After that, I’m torn between The Hero of Ages, Knife of Dreams, and Dance of the Damned. I definitely want to start one that I can finish by the end of the year, and I’ll have a better idea after I finish Ghouls.

Pages:  337

Reading Time:  about 6 hours

With elements of the Old West, Steampunk, Lycanthropy, Magic, and strange creatures, Dead Iron has everything it needs to be a heck of story. So is it a heck of story? The answer will soon be revealed (minor spoilers to follow)…

The story takes place in the fictional frontier town of Hallelujah, Oregon, and with the introduction of rail and steam, and references to the (Civil) War, the period seems to be close to the turn of the 20th century. I have lived in Oregon and still live nearby, so the setting has an appeal to me. The story follows Cedar Hunt, a tracker/bounty hunter cursed with Lycanthropy. When a little boy goes missing in town, Cedar decides to track the boy and bring him back.

What Cedar doesn’t count on is crossing paths with the Strange, evil apparitions that stalk the land, and Shard Lefel, a railroad magnate with sinister plans of his own. Both Lefel and the Strange interfere with Cedar’s plans, causing him to sidetracked. To complicate matters, it’s a full moon, and Cedar has no control over who or what he kills when he takes his wolf form.

Cedar Hunt is a troubled man. Due to his curse, he keeps his distance from other people. Many years ago he was responsible for the death of his brother, and it weighs heavily on him. He’s an honorable man, university-educated, and a likable character.

Besides having viewpoints from Cedar Hunt and Shard Lefel, we are also following the stories of Mae Lindson and Rose Small. Mae is a witch, but one of the good types, she specializes in healing. Her husband has been killed by Shard Lefel, but unknown to her, her husband has risen to take revenge on Lefel. At the same time, Lefel needs the witch for his own dark purpose and plots to capture her. Rose Small is a teenager witch a knack for inventing things (called devising) and a desire to see the world. Left on the doorstep of her adopted parents’ home, no one knows exactly *what* Rose is, but it’s clear she’s troubled and mouthy, and because of that and her inventions, she is considered past her prime for marriage, leading to whispers about her throughout the town. There are also three brothers, miners called the Madder brothers, and an evil Strange known as Mr. Shunt, that feature prominently in the story.

The paths of these characters constantly cross, and drive the story. At several points I expected the story to go a certain way, but Devon Monk surprised me by taking it in a different direction. There are all kinds of steampunk inventions, including mechanical creatures that serve as bodies for the Strange, powered by a green liquid called glim, which is harvested in the air by airships and is extremely valuable.

The plot centers around two threads: cedar’s attempts to find the missing boy, and Lefel’s plan to return to his native land, for he is sort of a creature of faeirie. The plot works, for the most part, due to a time restriction for Lefel to return to his land, giving him a sense of urgency and desperation, while Cedar constantly comes up against powerful forces that get in his way as he searches for clues and tries to help the widowed Mae.

There are a few problems with the story, as I’ll detail below:

• Jeb Lindson keeps coming back from death, at least 3 or 4 times, with no real explanation for how this occurs, and becomes impossible to stop. By creating a character like this, it takes some of the drama out of the story, since you know the character can’t be stopped.
• People are constantly getting mortally wounded but still survive. It’s hard to tell what it takes to actually kill someone. At one point Mr. Shunt is destroyed but able to stitch himself back together; later in the story he is unable to accomplish this again, and I’m not sure why.
• There is also much mention of a gun needed to kill the Strange, but it never becomes the factor it’s made out to be, despite the fact that it’s mentioned constantly throughout the story.
• At one point characters are running through an underground mine but are found from above ground, without any explanations as to how they were able to be detected from above.
• We never learn what Rose *is*. There are hints but no answers. Perhaps the answer to this will show up in a sequel…
• With so many characters converging at the finale, things become a bit chaotic and the action can be hard to follow at times.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read. Devon Monk has a prose that borders on beautiful, and there is a vibe, a feel to that prose, that is unique. It’s not for everybody; some reviewers over at Amazon have complained that the story moved too slowly, but I didn’t feel that way. It’s character-driven, meaning the characters are the focus, not the action. It does feel like this could be a screenplay – not for a movie, but rather a weekly series on, say, the Syfy channel, and it would be right at home next to Warehouse 13 or Haven. I think it would be quite good if done right. I wouldn’t claim it to be the best story I’ve read this year, but it was a good, light read, and I may spring for the sequel.

