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Powell's Staff:
Five Book Friday: In Memoriam
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Every year, the booksellers at Powell’s submit their Top Fives: their five favorite books that were released in 2023. It’s a list that, when put together, shows just how varied and interesting the book tastes of Powell’s booksellers are. I highly recommend digging into the recommendations — we would never lead you astray — but today...
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Brontez Purnell:
Powell’s Q&A: Brontez Purnell, author of ‘Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt’
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Rachael P.:
Starter Pack: Where to Begin with Ursula K. Le Guin
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Customer Comments
BeezerMN has commented on (8) products
Midnight Falcon
by
David Gemmell
BeezerMN
, February 19, 2007
Midnight Falcon by David Gemmell is the second book in the Rigante Series. The first book was; The Sword in the Storm. And that book follows Connavar growing up and becoming known as Demonblade. This book chronicles the tale of his [...] son Bane and the trials he goes through to become a man. Along the way Bane faces many challenges and learns many lessons. The plot of this book is much more encompassing than that of The Sword in the Storm. This book is actually two book sin one when you dissect the plot arc. The first piece of the plot is Bane's quest to become a gladiator in the arenas of Stone. Along this quest he also seeks out revenge against someone. (Not going to say who or why, because of spoilers). Throughout this course of revenge Bane learns many things about himself and about life in general. The second half of the plot deals with the impending attack of the armies of Stone on the Rigante people and the role that Bane plays in fending them of and the choices he makes. This book differs from other Gemmell books I have read in that there is a great deal of character development. In most Gemmell books there is a human element that of facing impossible odds and fighting for what someone believes in regardless of the perceived outcome. Yet, in this book, Mr. Gemmell, seems to make a very strong effort to bring Bane and a couple other characters out of that mold and really flesh them out. I would really like to say more and give examples, but I don't want to spoil anything for anyone. Suffice to say that the character development in this book is second to none and I was very captivated by it. Fans of Gemmell will no doubt find elements in this book that are both familiar and enjoyable Readers who have yet to read Gemmell should really get started. He has written many fantastic books. The first one I read, and many people will recommend this book, is Legend - which is the first of the Drenai Saga books. The two books I have read in the Rigante series thus far are more epic in nature than the Drenai books. Both are very good, but are different formats. Regardless, if you are a fan of the fantasy genre don't hesitate to jump into the world of the Rigante. I have little doubt that you will not enjoy them. They are truly fantastic books and well worth the time reading them.
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Sword In The Storm Rigante 01
by
David Gemmell
BeezerMN
, February 19, 2007
Sword in the Storm is the first book in David Gemmell's Rigante series. Mr. Gemmell is most known for his Drenai series, most notably Legend. Mr. Gemmell has a knack for story telling that allows for a solid combination of both story telling and great characters, this book is no exception. Fans of Gemmell will notice some similarities between this book and the Drenai series, but make no mistake they are vastly different books, and series. This book takes more time to develop due to the fact that it's a larger plot and encompasses more people and places. As with every other Gemmell book I have read this book contains plenty of action. Gemmell is one of the best in the fantasy genre for describing a fight, either a sword fight or a fist fight. The general plot of this book centers on a young barbarian of the Rigante people. The first book follows him as he grows up into a man who becomes famous first among his own people and then gradually others. It follows his trials, and there are many, as well as his successes. The major subplot of this book is the impending invasion by the people of Stone who are across the ocean. While this subplot does not get fully explored in this book it is quite obvious how it sets up for the second booking what the Rigante will face and the challenges that lay ahead for them. Again, as with the other books I have read by Gemmell, he has once again created memorable characters. All the characters from Connavar, to Banouin are fantastic. Each character has flaws, they are not all powerful, never do wrong like some modern fantasy characters are. Gemmell's characters have a way of touching some part of the reader, each character serves a purpose as they take the reader through the story. I believe the true strength of Gemmell's books are the wonderful characters and this book follows that mold very well. As I mentioned earlier, Gemmell is most known for the book Legend and the series that spawned. Fans of that book, and series, will most likely enjoy this as well. However, I feel it needs to be noted that readers should not go into this book expecting the same flow as the Drenai books. This book has a much more Celtic feel than his other books. It's a much more engaging read that requires more attention from the reader than the Drenai books. That's not to say the Drenai books are bad books, in fact I enjoy they quite a bit, it's just they are different than the Rigante books and people expecting the same may be slightly disappointed by that. I would strongly urge any fantasy fan to give this book a shot. Certainly fans of Gemmell should read this without worrying about it. They will find many things they enjoy. This is certainly a worthwhile read, and I look forward to continuing the series.
