Review: The Other Lands by David Anthony Durham

Title: The Other Lands: Book Two of the Acacia Trilogy

Author: David Anthony Durham

Rating:

Who Should Read It? This book is perfect for lovers of dark epic fantasy! If you loved the first book in this trilogy, you will love this one just as much, if not more. If you haven't read the first book in the trilogy but you love dark epic fantasy with a focus on the fantasy, read the first book and then love this one!

What I Have to Say:
Wow. Just wow.

I know I said it after reading the first book in this triology, but MAN, does David Anthony Durham sure does know how to do epic fantasy. Even though quite a bit of time has passed, The Other Lands seems to start off right where the first book in this trilogy, the War with the Mein, leaves off, and we are once again immediately drawn into the world of Acacia and the Akaran children. Without repeating or summarizing what he has said before, Durhamn subtly brings the reader up to speed on what happened in this first book of the trilogy, while still allowing for the story to progress. Durham seems to be quite good at this kind of thing. There are so many characters in the story that it seems like it might be easy to occasionally lose track. And yet, without ever repeating anything, when a character shows up again, through a word or an action or a thought or even sometimes an article of clothing, Durham reminds the reader who the character is without becoming wordy, redundant, or repetitive.

As in the first book, the world Durham has created is awe-inspiring - it is unique and amazing and creative while at the same time paralleling old cultures we have seen on our Earth throughout time. This time, though, we make our way over to the Other Lands, where an entirely new world and new culture that, honestly, is like no other I have ever read or even heard of.

With Durham's deft hand and engaging writing style, we learn what happens to the quota slaves, we begin to learn the truth behind the "league," and we finally come to really understand the kind of people that the Akaran children have grown up to be (and can I just say - I LOVE Mena and Dariel, but grrrr!!! Corrin!). The Other Lands actually focuses quite a bit more on characters than the War with the Mein, which seemed to focus primarily on world building, and Durham has proven to be just as adept at writing character-driven stories.

Because of this change, to a more character-driven story along with a little bit of magic and a new entirely unique, entirely creative culture, The Other Lands seems a bit more fantasy and a bit less epic than its predecessor. Some people might not love this, but I found it to be absolutely fantastic, and I can only hope the third book in the trilogy (HOW am I going to wait to read it?) will continue in this vein.

Durham is a great story teller telling a great story. The characters are all well-developed with strong voices, but Durham's voice also shines through, clear and strong. It is a beautiful and beautifully written book that will leave you absolutely DYING to finish the trilogy!

Summary:Queen Corinn Akaran of the known world has a primary goal that is to topple the Lothan Aklun and so she sends her brother Daniel, disguised as a slave, on an exploratory expedition to the Other Lands. Daniel soon discovers a mainland that is a more lush, exotic, and expansive than the Known World.

Cover Story: I asbolutely ADORE the cover of the version I read, which I think is the British cover. THe odd looking bird, the ship sailing towards huge rocks in rough water - absolutely beautiful! The American cover (which you see in the Amazon tag) is also lovely, but it just seems to pale in comparison to the British one, in my opinion. If you get a great feeling from either of these covers, though, you're going to love this book!

Disclosure: This book was sent to me for review by Transworld Books. This in no way affected my review.

Review: the Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman

Title: the Left Hand of God

Author: Paul Hoffman

Rating:

Who Should Read It? This book is for anyone who loves a great, epic, heroic fantasy. I can't recommend this book enough, though I think you should know going into it that it does move rather slowly.

What I Have to Say:
I can't even remember the last time I was so immediately drawn into a book. Seeing the cover, my brother said "That looks good." My response was "It's the best book I've read in a long time." I was only on page 8. And as the book continued, I felt more and more that my initial response was right on.

The Sanctuary, with the Redeemers and the Accolytes, is gruesome and dry, creating a fearful and fearsome world I know I won't be forgetting for ages. Life in the Sanctuary, placed in the middle of an endless, freezing desert, is horrifying and gritty and would have been unrealistic if Hoffman's descriptive writing hadn't been so vivid as to make me a believer. Boys are raised to be killers in a mad, religious war against the Antagonists. Who are the Antagonists? The boys will never know; most are too afraid to ask. Questions mean beatings, as do most other things in this horrific "sanctuary." Cale, a boy of merely 14, though after living in the Sanctuary you would never know, unwittingly sets off on an epic journey that will lead us to discover the rest of Hoffman's amazing world.

Really, the only part of this book that fell flat for me was its nonchalant attitude to cigarettes and smoking. At one point, IdrisPukke even assures Cale that "once he got over his initial dislike, smoking would be both a great pleasure and one of the few truly dependable consolations that life had to offer." I was disgusted, even though Hoffman did slightly redeem himself later. IdrisPukke's other life philosophies, though, were frequent, somewhat drole, and immensely enjoyable. He came out with some brilliant little gems. For example: "to desire love is to desire to be chained to a lunatic." In IdrisPukke's attitude, the reader will find a nice reprise from Hoffman's horrific world.

Lord Vipont, Arbel Swan-Neck, and most of the other characters were all extraordinarily alive, each of their stories weaving its way into the bigger picture so that everything, right down to the smallest blade of grass in the world, just breathed with trueness and life. Hoffman's style of writing ranges everywhere from extremely gritty to breathtakingly beautiful; so beautiful it brought images of cherry blossoms and white winters from old Japanese poetry. Love, hate, war, religion, and politics all blend together in "the Left Hand of God" to create the first 1/3 of what is sure to be one of the most memorable heroic trilogies of the decade. Because, when it comes to heroic fiction, this book is ACE. I'm dying for the sequel!

