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A review by deimosremus
Watchtower by Elizabeth A. Lynn
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
World Fantasy Award Winners— read #8:
With reading all the WFA winners, I’m starting to get less overwhelmed by the first couple of decades. I obviously still have a ways to go, but I only have a couple left in the 70s, and I have the 80s half done with now.
Watchtower was one of the books that was lower on my priority list, if only because the premise sounded as if I wouldn’t be excited by it as much as some others have. But, I found this and The Forgotten Beasts of Eld at a used bookstore for very cheap, and decided to bump it up on the basis that I actually have a physical copy of it. There’s not *a lot* to tie Watchtower to Fantasy in the sense that there’s not much of a presence of supernatural elements to the world that the characters inhabit. It has more in common with the feudalism and politics/tactical discussion that goes on in a novel like Game of Thrones than the epic plotting, creatures and magic of Lord of the Rings. The book’s main mystical element rather comes from a fighting style that is derived of eastern practices, of mixing martial arts with dancing. There’ also a minor element of Tarot influencing the narrative.
The prose is lean and efficient, but not ‘simplistic’. The characters and the world they inhabit are well developed without being too detailed. Perhaps the biggest point of notoriety and acclaim that Watchtower has received however, is that a handful of prominent characters in the book are gay, but the plot is not concerned with this, it’s simply not drawn attention to— instead, it features characters whose sexuality is something that is accepted within this world’s culture, and in essence, features a positive portrayal that neither panders nor condemns. This all said, the plotting is pretty bare, and the latter ⅔ of the novel becomes quite dull and padded, ending on a battle sequence that fails to be intense or terribly exciting.
It’s a fine enough book, but ultimately doesn’t have the lasting power that other WFA reads have possessed.
With reading all the WFA winners, I’m starting to get less overwhelmed by the first couple of decades. I obviously still have a ways to go, but I only have a couple left in the 70s, and I have the 80s half done with now.
Watchtower was one of the books that was lower on my priority list, if only because the premise sounded as if I wouldn’t be excited by it as much as some others have. But, I found this and The Forgotten Beasts of Eld at a used bookstore for very cheap, and decided to bump it up on the basis that I actually have a physical copy of it. There’s not *a lot* to tie Watchtower to Fantasy in the sense that there’s not much of a presence of supernatural elements to the world that the characters inhabit. It has more in common with the feudalism and politics/tactical discussion that goes on in a novel like Game of Thrones than the epic plotting, creatures and magic of Lord of the Rings. The book’s main mystical element rather comes from a fighting style that is derived of eastern practices, of mixing martial arts with dancing. There’ also a minor element of Tarot influencing the narrative.
The prose is lean and efficient, but not ‘simplistic’. The characters and the world they inhabit are well developed without being too detailed. Perhaps the biggest point of notoriety and acclaim that Watchtower has received however, is that a handful of prominent characters in the book are gay, but the plot is not concerned with this, it’s simply not drawn attention to— instead, it features characters whose sexuality is something that is accepted within this world’s culture, and in essence, features a positive portrayal that neither panders nor condemns. This all said, the plotting is pretty bare, and the latter ⅔ of the novel becomes quite dull and padded, ending on a battle sequence that fails to be intense or terribly exciting.
It’s a fine enough book, but ultimately doesn’t have the lasting power that other WFA reads have possessed.