Disappointing overall not unlike the previous book I've read from the author - tried to imitate Jack Vance's style and has some of the zaniness and inDisappointing overall not unlike the previous book I've read from the author - tried to imitate Jack Vance's style and has some of the zaniness and inventiveness of the late great master (cultures, characters, customs etc) but somehow the book reads differently than the Vance books and it just lacks the energy, the drive to turn the next page and see what happens etc, so it really reads like a poor copy of the original Vancian style. Most likely my last book from the author as his style just doesn't work for me....more
Fun and inventive though a little on the "powerful villains who are too dumb to be such powerful villains" side that goes close to breaking suspensionFun and inventive though a little on the "powerful villains who are too dumb to be such powerful villains" side that goes close to breaking suspension of disbelief on occasion; but the lightish tone and the humor make up for that to a large extent and there is a lot of inventiveness and hints of a much bigger story, so I greatly enjoyed it overall and the book was quite an unexpected hit with me.
The novel starts with a standard fantasy plot - a young noble from a leading family from some city-state in this universe has a mishap at the academy and gets exiled and on bad relations with his family; some years later and sort of down on his luck making a marginal living in some less salubrious surroundings, he gets a message from home that changes everything so he has to go to far off place on a quest for this and that; there in a strange new culture adventure begins as the quest gets intertwined with local intrigue when the hero has to save an unjustly imprisoned city leader, expose a plot and fight assorted enemies while making new friends and allies.
Ending at a good tbc point and moving the action to a different locale for the next part of the quest, The Silverblood Promise is entertaining fun, and promises much for the next volume....more
Solipsistic and self-absorbed though with enough touches of the awesome Murakami from other novels to make it worth reading. This being said at a diffSolipsistic and self-absorbed though with enough touches of the awesome Murakami from other novels to make it worth reading. This being said at a different moment and in a different mood, I may have praised this as a work of genius, but not today. Life is short so who knows if I will ever have the inclination to reread this one in a different time and mood, but one thing I can predict is that this book will divide the readers into work of genius or self-absorbed solipsistic ruminations of an aging man...more
The immediate sequel to From the Forest has Alyiakal continuing his rise in the Mirror Lancers, fighting corruption, disinterest and brigands while enThe immediate sequel to From the Forest has Alyiakal continuing his rise in the Mirror Lancers, fighting corruption, disinterest and brigands while enemies seen and unseen wait for him to fail or be caught unprepared. His romance with Saelora goes to the next level though for now they cannot get married since that would be the death blow to his career (an officer marrying in the Merchanter class gets immediately sidelined by the army command so usually ambitious officers wait for their stipend to get married); the Empire is unsettled as the Emperor is ailing and near death, his legitimate heir is unsuited for the job - at least in the eyes of who matters at the Court - and the illegitimate son is ambitious and has powerful connections who may put him on the throne but get more than they bargained in return.
Not unlike the Lorn books though of course set much earlier and with the hero of a lesser background but arguably more abilities, the book (and series) moves at a very leisurely pace which sometimes cuts into the narrative energy - the Lorn books were maybe too short but at 4 volumes this series may be on the too long side as for example this volume could have been easily halved in pages for the content.
Still an entertaining read for the author's fans and meeting my expectations....more
Excellent fantasy debut - took a while to get into it after several tries as it is set in a fascinating but complex fantasy world with various humanoiExcellent fantasy debut - took a while to get into it after several tries as it is set in a fascinating but complex fantasy world with various humanoid races living together in an empire of refuge and the jargon and details take a while to process. However, once I started understanding what's what, the novel was impossible to put down as it has all that one wants in a fantasy work, from intrigue, romance, magic, high stakes, twists and turns - one of the main twists is fairly predictable but the other one towards the end is quite unexpected though in retrospect it makes lots of sense.
