Sólo el acero

A Land Fit for Heroes #1

by Richard K. Morgan, Manuel de los Reyes (Translator)

¿Qué es de los héroes cuando las guerras terminan?Para Ringil Ojos de Ángel, la posguerra han sido largos años exiliado, ganándose el pan con el relato de sus hazañas mientras su espada, la legendaria Críacuervos, cuelga olvidada sobre la chimenea.Para Egar el Matadragones, el triunfal retorno a las estepas como señor de su clan nómada está marcado por la nostalgia que siente por los tiempos felices pasados como mercenario en el civilizado Imperio.Y en ese mismo Imperio, la mestiza Archeth, dejada atrás por su raza desaparecida, sirve al emperador e intenta en vano mantener en funcionamiento la tecnología abandonada.Algo empieza a moverse, sin embargo, en su mundo rodeado por un anillo. Ringil es reclamado por su noble familia, que lo había repudiado, para que rescate a una pariente de los traficantes de esclavos. Egar es objeto de conspiraciones, inspiradas por los dioses, para apartarle de la jefatura de su clan. Y Archeth debe investigar el ataque a una guarnición costera del Imperio, realizado con armas que en teoría no deberían existir.Los caminos de los tres viejos camaradas de guerra volverán a cruzarse, y entonces sabrán por fin si su tierra puede ser realmente apta para los héroes.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, LGBT, Dark Fantasy, Queer, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy

416 pages, Paperback

First published August 7, 2008

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Richard K. Morgan (sometimes credited as Richard Morgan) is a science fiction and fantasy writer.

Reviews

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have too much to write about The Steel Remains to put it all into a coherent paragraph by paragraph review, so I am just going to ramble around a bit and write what I need to write.

Mind-Blowing: That's my instant reaction after finishing this book. But the mind-blowingness began in the midst of the first chapter. I intentionally slowed down my reading so that I could savour every word, but by the time Ringil came out of the grey mists with his dwenda lover, Seethlaw, and his lover's gang of futuristically armored time-slippers, I threw aside the savouring and rushed to the end. I didn't have a choice anymore.

Man-Blowing: I love Ringil. He may be one of my favourite characters ever written in any fantasy novel. I love his personal struggle with idealism in the face of war and the nastiness of humanity. I love that he was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (although it was never officially named that) right from the off. I love his guilt over the execution of his true lover, Jelim, who died a torturous death for their "perverted" love. And come to that, I love that he was unrepentantly homosexual. Ringil starts as a good but scarred man, battles with time-induced madness, and ends the story as a man-sized suppurating wound with all the goodness festered out of him.

Reader Response: At the time of writing, I have only read a couple of reviews of The Steel Remains, and those are from friends who share most of my sensibilities. What I've read about this book, therefore, has been positive, but I imagine there is a wealth of negativity out there, and I get that (even if I humbly disagree). It is a tough book to take. It is violent, sexual, politically charged, and more than a little angry. It's not a classic style fantasy, and I am sure that won't sit too well with fantasy fans who come to this book without warning.

Ultra-: Speaking of the violence and sexuality...The Steel Remains is not just packed with violence and sexuality; it is packed with ultra-violence and ultra-sexuality. Sometimes the violence is sexuality and sometimes the sexuality is violence. And in some cases the violence and sexuality are as disturbing as anything in American Psycho. The difference, of course, is that The Steel Remains is in a fantasy world of swords and darkness, so Richard K. Morgan gets some slack that Bret Easton Ellis isn't allowed. But the world of The Steel Remains is intentionally horrible (much like our own), and we are forced to deal with the horror in a way that constantly connects to the erotic. This whole book is erotically charged, and more often than not it is homoerotically charged -- which I know will present a further problem for many who read this tale -- but somehow, even with all the violence, Morgan offers some extremely convincing erotic scenes.

Fantasy? or Sci-Fi?: Another bit of The Steel Remains that I love is that it is probably only a Fantasy series for now. There are some serious Sci-Fi elements in this story (including some killer Steampunk allusions) that promise to take this series well beyond the confines of swords and sorcery.

