See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

8 used & new from £3.26
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Weavers Of Saramyr: Book One of the Braided Path: Weavers of Saramyr Bk. 1 (Gollancz S.F.)
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside another edition of this book

The Weavers Of Saramyr: Book One of the Braided Path: Weavers of Saramyr Bk. 1 (Gollancz S.F.) (Hardcover)

by Chris Wooding (Author) "Kaiku was twenty harvests of age the first time she died ..." (more)
4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


1 new from £139.95 7 used from £3.26
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback (Omnibus Ed) £14.99 £10.49 30 used & new from £3.25

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Skein of Lament: Book Two of the Braided Path: The Braided Path bk. 2 (Gollancz S.F.)

The Skein of Lament: Book Two of the Braided Path: The Braided Path bk. 2 (Gollancz S.F.)

by Chris Wooding
4.0 out of 5 stars (2)  £5.49
The Fade (Gollancz S.F.)

The Fade (Gollancz S.F.)

by Chris Wooding
4.8 out of 5 stars (6)  £7.69
Retribution Falls: Tales of the Ketty Jay

Retribution Falls: Tales of the Ketty Jay

by Chris Wooding
5.0 out of 5 stars (2)  £9.09
Best Served Cold

Best Served Cold

by Joe Abercrombie
4.1 out of 5 stars (19)  £8.57
Nights of Villjamur (Legends of the Red Sun 1)

Nights of Villjamur (Legends of the Red Sun 1)

by Mark Charan Newton
4.8 out of 5 stars (9)  £8.49
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Gollancz (15 May 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0575074418
  • ISBN-13: 978-0575074415
  • Product Dimensions: 24.3 x 16.2 x 4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,134,279 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
With The Weavers of Saramyr, Chris Wooding begins his first adult fantasy trilogy, "The Braided Path". His previous work, most notably the Silver Smarties Award-winner The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray (2001), was published for younger readers.

Here the fantasy empire ruling the land of Saramyr has an oriental flavour, a level of technology that allows rifles and bombs and a communications system relying on magic--the sorcery of the dreaded, masked Weavers. By manipulating the magical Weave of the world, a kind of fantasy cyberspace, Weavers can not only send messages over any distance but manipulate minds, fight intangibly and kill. They are incidentally made rotted and cancerous by their masks, and have revolting habits such as raping and killing small children. Make no mistake, these are the bad guys.

All other forms of magic talent are denounced as Aberrant and the talent-owners condemned to death. Rebellion brews among the Empire's people and powerful noble factions when it emerges that the Heir-Empress Lucia is Aberrant, with gentle powers of communication with birds and earth-spirits. Meanwhile another girl, Kaiku, is orphaned when her family is both poisoned by an unknown hand and attacked by "shin-shin" demons. Kaiku soon finds that she herself is dangerously Aberrant, apt to send out waves of uncontrollable fire. Kaiku makes a quixotic journey with unusual companions, and, by use of the mask that is her sole inheritance, enters a protected place to discover the grim secret of what's slowly poisoning the land. It is not, as the Weavers insist, the existence of Aberrants. Kaiku and her friends join the Red Order, a sisterhood of trained Aberrants, in a desperate effort to save Lucia from the general bloodshed of the inevitable Imperial coup. Many characters fail to survive for the backlash expected in volume two.

Although Chris Wooding overdoes the repulsiveness of the Weavers themselves--nightmare caricatures rather than plausible villains--his talent for atmosphere and description makes this a memorably intense, exotic adult-fantasy debut. --David Langford

Product Description
A richly textured, darkly evocative fantasy set in a beautifully realised fantasy world, the Saramyr trilogy tell the story of an empire that rules over a land being overwhelmed by evil. An evil that comes from within the empire's centre, a sect of magicians close to the throne intent on killing any child born with magical powers. But now the empress has given birth to just such a child and revolution is brewing. Akin to the works of Robin Hobb this is a hugely involving fantasy set in a world with an enticing oriental flavour.