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Measure & The Truth Dragonlance Solamnia 03
by
Douglas Niles
BeezerMN
, February 19, 2007
The Measure and the Truth by Doug Niles is the third, and final book, in the Rise of Solamnia trilogy. The first book is Lord of the Rose and the second is The Crown and the Sword. When the first book of this trilogy was released, this trilogy was said to signify a reworking of the Solamnic Knights order, how they operate and how they conduct all their business. After finishing the trilogy however, I am not really certain all that much has changed beyond one thing. The plot of this book, and the trilogy for that matter, held a great deal of promise. Yet, after finishing three books and about 1,000 pages I am left feeling like Mr. Niles made a trilogy out of one book. This books plot, while there are a few subplots, is rather benign and at times boring. The main plot is about a large battle that is fought, moved to a different location, fought again, and moved and fought one more time. The main character Jaymes seems to run around all over the place even though he is the emperor in power now. As I said with my review of The Crown and Sword, Mr. Niles again repeats these large scale battles where thousands of people (and creatures) die. This begs the question, how many people are there in the world of Krynn, or more importantly Solamnia to fight these massive battles? It has to run out sooner or later right? If you are a fan of character development, be prepared to be vastly disappointed. Unless you like characters doing this completely opposite of what you would expect them to do for no apparent reason. Case in point, throughout the course of this book, and most of the second book, the main character Jaymes is a dictator ruling with an iron fist and even calls the people `cattle' at times. Yet, at the end of the book, for no real reason his attitude suddenly shifts and we are to look on him as a kind caring man who understand he did wrong at times. I'm sorry, but with the things he did (no spoilers) there is no way that image can take root. The characters in this book were mostly disappointing and quite honestly, I cared very little for them. The only characters I found myself wanting to read about were the dwarfs (and they were merely a subplot). For a book, and series, that will likely have a lasting impact on Krynn these characters were not good at all. There are certainly events in this book, and series, that will have a lasting impact on the Knights order and Krynn in general. Yet, I can't help but feel cheated after finishing this book because the expectations I had going into it were so much higher than what I got in the end. In my opinion the characters were very shallow and the overall plot arc was poorly done. I am surprised by saying that because there are several books by Mr. Niles that I have enjoyed a great deal. Unfortunately, this series is not one of them. This could merely be a case of the wrong author for this particular assignment. Hardcore fans of the Dragonlance world should really read this series, for no better reason than the events that transpire will have a lasting impact for future Dragonlance books. Casual fans may be disappointed by this series due to the poor character development and shallow plot lines. Over the course of the past couple years it seems the Dragonlance novels and suffering from poor plotlines and substandard characters. There are somegems being written, but largely the quality is not up to what one would expect. I sincerely hope Wizards of the Coast is working to rectify this, as I enjoy Dragonlance books quite a bit.
