it falls, overthrown by a swarm of supernatural creatures of incredible power and ferocity. Neither soldier nor spell casters can stand against them.
The empire's armies are crushed, its people scattered, its king and queen killed. As the creatures spread across the land, people discover they are not prepared to face the enemy that destroyed an empire.
The story is told from two radically different POV protagonists: Tyr Tejohn Treygar and Cazia Freewell. Tejohn is a short-sighted and grumpy old male soldier skilled in killing, and Cazia is a frustrated young female magician and a political hostage in the royal palace.
The choice of narration is good as it gives us a possibility to experience the action from wildly different perspectives.
World building is done, mostly, well. The societies, religion, and beliefs presented in the book are interesting and varied. In the beginning of the lecture, it may be a problem as we start out with not much in the way of familiar settings or tropes. I felt a bit lost and it took me some time to start feeling immersed in the world. As the book progresses, we learn more about the nature of The Way and magic in general. These revelations are well handled and help to build the tension.
The characters are a bit problematic to me. There’s a bunch of them and I think that author managed to give each of them personality. On the other hand, for most of the book, I didn’t care about POV characters at all. It changed around 80% of the ebook version, rather late if you ask me.
As a result, even though the pacing was fast and stakes were high, I wasn’t fully invested in the story. It is important to notice, there’s nothing wrong with these characters – they are complex and get some interesting growth. It’s just I can’t fully connect with them and that’s my main issue with this book. Having said that, I admit that in the end Cazia becomes interesting and she may transform in engaging heroine in the sequel.
Side-characters are a different matter entirely. Ivy rocks. I would gladly read a book told from this fierce and formidable twelve-year-old perspective. She rocks, guys. And she’s not the only one to shine. Arla Grimfield, a scout in her mid-forties, is not the one to mess with. Also, her backstory was interesting.
While the book doesn’t contain too graphic scenes of violence, the body count is considerable. People die. Blood is spilled. Monsters explode in the fire. Don’t expect this book to be uplifting. When it serves the plot, violent things happen, but I think none of the few brutal scenes pictured in the book is over the top. I appreciate that horror can be shown without overwhelming a reader with hectoliters of blood and viscera. Additionally, there’s no foul language in the book. Characters have their own swear words, for example “Fire and Fury”. I find it cool.
As you see I gave the book 3.5 stars. It means I consider it a good book but not everything worked for me. I must admit that the ending was so engrossing that I wanted to give it four stars. But it would be unfair to other books I judge. Emotions aside and after cold analysis of my updates and level of engagement throughout the story, it’s a fair rating.
Because for most of the story I didn’t really connect with two POV’s I wasn’t really invested in it. The stakes were high and some ideas to torment heroes were great, but without strong emotional bond with characters, it’s hard to fully appreciate plot and twists. The other thing is, it took me close to 43 % of the ebook to start to feel immersed in the world and another 30 % to start to care for protagonist. A bit too long. The last gripe - it’s not meant to be read as a standalone. I think this book should be approached as the beginning of longer epic story that serves as long introduction to the world and characters.
On the other hand, upon finishing the book, I think it’s quite innovative fantasy adventure that features varied characters who try to salvage humanity in the face of crazy odds. If you’ll feel a connection with characters faster than me, you’ll enjoy the ride.
Side note: I planned to listen to this book but, while audiobook is narrated well, I prefer the written word. Therefore I listened to it to about 15% and then switched to ebook.
Edit: There's a fun interview with Harry Connelly on The Nerd Book Review Podbean - check it out
Fire and Fury, this book left me with mixed feelings. The Way into Chaos participates in SPFBO 2017 contest and it’s just made it to the finals as the Ventureadlaxre choice. The book was founded through Kickstarter campaign and is part one of already finished epic fantasy trilogy about a supernatural invasion that destroys an empire.
It was marketed as “fantasy adventure without the dull bits” and “non-grimdark”. While I’m not sure about lack of the dull bits, I agree it was a nice relief from unnecessary violent and gritty books that seem to dominate fantasy market these days. This is not to say the book lacks violence; it’s just while that the characters main motivation and driving force is to do good.
The city of Peradain is the heart of an empire until, in a single day, it falls, overthrown by a swarm of supernatural creatures of incredible power and ferocity. Neither soldier nor spell casters can stand against them.
The empire's armies are crushed, its people scattered, its king and queen killed. As the creatures spread across the land, people discover they are not prepared to face the enemy that destroyed an empire.
The story is told from two radically different POV protagonists: Tyr Tejohn Treygar and Cazia Freewell. Tejohn is a short-sighted and grumpy old male soldier skilled in killing, and Cazia is a frustrated young female magician and a political hostage in the royal palace.
The choice of narration is good as it gives us a possibility to experience the action from wildly different perspectives.
World building is done, mostly, well. The societies, religion, and beliefs presented in the book are interesting and varied. In the beginning of the lecture, it may be a problem as we start out with not much in the way of familiar settings or tropes. I felt a bit lost and it took me some time to start feeling immersed in the world. As the book progresses, we learn more about the nature of The Way and magic in general. These revelations are well handled and help to build the tension.
The characters are a bit problematic to me. There’s a bunch of them and I think that author managed to give each of them personality. On the other hand, for most of the book, I didn’t care about POV characters at all. It changed around 80% of the ebook version, rather late if you ask me.
As a result, even though the pacing was fast and stakes were high, I wasn’t fully invested in the story. It is important to notice, there’s nothing wrong with these characters – they are complex and get some interesting growth. It’s just I can’t fully connect with them and that’s my main issue with this book. Having said that, I admit that in the end Cazia becomes interesting and she may transform in engaging heroine in the sequel.
Side-characters are a different matter entirely. Ivy rocks. I would gladly read a book told from this fierce and formidable twelve-year-old perspective. She rocks, guys. And she’s not the only one to shine. Arla Grimfield, a scout in her mid-forties, is not the one to mess with. Also, her backstory was interesting.
While the book doesn’t contain too graphic scenes of violence, the body count is considerable. People die. Blood is spilled. Monsters explode in the fire. Don’t expect this book to be uplifting. When it serves the plot, violent things happen, but I think none of the few brutal scenes pictured in the book is over the top. I appreciate that horror can be shown without overwhelming a reader with hectoliters of blood and viscera. Additionally, there’s no foul language in the book. Characters have their own swear words, for example “Fire and Fury”. I find it cool.
As you see I gave the book 3.5 stars. It means I consider it a good book but not everything worked for me. I must admit that the ending was so engrossing that I wanted to give it four stars. But it would be unfair to other books I judge. Emotions aside and after cold analysis of my updates and level of engagement throughout the story, it’s a fair rating.
Because for most of the story I didn’t really connect with two POV’s I wasn’t really invested in it. The stakes were high and some ideas to torment heroes were great, but without strong emotional bond with characters, it’s hard to fully appreciate plot and twists. The other thing is, it took me close to 43 % of the ebook to start to feel immersed in the world and another 30 % to start to care for protagonist. A bit too long. The last gripe - it’s not meant to be read as a standalone. I think this book should be approached as the beginning of longer epic story that serves as long introduction to the world and characters.
On the other hand, upon finishing the book, I think it’s quite innovative fantasy adventure that features varied characters who try to salvage humanity in the face of crazy odds. If you’ll feel a connection with characters faster than me, you’ll enjoy the ride.
Side note: I planned to listen to this book but, while audiobook is narrated well, I prefer the written word. Therefore I listened to it to about 15% and then switched to ebook.
Edit: There's a fun interview with Harry Connelly on The Nerd Book Review Podbean - check it out