Five Hundred Years After / Steven Brust

Five Hundred Years After
by Steven Brust
fantasy

copyright 1994
read (again) in August 2013

rated 9/10: really, really good

This book continues the adventures of The Phoenix Guards except -- as you may have guessed -- five hundred years after... Just as well these characters live for a thousand years or more !

It's a book -- avoiding to the author -- for those who like to read. Great characters, complex and entertaining plot, set in a believable (?!) fantasy universe.

Mostly, though, the writing has fun with English...

Rolling phraseology. Complex, compound sentences. Sudden shifts in understanding with subtle barbs of social commentary. Almost impossible to read at all -- until you get into the rhythm of it all.

I like to read. I enjoyed this book... again. I love the complex but ultimately clear playing with words. Plus... It's a great story !

Oh... and good background to the Vlad Taltos stories which share some of the characters... and which are set yet another five hundred years after...

july 2023: It took a while to find this book again, so re-reading was delayed...

Yes, read it again, enjoyed it again. And, again, find myself thinking in long, rolling, repetitive sentences. The language is a lot of the fun.

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Problems ? Solved

The Curse of the Mistwraith / Janny Wurts

The Curse of the Mistwraith
by Janny Wurts
Wars of Light and Shadow (1)

fantasy

copyright 1994
read in August 2013

rated 6: read to pass the time

Okay, I've only read 120 of the 800-odd pages. I doubt that I will read any more.

Not that it's bad ! In fact, my rating of 6 out of 10 is probably unfair. As the first book of a fantasy epic it is possibly quite good. But for me... 6 out of 10.

So Light is not all good and Shadow is not all bad. I prefer a bit more clarity in my characters... perhaps a villain with a touch of pity or a hero with a shade of doubt. These two -- just bicker and fight and are pretty much unlikeable.

They leave their homeland -- and spend no thought on the trouble that this will be causing at home. One of them at least, was desperate to help the people of his own country... until he was put in personal danger. Upon which -- no more mention of the starving people back home.

Then they meet the super-wizard of the new country. Oh dear, he thinks, this man's entire moral belief is based on separation of wizard power from politics. Well, we can't have that. So super-wizard promptly -- and without asking the hero -- messes with the hero's mind. To make the hero more amenable to ignoring a lifetime's training in moral values.

Does the one come before the many ? Or the many before the one ? I don't know. But I do know this: it should be a matter of choice. The choice of the one. The choice of the one person whose life is about to be sacrificed for the good of the many.

Super-wizard decides to sacrifice -- without consultation -- the happiness and possibly the life of another person. Super-wizard has proven himself to be evil. The dark Lord dressed up as Gandalf.

Which is not a problem in itself. Except that I get the distinct impression that the author supports the actions of this evil person. I do not look forward to finding out what happens next.

So I've stopped reading.

As I said earlier, this may be a good book. Possibly a good series.

Not a book that *I* want to read.

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Problems ? Solved

The Strain / Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

The Strain
by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

copyright 2009
read (almost) in August 2013

horror
rated 5: readable, but only if there's nothing else

re-rated 3/10: so bad it's embarrassing

Is there no modern horror which did not come to light in Nazi Germany ? Is there no evil creature which is understood by anyone other than a mysterious old man with a communication problem ? Is there no cliche left unused by this author ?

Good grief.

I feel the urge to take the hero and shake him, shouting in his face: Listen to the old man you fool ! It's obviously a vampire !

But no. The hero will reject all the obvious clues until his own wife and or son are face to face with the vampire. Cliche after cliche after cliche.

Including the brand name cliche. You know, where the hero does not just get drunk... He gets drunk on Smirnoff plus freshly squeezed Valencia orange with just three drops of eureka lemon, while debating the professionalism of a barman who would stoop to using only two drops of the vital lemon juice... All intended to make us believe that the author knows what he is writing about.

Then a baggage handler casually drives around the airport -- with no reference to Ground Control, who manage and monitor all ground traffic at any airport.

