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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Fantasy travel-guide!, 19 Feb 2009
I have been tempted to read this book many times - I liked the cover art, the fact it was written by a 'mapographer' was appealing, and just a quick glance showed an immense amount of time and effort poured into the book - the maps are extrordinary, and, i must confess, I like maps! Also, although I enjoy modern fantasy writers such as Martin, Abercrombie or Lynch, I still enjoy a more 'traditional' fantasy tale as well.
The Amazon reviews put me off for quite some time though, until recently I was swayed after seeing in an Orbit e-mag that it was one of their top sellers.
In hindsight I think I should have listened to the Amazon reviewers.
There is so much going for it, but it just doesn't quite manage to convince. The worldbuilding is detailed in the extreme, with much attention to geographical description, a believable history and a detailed belief-system.
Unfortunately the book is quite 'out of balance.' Other contemporary writers that succeed with the more traditional fantasy frameworks, such as Tad Williams or J. V. Jones, have a strength that drives their books: they can write! Character, plot, pacing, dialogue. These are the weaknesses of this book.
The plot is obvious, formulaic and one we've seen many times before. O. K., that I can cope with; it is not so much the destination (which is usually fairly predictable with fantasy, even the 'new breed'), but the journey that counts. In other words, the plot twists, the characters, the pacing, the descriptive writing, the dialogue; in short, the ability to suck you into a new world and make you care what happens. This is pretty much absent here. The characters are two-dimensional and shallow, the dialogue wooden, the plot uninspiring, the pacing disjointed.
Viewpoint is also another major problem, with perspective often shifting between multiple characters in the same paragraph, let alone the same chapter. This becomes consistently confusing, as you are trying to figure out who is thinking/saying what when you should be swept along in a narrative flow. It is just not good writing.
The description of the world, however,is at the other end of the continuum - there is plenty of it, the physical environments described in painstaking detail. Unfortunately after a while this actually begins to work against the book. Scenes continually become bogged down in geographical description, which to a point can paint a picture, but in this case just overwhelms the narrative.
I wish i had enjoyed this book - it is clearly a labour of love, with layers of geographical and historical detail. Unfortunately it failed to grip me; wading through it felt more like a chore than a pleasure. It reads like a first draft in need of serious editorial guidance and attention.
I actually bought books one and two together, but at the moment I'm not sure if i will brave book two.
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8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Unmapped characters, 22 Mar 2007
This is debut fantasy novel that unfortunately follows many of the more tiresome conventions of the genre. Disregarding recent advances in character development and plot as evidenced by The Malazan Book of the Fallen, A Song of Ice and Fire and The Prince of Nothing series, Russel Kirkpatrick instead falls back on the callow youth destined for greatness, a prophecy foretelling the same, and a long and at times tedious trek to Rivendell - sorry, Instruere.
There are some good things in this book: the history and geography of Kirkpatrick's world is detailed and believable.
What is lacking are the characters to bring this world to life. Many of the characters remain cyphers (Hal, Will, Stella, the old farmer) who wander across the detailed landscape seemingly for no purpose. The only character that seemed to come alive for me was the fat and atheist Haufuth - an interesting stance in a world seemingly ruled by an unforgiving god.
Sadly, in this book at least, character development is secondary to the desire to drag the characters across the landscape. Very occasionally there are periods of excitement (such as when the heroes finally catch the villains they are chasing) and these parts contained much tighter writing, which did at least keep me reading.
I can only hope that in subsequent books Kirkpatrick will abandon the fantasy conventions and develop the occasional flashes of inspiration found here.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent debut!, 9 Jun 2006
Russell Kirkpatrick's debut novel in the Fire of Heaven trilogy is an aborbing and original tale. The characterisation throughout is remarkably realistic, with his main characters, appealing but very humanly flawed.
A raggle taggle bunch of villagers, including a cripple, an old farmer, a teenage boy and an overweight village chief set off in the depths of winter to rescue two villagers kidnapped in the night by unknown assailants.
The villagers are parents to two of the boys in the rescue party, young Leith and his crippled brother Hal. Leith's teenage fancy Stella is taken with them only slighly against her will after she overhears their plans. She is happy to escape an unwilling forced marriage and proves a valiant ally in troubles to come.
The Watcher tells them they will find unlooked for friends and foes and indeed it is so as they find help and relief in unexpected quarters.
Across the face of the World is a gripping tale - my only regret is in finding it so early, I now have a twelve month to wait for the next installment.
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