The setup is the Empire of Semilla which is led by the native (human) family Ulanitti - the book alternates between the past and the reign of Clement, the youngest of 3 brothers, whose oldest brother and former emperor was murdered with his wife and children by the middle brother who reigned for a short while before the nobility and army revolted and put Clement on the throne and the present a few decades later and the reign of Beneditta, Clement's daughter when the main action takes place. But all is framed by events more than a century previously, when "changelings" - beings that could impersonate anyone - infiltrated most of the realms of the world and caused immense destruction, forcing the people of those realms (of various humanoid races) to migrate until they arrived in Semilla at the end of the world and built the magic Salt Wall impregnable (presumably) to the changelings - a sort of constitution by which each of the refugee nations recognized the Ulanitti as rulers, but kept their customs and had court representation by a leader (or a council of leaders) was agreed upon and since then people live their lives in Semilla and nobody (presumably) really knows what happens beyond the Wall.
However during Clement's reign, the ambitious Duke Redolfo Kirazzi (of the human Khirazji nation) claimed that the Ulanitti failed to honor the covenant of the ancestors when the fratricide Appolino murdered his elder brother and his family and the realm had to fight a brutal war to dethrone him and put Clement on the throne, and rebelled in the name of teenager Lireana Ulanitti, "the Grave-Spurned Princess" and oldest daughter of murdered emperor Iespero, whom Redolfo claimed to have discovered alive... Although somehow having access to changeling magic, an inhuman army and high powered allies in the empire, Redolfo was eventually defeated and hanged publicly, but to heal the wounds, his son Ibramo married Clement's heir Beneditta and is currently the prince consort and father of the heirs, while Redolfo's niece holds the current Khirajzi ducal appointment.
And now a request from the Kirazzi family to retrieve from the Imperial archive some of their heirlooms is approved by a powerful nobleman to the consternation of the archive leaders - especially of Amadea Gintanas, archivist superior of many secrets, including having a powerful past relation with Ibramo, which are slowly revealed; because these heirlooms are actually powerful symbols of the rebellion and the request and its approval signify trouble is brewing on the horizon...
And so it does when Quill (a human from a noble clan of a former steppe nation), second apprentice to the powerful lawyer in charge of the heirlooms retrieval stays behind in the archive to supervise that instead of his best friend Karimo, the first apprentice and the one who should have been tasked with that. Karimo is an orphan who raised himself to his current position and who is a huge believer in the imperial structure and its laws and customs as the best guarantors of a reasonable life for everyone high or low born, so his decision to delegate Quill and go with his boss Lamberto and help take care of the other business the high powered lawyer has in the capital seems a bit off, but then Quill witnesses an unbelievable crime and things start rolling.
Excellent stuff with a very good ending promising much for the rest of the series and highly recommended....more
Light but very entertaining first-person fantasy with heroic heroes and heroines and villainous villains, but lots of fun (the blurb says it all aboutLight but very entertaining first-person fantasy with heroic heroes and heroines and villainous villains, but lots of fun (the blurb says it all about the plot and there is a good size sample freely available that should be enough to decide if one enjoys the style or not). Definitely recommend it and I plan to continue reading the series as long as it stays fresh and entertaining......more
Very interesting and with a lot of promise but it lacks balance and left me disappointed to a large extent after all the early promise (couldn't help Very interesting and with a lot of promise but it lacks balance and left me disappointed to a large extent after all the early promise (couldn't help comparing it to a favorite series of mine - similar first-person story, faux Renaissance Europe with very mild magic etc, that had the similar up/dooown/up trajectory but in which the ending was emphatic in each volume of at least the first 3+3, while here it wasn't)- once volume 2 appears I may change my rating, but as of now the book just feels unfinished; I am usually of the belief that one should read book series as they come and not wait for the series to be all out, but here I would recommend waiting for the next volume before reading this one....more
Entertaining, fast-moving and with a dash of the supernatural, this is the story of young Pearl who is raised by her widowed and very tall mother FlorEntertaining, fast-moving and with a dash of the supernatural, this is the story of young Pearl who is raised by her widowed and very tall mother Florence of many secrets and two different admirers. At some point, some of these secrets come home to danger, while Pearl now 17 has some adventures of her own and gets involved with a handsome young man who turns out to be the police inspector who may investigate those secrets. And so it goes, charming and fun generally, but serious and crazy on occasion with eccentric characters and a dash of the supernatural.
