The Usurper's Crown / Sarah Zettel

The Usurper's Crown

category: fantasy, author:

Sarah Zettel

book 2 of Isavalta
original copyright 2002,
read in April 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 8 out of 10

An interesting approach to the sequence of books in a trilogy. And it works. Very well!

Book one is A Sorcerer's Treason. Book one is the story of a woman who turns out to be the long-awaited daughter of a famous sorcerous couple. The back-story is provided as an integral part of the introduction to the fantasy world.

Book two -- The Usurper's Crown -- now goes back to the back-story! So we know that the ending cannot be entirely happy. Nevertheless -- the ending is entirely satisfactory. This is a very well crafted novel.

Book one introduces the reader to the world of Isavalta, its magic and its key characters. There are a few loose ends. Book two provides the more tragic introduction. There are no loose ends, rather, clear launching points for the final book.

Speaking of which: It is so good to read a book which promises to provide a complete story! I'm no great fan of the franchise approach, where the reader is expected to return for the world rather than its people. And to allow "character development", characters tend to be regularly replaced...

The Margarets / Sheri S. Tepper

The Margarets

category: fantasy, author:

Sheri S. Tepper

original copyright 2007,
read in April 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10

According to the cover blurb, "Sheri Tepper weaves science fiction and fantasy superbly". Don't believe it. This is pure fantasy...

Okay, the story is set on Earth of the future. With other planets also involved. Characters -- such as all the Margarets -- travel from one planet to another. Sorry, this does not make "science fiction".

The setting may be futuristic. The story is fantasy. Not that there's anything wrong with that. As long as you know.

One girl is split into seven separate people. How is this done? Possibly by cloning, then by a few years in an alternate reality. Or some other possibility... Yes, that's the depth of the explanation provided. How did they share memories to the point of splitting? How did they have a feeling of having been split if they were, in fact, cloned before birth? No explanation.

And no explanation is needed.

Walks, Tracks & Trails of Victoria / Derrick Stone

Walks, Tracks & Trails of Victoria

category: travel, author:

Derrick Stone

original copyright 2009,
read in April 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 4 out of 10

This is a glossy book with a lot of information. As a potential tourist -- someone who plans to visit Victoria and who would like to do some walking -- this book is useless. For a start, there is no overall map. Where are all these walks?!

The walks are grouped by area: north-west, central west, south-west and so on. But where are they? These areas may make sense to a Victorian -- but I need more information. For example...

Okay, so "north-west" will be to the north-west of Victoria. How big an area? In Western Australia the "north-west" could be a quarter of a very large state. What is it in Victoria?

What sort of country would I expect to find in the "north-west"? Flat? hilly? mountain? desert...? There are a dozen "easy" walks and one "easy/med". In "central west" there are four "hard" walks... They seem to be in mountains ("Grampians"). How hard is "hard"?! Is "north-west" also mountains but the walks are in the easy valleys?

The book needs an introduction to each area. With a brief description -- for people who do not know the area. And a map, to place the walks in their area, within Victoria.

Then there's the Major Mitchell Trail. According to the icons it's for experienced walkers, day hike, family walk, drive and walk, push bike and horse-riding. The trail is 1700km and should take six days. All that, in six days!

Then there's the photos. Take -- as an example -- page 19:

There is a photo of "River red gums." And another of "Scar tree at Wood Wood." Are they mentioned in the text? Not as far as I can see. Are they at all relevant to the text? Well... I can see Wood Wood on the map, though there is no sign of where a "Scar tree" would be found.

This seems to be the standard approach for Australian "guide books": a few large scale maps, lots of text explaining why it's worth visiting the area, a few very pretty photos. No clear relationship between the text, the maps and the photos.

It's not a guide to the Walks, Tracks & Trails. It's an advertisement. All very glossy, all very attractive. Obviously these would be great places to visit. Pick any one and the book tells you how to get there.

But no help whatsoever if you are trying to decide, Where can I go to enjoy a whole lot of walking in Victoria.

Hogfather / Terry Pratchett

Hogfather

category: fantasy, humour, author:

Terry Pratchett

book 20 of Discworld
original copyright 1996,
read in April 2011 (and before, several times)

Agamedes' opinion: 8 out of 10

Interesting. A book about childhood and children's beliefs. With a vicious killer and more death than the average novel. Unexpected?