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Sacrifice Of The Widow Forgotten Realms Lady Pen
by
Lisa Smedman
BeezerMN
, February 19, 2007
Sacrifice of the Widow by Lisa Smedman is the first book in the Lady Penitent trilogy. For fans of the Forgotten Realms, this book follows up on the events of the six book series War of the Spider Queen. So, before I start this review, if you have yet to read the War of the Spider Queen series, I strongly suggest you do before you read this as events from that series are talked about, and have consequences, in this book. If you choose to read this book, and most likely this trilogy, without reading WotSQ then there may be some things that just don't make sense - So consider yourself warned. The plot of this book is not your traditional plot, in that it is not really one linear plot with a few sub-plots sprinkled in. The sub-plots are very good and hint at much larger ramification that will more than likely transpire in the next two books. There is the sub-plot of what really happened to Hallisstra Melarn at the end of the sixth WotSQ book, and how she became what she is now. There is a sub-plot of the followers of Eilstraee fighting followers of tow other entities. There is also a sub-plot of a larger `battle' between Lolth and Eilstraee. Ms. Smedman does a wonderful to weave all these sub-plots together to create not only an engaging story, but a seamless one at that. When the sub-plots shift between one another there is not much transition that throws the pace of the book off at all. The overall plot is very well written and easy to follow. There are several characters in this book. This is both a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. With all the different sub-plots there needed to be many characters to keep everything going. However, with this amount of characters there is less time for them to be developed fully so the reader has a better connection with them. There are a few characters that I would have definitely liked to read more about, and maybe that will be remedied in the next two books. Don't get me wrong, there was some character development in this book, such as that of Hallisstra, her brother Q'arlynd both had significant development. Yet, the majority of the characters had little development. I believe that was just a part that had to suffer due to how much the plots of this book needed to be explained. Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. This is not your traditional Drow novel in that it's not strictly about subterfuge and chaos. The pace of this book is very good and Ms. Smedman's writing lends itself to be easily read. It's very easy to read through one hundred pages and wonder where the time went. With some Drow books, the authors try to make these huge grand flourishes of prose, yet in this book Ms. Smedman seems conserved and this creates an easy feel. If you are a fan of the Forgotten Realms and have read the WotSQ series you will undoubtedly enjoy this book for the continuation of that storyline. If you are a fan of fantasy in general and know a little about the Forgotten Realms I still believe you will enjoy this novel, although some things may not make much sense to you. At any rate, if you are considering reading this, I have no qualms about recommending it. It's a very nice addition to the Forgotten Realms universe.
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Dark Glory War Dragoncrown War 01
by
Michael A Stackpole
BeezerMN
, February 19, 2007
The Dark Glory War by Michael Stackpole is actually a prelude novel to his Dragoncrown War Cycle Trilogy. The first book of that trilogy is Fortress Draconis, which I believe takes place 30-40 years after the events of this book. The one thing that I think needs to be said right away is that this book is written from the first person perspective, and follows young Tarrant Hawkins throughout many trials. Normally, I am not a fan of first person books; they just don't `work' for me. Yet, I found myself easily engaged in both the story ad characters. Mr. Stackpole certainly has talent for writing. The plot of this book, especially when the book is only 402 pages, is absolutely huge. After finishing the book and looking back at everything that happens in this book it's amazing that it was all included. Being that the book is written in first person, Mr. Stackpole is allowed to make some rather large leaps with the plot and phrase it as the `author' or Tarrant, is merely reminiscing about past event, versus needing to write every detail about those events. There are some traditional pieces within this plot, such as a group of young friends becoming men within their city/village by doing deeds that separate them. The nature of the coming of age ceremony in this novel is simply amazing. I really enjoyed the twist Mr. Stackpole placed on it and the rich tradition that seemed to emanate from it was a joy to read. As I said before, the plot of this book encompasses a great deal and introduces the reader to countless things within the world, a variety of places, creatures, people, and cultures. It is quite evident that Mr. Stackpole certainly had a vision of what he wanted to accomplish, I have yet to read the Dragoncrown War Cycle but after reading this novel I fully intend to search it out and read it. The characters in this novel are very good, and well thought out. There are several characters that are very memorable to me. From the main character Tarrant, to some of the supporting characters Leigh, Nay, Resolute, Seethe to name a few. Tarrant is well fleshed out, which can be expected since the story is his and in his words. It was interesting to read his thoughts and how he perceived some of the events that took place. The supporting characters weren't as well fleshed out as they would be in other fantasy novels, mostly because of perspective and the focus of the story. While I would certainly have liked to know about the other characters, it was just not meant to be based on how the story was written. However, even the glimpses that we are given into these supporting characters are very well written and leave the reader wanting more. To me, that's the mark of a good character, one that you ant to know more about after finishing the book. There are many good characters in this novel, Mr. Stackpole certainly didn't leave character development behind in this novel, but to fully explain that I would have to write some spoilers and I don't want to do that. Suffice it to say, that the characters are well worth reading this book. I do have a few minor criticisms about this book however. There are a few cases where I would have liked to read some more detail about places, events, or people that Tarrant encountered. There is a balance between giving the reader too much information to where they have little leeway to make their own mental picture and not providing enough for the reader to make that image. A few instances there was simply not enough information to work with. The other thing is a few instances were Tarrant would reflect on something, an event, a secret, or something and then brush over it as if he assumed the reader know what he was talking about, however, I had no idea what was being discussed and it lost me a couple times. Maybe, these instances were simply victims of maximum word count; however, leaving the reader wondering about what is going on is not a very good habit for a writer to develop. With all that said, I must say I did enjoy this novel a great deal. If this is a prelude of things to come, I simply can't wait to dive into the actual trilogy. For some people first person perspective books aren't there thing, I know they aren't for me, but if you are at least interested in this book I urge you to give it a chance. This was an enjoyable fantasy book and one that certainly adds to the genre.
