Posts Tagged With: classic fantasy

Review: Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

Posted on December 28, 2009 by Jeff Pelletier

Book review of Ellen Kushner’s Swordspoint

swordspoint

Reaching back into my “books recommended by GRRM to enjoy while he finishes writing book 5 of ASOIAF” grab-bag, this time I pulled out Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner. Its a novel originally published in paperback in 1989, and the paperback version I found in my hands has a quote from the Wonder of Winterfell himself, which is placed higher on the cover and is actually larger than the book title. I can tell you that I’m glad that when Swordspoint was republished in 2003, it was done so with a recommendation from the then and still reigning king of fantasy epics, which resulted in Martin suggesting it on his personal blog. Also making me smile was the discovery that Kushner penned many of the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books I read as a child, so I had a feeling I was in for a real treat.

Martin is absolutely correct when he says “Swordspoint has an unforgettable opening…and just gets better from there”. The novel is a prime example of dialog for aspiring writers, as I cover in my guest post over at Drying Ink. Kushner has a natural talent for dialog, and here she turns the dialog dial to full tilt. The conversation is masterful, branding Swordspoint as an instant fantasy classic. While the paperback edition comes in at 286 pages, which is rather light these days, you can be guaranteed that it is no less of a novel than some 7- and 800 pagers. Suffice to say that Kushner has a knack of not rambling, and the written word in Swordspoint is as succinct as the dance of the swordsmen themselves.

A delicate dance it is indeed. Richard St Vier is a swordsman for hire, doing jobs for the wealthy in the unnamed city where the novel takes place. The nobles of the city settle their disputes with arms for hire, and Richard is one of the premier swordsman in the city, if not the best. While Richard does not have a flair for the aristocratic lifestyle, his companion Alec does. This creates a wonderful balance as they find themselves in many a precarious situation.

Some of the action scenes in this novel are unforgettable, but it really is the world that stays with you. The combination of Kushner’s flawless ability with dialog and the story of living by the sword just to get by in an urban landscape is what quickly picks you up and places you firmly in your place, right alongside Richard and Alec as they make their way through every day life.

I should mention that this novel does contain some fairly graphic sex scenes, which may not be of taste for some readers, so parents, you’ve been warned. The version I’ve got contains three additional short stories involving both Richard and Alec, written before and after Swordspoint.

This is a fantasy classic, and a world I’m sure to continue exploring with the subsequent novels in the series. You can pick up the highly recommended Swordspoint over at Amazon.com.

Fantasy Book News Ratings

  • Overall: 8 out of 10
  • Plot Originality
  • Setting Development
  • Characterization
  • Dialog
  • Pace

Fan Ratings

Categories: Ellen Kushner, Reviews | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

Review: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

Posted on May 3, 2009 by Jeff Pelletier

Book review of Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

I was given this book on loan, thanks to my great friend Rachel, as she thought it would be a good book for me to travel with.  This was a very fitting selection, as the novel is filled with voyages into the unknown, the constant charting of new lands, and either chasing after, or running from, dreams or fears in life.

It was originally published in 1968, so I was expecting something akin to the style of The Sword in the Stone, which, even though it was written almost thirty years prior, in my mind seems to get lumped into a big ball of classics as does anything pre-1980.  What I was delighted to find with A Wizard of Earthsea was not only a similar writing style to The Sword in the Stone, but also to beat generation novels like Jack Kerouac’s On the Road and The Town and the City.  It seems that in the mid-nineteen hundreds a more free-form writing style was the popular practice, while today authors seem to take a much more refined, direct approach.  But enough on theory.

Earthsea is an ocean littered with islands, some of which disappear with the tides.  The people are wary of travelers, and what they know of the world consists of their understanding of their land, and the few stories they may have heard about other islands over the years, but even those seem distant dreams.  There is an average cast of characters here, and it should be noted that I found many similarities between this novel and some of the character and plot aspects of The Name of the Wind.  For instance, the main character goes to a school for wizards and meets who comes to be a rival on the first day of school.  The magic system is similar in that the characters who truly learn to master different aspects of wizardry do so by learning the true names of things.  Its really interesting to see how newer novels were influenced, sometimes more heavily than you realize, by some of the classic fantasy novels.

The pace of A Wizard of Earthsea is very brisk.  The author moves from once situation to the next, only dwelling long enough to cover the essentials, without any unnecessary filler or padding.  This makes for a very light novel (the paperback I have weighs in at 187 pages), one that does not set you down and give you a chance to rest.  This does not result in a lack of quality reflection time.  Le Guin covers everything from the responsibility that comes with great power:

Ged, listen to me now.  Have you never thought how danger must surround power as shadow does light?

to the intellectual contemplation of nature:

From that time forth he believed that the wise man is one who never sets himself apart from other living things, whether they have speech or not, and in later years he strove to learn what can be learned, in silence, from the eyes of animals, the flight of birds, the great slow gestures of trees.

It is this ability to balance a fast-paced story with the beauty of pondering some of the finer aspects of life that makes A Wizard of Earthsea truly shine.

The most prominent and meaningful aspect of A Wizard of Earthsea is the underlying theme of the main character in a constant battle with himself, and the stark contrast of either running from your problems, or turning to face them head-on.  It describes vividly how the way in which one decides to handle life issues can be either a blessing or turn into a disease.  It is this concept that I believe makes A Wizard of Earthsea as timeless as it is.  Just about anyone can relate to this sentiment on some level:

But as the day passed, his impatience turned from fear to a kind of glad fierceness.  At least he sought this danger of his own will; and the nearer he came to it the more sure he was that, for this time at least, for this hour perhaps before his death, he was free.

