The Ruby Knight / David Eddings

The Ruby Knight

(Elenium 2 of 3)

by David Eddings

fantasy

copyright 1990

read in June 2018

rated 7/10: well worth reading

More rollicking adventures across a complex fantasy world ! More swords & sorcery, more "clever" tricks, more unlikely coincidences.

The coincidences, though, do get an explanation. Doesn't matter... even if it were pure deus ex machina, the story would be just as much fun :-) The plot is reasonably well constructed but it's the action that's enjoyable. The action and the likable characters.

The action is, admittedly, surrounded by a lot of words. A lot of description of doings which are not at all essential to the plot. I'm hungry, you're always hungry, yes, and I'm hungry now, we will have supper soon, I'll wait for supper... and so on. Till they eat supper. With comments on what is for supper and whose turn it is to cook it.

Not that it's tedious... just there. Lots of extra words that add little to the plot but, sometimes, add to our understanding of the characters. I read more quickly -- absorbing less -- in some of these non-essential passages. They did not stop me from enjoying the book.

This book is number two of a trilogy. Full marks to the publisher for making this clear, right on the cover. Can this book be read alone? I think so. Something... but not much... would be lost. The overall quest motive is restated but really, the interest is more from the adventures along the way. Identifying the established characters may be confusing but many are replaced by new characters.

Yes, I think that this book could be read alone. Though I am glad to be reading the complete trilogy, one, two, three.

If you had not read one, you would think that the end of two was sufficiently satisfying. I'm looking forward to reading three -- because I enjoy the style of the books rather than due to a desperate urge to know how it will finish.

Lots of fun, lots of action. Classic fantasy though not a classic novel -- just well worth reading. Pure enjoyment and great escapist fantasy.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"What a trial it is to submit to the whim of fools." … Captain Trumane, The Waking Fire

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https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/

Shattermoon / Dominic Dulley

Shattermoon

by Dominic Dulley

(Long Game #1)

science fiction

copyright 2018

read in June 2018

rated 8/10: really quite good

====

Okay, the story seems to ramble. Ramble... definitely not amble! There is action from go to whoa. A lot of violence, a lot of fun :-)

By ramble, I mean, the characters fly all over space. Far faster than other spacers... well since Doc Smith days, anyway. Space travel uses scientific terminology but not scientific technology. This is not "hard" science fiction...

This book is an adventure in space. Science is essential but realism is not. This is science fiction *adventure*.

It is also a lot of good fun.

Likable characters despite being largely stereotypes. (With interesting and still developing back-stories.) Evil villains. Government agents who are "bad" only because their job is to enforce the law; they are tough but fair.

The story itself... rambles all over space. Or, rather, jumps rapidly, from here to there and back again. Some of the locations, characters and events have been hinted at, others simply happen.

The plot is tightly scripted, well controlled -- as long as the reader has the necessary willing suspension of critical faculties. Not that it's unbelievable. More that clever thinking, coincidence and quick reactions cut through the reality of time and space...

Which all adds to my enjoyment of this book :-) It's light, it's escapist, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Only the title page mentions "book one"... but at least it is there. Shattermoon is complete in itself, and introduces a cast of characters who I hope to meet again. This is the best sort of "book one" -- a complete story which leaves me satisfied... and thinking, I wonder what will happen next.

===

08dec20: I read it again -- and enjoyed it even more :-)

Perhaps enough for a nine out of ten? Not quite... but I did enjoy re-reading. Made even better by comparison with the two rubbish books that I tried to read -- and failed -- in the previous week.

What a pleasure to read a book which is entertaining, with no social message being hammered in between the action. Just good fun, good characters, and a well-crafted plot.

and after an enjoyable re-reading in August 2023: ditto :-)

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25jan24: Here's something interesting:

I started to re-re-read this book. Enjoyed the first few chapters. Except... I know that there is about to be violent disaster. Setting the scene (creating motivation) for the rest of the book. I just do not want to read it.

I do not want to read the chapters of violence that set off the pursuit of the violent villains. Perhaps if I had the complete trilogy -- with the assurance that villains could get their just desserts -- that could make the nastiness more bearable. I'm not sure

I may return. But for now -- I stop reading. Put the book away.

Of this much I am very sure: Current mood -- of the reader -- is a key determinant for my enjoyment of a book. Right now, I want to read something with less stress. So, back to LotR.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"What a trial it is to submit to the whim of fools." … Captain Trumane, The Waking Fire

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https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/

The Lost Time Accidents / John Wray

The Lost Time Accidents

by John Wray

science fiction (perhaps)

copyright 2016

gave up trying to read, in June 2018

rated 4/10: bad but could be read

I lasted maybe twenty pages then gave up. In my opinion, absolute rubbish. I *think* that the author is attempting "literature" and is happy to ignore "entertainment".

The back cover quotes a review of, "this spectacular rattlebag of a novel." That quote covers the main points of this book:

rattlebag

​: (

n

​) 

1. a rattle made out of a bag containing small objects

​,

2.

​ ​

an assortment, variety

​. (​

adj

​) 

​​

rattly, shaky, ramshackle

​.

If the reviewer meant, "rattly, shaky, ramshackle"​ then, yes. After, admittedly, just 20 pages, that is my opinion. Perhaps the reviewer meant "ratbag"? Ratbag: "a stupid, eccentric, or disagreeable person". No, it's not that bad.

The book -- pages 1 to 20 -- and that review raise similar thoughts: What on earth is it all about ?!