The author's knowledge is as deep as he can be bothered to Google.

Author ? Singular ? The book cover has del Toro in very large font. I'm guessing that del Toro had very little to do with the actual writing of the book.

Still... a vampire made up of red worms... Except for the large tongue which is possibly an after-market add-on. The worms hide inside and control a body. Hmmm... Haven't heard that one since Stephen Donaldson used it. Except that Donaldson used beetles and he didn't try to make his beetles intelligent.

Anyway, half way through the book and a new vampire is threatening to eat his own family. Wife and two cute children. How long can he fight the hunger ? How long can the author drag out the suspense ? Who cares ?!

There are two possible cliches. One, the vampire finally eats the family. Unpleasant. I don't want to read about it. Or two, the cute children survive. And as a cliche -- that's even worse.

Some day I may finish reading this book. Right now, I am not interested.

If you enjoy clichéd horror you may enjoy this book. I don't, and I don't.

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18mar14: It's six months since I wrote the review. In that six months I have attempted to continue reading The Strain. Attempted -- and failed.

It is just weak cliche piled on bad cliche piled on awful cliche. Perhaps "The Strain" refers to the required efforts of the reader ?!

I'm ready to re-rate this book as four out of ten: bad but could be read. Although I am finding that it is, in fact just too bad to be read... Let's rate it at "three: so bad it's embarrassing".

If ever I manage to finish the book (it was a gift, so I don't like to give up) then I shall post a final comment.

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June 2020: While I think of it... I never did finish this book. Never will, I threw it out. The book is so bad that I had no interest in in watching the bleeding obvious as it ludicrously ground on.

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Problems ? Solved

The City of Silk and Steel / Carey, Carey and Carey

The City of Silk and Steel
by Mike Carey, Linda Carey and Louise Carey

fantasy

copyright 2013
read in August 2013

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

Clever schemes, likeable characters, exotic location... An enjoyable book but not great.

The schemes are clever -- and unbelievably successful. Still, it's a fantasy :-)

There are good characters -- but far too many of them. Some stick in the mind. Others... I just accept without knowing who they are.

The book is, roughly, in two stages: creation then destruction. At the end of stage one -- I almost lose interest. Which is a pity.

The second half of the book has a clearer structure. It's easier to see the thread of logic which links the various actions. And the finale -- which is clearly signposted -- is more satisfying.

In a story of the rise and fall of a city it seems strange, that the fall is more satisfying than the rise. Yet the rise of this city is unbelievable. So unbelievable that you just know that there will be problems ahead.

Yet the fall of the city is not -- entirely -- a tragedy. There have been years of success. And the lessons from the city will live on through the ages.

Optimistic lessons, which perhaps the world has not really learnt. This book presents the lessons, in a readable and entertaining form.

It's an enjoyable book. And it made me think. Not always agreeing with the authors, perhaps ! But thinking, is enjoyable.

Read, enjoy, and look forward to whatever these authors produce next.

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Problems ? Solved

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire / J.K.Rowling

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
(Harry Potter 4)
by J.K.Rowling

fantasy

published 2000
read (again) July 2013

rated 8/10: really quite good

By this stage -- of my first reading -- I was hanging out for the next instalment of the wizard saga. There were rumours of a death. And it is a monster of a book.

A monster of a book that lived up to expectations.

There's a broadening of our knowledge of the wizarding world. More depth to the main characters. More characters. More magic.

And not everyone is happy.

Harry, Hermione and Ron are starting to notice the opposite sex... with all the difficulties that that brings to teenagers. The threat from the return of Voldemort becomes more serious... and a character dies.

Worst of all, the wizarding world -- the good wizards -- are divided... Into those who fear the return of Voldemort -- and those who deny it.

Life is difficult for Harry. The adventure is more serious. Loyalties are divided.

The series grows, in both breadth and depth. I was hooked, and desperate for the next book.

I am hooked, and ready to re-read the next book.

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Problems ? Solved