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First Betrayal Chronicles Of Josan 01
by
Patricia Bray
BeezerMN
, February 19, 2007
The First Betrayal by Patricia Bray is the first book in the Josan Chronicles. The second book called The Sea Change is scheduled to be released in July, 2007. I stumbled upon this gem while looking through Amazon recommendations, and I must say I am quite pleased I took the risk of getting this sight unseen. There are some things that need to be discussed prior to the actual review. Yes, this is a fantasy book. However, it is not a traditional fantasy novel in the terms of what people expect to see in a fantasy book. Meaning, if you are looking for a book that has wizards hurling fireballs, a vast assortment of monsters rampaging the countryside, and large scale battles with gallant knights - this book may not for you. You will find none of that within these pages. The plot of this book has a couple different layers to it, which are all written very well. The first plot like follows the monk Josan as he is the lighthouse keeper of a distant peninsula to keep ships from crashing against the sandbars. As the story unfolds we find the reason Josan is there, or shall I say the reason Josan believes he is there. A certain sequence of events takes place that turns Josan's world on its head causing him to make some decisions that have larger consequences. The second plot is one of political intrigue and a group of people trying to give rise to a rebellion and coup of the current queen of Karystos. Throughout the book we learn that there was a similar rebellion attempt six year previous and the ramification of that failed rebellion still linger today. Both plot come to an unexpected conclusion. The main character of this book is the monk Josan. There is also a myriad of other characters that all play important roles within this book. While the plot of this book is solid and well written, it is the characters that steal the show by far. If you enjoy books where character development is not only present, but one of the driving forces then you may enjoy this book. The character development of Josan is second to none. Ms. Bray does a fantastic job of building Josan from the ground up so that the reader not only understands him, but also begins to care about him as well. Another favorite character of mine is Lady Ysobel Flordelis and the role she plays in this novel. She also develops quite a bit as a character - but I won't delve into spoilers so I can't say much more. All of the characters in this book are well written and I felt I had a decent understanding of each and every one of them, which based on the number of pages in this book (342) says a great deal about the quality of Ms. Bray's writing. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a fresh take on the fantasy genre. This book proves you don't need fantastic battle, hoards of monsters, and wizard duels to be a good book. The political intrigue was written very well, the characters are some of the best I have ever read. This is an engaging book that will help the hours fly by. I have read a lot of fantasy book over the course of time, and I have no qualms saying that this will most likely be on my list of top five books I read in 2007. It's that good. I can't wait until the next one comes out.