Pages:  386

Reading Time:  about 7 hours

Halt’s Peril is the 9th book in the Ranger’s Apprentice series. After the positive review I gave to The Kings of Clonmel, the 8th book in the series, I was really looking forward to this story. Some spoilers of Book 8 will be revealed, as the two stories are linked, so if you haven’t read that book you may want to stop here. Otherwise, it’s on to the review…

The book begins a little after the events in the previous story – Will, Halt, and Horace are attempting to track down and capture the fake prophet/cult leader/con artist Tennyson, who always seems to be a step ahead of them. There’s some solid opening scenes, one taking place in a smuggler’s port and the other in a pirate attack on the sea during a storm. The boys continue to pursue Tennyson, but when they finally get close, they’ve got to deal with an ambush from the Genovesan assassins.  The ambush scene is fantastic – Will & Halt know it’s coming, but there’s really no avoiding it. The tension builds as both sides attempt to take down each other, knowing the first to make a mistake will die. This showdown is tension-filled and logical, and is perhaps the highlight of the book.

Although I may be about to reveal a spoiler here, it’s in the synopsis on the inside of the book cover, so I’m not sure it’s a shock. Halt gets nicked by a crossbow bolt from one of the assassins, who happen to use poison. When they get back on the trail of Tennyson, Halt takes a turn for the worse. This leads to the fight to save Halt’s life. Unfortunately the story at this point becomes a grind, as Will and Horace try to figure out what to do, then set out to do it. This subplot consumes about 125 pages, or roughly a third of the book, during which not much happens. At several points I was gritting my teeth as it took the characters several pages to work through obvious solutions, although the means by which Horace & Will determine which antidote to use is well-conceived.

The characters continue to act consistently, though there’s a lot more angst & bickering in this book than there was in the previous one. There’s also one curious scene where Halt rants at Will in a manner that is totally out of character, nor is it explained why. The humor continues to be the guess-you-had-to-be-there variety, and there’s quite a bit more of it forced on the reader than there was in the previous story.

Some previously-introduced characters make an appearance, including one of my favorites. The ending is wrapped up nice and neat, with no cliffhangers or loose threads to be resolved. There aren’t really any major shocks or surprises in the book.

Although I did enjoy Halt’s Peril, I feel it wasn’t quite up to the standard set by The Kings of Clonmel. It’s a little slower, a little more predictable, and a little more forced. My feelings are mixed on whether or not I’ll by the final book in the series, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja. The reviews are somewhat mixed on Amazon, and it does take place in an eastern setting, which I have loathed thus far; however, that setting is akin to feudal Japan, which I think I would like, and Halt’s Peril wasn’t awful, so I may take the plunge and finish out the series.

I had completely forgotten that several months ago, I won a contest over at Fantasy Literature, and the prize was a copy of Dead Iron by Devon Monk. As a fan of steampunk (I’m currently building a Steampunk Pinball Time Machine), the book sounds very intriguing: a frontier setting, with magic, werewolves, evil-doers known as the Strange, and of course steampunk elements. I’ve happily added it as my current read.

Devon Monk lives in Oregon, which is very close to where I’m at. Unfortunately I missed her at the Beaverton Powell’s Books, which she was at in May, before Dead Iron was released. Hopefully I’ll catch up to her for an autograph and conversation at some point…

I’ve ordered the following books from Amazon:

The Alloy of Law from Brandon Sanderson…I’m almost done with the original Mistborn trilogy, so it seems like a good time to add this.

Ghouls of the Miskatonic by Graham McNeill. I’m a huge fan of Lovecraft & the Arkham Horror board game from Fantasy Flight Games, so when I saw this release of the first book in a planned trilogy (Book One in The Dark Waters trilogy), I knew I had to have it.

