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
1 comment:
29dec17: I've read it again. And enjoyed it just as much! Plus, found a couple more points where the author gives a hint to a future "surprise plot twist". All very good :-)
Meanwhile, I was interested to read that Brust wanted to write in the style of Alexandre Dumas, of Three Musketeers fame...
Yes, I can see plot similarities, especially between Phoenix Guards (book one) and Three Musketeers. Not that I have read any books by Dumas! But I must have seen a movie... or read the comic version... or something.
But what of the language? I started to read Twenty Years After, the Musketeers sequel... and did not enjoy it. At all.
It was not the language that I did not like. I just felt that d'Artagnan was too dishonest in his efforts to get the musketeers back together. I did not like the main character so I expected to not enjoy what he did. I read very little of that book.
Five Hundred Years After does not have a problem with its characters: all the heroes are extremely likable. Add a complicated plot and cleverly verbose narration... I am still happy to rate this book as nine out of ten :-)
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