- Paperback: 704 pages
- Publisher: Orbit; New edition edition (7 Mar 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1841490881
- ISBN-13: 978-1841490885
- Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 17.7 x 4.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 45,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
The One Kingdom, the first volume of the "Swans' War" sequence, takes us to a land cut into a myriad of small valleys by an endlessly curving and treacherous river which sometimes wanders out of reality. Selfish nobles have reduced the land to barbarism and poverty with their feuding over what is no longer even credibly a throne--even the honourable Arden and Dease are plotting to kill their much-loved kinsman for trying to make a peace with enemies they will not trust. And into this mess of arranged marriages and evil henchmen and blind minstrel lords wander three young men from the further reaches of the valleys looking for the man who pilfered the minor treasures they had gleaned from old battlefields, a man who is more than he seems and whose enemies are not people to whose attention one wishes to come. Russell is setting things up for the long haul here, and yet this is a book full of set pieces and a sense of the bloody past haunting the present like a nightmare. We find ourselves caring passionately about minor characters: a disfigured noblewoman who attends a ball behind a mask and the minstrels casually butchered by a dark magician's hired thugs. --Roz Kaveney
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'A master of intelligent fantasy - subtle, well-crafted and gripping.' STEPHEN DONALDSON 'Magic and mystery blend in abundance with an intricate cast of characters. An engrossing read.' ROBIN HOBB 'A perfectly plotted, beautifully written fantasy' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 'This book is the beginning of something big, something very big' DIVERSEBOOKS.COM
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fantasy fresh air,
By A Customer
This review is from: The One Kingdom (Swans' War) (Paperback)
Like the previous reviewers I was finding much fantasy writing stale (I was reading Stone of Tears at the same time as The One Kingdom which proved a useful contrast). The One Kingdom is a marvellous, leisurely paced book without many of the usual fantasy cliches. You get a real sense that the main characters are being slowly but irresistably drawn into a greater story with its origins in the distant past. The magic is low key evoking mystery rather than wizz bang pyrotechnics. I can't wait for the second part! Knights of the Vow = Knights Templar?
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A dream of a book,
By A Customer
This review is from: The One Kingdom (Swans' War) (Paperback)
This is a beautiful book. The plot is intricately woven,layers building one on another, and the characters are believable, flawed, and human. The atmosphere is tense at times, and yet there is something dreamlike and at times idyllic in a relaxed kind of way. A book that will drop images into your mind and induce a variety of moods. I was impressed. And then horrified that I'll have to wait almost a year for the sequel. How can they do that?
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A pleasant read that lacks pace.,
This review is from: The One Kingdom (Swans' War) (Paperback)
Ok sometimes a relaxed pace in a book is pleasant, here i found it a little off putting. The main characters are typical every man style heroes out of their depth. The main plot is simple enough and the magic seems suitably mysterious, however I found the world unconvincing and underdeveloped. That aside it is a nice start to an entertain saga. undemanding.
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