An unexpected fun and engaging read which I highly recommend...more
Good but not great ending (? - the storyline is solved and there is a good stopping point, but the universe of the series has a lot of potential for mGood but not great ending (? - the storyline is solved and there is a good stopping point, but the universe of the series has a lot of potential for more stories) to the series; the first book had a lot of mystery and promise, but books 2 and 3 while flowing well and making one turn pages by and large, went in a cliche direction and the ending is quite as expected...more
The Tainted Cup is an outstanding fantasy novel, the debut of a series set in a fascinating universe where biological transformation is the order of tThe Tainted Cup is an outstanding fantasy novel, the debut of a series set in a fascinating universe where biological transformation is the order of the day. The continent-wide Empire of Khanum, populated by many kinds of people is divided into four rings separated by three inner high walls; the outer ring faces the eastern ocean and is lined with the highest walls and the most powerful artillery at the ocean's edge and is the first line of defense against magical leviathans, also called Titans, which are mountain size beings that trod on the bottom of the ocean and in the wet season try to come ashore and trample and destroy everything in their path.
The Empire formed some centuries ago when the original Khanum people (now extinct) managed to start throwing the Leviathans off the land and into the ocean across many decades of war and sacrifice. Using their magic blood, the people of the empire developed highly efficient and sophisticated biological technology that is used for mundane tasks like air conditioning (using a special mushroom that absorbs air and purifies and cools it) to building materials (fern paper from which most houses are made especially in the outer rings where the trod of the leviathans on the bottom of the sea causes continual quakes) to modifying people so some have mental modifications and are called Sublimes like axioms (highly skilled in math and computations), or engravers (perfect remembrance), some are modified for strength including the giant cracklers, some for speed like the sinister twitch assassins and so on. The empire's ruling class is drawn from the four frontline iyalets, the Legion in black, the Engineers in purple, the Apoths (who manage all the biological stuff) in Red, and the Iudex (a cross of the judiciary, FBI/Inquisition analog who) in blue. But, the real power in the Empire seems to reside in the landed gentry class as they are crucial in producing the required resources from biological reagents to weapons and construction material, and while by law the ruling executive had to serve on the frontline, the gentry have the money...
However, tinkering with biological magic is quite dangerous as the fate of the canton of Opyat some decades before the start of the novel shows it - someone trying to bio-engineer dappleglass - a common weed used to make paper- to grow faster so its cultivation is more remunerative, accidentally transformed it into a highly contagious infestation that destroyed everything in its path, growing within other plants, animals and even people. The apoths tried unsuccessfully to make a cure and ultimately the canton's survivors had to be evacuated, its borders sprayed with liquid fire for miles (that being the ultimate sterilizer used to burn the leviathans' carcasses) and the canton isolated in impenetrable walls warded with biosensors.
The novel is a first-person narration from Dinios Kol, a newly minted apprentice Signum (a lieutenant equivalent) within the Iudex in the outer ring canton of Daretana. While a Sublime modified as Engraver, Kol has been failing all his entrance exams in one of the iyalets, until somehow he managed to pass the Iudex one occasioned by the appointment of an Investigator to Daretana, which was kind of unusual since the canton was mostly used as a military base for the most important frontline city of Talagray some miles to the south. Even more unusually, the Investigator in cause is the famous Immunis (a rank equivalent to a major or such) Anagosa Dolabra, arguably the best such in the Iudex, now seemingly exiled in the middle of nowhere and without an assistant to boot for displeasing too many powerful interests - as another important character puts it to Kol: "That’s the problem with figuring s*** out—eventually you run into someone who’d prefer all their s*** remained thoroughly unfigured"
Quite eccentric - for example, Ana doesn't like to leave her house so all the hands-on stuff is done by Kol, the main reason needing an Engraver as an assistant, spends most of her time blindfolded and occasionally when dealing with a complicated issue even locking herself in a trunk to be able to truly think undisturbed, and with a big mouth, her posting seems weird until a murder happens in the sleepy Daretana and not any murder, but one done with an even more virulent form of dappleglass, while the victim is a senior officer, Commander (a sort of colonel) of Engineers Blas, on leave from his frontline post in Talagray to visit (for quite prurient purposes as we soon find out) the local estate of the powerful gentry family Haza of many imperial estates and dubious reputation, gentry family with which Ana has quite a history as we also soon find out - in her words to Kol - "If you want to figure out where everyone got fleas, look no further than the biggest pack of wild cats. Even if they do prowl behind high walls and fancy gates.”"
