Geist (Book of the Order) [Mass Market Paperback]

Firstly this is one of the most beautiful covers i've ever seen in my life. The art is just plain amazing and totally makes you want to read the story without even looking the summary!

On the book now. Is it as good as its cover? Oh my...yes yes it is! Philippa Ballantine creates an original new world which gets you in from the first chapters. A story with mystery, lots of action, romance, friendship. There are so many books out there in fantasy worlds and most of them are around the same concept of heroes, and prophecies, and elves, and orcs, wizards,etc so Geist is definitely a nice change into those worlds with a combination ghosts,bits of steampunk and paranormal fantasy. There are no huge epic battles but there is some serious exciting action scenes with many twists though the story.

Another thing that i liked is how the characters are not teens who are new to the geist things but adults with lots of history behind. I liked how i learned the history of the world by learning more about their own history at the same time. And there is a character for everyone to like, a kick ass woman, a cute and bit shy at times but really strong (mentally and physically) guy, a hot exiled prince (who is actually pretty much awesome for more than his hotness!), a mysterious girl and many other secondary characters.

Even though the book is more of an introduction for the things to come, with many unanswered questions at the end, it totally stands alone as great novel. The first 2-3 chapters (how much i love when books start with an action scene!) where you meet everyone through some events are bit confusing since you don't know anything about this new world but it's actually really easy to adjust and remember everything.

The only thing i didn't like about the book is that i didn't pick it up earlier! Easy one of my favorite fantasy adventures which i can read again and again and stay with me through time!

Hi

If you are planning on reading Geist please do!!! You won't regret it. I ordered it off Amazon and was meant to let my partner read it first but couldn't wait.

I read it in two days and couldn't put the book down. I felt hungry for more at end of the book and have actually pre-ordered the sequel tonight which is out next year I think.

The characters had plenty of depth and it was easy to be pulled into the world and enjoy hearing about feisty Sorcha and the mayhem that seems to emerge around her as the story progresses. The fantasy world came alive and I was disappointed to put the book down. I now have of course by finishing it so speedily and enjoyably allowed the book to be read shortly by my partner.

I discovered Philippa by listening to Weavers Web which I would also highly recommend!

Happy Reading!

I can't remember when or where I first heard of Geist, but I do know that after I did, the book quickly went on my wish list, as the premise sounded like good old, traditional fantasy. Which it wasn't and which certainly in the first couple of chapters made it hard for me to settle into the story. The book is a hodgepodge of traditional epic fantasy and steampunk elements. However the steampunk elements felt sort of tacked in and were at times jarring. For example, Sorcha smokes cigars, but for some reason the word 'cigar' kept jumping out at me and shaking me from the narrative. Partly, this was probably caused by my unfamiliarity with steampunk, but the fact that nothing in the flap text indicated this isn't just a straight traditional fantasy setting might play a part too, as I wasn't expecting the modern-ish things such as cigars, dirigibles and rifles.

At the start of the story the book seemed laced with genre tropes, such as, for example, the exceptional partnership between Sorcha and Merrick, the noble cursed prince and the Order militant to protect the realm, but Ballantine quickly twists these and makes them her own. Said partnership turns out to be special for an unexpected reason, the noble prince is noble, but his curse stays a curse and the Order militant isn't exactly as clerical as one might expect from their titles! Ballantine succeeds in using tropes without letting them slip (too far) into cliché and I wasn't bored with them at any point.

I enjoyed the characters. I loved Sorcha's marital problems, or rather the way they are part of the story, but not a gimmick. While you might quibble at her eventual infidelity, and the way there wasn't much soul-searching over it, at least not as far as we're shown, in a way the circumstances could be considered extenuating; trapped in a loveless marriage, convinced she's probably not going to make it through this last crisis of the realm, I can see why she just gets on with it, without sparing her husband more than a few moments of thought. I also liked how there were plenty of clues given for Nynnia's true identity. I knew something was up with her as this is broadcast pretty clearly from the moment we meet her, I just couldn't figure out what until the reveal and then all the pieces fell into place. The three-way bond, with Sorcha as the linchpin, was also a nice conceit and not only creates solutions, but tensions as well. A character that was most interesting as well, though we only see him as an active point of view for a few scenes, was the Rossin. I found the Beast fascinating, since he's supposed to be evil, but there does seem to be some honour there.

I found the book got better and better by the chapter and I really liked the characters and the twists to the tale. Once I got into it, it was a quick read as well. In all, Geist is a fine read, with a solid story, which I enjoyed enough to make me enthusiastic to read more. Luckily, Spectyr, the second instalment of the Book of the Order is due out on June 28th and, to tide you over in the meantime, you can find several audio short stories set in the same world on the author's website.