Dance of the Damned by Alan Bligh. A new release in a separate trilogy (Book One of The Lord of Nightmares trilogy), I also had to have this one for the reasons described above…

Pages: 388

Reading Time: about 8 hours

The Measure of the Magic is the sequel to Bearers of the Black Staff. You can find my review of that book here:

http://hippogriff.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/book-review-bearers-of-the-black-staff-by-terry-brooks/

I had a lot of problems with Bearers of the Black Staff, and those issues still persist in The Measure of the Magic. Let’s take a look at them one by one…

Interest Level: This did not improve for me. If anything, it worsened with the deaths of characters in the previous book that I was interested in. I must say I’m growing weary of Mr. Brooks focusing on young teenagers as his main protagonists. Older characters seem to exist only as villains or mentors.

Villains: My complaint about uninspired villains remains. The focus of this book shifts from scheming humans to – a demon. Demons have been used extensively by Brooks in many of his stories, and have become a bit repetitive. This one somehow survives Armageddon, and although he pursues the bearer of the black staff, he never appears in the previous series where there were more staffs being used, and used far more frequently. At one point of the story this demon shoots green flame from his fingertips in a scene that is reminiscent of Palpatine’s attack on Mace Windu and Yoda in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

Plot: again, we’ve made no progress here. ***SPOILER ALERT*** I’m supposed to care about the people of the valley, but they remain nameless and faceless. Even worse, an entire village follows the demon blindly despite witnessing his blatant murder of a respected town elder, then they are marched out of the valley and slaughtered by Trolls. The King of the Silver River makes an appearance, and it is implied that he has some knowledge of the future, because he says that Pan must confront the demon. Yet the King of the Silver River is only interested in protecting Pan; the previous bearer of the staff, the villagers who are slaughtered, and another main character that dies are of no significance. So in essence, the actions of Hawk in The Gypsy Morph, in which he saves people from Armageddon, changes nothing, as the descendants of those saved are wiped out anyway. Now I realize that the valley is populated by more people than the village of Glensk Wood; however, none of those other people lift a finger to help defend against the invading trolls. This paints those other people as self-serving and naive, so I ask again: why should I care what happens to these people?

Continuity: I expressed some misgivings about plot points and characters missing that tie into the previous books. This has changed a little bit with the return of The King of the Silver River. Are the Word and the Void no longer “entities”? Why? I had wondered about the Ellcrys, but I believe it is holding back demons from the time of Fairie; demons walking the earth in this series and the last were created by the Void, from men who chose to become evil. I’m still curious to see how Brooks gets from here to the events in First King of Shannara.

The book isn’t awful, but it’s far from the best Brooks has to offer. Hopefully he turns that around in a forthcoming series, and for now I’ll give him the opportunity. Another book like these last two, however, and I’ll have to find other alternatives.

Pages:  592

Reading Time:  about 15 hours

As the second book in the Mistborn trilogy, I was afraid The Well of Ascension would suffer from a sophomore slump. I needn’t have worried – The Well of Ascension is an enjoyable read, and in some ways is superior to Mistborn. Spoilers ahead…

Here are some other reviews:

A Fantasy Reader:  http://afantasyreader.blogspot.com/2011/08/well-of-ascension-review.html

Fantasy Book Critic:  http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2007/08/well-of-ascension-by-brandon-sanderson.html

(Sorry, my ability to insert links is still broken)

The Well of Ascension picks up where Mistborn leaves off. The story focuses mainly on two characters from the first story: Eland is King, Vin is his bodyguard/mistress. The thieving crew have been promoted to high-level positions in order to run the new government. Trouble starts right away as not one, but two armies camp outside the city, looking for the stash of the power metal Atium, which Mistborn can burn to become very powerful.

Eland begins to have trouble with his new government, while trying to deal with the armies camped outside and repeated assassination attempts. Vin continues to struggle with her own self-worth and the death of her mentor. An early indication that someone in the King’s circle is a traitor is also a cause for concern.