Summary: "Listen. The Sanctuary of the Redeemers on Shotover Scarp is named after a damned lie for there is no redemption that goes on there and less sanctuary."

The Sanctuary of the Redeemers is a vast and desolate place - a place without joy or hope. Most of its occupants were taken there as boys and for years have endured the brutal regime of the Lord Redeemers whose cruelty and violence have one singular purpose - to serve in the name of the One True Faith.

In one of the Sanctuary's vast and twisting maze of corridors stands a boy. He is perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old - he is not sure and neither is anyone else. He has long-forgotten his real name, but now they call him Thomas Cale. He is strange and secretive, witty and charming, violent and profoundly bloody-minded. He is so used to the cruelty that he seems immune, but soon he will open the wrong door at the wrong time and witness an act so terrible that he will have to leave this place, or die.

His only hope of survival is to escape across the arid Scablands to Memphis, a city the opposite of the Sanctuary in every way: breathtakingly beautiful, infinitely Godless, and deeply corrupt.

But the Redeemers want Cale back at any price… not because of the secret he now knows but because of a much more terrifying secret he does not.

Cover Story: Could this cover be any better? It's dark and gritty, just like the book, and, in a way, it's also creepily beautiful.

Disclosure: This book was sent to me by the publisher for review, which in no way affected my review.

Review: the Legend of the Caryph by Lynn Moyle

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Title: the Legend of the Caryph

Author: Lynn Moyle

Rating: 1/2

Who Should Read It? This is a great read for all fantasy lovers, though I would say it's geared more towards an older audience because of one sex scene.

What I Have to Say: "The Legend of the Caryph" was a pleasant, creative surprise that totally caught me off guard. Going into the book, I had no idea what a caryph was, and I just assumed that it was some kind of ancient amulet and that this book was the story of the legend come to life. I'm glad I didn't read the summary more carefully, as my ignorance on the subject left me awed and excited as I watched the story unravel, as Moyle introduced me to a world full of demons, with caryphs being the witches fighting to maintain the balance between good and evil.

In a way, this book reminded me of a slightly more hardcore "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Only Regan seems to fight exclusively demons (where Buffy, not just slaying vampires, is sort of all over the place), and her powers far outweigh anything Buffy could ever dream of having. As Regan develops her powers and learns what it means to be a caryph and to live in a part of her world about which she had previously never even suspected the existence, the reader won't be able to stop themselves from loving her gutsy, independent, straightforward, and sometimes goofy character. Her interactions with everyone around her absolutely brought this story to life and helped to unveil the personalities of all of the secondary characters.

Regan reacts so well to all of the changes in her life which, as opposed to seeming unrealistic, just serves to reinforce her caryph nature. And when things start to really not go well for her, she totally steps up to the plate. I was rooting for her all the way. And the twist at the end, well, I was unprepared. I was so busy worrying about Regan that I never thought to think that the bad guy might, well, be the bad guy.

I really only had two problems with this book. The first is that the humor occasionally seemed forced and unnatural. Even when the humor seemed somewhat wrong or out of place, though, I did find myself laughing. The second is that, towards the end, there was a totally unnecessary, irrelevant, and lude sex scene. It was disturbing and, more than anything, it seemed out of place. The love story was adorable, and the sex just made it seem more like lust than love. It felt wrong. Without this scene, I would have wholeheartedly recommended this book to any and all fantasy lovers, young and old alike. Unfortunately, though, because of this scene, I'm going to have to say that this book is for the adults.

I greatly enjoyed this read, and I am super looking forward to the next installment in the story of Regan the Caryph and the gang.

Summary (from GoodReads): Centuries ago, an Order was formed to protect a select group of women who possessed powerful magic. These witches, known as Caryphs, were called upon to fight demonic forces released on the earth in an effort to enslave humanity. Regan Thompson is an inexperienced young college student whose life is suddenly ripped apart when she discovers she has inherited the powers of the Caryph. Like the others before her, Regan must somehow learn to harness the pure, raw magic that is buried deep within. But when a demon is set loose upon the earth, it is up to Order members Wendell and Alec to help Regan overcome her sheltered ways and quickly master her abilities in order to protect herself, her friends, and humankind. Lynn Moyle grew up in Humboldt, Iowa and now lives with her husband, Troy, and their children, Autumn and Archer, in Des Moines. When not writing or spending time with her family, Lynn works as a personal property claims adjuster for Allied Insurance. Legend of the Caryph is her first published book and she is currently working on the next installment.

Cover Story: I think this cover is beautiful, and it is a nice change from all those covers with butt-kicking women that I have been seeing lately. I find those to be a turn-off, where as this circle makes me think of stonehenge and definitely inspires me to open the book.

Disclosure: This book was sent to me by the author.

Fantasy Reading Challenge

I'm trying not to overwhelm myself with challenges for 2010, as so far I've only attempted one challenge, and I failed. It's also looking like my reading time is soon to be severely reduced. But how can I pass up a fantasy reading challenge, when I haven't been reading a lot of fantasy lately, and fantasy is, WITHOUT A DOUBT, my favorite genre to read!



It's hosted by Royal Reviews, so head on over there for more details.
There are four levels to choose from, and I'm going to go with
FASCINATED - Read 6 Fantasy Fiction Novels

I may up the ante to ADDICTED along the way and read 12. We'll just have to see what seems possible. :-) It would be nice, though, to read at least one fantasy novel every month.

I'll pick the books along the way as well.

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