Entries tagged with watt-evans; lawrence

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BL: The Turtle Moves! (Watt-Evans, Lawrence)

Lawrence Watt-Evans, The Turtle Moves!
BenBella (2008) ISBN: 978-1-933771-46-5
Score: 1.5

This is explicitly one author trying to cash in on another author's success. It's really more of a long essay than a book, giving an overview of the Discworld series (and each sub-series), discussion of how the series changed over time, and speculation about why it's so popular (short answer: it's stories about stories). The author is trying hard not to write a scholarly book, so none of these topics is pursued in much depth and the chapters are generally only about 3 pages long, with most of the book being brief descriptions of each story in the series, including the short stories and Science of books.

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BL: The Summer Palace (Watt-Evans, Lawrence)

Lawrence Watt-Evans, The Summer Palace
Tor (2008) ISBN: 0-7653-1028-7
Score: 2

Conclusion of the Annals of the Chosen trilogy, in which we learn more about the Uplanders and the giant anti-magic birds they live off of. I did correctly guess the direction of the main plot from the first book, but there were still a few surprises. I did find it odd that the protagonist's opinion of the ler (nature/elemental spirits) kept flip-flopping from "respected allies" to "evil menace". And a warning to anyone who checks the end of the book for appendices and stuff: this book does have an appendix, and the last line of it is a big spoiler.

Next Book: Naomi Novik, Victory of Eagles

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BL: The Ninth Talisman (Watt-Evans, Lawrence)

Lawrence Watt-Evans, The Ninth Talisman
Tor (2007) ISBN: 0-7653-1027-9
Score: 2

The middle of the Annals of the Chosen trilogy, in which it turns out that some people *did* think about what the protagonist said at the end of the previous book, but he has mixed feelings about the results. It ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger; I expect the next day or two to be very interesting. Also, the title isn't as appropriate as the working title Winterhome was (something about building roads would have been even better).

(PS. Does anyone know why my default userpic suddenly disappeared? The keywords and comment remained when I looked at all my userpics, but there was no image. I just finished deleting the original entry and loading it agains.)

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BL: The Wizard Lord

Lawrence Watt-Evans, The Wizard Lord
Tor (2006) ISBN: 0-765-31026-0
Score: 2.5

Start of a high fantasy trilogy (Annals of the Chosen), but can be read as a stand alone (the conflict is completely resolved; I suspect the next two books will deconstruct the setting like his Obsidian trilogy). This is clearly a "what if?" book concerning a nation ruled by a very very powerful wizard (the original purpose was to stomp rogue wizards, and now that they're rare he makes sure it never rains during the daytime) and the eight Chosen Heroes[1] (non-wizards with magical abilities) whose job is to kill him if he goes bad. I suspect a lot of readers will be frightened away by the fantasy cliches (the Chosen are explicitly stereotypes: the world's greatest swordsman, greatest archer, greatest thief, most beautiful woman, etc), and while the author does twist things a bit I would have liked a few more surprises.

[1]"... realize we aren't a bunch of heroes out of some ancient legend."
"But, Boss," the Seer said, "we are heroes out of legend."

Next Book: Charlie Huston, Already Dead

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BL: Out of This World

Lawrence Watt-Evans, Out of This World
Del Rey (1993) ISBN: 0-345-39114-4
Score: 1

Beginning of the Three Worlds trilogy (and there's no hint that it's a part of a larger work until the very end). An ominous being known as Shadow has conquered the world of Faerie, and is starting to attack the universe of the Galactic Empire, who looks for allies and finds the universe of Earth. The book opens with both the Empire and resistance forces from Faerie trying to make an alliance with the USA, only to discover that Imperial tech and magic don't work here. The tone changes rather drastically halfway through: characters who made it through the first half literally without a scratch suddenly start dying off-screen. This is also one of those oddly dated books from the end of the 20th century: too recent to feel "historical" while still pre-dating cell phones and the internet.

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BL: Ithanalin's Restoration

Lawrence Watt-Evans, Ithanalin's Restoration
Tor (2002) ISBN: 0-765-30012-5
Score: 3

Another Ethshar book (I've now read everything except a couple short stories), set at the same time as The Spell of the Black Dagger but in a different city, so there are some spoilers for that conflict; Gresh, Kaligir, and Valder are mentioned, but do not appear. Ithanalin is interrupted in the middle of a spell, accidentally animating his furniture while de-animating his body. And all the other wizards are busy panicking about events in Ethshar of the Sands, so his apprentice Kilisha has to fix things herself. It was nice to see a professional wizard at work, but this book made me realize how little we know of other types of magic. I did like the bit where Kilisha argues with a witch over whether herbalism is magic.

Next Book: Diane Duane, Wizards at War

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BL: The Spriggan Mirror

Lawrence Watt-Evans, The Spriggan Mirror
http://www.ethshar.com/thesprigganexperiment0.html
Score: 3

The above link leads to the complete first draft of the latest Ethshar book. This one is about Gresh the Supplier being hired by the Guild of Wizards (acting through Tobas of Telven) to find the spriggan mirror that Tobas accidentally created in With a Single Spell. So you should read that one first (I didn't, and it was really odd knowing in advance how the romantic subplot would resolve). This also contains spoilers for Spell of the Black Dagger, and I think Gresh is a minor character in Ithanalin's Restoration (which I'm going to read later this week). Finding the mirror turns out to be the easy part; figuring out what it's doing and how they should stop it is more complicated. I'm looking forward to the final version.