It this modern world we live in it can feel at times as though we are locked eternally into a struggle to get ahead, but the real joy and happiness is found when we live in the moment, and realize that we are free to enjoy the time we are given as we please.

A Wizard of Earthsea is truly a book deserving of the title “classic”, and has rightfully earned its place upon my bookshelf for years to come.  Or at least until I have to give it back.

You can purchase A Wizard of Earthsea over at Amazon.com.

Fantasy Book News Ratings

  • Overall: 7 out of 10
  • Plot Originality
  • Setting Development
  • Characterization
  • Dialog
  • Pace

Fan Ratings

Categories: Reviews, The Earthsea Trilogy, Ursula K. Le Guin | Tags: , , , , | 5 Comments

Review: The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White

Posted on January 17, 2009 by Jeff Pelletier

Book review of T.H. White’s The Sword in the Stone

The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White

Its a bit strange reviewing a book whose original copyright date is 1939.  I was lucky enough to come across a copy of T.H. White’s The Sword in the Stone prior to starting The Once and Future King, which has been sitting on my shelf unread for over a year now.  The Sword in the Stone serves as a sort of prequel to The Once and Future King, detailing the schooling of a young King Arthur.  My only knowledge of the novel stems from the 1963 Disney movie, which I had seen when I was a child.  It may have been one of the first influences that steered me in the direction of a love for fantasy novels.

Leading up to starting The Sword in the Stone, this was my preconception: this is a child’s book.  While I still believe that this book firmly holds a place in the Young Adult genre, the fact that it was written in 1939 do make it subject to a few signs of the time.  The “n” word surfaces a few times, which is really surprising as you’re reading through a book you believed geared toward a younger audience.  Parents also may want to be wary of a religious passage toward the end of the book.  Personally, I think the more religious ideas we expose our children to, the more worldly their knowledge will be; I just want to give fair warning where it is due.  These two items withstanding, the tone is very light, accessible, and definitely geared toward a younger audience.  There are a few moments that are comical, if only for the fact that they seem slightly out of place.  For example:

What with the warmth and the chickens and the cream he had poured over his pudding and the continual repassing of the boys and the tock of their arrows in the targets – which was as sleepy to listen to as a lawn-mower – and the dance of the egg-shaped sunspots between the leaves of his tree, the aged magician was soon fast asleep.

It just seems unnatural to make a comparison in a story told about times long past to a machine of very modern design.  There were frequent moments like this that definitely gave me a chuckle.

The novel is set in fifteenth century England.  The entirety of the story takes place around the castle of Sir Ector, the surrounding Forest Sauvage, and London.  There are many adventures in and around the castle, as Merlyn is constantly turning young Wart into a variety of animals in order to teach him invaluable life lessons.  Because of this, the landscape shifts completely to the perspective of the current animal; be it bird, fish, or land mammal.  The author has the unique ability to truly make you believe you are in the body of these animals.  It must have taken some extensive research to achieve this particular goal.  The cast of characters is bright and vibrant, including the typical retinue of a castle, knights, a witch who lives in the woods, and ranging to a mythical race and creatures that live beyod the forest.  Even Little John and Robin Hood make an appearance.

Some of T.H. White’s scenery descriptions are simply breathtaking.  Rather than describe them myself, I’ll let the author do what he does best:

It was that rather sad time of year when for the first time for many months the fine old sun still blazes away in a cloudless sky, but does not warm you, and the hoar-frosts and the mists and winds begin to stir their faint limbs at morning and evening, with the gossamer, as the sap of winter vigor remembers itself in the cold corpses which brave summer slew. The leaves were still in the trees, and still green, but it was the leaden green of old leaves which have seen much since the gay colors and hapiness of spring – that seems so lately and, like all happy things, so quickly to have passed.

This flavorful type of description appears frequently throughout the novel, and truly transports the reader to the season, the location, and the moment in time.

T.H. White sets a brisk pace, with the descriptions finely broken up with sharp conversation.  Merlyn often gets frustrated to the point of no return; once blasting himself to Bermuda, and another arguing with his magic over which hat he is actually requesting.  In the latter instance, T.H. White took the opportunity to actually sketch out the hats, which appears in the middle of the text, which is rather entertaining.

The Sword in the Stone can be described as a truly delightful novel.  It is the journey of a young man through adolescence, and really points to the value of a good education.  It describes the nature of the relationship between teacher and student, which is most evident in this advice from Merlyn to Wart:

“The best thing for disturbances of the spirit,” replied Merlyn, beginning to puff and blow, “is to learn. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love and lose your moneys to a monster, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honor trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then – to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the poor mind can never distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the thing for you.”

This is where The Sword in the Stone really finds its magic.  The student is greater than the sum of all lessons imparted on him by the teacher.  For this, I am grateful to have followed young Wart on his adventures, and eager to see where T.H. White takes the young squire on his adult escapades.  Bring on The Once and Future King.

You can purchase The Sword in the Stone over at Amazon.com.

Fantasy Book News Ratings

  • Overall: 6 out of 10
  • Plot Originality
  • Setting Development
  • Characterization
  • Dialog
  • Pace

Fan Ratings

Categories: Reviews, T.H. White, The Sword in the Stone | Tags: , , , , , | 4 Comments