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"What a trial it is to submit to the whim of fools." … Captain Trumane, The Waking Fire

===

https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/

The Diamond Throne / David Eddings

The Diamond Throne

(Elenium 1 of 3)

by David Eddings

fantasy

copyright 1989

read in June 2018

rated 7/10: well worth reading

There on the cover it states, clearly, "book one". Yes, this is the first book of a trilogy. Excellent: an honest publisher !

Better yet -- the book can be read by itself. Okay, there is a lot of unfinished business. Yet the end is reasonable... Definitely "to be continued" but not a ridiculous cliff-hanger.

Part of the satisfaction is due to the style of the book, a weakness, in fact. The book is a rollicking adventure, a series of action scenes related by a quest. Action, humour, sword & sorcery -- good development of the plot but not too much suspense. The question is not, Will they succeed? rather, How will they succeed.

I reach the end of this book -- a brand-new plot development is revealed -- I am perfectly happy with what has happened so far. I am not desperate to read book two... but I definitely want to read book two.

The plot itself is well developed but simple. Full of lucky coincidences and simple, strong-arm solutions. Nothing wrong with that :-)

At the beginning, though, I am confused. The hero is returning home, after ten years in exile. Is there an earlier book? One which describes the reason for the exile? There is so much reference to backstory that it is hard for me to believe that this is really "book one". But... as far as I can tell... it is.

There is a lot of backstory, a lot of world -- characters, geography, politics, history -- that seems to be assumed. After a while, this is not a problem. Much of the backstory is gradually revealed. And the story is good fun -- regardless of knowing "what came before".

This is a wham-bam adventure, with pleasant characters acting humorously and heroically. The plot is like a Russian doll, with depths revealed within complex depths. I'm sure that most of the problems will be resolved by use of a sword and a strong right arm :-)

A very enjoyable book, lots of fun, I look forward to reading books two and three.

====

19mar23: Read it again...

It's a lot of fun. Some cunning plans. Lots of solving problems by violence or by lucky coincidence. Likeable characters (as characters... perhaps less pleasant if you really meet them).

Not many characters that gain my sympathy. The hero, and most major characters, are so tough and self-assured that you know that they will look after themselves... or be happy to give their lives in a good cause.

It is a small number of minor support characters that I care about: Nice people, not so tough, they could easily be accidental damage. But the book is not about characters... it is entertaining, solid action, sword and sorcery. And a lot of fun.

Oh... though the descriptions of the desert prophetsare perhaps less-than-acceptable in these enlightened times.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"What a trial it is to submit to the whim of fools." … Captain Trumane, The Waking Fire

===

https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/

The Deed of Paksenarrion / Elizabeth Moon

The Deed of Paksenarrion

by Elizabeth Moon

fantasy

books 2 & 3:

(2) Divided Allegiance

copyright 1988, read in May 2018

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

(3) Oath of Gold

copyright 1989, read in June 2018

rated 5/10: readable but only if there's nothing else

... and entirely dependent on the first two books

These two books follow on from Sheepfarmer's Daughter. Daughter can be read by itself. Allegiance can also be read alone, though the ending would be a cliffhanger. Satisfactory but a cliffhanger. Oath makes very little sense by itself, it develops and wraps up the plot of the trilogy. It does, however, leave plenty of room for more books starring "Paks".

Daughter is distinctly a "military" fantasy, the story of soldiers obeying orders. In order to stand out -- to show her initiative -- Paks must be separated from officers.

Allegiance has a few big fights -- but is not "military". The fights are skirmishes rather than battles. Yes, the goodies use formation fighting -- sometimes -- but the enemy are a rabble. Then there is a lot of one-on-one fighting. Plus more involvement of magic.

This second book has a lot more magic. Most of it is fighting magic, mage versus sword-fighter, or healing magic. The heroine begins to call on her patron saint -- and to be answered.

The third book, Oath of Gold, describes the way in which the heroine learns to follow her patron saint, more and more closely. She loses a lot of her ability to think independently; she becomes a sword in the hand of the gods. Yes, it's a logical progression for the trilogy. I prefer characters with an independent will.

The three "Paks" books are enjoyable but progressively less so. The heroine begins as a fighter with some "lucky" breaks. She ends as a weapon being controlled by the gods.

The initial military fantasy, describing humans at war, progressively expands to involve dwarves and elves. And gods-driven heroines.

The real cause of the gradual loss of enjoyment is the increasing level of description of the world. Every road, every house, every tree, all seem to be described. Every fighter, every lord and lady, all are named and related to everyone else. I soon gave up trying to track characters.

I have the feeling that Moon tried to create a world as real as Tolkein's Middle Earth. It is certainly complete, I find it less interesting. And more intrusive.

Finally -- particularly in the third book -- the characters spend more time talking than doing. They can't just pull out the magic sword and say, okay, this person will be king. Noooo... they must first discuss all possibilities, plan a magic-sword-pulling ceremony, name every important person who must be invited to the ceremony... It goes on and on!

All of the points discussed may be important. Certainly, pulling the sword does not end the problems. I just wonder if it could be done with... less words.

I enjoyed the series. The books simply lose some of their excitement as the action is down-played and the mysticism gains prominence. Too little human effort, too much deus ex machina. And the final torture scene could -- in my opinion -- have been less explicit and still as effective.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

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"That which does not kill us does not kill us." … attributed to Conan the Barbarian

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https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/