Vellum / Hal Duncan

Vellum

category: fantasy, author:

Hal Duncan

book 1 of Book of All Hours
original copyright 2005,
read in October 2010

Agamedes' opinion: 2 out of 10

I read the introduction; it made some sort of sense. Jumping around, incomplete & unclear, but there was some sense of the beginning of a story.

Then it all went downhill.

Open a magic book and look at the map on page 1. It looks like where you are -- but not quite. Page 2 zooms out on the map... and there are noticeable differences between the map and reality. Page 3, zoom out further, the map is purely imaginary... And guess what? The hero is now in that imaginary world...

Great, let's have some imaginary-world adventures... But no! There is no-one else there. The story keeps flicking backwards and forwards -- incomprehensibly.

Suddenly: there's an unknown character doing unknown things before heading off into the great unknown. "Do this," she is told. "Why?" she asks. "Because that's what we do, here," she is told. "Okay." Good... grief.

So we have a main protagonist who doesn't know where he is, doesn't know what he's doing and doesn't explain why "his" storyline keeps bouncing from one confusing time+place to another. Then there's the unknown protagonist who decides -- for no stated reason -- to go from an initial unknown place to another place with a name but no explanation, for no known reason.

Sorry, but at this point I gave up reading and skimmed, looking for a point.

I found the author's thank-yous, including thank-yous to people who had translated legends from Latin, Greek and Sumerian... Which, apparently, the author had then rewritten in his own fashion. Which makes sense: a lot of old legends seem to be written in Gobbledegook. They are, after all, originally written for people with a complete mythos which we do not share.

The secret of getting a good story from an old myth, is to rewrite the myth for the modern reader. Duncan seems to have simply copied the old myth. With all the attendant lack of meaning for the modern reader.

I have just downgraded my rating from 4 to 2. If you're a lover of ancient Sumerian myths -- feel free to set your own rating. If you can struggle far enough into the book to make some sense of it, feel free to set your personal rating of this book to a higher level.

The words are written in English -- yes, I have read worse in a published book. But as far as being a "novel"... Vellum is unreadable.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones / R.A. Salvatore

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

(category: FanSci... My own category: pure fantasy dressed up as science fiction)
a book of the Star Wars franchise by

R.A. Salvatore

published by Century in 2002, read in November 2009

Agamedes' opinion: 2 out of 10

Well, I managed to get about one third of the way through this awful book. I wonder if Salvatore is embarrassed by it? First, there's the assassin: How did she plant a bomb on the landing pad? No explanation. Why did she send a killer drone -- then get it to return directly to her, leading the heroes? Stupidity, I guess. Why was a big thing made of her shape-changing when it did nothing for her? Essential use of CGI, I guess. Then there's the Jedi knights: At least one of them can leap into a lift well and use the Force to stop himself falling. So why is his Jedi master so afraid of falling? Obiwan can detect an attack from behind in a crowded bar. So why does he not notice an armoured assassin in the empty street? Forget the awful appearance of Jar Jar Binks, that was mercifully brief, just enough to rekindle sales of Binks stuffed toys. What stopped me reading any further was the car chase... It was pure Mickey Mouse: ridiculous overuse of near misses, special effects and just-missing-the-heroes explosions. It's all the penalty an author pays, for writing a novel based on a very childish movie.

..o0o..

This blog is supported by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

Stork Naked / Piers Anthony

Stork Naked

(category: fantasy)
book ?? of Xanth by

Piers Anthony

published by Tor / Tom Doherty, New York in 2006, read in September 2009

Agamedes' rating: 2 out of 10

Agamedes' opinion:

I must admit, I failed to reach the end of the first chapter. Then I read the final “author’s note” and put the book away. How many puns can fit in one story? Can puns successfully replace plot? Not according to me... Anthony has, once more, taken a grab-bag of assorted characters on a pointless stroll through Xanth. This is a children’s morality story, bulked out with pointless puns and endless references to -- and avoidance of -- “the adult conspiracy”. Catalogue it anywhere between Aesop’s Fables and some of the worst of Enid Blyton.

..o0o..

This blog is supported by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

If you must buy it, at least follow this link to Amazon. That way, if you subsequently agree with my opinion of the book, you will at least have the satisfaction of having provided me with a small commission for my warnings.