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Storm Rising
Sealanders don't believe in gods. Meeting one on a clifftop one morning does, however, alter your perspective a little. Plucked from his comfortable home and sent to be bard to King Rhofarn (a man with little interest in music) Caedun is lonely and terrified. But the god has given him a task - to ensure the emergence of three strong kings and hence guarantee the survival of the northern nations. And Caedun would really try to do it, if his own survival wasn't looking alarmingly uncertain...In another country a fostered child reveals an astonishing magical talent - or maybe not so astonishing, given that his father is the most powerful mage living. Tiel hopes his ability will earn him a place at the Castle as a mage scholar; maybe he'll even find some friends there. Unfortunately no one told him there was more to being a scholar than magic, and whenever his father teaches him anything, it seems to involve an awful lot of bruises.Bard and mage grow up on a continent sliding inexorably to war. The storm is coming, and no-one, man or god, can hold it this book contains adult themes. It also contains multiple plot lines, many points of view, and a lot less fighting than an Abercrombie novel. There are some good songs, a couple of tavern scenes, the inevitable magical sword and even a dancing horse, but happy endings are not guaranteed. Storm Rising will be followed by Storm Front in early 2011, and Eye of the Storm, the final book, by the end of the year.
- GenresFantasy
477 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 13, 2010
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April 21, 2011
This is the first book of the 'Stormwatcher' trilogy, which appears to be a self-published debut in the fantasy field by this author. At present, it is only available in ebook format.
The story focuses on two main characters, both teenage boys. Caedun is a talented bard who is taken to the northern city of Taarhan by its king, Rhofarn, for unexplained reasons, since he doesn't even appear to like music. Tiel is an elf fostered with a peasant family by his powerful mage father, also for unexplained reasons, who is taken to the Castle, a mage centre of learning, when his abilities emerge. We follow the two for some twenty years as they grow up and adapt to their new environments.
Caedun's story is the more appealing. He is a likeable character, who is befriended by the king's son, Rordan, and becomes like a brother to him, eventually becoming his closest confidante. Tiel has more difficulty settling in. His powerful abilities as a mage get him into trouble, and when he tries to become a healer, he is unable to do that effectively either.
The first half of the book is rather episodic and uneven, with some incidents described in great detail and then a jump of several years. It would feel less disjointed, perhaps, to have some description of these intervening periods, however brief. Some of the background characters are also rather sketchily drawn. I would have liked to know a little more about Rhofarn, for instance, a rather shadowy and unpleasant character. In particular, I hoped for a proper explanation of why he chose to take Caedun to Taarhan, the key event which opens the story, and perhaps some dialogue with Caedun which would have made him a more rounded character. Rordan's wife, Serra, is another character given virtually no exposure, apart from one crucial incident.
Around the midpoint, the story opens out to introduce a number of important and interesting new characters, and we begin to get some sense of the underlying politics and tensions in the 'Stormwatcher' world, and the various religions in it, and perhaps some hints of the nature of the coming storm. But still people's motives are not always clear. For instance, a significant plot line revolves around the abduction of mages for some undisclosed purpose, but there is never a clear explanation of this, or why they are so badly treated that they are likely to die.
'Storm Rising' follows a conventional fantasy template - it is the first part of a trilogy, there are elves and mages and squabbling kings and a magic sword, and there are prophesies of major trouble ahead. The magic is fairly low-key so far, and so is the plot - it feels like it is laying the groundwork for the story proper, so not a lot happens and there are no dramatic resolutions. So far, so normal.
But it is written in a nicely literate style, without overblown Tolkeinesque flourishes. There is a certain amount of violence, but even the most graphic passages are tastefully done, and the romantic interludes are quite charming. Not all the characters are fully rounded, and there tends to be a strong distinction between good and bad, but the two Taarhan friends in particular, Caedun and Rordan, are well drawn, growing from moody, uncertain teenagers, veering from sudden anger to rolling playfully in the snow, to become fully realised and believable adults.
I would really like to give this 3 1/2 stars, but on the assumption that some of the unresolved issues will be addressed in the two following books, I have settled for 4. I look forward to reading the rest of the story.
The story focuses on two main characters, both teenage boys. Caedun is a talented bard who is taken to the northern city of Taarhan by its king, Rhofarn, for unexplained reasons, since he doesn't even appear to like music. Tiel is an elf fostered with a peasant family by his powerful mage father, also for unexplained reasons, who is taken to the Castle, a mage centre of learning, when his abilities emerge. We follow the two for some twenty years as they grow up and adapt to their new environments.
Caedun's story is the more appealing. He is a likeable character, who is befriended by the king's son, Rordan, and becomes like a brother to him, eventually becoming his closest confidante. Tiel has more difficulty settling in. His powerful abilities as a mage get him into trouble, and when he tries to become a healer, he is unable to do that effectively either.
The first half of the book is rather episodic and uneven, with some incidents described in great detail and then a jump of several years. It would feel less disjointed, perhaps, to have some description of these intervening periods, however brief. Some of the background characters are also rather sketchily drawn. I would have liked to know a little more about Rhofarn, for instance, a rather shadowy and unpleasant character. In particular, I hoped for a proper explanation of why he chose to take Caedun to Taarhan, the key event which opens the story, and perhaps some dialogue with Caedun which would have made him a more rounded character. Rordan's wife, Serra, is another character given virtually no exposure, apart from one crucial incident.
Around the midpoint, the story opens out to introduce a number of important and interesting new characters, and we begin to get some sense of the underlying politics and tensions in the 'Stormwatcher' world, and the various religions in it, and perhaps some hints of the nature of the coming storm. But still people's motives are not always clear. For instance, a significant plot line revolves around the abduction of mages for some undisclosed purpose, but there is never a clear explanation of this, or why they are so badly treated that they are likely to die.
'Storm Rising' follows a conventional fantasy template - it is the first part of a trilogy, there are elves and mages and squabbling kings and a magic sword, and there are prophesies of major trouble ahead. The magic is fairly low-key so far, and so is the plot - it feels like it is laying the groundwork for the story proper, so not a lot happens and there are no dramatic resolutions. So far, so normal.
But it is written in a nicely literate style, without overblown Tolkeinesque flourishes. There is a certain amount of violence, but even the most graphic passages are tastefully done, and the romantic interludes are quite charming. Not all the characters are fully rounded, and there tends to be a strong distinction between good and bad, but the two Taarhan friends in particular, Caedun and Rordan, are well drawn, growing from moody, uncertain teenagers, veering from sudden anger to rolling playfully in the snow, to become fully realised and believable adults.
I would really like to give this 3 1/2 stars, but on the assumption that some of the unresolved issues will be addressed in the two following books, I have settled for 4. I look forward to reading the rest of the story.
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