See all Product Description

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
Kaiku was twenty harvests of age the first time she died. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Weavers Of Saramyr: Book One of the Braided Path: Weavers of Saramyr Bk. 1 (Gollancz S.F.)
69% buy the item featured on this page:
The Weavers Of Saramyr: Book One of the Braided Path: Weavers of Saramyr Bk. 1 (Gollancz S.F.) 4.9 out of 5 stars (10)
Retribution Falls: Tales of the Ketty Jay
16% buy
Retribution Falls: Tales of the Ketty Jay 5.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£9.09
The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray
5% buy
The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray 5.0 out of 5 stars (16)
£6.29
Best Served Cold
5% buy
Best Served Cold 4.1 out of 5 stars (19)
£8.57
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Something Different, 4 Jan 2004
This review is from: The Weavers of Saramyr (The Braided Path, Book 1): Weavers of Saramyr Bk.1 (Paperback)
A slight Oriental feel to the world in this book, which was different. The characters are well written, with interesting abilities. I liked the struggle that Kaiku endured during the story and the author wasn’t afraid to upset the reader by making bold choices. I enjoyed the Weaver characters, as they came over foul but interesting. The plot did slow a bit during detailed back history scenes, but not enough to spoil the story and the ending left me wondering what came next.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A reminder of how good epic fantasy can be, 16 Feb 2009
By A. Whitehead "Werthead" (Colchester, Essex United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This review is from: The Braided Path: Weavers Of Saramyr, The Skein Of Lament, The Ascendancy Veil: "Weavers Of Saramyr", "The Skein Of Lament", "The Ascendancy Veil" (Gollancz S.F.) (Paperback)
The Empire of Saramyr is vast, rich and powerful. The Blood-Empress Anais tu Erinima is one of the most powerful and respected rulers in Saramyr's history, and her rule seems secure. However, the nobility learns that Anais' daughter Lucia has magical powers, marking her out as an Aberrant. Amongst the people of Saramyr only the Weavers are allowed to wield magic in the service of the Empire, and Aberrants - especially women - are to be killed on sight. Anais' determination that her daughter will follow her onto the Imperial Throne splits the nobility and incurs the displeasure of the Weavers, and the seeds of civil war are sewn.


Meanwhile, a young woman named Kaiku and her handmaiden Asara are the sole survivors of a devastating attack that leaves her home in flames and her family murdered. Taking refuge in the wilderness, Kaiku learns that she also harbours the powers that mark her as an Aberrant, but as she travels through Saramyr, trying to find the secret her father unearthed that got him and his family killed, she gradually learns that the Aberrants are not the wanton forces for evil the Weavers have presented them as, and that the Empire is facing many threats to its existence from within and without.

The Braided Path Trilogy was originally published between 2003 and 2005, consisting of the novels The Weavers of Saramyr, The Skein of Lament and The Ascendancy Veil. In 2006 the three books were re-released as a thousand-page omnibus simply entitled The Braided Path. It's well worth tracking down the omnibus edition with its plethora of maps and a very handsome cover.

The Braided Path is an epic fantasy and contains all the requisite battles, political intrigue and memorable characters the subgenre demands. It also has some nice twists on the conventions of the genre. The technology level is higher than normal, with rifles and cannons coming into use, and the culture of Saramyr skews towards Asia by way of Renaissance Italy. The Asian feel of the books makes itself known in the types of monsters that appear, the use of spirits and spirit magic and the types of languages that are featured in the book. Given that Asian-influenced fantasies can easily turn into The Lord of the Rings But With Ninjas!, the author avoids that temptation and successfully gives the trilogy a rich atmosphere.


The trilogy is deftly paced, with an enormous number of characters, conspiracies, plots, subplots and factions featured in its relatively modest length (the entire trilogy is shorter than a lot of Steven Erikson's individual Malazan novels, for example). It takes the reader on a wild and enjoyable ride, and it certainly reminded me of how good epic fantasy can be in the right hands. In fact, alongside The First Law Trilogy, The Ten Thousand and The Lies of Locke Lamora, The Braided Path is probably the most outright enjoyable work of epic fantasy I've read in the last few years.