Not really. Pratchett is writing about children. And pointing out that blood and violence are a natural part of childhood. Though death itself is never seen, by the children.

Death with a capital D is, however, a key character in this book. In Discworld books Death is a regular character. He does his essential work and he does it well. So who better than Death to stand in for the jolly fat man who says Ho, Ho, Ho as he distributes presents to all the little children?

Yet another very twisted tale of the Discworld. Overdrawn characters, complex plot and pointed social satire. Enough familiar themes to satisfy fans, plus new themes to keep the story fresh. Laced with enormous amounts of humour and puns.

If you like Discworld books -- or enjoy reading humour -- this is a good book. What more can I say? Other than a short discourse on Death...

The Curse of the Mistwraith / Janny Wurts

The Curse of the Mistwraith

category: fantasy, author:

Janny Wurts

book 1 of The Wars of Light and Shadow
original copyright 1993,
read in April 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 5 out of 10

In this long-winded and episodic book, Wurts has missed Vonnegut's second rule for writing a good story: "Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for."

The book begins with a clear indication that there will be a war of good versus evil. With "evil" being, in fact, a good guy. Then we meet the half-brothers who will represent good and evil. And neither of them is particularly sympathetic.

Okay, I can generate some sympathy for evil-half-brother. Clearly, he's good. Except that he's such a moody, self-centred, trouble-making creep that... who cares. And why waste sympathy on someone who is going to be loathed for an unknown number of very thick books?

Good-half-brother in even worse. He's shiny, clean, pure -- and clearly slated for jealous rages and abuse of power. Super-magician uses his powers for manipulation and deceit. Humourous side-kick has apparently spent 500 years as an apprentice; it's no use hoping that he'll even be anything other than a drunken fool.

There is one girl who appears occasionally. She may turn out to be the designated love interest. Maybe the two half-brothers will fight over her? Who knows. Who cares...

A Sorcerer's Treason / Sarah Zettel

A Sorcerer's Treason

category: fantasy, author:

Sarah Zettel

book 1 of Isavalta
original copyright 2002,
read in April 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10

This book is a lot of fun. Imaginative world, engaging characters, straightforward plot. It does seem that Zettel has been paid by the word... but at least she does know when to stop.

A young woman leaves her safe but uncomfortable everyday life, to discover that she is a super-powerful magician in another world. Nothing new so far! Yet the fantasy world has a range of interesting characters -- both human and non-human.

I recognise Baba Yaga, the name, at least. And her cottage on chicken legs, an old familiar idea. Are the foxes and crows similarly derivative? Who cares! They fit well in the story! And it's a relief to have the heroes' efforts tangled up by semi-human spirits -- rather than driven by anthropomorphic yet inhuman gods.

Taltos the Assassin / Steven Brust

Taltos the Assassin

category: fantasy, author:

Steven Brust

a three novel omnibus of the Dragaera series:
book 5: Jhereg, original copyright 1983
book 3: Yendi, original copyright 1984
book 6: Teckla, original copyright 1987
read in March 2011 (and before, several times, from about 1999)

Agamedes' opinion: 9 out of 10

Nine out of ten -- "really, really good" -- for all three books? Let me explain.

I read Jhereg and thought, Wow! that was a lot of fun! With occasional touches of humour, likable characters, complex plot in a well-rounded world... Sure, the hero kills for gold. But he's a nice guy. Nine out of ten...

Then there's Yendi. All of the above, plus a plot which -- by its depth -- expands on the "reality" of the fantasy world of Dragaera. Yet there's something not quite right... Is it the casual way in which the hero kills one of his henchmen for doing something just a bit stupid? Sure, the henchman will be brought back to life. But still... the hero is just a bit less "fun"... Perhaps this is worth just eight out of ten, purely on the grounds of loss of gloss for the hero.

Finally, Teckla. Each book is based around one of the seventeen "classes" of Dragaeran society. (Well, eighteen. If you count the lowest class of "Easterner", or "human".) Teckla are the peasants. The ignorant, the uneducated. The downtrodden masses who -- in this book -- are yearning to be free.