And so it starts, but things get much deeper as larger issues including the biggest Leviathan ocean wall breach in decades that happened about the same time are connected with the murder, and of course, the way the murder was committed strongly points out to the past too...
Ostensibly a murder mystery, the novel is so much more - inventive fantasy with great characters, lots of action, a very likable narrator with his own secrets, and written in a very energetic style that makes putting it down very hard.
With a very good ending promising more for the series, A Tainted Cup is the best book I've read in a while and the next novel in the series is a huge asap. Highly, highly recommended and an early strong contender to the top of 2024 books for me ...more
The latest Recluce novel and first in a tetralogy following Alyiakal, a Cyadorian figure of legend in later books, is also the earliest set in the uniThe latest Recluce novel and first in a tetralogy following Alyiakal, a Cyadorian figure of legend in later books, is also the earliest set in the universe, starting in the year 92 AF (after the founding of Cyador; for reference Lorn saga, previously the earliest duology is set in the 400's) and following the hero from his childhood - only son of a Mirror Lancer majer with potential magus talent and living in a border post at the edge of the Great Forrest, to officer school and later his first two assignments as a Lancer officer. In between them he first strikes a pen friendship with and then meets Saelora, younger sister of one of his academy friends who manages to raise herself to the status of a merchanter - from a well to do military family in a small town true, but considering the restrictions and expectations women have in relatively patriarchal Cyadorian society, a remarkable achievement nonetheless.
Cyador is a relatively young land and the achievements (and secrets) of the powerful First of the Magi who created it from the previously wild Great Forest lands and its triad system of government based on the Lancers, the Magi and the Merchanters with an Emperor as supreme leader are still fresh (while the secrets that start to be uncovered in this book still have consequences) but already cracks have started to appear; neighboring lands covet the magical based prosperity of Cyador and encourage barbarian raids as well as planning more direct land grabs, many Lancers high officers seem to be first and foremost concerned with advancement and politics, the Merchanters want to make more and more golds at whatever cost and rumor has it that a recent powerful Emperor who tried to expand Cyador in ways that would have cut the profits of the Merchanters in the short term, met an untimely end and his plans were shelved, while the Magi, still powerful but far from the power of the First are concerned with maintaining the status quo despite indications that the powerful magic towers so essential to the functioning of Cyadoran society as they power all the chaos based devices unique to Cyador, seem to slowly decay.
The border is fragile and long, the mirror Lancers are relatively few as are the fire ships that dominate the seas when present, and both are as effective as the availability of chaos power to charge their fire lances and fire cannons respectively. Alyiakal thrown at the deep end must use and develop his talents secretly first to survive and later to be able to make a difference.
With the usual meticulous world building and attention to detail, From the Forrest has all that what one expects from the later Recluce books, being entertaining and full of energy, while having both familiarity and newness. Ending at a good TBC point, I quite liked the novel and am looking forward to the rest of the hero saga (of course, if one reads the Lerial Cyador - actually Cyador in exile and taking over Hamor - books, one knows where the saga goes).