There are a few minor niggles with the book. Occasionally the prose feels a little too modern, and the use of the word 'genetic' at one point feels slightly out of place. Wooding also hints at many other places in the world where stories could be waiting to be told but doesn't expand on them, although it's more of a compliment that he makes the world a living, breathing place that feels like it existed before the story begins and is still there when it ends. American readers may also feel short-changed that the trilogy is not available, at this time, from an American publisher, although copies of both the trilogy and omnibus are available as imports from Amazon.com.

The Braided Path (****½), in its omnibus format, is an excellent work of epic fantasy fiction and I heartily recommend it.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Oriental Fantasy With A Hint Of X-Men, 22 Aug 2006
By Kevin Stevens (Sussex, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Weavers Of Saramyr: Book One of the Braided Path: Braided Path 1 (Gollancz S.F.) (Paperback)
The book is set on an oriental world slightly like that of Tsuranuanni from the Empire trilogy by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts with rival houses vying for more power through alliances and deceit. People appear to be more technologically advanced than in most fantasy novels with rifles and bombs the weopons of choice alongside swords and daggers, however this in no way detracts from the story and fantasy purists should not be put off.
The style of writing is excellent, descriptive but also fast paced and you find yourself completely immersed in this strange and beautiful world. The plot is well thought out with characters responding logically to situations and plenty of suspense thrown into the mix. Put simply this is the type of book which you constantly tell yourself that you'll go to sleep/do the washing up/walk the dog after reading just one more chapter.
My only complaint is that the Weavers are just too evil and despicable, it leaves them too one dimensional and how they come up with their plans for world domination while obviously completely insane is a little puzzling, as is why the noble families put up with their habits. This is a very small complaint about an excellent book and the other two books in the trilogy maintain the high standard set with this opener.
In conclusion this is one of the best fantasy debuts that i have read and i've read alot. If you enjoy fantasy novels by Feist, Martin, Eddings etc then you'll love this book. I've read it three times since its release and enjoyed it every time.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars a word of warning...
I have not yet read the book as I have only just received it, so my star rating might change. In the meantime however, I thought I'd give a quick word of warning about one aspect... Read more
Published 4 months ago by AnetteF

4.0 out of 5 stars The braided path.
I bought this book for my grandson. All I can say is that he really enjoyed it. He also enjoyed the fact that all the books were in one volume so he didn't have to wait to get the... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Adela Harris

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping to the last
When I got this book it was because i needed something to read and I'd already read one of Wooding's books before so I thought why not? Read more
Published 21 months ago by Confette

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Oh my. Although I may be a tad young to truly appreciate these books, they non the less were a magical and breath-taking read. Read more
Published 23 months ago by G. Belben

5.0 out of 5 stars Not another spin on the story told a thousand times over.
I tend to find that with most fiction storys, they all seem to have the same storyline and a very similar ending, most seem a spin of Tolkiens "Lord Of The Rings" series. Read more
Published on 8 Oct 2006 by Chilli Spice

5.0 out of 5 stars Get caught in the Weave
I recently bought this on a whim, as I am prone to do, as I am a fan of computer games such as Onimusha and oriental movies and I have to say I was blown away. Read more
Published on 21 Mar 2005 by David Stewart Mckee

5.0 out of 5 stars chris woodings first adult novel does not disappoint
being the computer addict that i am - books dont usually tempt me away from it. but this one certainly did - for a good few days!!! its amazing. from beginning to end. Read more
Published on 16 Sep 2003 by Shaun Russell

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Health & Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

Elemis Resurface and Renew Skin Care Gift Set of 4 Products
From soap to shavers, massagers to mascara, stock up on your daily essentials or truly pamper yourself.

›Discover Health & Beauty

  

More From Chris Wooding

Malice

Malice by Chris Wooding

Everyone's heard of it, but nobody's read it... Seth and Kady have... Read more
£6.99 £4.19

 

A Close Shave

Philips Nivea Coolskin HS8060 Moisturizing Rotary Shaving System
For all types of hair removal, stay smooth with Amazon.co.uk.

›Discover Shaving & Hair Removal

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
4.5 out of 5 stars (75)£3.86
 Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer
4.1 out of 5 stars (464)£6.49
 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
4.1 out of 5 stars (165)£3.99
 The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
4.2 out of 5 stars (84)£3.86

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates