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Amazon.co.uk Review
Fantasy is always at its best when its subject includes something real; Jude Fisher's first novel Sorcery Rising (she also penned The Lord of the Rings Visual Companion) is not just about the dangers of magic, about strange places and exotic peoples. It is also about how it is that people come to hate and to exploit; Fisher is shrewd about the lies people tell themselves in order to be able to do what they want without any sense of the consequences for others. The wealthy Istrians have a culture based on the enslavement of women and dress this up with passionate goddess-worship; they truly believe that their Eyran trading partners, whose land they stole and whom they continue to threaten, are wicked and unnatural for letting their women smithy swords and reveal their faces. Tough-minded aggressive Katla hardly lands in Istrian territory before she is threatened with burning, and things get worse when she finds herself mixed up in the Istrian Selen's escape from a forced marriage. Fisher adds to a mix which might have ended up as a crude Vikings vs Taliban death match a particularly sinister sorcerer's apprentice who hardly knows what he is doing and a bunch of nomads who know and dread what it means when their charlatanry starts to be real magic. We have here an impressive debut that works its own intelligent riffs on stock material. --Roz Kaveney
Robin Hobb
This book delivers exactly what a fantasy should. Sorcery Rising is a smorgasbord of fantasy elements.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have two things to admit. 1. I am not a huge 'fantasy' reader and 2. I do know the author. But don't dismiss my comments because of the above, as I am an avid reader of fiction (we are talking two novels a week) and so I am actually pretty hard to please. I was looking forward to the publication of Socery Rising. I had read and enjoyed Jude's collaborations as one half of Gabriel King but I was more than blown away by her first solo writing adventure.
In essence, it is a story of two feuding 'nations', the Eyrans from the North and the Istrians from the South, who have an uneasy truce but who have gathered together for the annual Allfair. Add to this steaming cauldron the nomads - the Footloose - purveyors of charms and until now harmless potions -who have come all over Elda and the Master's runaway apprentice, Virelai, with Beta the cat and the strange but beautiful woman, Rosa Eldi and very perplexing things start to happen. The status quo has well and truly been ripped apart - and no man or woman is untouched by the sorcery pervading the Allfair. Men are possessed, some are reduced to violence, some to powerful obsessions whether it be of women, riches or land and a few realise a power - a 'sixth sense' if you like, that is both beneficial and dangerous. There are some great characters in this story, in fact so many, I hardly have the space to list them. My favourite is the courageous, head-strong, athletic and very gifted Katla. She features strongly in this the first book of the Fool's Gold series and hope that we may see plenty of her in the following books.
I was charmed by the author's magical and poetic use of language. I was gripped by the horrifying and sometimes violent scenes and I adored Jude's sense of place and person. I felt her lands and her characters really did exist - I wish! But most of all, and most importantly, Sorcery Rising is a compulsive page turner and I for one cannot wait for book two. Can someone please hurry Jude up?!
Fiona Swinton
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Katla Aransen is a young woman on her way to her first Allfair--a gathering of peoples from lands all over Elde. There her father plans to sell his cargo and with the profits, make a good marriage for his sons and daughters.
Katla has no wish to marry anyone. She wants to remain free to climb the cliffs and rocks that she loves and create beautiful knives and swords with her talent as a smith, but when she arrives at the Allfair and climbs the rock her people call Sur's Castle, she unwittingly sets unforeseen events into motion that might see her burned at the stake and war between bitter rivals.
This story was huge in its vision. Katla is a wonderfully captivating character, as are her brothers and father. Saro Vingo is another character that we feel drawn to. This book deserves its four stars, but the fifth I withheld because there was simply too many good characters. I know that sounds weird, but there were so many different points of view in this book and so many character switches, that I was in danger of getting lost.
Jude Fisher is one talented lady. She would have had all five stars if she had limited the point of view to a handful of characters instead of two handfuls and more. Buy this one now, and then hurry on to the second book called Wild Magic... I'm starting it tonight.
Katla has no wish to marry anyone. She wants to remain free to climb the cliffs and rocks that she loves and create beautiful knives and swords with her talent as a smith, but when she arrives at the Allfair and climbs the rock her people call Sur's Castle, she unwittingly sets unforeseen events into motion that might see her burned at the stake and war between bitter rivals.
This story was huge in its vision. Katla is a wonderfully captivating character, as are her brothers and father. Saro Vingo is another character that we feel drawn to. This book deserves its four stars, but the fifth I withheld because there was simply too many good characters. I know that sounds weird, but there were so many different points of view in this book and so many character switches, that I was in danger of getting lost.
Jude Fisher is one talented lady. She would have had all five stars if she had limited the point of view to a handful of characters instead of two handfuls and more. Buy this one now, and then hurry on to the second book called Wild Magic... I'm starting it tonight.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Drama, suspense and magic, this story has it all.
Set in a world where magic has lain dormant for generations "Sorcery rising" proved to be all I hoped for and more. The characters are dynamic, they're life-like and you can relate to them all. She's drawn alto of inspiration from the ancient cultures of scandinavia and the middle east, all the while creating her own spin on it.
Set in a world where magic has lain dormant for generations "Sorcery rising" proved to be all I hoped for and more. The characters are dynamic, they're life-like and you can relate to them all. She's drawn alto of inspiration from the ancient cultures of scandinavia and the middle east, all the while creating her own spin on it.
A great debut, by an astounding author. If you miss it, you'll miss one of the greatest works of fantasy out there.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
good, but not quite right
Well, I will try to keep this short!
This was an excellent book in terms of writing style, Fisher has a great talent for character and description, that doesn't ever get... Read more
This was an excellent book in terms of writing style, Fisher has a great talent for character and description, that doesn't ever get... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Larewen Evenstar
Overwritten, tedious writing style
I was really looking forward to reading this book, as the blurb on the back sounded intriguing. However, I have to agree with the earlier reviewers who thought that the writing... Read more
Published on 17 April 2007 by J Smith
Highly enjoyable
In a moment of desperation before a long plane journey I bought Sorcery Rising and then for a variety of reasons, never opened it. Read more
Published on 24 Oct 2006 by Tom Brown
Tedious writing style
I thought the story looked promising and liked the main character, Katla, although for me the whole book was let down by author's prose style. Judge for yourself though. Read more
Published on 1 Sep 2006 by Mrs. K. Brown
Too slow
I gave up on this book less than 100 pages in. Sure, the prologue was interesting and offered a lot of promise, but I found the writing style to be not at all to my tastes. Read more
Published on 3 Mar 2006 by xenofan
Great story!
I found this book a very good read. The characters were credible and the plot imaginative, in my opinion. I am really looking forward to the sequel.
Published on 3 Oct 2003
An amazing fantasy book
This was an amazing book which told of several people, whos lives become complexly intertwined during the story. Read more
Published on 8 Aug 2003
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