Pattern (Scavenger Trilogy)
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'...indescribably addictive. I can heartily recommend both Shadow and Pattern to fantasy connoisseurs who prefer a little more bite from their fiction .Do try this most excellent of sagas. I really don't think you'll be disappointed.' THE ALIEN ONLINE
Product Description
K.J. Parker's SHADOW began a ground-breaking new series that takes fantasy into remarkable new territory. Now, with PATTERN, the extraordinary story of Poldarn takes a new shape. In a world he does not know, Poldarn's future is uncertain. Pursued by invisible enemies, and haunted by the demons of his past, nobody can be trusted - not even himself, it seems. Attempting to piece together his own life from whatever scattered fragments he can find and dreams that hide as much as they reveal has brought him nothing but trouble. Now all he craves is peace. But will he find it on the island he believes to be his childhood home? Or will this place hold more terrors for him to confront? Look out for more information on this and other titles at www.orbitbooks.co.uk
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In the first book of The Scavenger Trilogy, Shadow, many things were discovered about the main character Poldarn, from the scattered memories of his past which returned to him in fragmented form in his dreams. But many more things were revealed about K.J.Parker, the most obvious being this man is a major new talent in the fantasy genre, and has assured himself a place in my personal must-read list from here on; another discovery about him is that he loves to toy with his reader. Shadow was littered with false clues and hints, leading the reader to constantly rework their theories over who Poldarn really was. This was one of the book's strongest and most intriguing parts.
It is even more strongly the case in the sequel, Pattern. Poldarn's past is by no means decided as he arrives at his childhood home and meets his estranged family. This book takes a different tack to the first, with Poldarn remaining essentially in the same place and having to deal with the other characters around him rather than wandering the hills and taking life as it comes (or, more likely, punches him in the face). This is a welcome change and adds diversity to the Poldarn's story; the dreams also return and with them a plethora of new suspicions and ponderings over who he has been in his forgotten life. And now he is surrounded by people who know something of his past and aren't telling him, so much can be gleaned (perhaps falsely, however) from their reactions to him.
It is even more strongly the case in the sequel, Pattern. Poldarn's past is by no means decided as he arrives at his childhood home and meets his estranged family. This book takes a different tack to the first, with Poldarn remaining essentially in the same place and having to deal with the other characters around him rather than wandering the hills and taking life as it comes (or, more likely, punches him in the face). This is a welcome change and adds diversity to the Poldarn's story; the dreams also return and with them a plethora of new suspicions and ponderings over who he has been in his forgotten life. And now he is surrounded by people who know something of his past and aren't telling him, so much can be gleaned (perhaps falsely, however) from their reactions to him.
The most enjoyable aspect of Parker's works, I think, is the cynically realistic tone he maintains throughout his novels, a pessimistic, or realistic perhaps, take on life which grounds his characters in a more believable world than the typical fantasy heroes and heroines of the genre. There really wasn't a poor quality sentence in the whole book (and in a side note, it was incredibly well proof read, with only a couple of missing speech marks to be seen).
It's surprisingly difficult to review this book, because there is so much to commend it which is hard to describe. As this is the second book in a trilogy, I would assume that you have read Shadow, and therefore are familiar with what made Shadow an excellent book; all that can easily be said from that basis is that Pattern keeps up that supreme quality, but moves both Poldarn and the plot forward. It gets a little complicated in the sometimes (intentionally) conflicting dreams and memories he has, and had me keeping some notes to stay on track with the revelations...all to little avail because there is a magnificently surprising twist in the final pages.
To bring that rambling to an end - buy this book. It deserves attention and acclaim, and I look forward to both the final instalment and K.J. Parker gaining the true status as a superb fantasy writer that he has proven he richly deserves with both Shadow and Pattern.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an excellent book.
I found the first of the trilogy a rather hard read with its meandering plot and lack of coherent direction and also its lack of depth of character (few characters stick around for long and the "hero" has no memory) but I decided to persist with the series in the hope that the first book was merely setting the scene and things would get better.
They did.
Pattern is superb; very original and at times very funny.
The plot develops (although a lot of things are deliberately left obscure to tease the reader) and starts making sense, as Poldarn continues to regain his memories he starts to become a real character rather than simply someone things keep happening to.
In summary buy the book! If the third carries on where this left then the trilogy will be even better than the Fencer Trilogy
I found the first of the trilogy a rather hard read with its meandering plot and lack of coherent direction and also its lack of depth of character (few characters stick around for long and the "hero" has no memory) but I decided to persist with the series in the hope that the first book was merely setting the scene and things would get better.
They did.
Pattern is superb; very original and at times very funny.
The plot develops (although a lot of things are deliberately left obscure to tease the reader) and starts making sense, as Poldarn continues to regain his memories he starts to become a real character rather than simply someone things keep happening to.
In summary buy the book! If the third carries on where this left then the trilogy will be even better than the Fencer Trilogy
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After reading this book i was actually shocked. I found that the the previous book 'Shadow' was brilliant, not only for its thrilling plot, but also because of the way Parker presents the lead character. As you may already know the main character Poldarn has lost his memory. Parker is able to deal with this very well as s/he is able to create the character with little personality. Many other critics have slammed Parkers character for his lack of deepth, but in my opinion Parker has done the plot justice by having the character (who has no memory) lacking real depth.
This trait is once again seen in the second noval 'Pattern'. I believe that many critics have slammmed this book on account of the slow and almost non existant plot. However what many readers seem to forget is that the main character has little or no memory(Ironic,I know). Parker reflects this extremely well in the plot by having the main character focus on his day to day life rather then have him off saving the planet or whatever else most generic fantasy hereos do. The point is that Parker is cleary trying to get across the fact that people with no memory have a very undeveloped personality as one's past determines one's outake on the world.
I would recommend this book to any reader who is able to look past the fact that this is a fantasy book lacking fantasy, and instead I advise them to take the novel for what it really is; a man's journey to find himself.
This trait is once again seen in the second noval 'Pattern'. I believe that many critics have slammmed this book on account of the slow and almost non existant plot. However what many readers seem to forget is that the main character has little or no memory(Ironic,I know). Parker reflects this extremely well in the plot by having the main character focus on his day to day life rather then have him off saving the planet or whatever else most generic fantasy hereos do. The point is that Parker is cleary trying to get across the fact that people with no memory have a very undeveloped personality as one's past determines one's outake on the world.
I would recommend this book to any reader who is able to look past the fact that this is a fantasy book lacking fantasy, and instead I advise them to take the novel for what it really is; a man's journey to find himself.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Bit Wierd But Readable
Kind of hard to follow in places and ultimately I never quite got was going on. The twist at the end seemed a bit of an anti-climax. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. N. J. Keighley
The man who hated crows
Second volume in the scavenger trilogy, a series of fantasy novels, concerning the exploits of Poldarn.
But that's not his real name. Read more
But that's not his real name. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Paul Tapner
Not recommended
I would have to disagree with the previous review. After battling through the first in this triology "Shadow" I decided to give K J Parker the benefit of the doubt and purchase... Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2002
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