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Tower of Ruin
by
William A. Kooiker
BeezerMN
, February 19, 2007
Tower of Ruin by William Kooiker is a novel set in the world of Whitethorn. On the author's website he tries to tell people that while he is proud of this book it is nothing to blow you away and that it is not an epic novel. It's a self contained character driven novel. After reading this book, I think the author is a very humble person and has written a very solid novel. The first thing that a reader needs to know is that while this book may be set in the world of Whitethorn - which I believe is an RPG setting. You do not need any previous knowledge of the setting at all to enjoy this book. I knew nothing about it and enjoyed this story a great deal. The plot of this book is solid and concise. There is the main plot that of the weird circumstances happening in the remote village of Oester. Yet, there are also a couple sub-plots woven into the story as well. These sub-plots do not take away from the overall story, in fact they help humanize the story and add more depth to the characters. The overall story of this book is well told with just enough description to give the reader a mental picture of the scene and character, but not enough description to bog the reader down with unneeded descriptions of things. This allows the reader to fly through the pages and be immersed in the story. I would say more about the story and plot, but I hate it when reviews spoil things in the book. The characters in this book are wonderfully crafted and add tremendously to this novel. All the characters, from the six heroes to the minor characters are well thought out and each behaves how one would expect them to behave. There is the enigmatic Kyligan to the brash Alazar. All the characters served a purpose and added much to the book. With any book that is predominately character driven, the author needs to add subtle pieces of back-story into the book to get us to care (or hate) each character. Mr. Kooiker does this very well, while he adds pieces of back-story he doesn't do it in such a way that the reader feels it is being shoved down their throat. I honestly hope tat these characters will be written about in future books as they were very fun to read about. Some minor criticisms of this book are that at times the dialog between the characters seemed a little forced and contrived. Almost to the point where the author needed to get something accomplished and `forced' the characters into that position. This didn't happen often, nor was it glaring, but it is present. The other criticism I have is there was at least one point in the book where it almost appeared the author forgot about a character and didn't write about them for several pages causing me to wonder where that character went. However, with all that said, I still must say I really enjoyed this book. The author is right in that this is by no means an epic story in terms of plot, characters, or scale. However, this is a very solid fantasy novel from a new author. No, it does not pave new ground for the fantasy genre, but honestly, how many books truly pave the way? If you are looking for a nice, succinct fantasy book that you will not need to spend a great deal of time digesting consider this book. If you are new to the fantasy genre give this novel a shot to wet your feet. If you are well read in the fantasy genre and need a break from the Martin type books jump into this one for a few hours of reprieve. I can certainly see myself recommending this book to others. A very solid novel.
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Last Knight Forge Of The Gods
by
Eric Fogle
BeezerMN
, February 19, 2007
Forge of the Gods - The Last Night by Eric Fogle is the first novel in what I expect to be a very good fantasy series. Being a first time author, Mr. Fogle has no reputation to live up to, no standards to meet, yet that does not stop him from forging his way into the genre with nothing held back. He obviously has talent and a knack for writing a griping story. When reviewing first time authors, I sometimes want to compare them to other more established authors. However, that really isn't fair to the new author as it immediately creates a comparison instead of letting that work stand on its own. The plot of this book has several elements and a couple sub-plots sprinkled in for good measure. The main arc of this novel follows the young Squire Areck through a maturation process as he gains more responsibility, as well as facing some very challenging circumstances. One of the sub--plots deals with an upheaval in Heaven and how a group of angels are not only trying to figure out the cause, and solution, to the problem. But they are also facing a problem of their own that could lead to dramatic change to life as they know it. The second sub-plot again involves the gods, this time searching out a mysterious cause to something they do not even understand. So, the gods send Champions to find what they do not know they are looking for. The two sub-plots are not given very many chapters to fully develop, but, at times less is more. That certainly applies here. Mr. Forgle tells us just enough to keep us interested in these sub-plots but not enough to where they take over the main focus of the story, that of Areck. The characters in this book had some obvious planning behind them. Every character that's talked about has a part to play in the overall book. There is certainly a great deal of character development with Areck and what he goes through. The character of Lord Bowon has a tremendous amount of development at well. I can't go into details, because I don't want to spoil things for anyone. While there are certainly some good, solid characters in this novel - the real strength of the novel comes from the plots and the overall story arch. I don't mean that as the characters are bad in any way, it's just meant the story if the thing of greatest import and at times the story seems to pull the characters along with it. I have a few minor criticisms about this novel. First off there are a few times where I would have liked to read more descriptions about people, setting etc. What I mean by that was there were a few times when I had a hard time visualizing what it was I was supposed to see. This doesn't detract a great deal from the overall enjoyment of the novel, just a small nuisance. The very beginning of the book seemed a little jumbled to me. Mr. Fogle tried to introduce a lot of characters and many settings all in the span of about thirty pages. I don't know if this was due to word count limits or other necessities, but it felted rushed and I had a hard time following everything. With that said, I enjoyed this novel quite a bit. It set up future events very well. For a new author, Mr. Fogle has penned a tale that is yet unfolding. This first installment is a very good addition to the fantasy genre and one the serious fantasy fans will enjoy. If you are looking for large scale battles, magic users throwing spells, or hoards of monsters - this may not be the book for you. Yet, if you are looking for a well constructed story that has deep ties to religion and the workings of faith do not hesitate to pick this up. This is not your typical mass market fantasy. At times the reader is required to think, and that, is a good thing. I know I am eagerly awaiting the next installment in this series.
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