Highly recommended and an excellent addition to the Recluce universe...more
short but packing a lot and offering a very good panorama in 30 odd pages to KJ Parker style; irony, twists, (dark) humor and of course hard to put doshort but packing a lot and offering a very good panorama in 30 odd pages to KJ Parker style; irony, twists, (dark) humor and of course hard to put down; highly recommended both for fans of the author and for people new to his work as if one likes this, one will most likely really like his many novels, novellas and other short stories...more
very inventive but a bit over the top here and there, and the picaresque content sometimes doesn't quite match the matter-of-fact style - a bit more ivery inventive but a bit over the top here and there, and the picaresque content sometimes doesn't quite match the matter-of-fact style - a bit more irony would really help; still an entertaining read that I read in one sitting more or less...more
First-person narration in the style of the Siege trilogy, so more ironic than dark, though of course lots of people die in wars, assassinations, conspFirst-person narration in the style of the Siege trilogy, so more ironic than dark, though of course lots of people die in wars, assassinations, conspiracies etc. The narrator, now known as Saevus Corax (as a cultured man, he took this name to honor a historical character from the epoch of the last major collapse of civilization) is inventive and is able to get people following him, whether as now leading a 500 man company of battle salvagers (ie loot the corpses and bury/burn them) or in the past as a writer of moderately successful plays among other things. Of course, he took his new name for a reason (hint: huge rewards on his real persona), but regardless, trouble still follows him and his company. Maybe only another collapse of civilization will help him dodge his enemies after all...
Entertaining and with tons of allusions to the author's many other novels, though like the Siege novels the book feels a bit lighter compared to the best of KJ Parker's novels.
Ending at a good tbc point, I am really curious about where the series will go next. To get a flavor of the tone:
"It hadn’t changed much since I was there last. In fact, the two visits were remarkably similar in several ways. Both times I arrived unwillingly, under guard, wearing steel bracelets, on a cart. The first time, I was there because I’d miscalculated the dimensions of a window: I thought it was big enough to get through. I didn’t take to Opona. It’s what you might call an insalubrious neighborhood. Give you an example: the night I left, a guard broke his neck and a horse went missing. It’s that sort of place."...more
A lot of promise and a great start, but ultimately the book doesn't quite fulfill it as it is in large parts a generic Victorian with some fantasy (orA lot of promise and a great start, but ultimately the book doesn't quite fulfill it as it is in large parts a generic Victorian with some fantasy (or is it steampunk?) touches with the evil wealthy who manipulate and destroy, while the good guys (sort of) try and stop them; still the writing style was interesting and will definitely keep an eye for the author's next book...more
Under My Skin has some excellent stories and short novels previously published that I read and reviewed at the time like the top-notch Mightier than tUnder My Skin has some excellent stories and short novels previously published that I read and reviewed at the time like the top-notch Mightier than the Sword (empire short novel) and the excellent My Beautiful Life (empire short novel) among others, but the new short novel (110+ pages) Relics (empire short novel) with which the collection ends is the piece of resistance and is an epistolary narration in the style of Purple and Black between a duke, leader of a small nation at the crossroads of powerful imperial states and his former college chum who is now buying relics for the duke, with of course a few interludes that explain what is really going on; just superb stuff and among the best of
Also the shorter All Love Excelling and Stronger are original to this one, one a sort of Christ parable in the KJ parker style and another a Minotaur one also in the author's interpretation, so one can expect dark irony, twists, and all that made the author such a favorite of mine; and both are fairly good.
Additionally, there are other earlier stories and short novels like The Big Score (Saloninus short novel), Prosper's Demon (demons and priests short novel), The Best Man Wins, The Thought that Counts, Many mansions, Portrait of the Artist which are all very good, with only a couple of stories that didn't really tell me that much
This is probably the strongest KJ Parker story collection I've read and I highly recommend it...more
Starts quite interesting, but at some point it kind of jumps the shark so to speak and it becomes a fairly banal save the universe kind of story that Starts quite interesting, but at some point it kind of jumps the shark so to speak and it becomes a fairly banal save the universe kind of story that I generally lack interest in...more
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