Next Book: Lemony Snicket, The Dastardly Denouement(?)

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BL: Taking Flight

Lawrence Watt-Evans, Taking Flight
Del Rey (1993) ISBN: 0-345-37715-X
Score: 2

Another Ethshar book, set between The Unwilling Warlord and The Blood of a Dragon, though not really linked to any others. A traveling charlatan gives a typical fame, fortune, and love prophecy to Kelder of Shulara, who doubts it somewhat, but is determined to make it come true anyway. He soon meets Irith the Flyer, who matches the description of his prophesied wife, and journeys with her along the Great Highway. The ending is rather abrupt and lacking in closure. That is clearly what the author wanted, but I would have preferred seeing what happens the next time Kelder meets some of these people, or at least see another day or two more. Doesn't really add anything the our knowledge of Ethshar (just some wizard spells, a couple Small Kingdoms, and Shan on the Desert).

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BL: Night of Madness

Lawrence Watt-Evans, Night of Madness
Tor (2000) ISBN: 0-312-87368-9
Score: 2.5

Another Ethshar book, this is mainly a prequel, taking place before all the others except Misenchanted Sword (and possibly Taking Flight; I'm reading that next). If you've read the books set later, you already know that the title refers to the night warlockry was introduced to the World. Needless to say, we learn a lot about warlockry in this book. We also see how the Wizards' Guild works, and get to see its Inner Circle. This isn't a bad place to start; in fact, the other books reveal certain aspects of warlockry that are learned the hard way in this book.

Next Book: Terry Pratchett, Thud!

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BL: The Blood of a Dragon

Lawrence Watt-Evans, The Blood of a Dragon
Del Rey (1991) ISBN: 0-345-36410-4
Score: 2

Another Ethshar novel, this time about 12 year old Dumery's attempts to get an apprenticeship. His first choice was wizard, but it turns out he has absolutely no ability to perform magic of any kind (making him rare, possibly unique). Somewhat unhappy with magicians in general and wizards in particular, he decides to make his fortune selling dragon's blood for insane prices, and then things get complicated. This book has only a few minor connections to the others: Valder has a cameo to say a few words about spriggans, the Empire of Vond is mentioned, and Teneria (who will play a minor role later in The Spell of the Black Dagger) is a minor POV character, giving us our first inside look at witchcraft. We also learn a lot about dragons and get close to the Warlock Stone in Aldagmor.

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BL: The Spell of the Black Dagger

Lawrence Watt-Evans, The Spell of the Black Dagger
Del Rey (1993) ISBN: 0-345-37712-5
Score: 3

Another Ethshar novel, about two young women (Lady Sarai, daughter of the Minister of Justice of Ethshar of the Sands and Tabaea, a not very successful thief) and how they react to suddenly gaining powers of various types. Includes good examples of theurgy and sorcery, as well as the worst of wizardry (and wizards). Also includes Tobas and other characters from With a Single Spell, so that should be read first.

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BL: The Unwilling Warlord

Lawrence Watt-Evans, The Unwilling Warlord
Del Rey (1989) ISBN: 0-345-35413-3
Score: 3

Another Ethshar novel; you don't need to read the others first (though The Misenchanted Sword helps explain the political history). Sterran, a street gambler in Ethshar of the Spices (he's mysteriously lucky at dice), is kidnapped and told he's inherited the title of Warlord of Semma, one of the Small Kingdoms near the southern edge of the World. In this case, "small" means one castle and a handful of villages. Semma has maintained its independence by playing its neighbors off each other; unfortunately the current king has managed to insult not only both his neighbors (each significantly larger), but also their neighbors. Unfortunately for Sterran, abandoning his duties is considered treason (punished by summary execution) and furthermore, it's traditional for defeated warlords to be executed by the victorious side. Includes lots of information about warlockry, shows what the edge of the World looks like, and how the Empire of Vond got started. Also includes additional information about wizardry (and the Wizard's Guild), witchcraft, and theurgy.

Next Book: Garth Nix, Across the Wall

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BL: With a Single Spell

Lawrence Watt-Evans, With a Single Spell
Wildside (1987) ISBN: 1-58715-285-1
Score: 2

Second Ethshar novel, telling the story of Tobas of Telven, an apprentice wizard who has only learned one spell when his master suddenly dies. When the other wizards don't help him (he's too old to start another apprenticeship), he lets himself be recruited to help kill a dragon that's ravaging one of the Small Kingdoms. Lots of interesting information on how wizardry and witchcraft work, and good place to start the series (unlike The Spriggan Mirror which spoils much of this book). This edition also includes the short (and inconsequential) story "Weaving Spells".

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BL: The Misenchanted Sword

Lawrence Watt-Evans, The Misenchanted Sword
Wildside (1985) ISBN: 1-58715-282-7
Score: 2.5

First Ethshar novel (medievaloid fantasy with multiple magic systems), showing the end of the 100 year Great War between Ethshar and the Northern Empire, and some of the consequences, as viewed through the eyes of Valder, a scout (later an innkeeper), and how he dealt with Wirikidor, the titular sword. This edition also includes the short story "The Bloodstone". I usually don't care for short fiction, and this one didn't add anything to my understanding of the setting or characters.

Next Book: Lois McMaster Bujold, The Hallowed Hunt