As the story progresses, another Mistborn arrives in town, a mysterious creature appears in the mist, a third army full of creatures called Koloss arrive, the mist starts to kill people, and something’s going on with the Inquisitors. Sanderson has a lot of material to juggle here; despite this, story moves very slowly through the first 200 pages, and struggled through that part of it.

I’ve never been fond of politics, especially in fantasy, and it was my least-favorite aspect of Mistborn. That continues here, and in my opinion it drags on the pace of the narrative; however, when action began to replace politics, I started getting more and more caught up in the story. Though the story has some predictability to it, Sanderson still throws in enough twists and turns to keep the story fresh, and it kept me turning the pages.

Another area where the story bogs down at times is when the Terrisman Sazed is trying to solve the problems with the writings of Kwaan, the discoverer of the Hero of Ages. Far too much time is devoted to Kwaan’s writings, causing the pace to drag. In addition, you could play a drinking game based on the number of times that Sazed knows that there is something wrong with Kwaan’s statements, but was unable to put a finger on it. Although this works out nicely at the end of the story (see the major spoiler below), the journey to get there crawls at a snail’s pace.

There’s a basic premise in creative writing that characters should change over the course of a story. Sanderson has embraced this concept enthusiastically, with Eland and Vin undergoing multiple, remarkable changes. Elend evolves from naive scholar, to commanding king, to bringer of justice; Vin overcomes her lack of self-worth, feelings of betrayal, being used as an assassin, and inability to trust; she fully embraces her power and develops a philosophy on how it should be used. These characters are deep, compelling, have integrity, and are easy to root for. Other characters, however, especially among the thieving crew, are not compelling enough to care whether they live or die.

As in the first story, Sanderson also introduces more strange creatures. The Terris and Kandra are expanded on in many ways, and the Koloss make a great, horrific villian, although Sanderson adds a twist and things are not always what they seem. One of the great relationships in the story is between Vin and the Kandra OreSeur, where Vin’s vulnerability and frustration have the Kandra not only revealing secrets about his people, but also violating his Contract to defend her. I hope this story thread is continued in the last book.

The magic system of Allomancy still plays a major part of the story. While it is still one of the most inventive magic systems ever created, in this book it suffers from both trying to figure out what the limits of its users are (as they push themselves to superhuman efforts), and make it sometimes difficult to follow the action (as it did in the first story). These are minor quibbles that didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story.

The greatest strength of the story is what happens after the “bad guy” gets whacked. Things should be rosy now, right? Well, maybe not so much…the bad guy was able to control the bickering factions that are now trying to take over the city. He also kept people fed and warm, and protected everyone from the Deepness, a terrible danger. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as everyone thought, but now he’s gone and the people wonder if they weren’t better off being oppressed. You can draw parallels to the war in Iraq – an evil dictator was toppled, but suddenly a host of other problems appeared afterwards. It certainly makes the story more believable.

*MAJOR SPOILER ALERT*  highlight this next part if you don’t care if I reveal one of the plot points at the end of the story…

Most stories use prophecy as a means to predict the rise of a hero or event to combat evil. In The Well of Ascension, however, the prophecy is established and manipulated by a possibly evil entity to make sure its goals are met. At one point of the story, the Inquisitor Marsh, Vin’s brother, leads the Terrisman Sazed to a place to ensure he finds this manipulated prophecy and supports it. The end result is a crumbling of Sazed’s entire belief system and purpose that he has dedicated his life to. It’s a crushing blow, and an impressive twist. This leads to another aspect of Sanderson’s writing: he’s not afraid to kill off major characters or have everything in their life become meaningless. While it’s not on the scale of Steven Erikson, is does create tension because you have no idea who will make it to the end. 

The Well of Ascension is, after a slow start, a compelling middle book that sets things up nicely for the finale, The Hero of Ages. Sanderson’s Wheel of Time and Way of Kings entries will have to wait a bit longer to be read by me, because I can’t wait to see how Sanderson wraps things up in The Hero of Ages. And with the new release of The Alloy of Law, it sounds like there’s more goodness to come.

I did receive some new arrivals in the mail yesterday:

The Measure of the Magic by Terry Brooks, which has been added to the queue

Dragon’s Lair (Trade – Hardcover)