I Hate Prequels: Why do I hate them? Because they always go back and tell us how the characters we love or hate came to be who they are. The trouble is that we have our own ideas of how they became who they are, and since our ideas rarely match the author's we are invariably disappointed. This time, though, an author actually gives us the "prequel" story first, so that the big action story is still to come. A "dark lord will arise" we're told by the old marsh woman at the gates, and we get to watch this lord's creation. That, more than all the other things that make this novel great, is Richard K. Morgan's true feat with The Steel Remains. He actually wrote the prequel precisely when and how he should have.

Damn. I love this book. I hope Morgan's Sci-Fi is even half as good. And I hope I don't regret my gushing review when the sequel to The Steel Remains comes out next month. As it stands, however, five stars isn't enough.

[carol.]

Into every life a book that destroys the rating system must come--The Steel Remains is leading for 2016. Naomi and I were looking for a buddy read, and this was on both of our TBR lists. It was on mine because I generally enjoyed Morgan's science fiction Kovacs series. Still, I've been off on fantasy lately, unless it's the genre-bending type. Once I and heard that two of the leads were gay, I was curious to see how that would play out.

The Steel Remains opens in a scene familiar to many; an aging, somewhat slovenly former war hero being drafted into helping a scholarly friend. The setting seems solidly medieval, with intriguing hints of strangeness encroaching into inhabited lands. His peace doesn't last long before his mother appears, drafting him into a search for a cousin sold into slavery to pay her husband's debts. Ringil reluctantly acquiesces, realizing he misses some of civilization's perks. Before long, we jump to the perspective of Egar, leader of a group of plains tribesman. He too needs to fight off strange beasties, but his manner of managing the political fallout irritates. One more jump, this time into the perspective of Archeth, a mixed-race Kiriath who stayed behind after her people abandoned this world. The Emperor send her to investigate the destruction of a seaside town. It becomes apparent that the three fought together in 'the Dragon War' about ten years ago and have become tired of both fighting and politics. Eventually, their storylines and the strange things that are going bump in the night come together in a somewhat predictable fashion.

Characterization is very much of the anti-hero variety, with our battle-scarred heroes bitter at how they have been treated by their people. Unfortunately, because the narrative shifts between the three in third-person limited, complexity is slow to develop. Both the men were of the hard-living school where down time from fighting is spent having sex. Although I wanted to like Ringil, I felt mostly he was stuck in an adolescent stage of angry petulance towards almost everyone he interacts with. Strangely, for all that his mom supposedly motivates him to return, he barely talks with her and then spends his time reaffirming his disgust with everything in his city and his old home. Flashbacks to his friend's death by torture and to being raped in school were strangely emotionless from his angle. I don't know; there's this weird emotional distance where perhaps the reader is supposed to infer that his rage comes from trauma. I just don't feel like I'm in his head enough, except that he's always "suddenly angry" at almost everyone he interacts with. I feel like the only emotion I've seen is anger or bitter humor. Maybe Morgan has nailed the character type. Egar was flatly unlikeable. Archeth and her obsession with the ships of her people was the most interesting character and scenario to me, but as she had the least time it was hard to be invested only in her.

Plotting felt standard fantasy. Although Ringil is ostensibly pulled back to the city to look for his cousin, his route in doing so is so circuitous that I began to wonder if he was looking at all. Egar's situation is interrupted by the plotting of a priest and intercession with the gods. Again, Archeth's storyline felt the most interesting, with personality-laden remnants of the ship Helmsmen giving enticing hints about space-travel. However, when Ringil ended up in a parallel universe/fairy world, I lost interest fast. Too many fantasy tropes, too little explanation. By the last quarter of the book, it became clear that the plot wasn't each hero and their individual issues exactly, but that each issue was a piece of the whole Rising Of The Dark and the Plot To Take Over the World. Honestly, I was kind of disappointed that it took so long to gel. There's also a mystical part about the 'gods' working to stop this from occurring that ends up just being confusing.

The mood of the story was dark and bloody, leaping from fight to fight whether verbal or physical, seemly interrupted only by angry sex. I don't know that there's any joy or tenderness to be found in this book, although there's plenty of guilt, anger, humiliation and bloody death. Morgan describes fight scenes quite well, for those that enjoy a sense of blow-by-blow action it should amply satisfy. Word style is off-putting; Morgan occasionally has a turn of phrase that requires one to pay close attention in order to understand. He sprinkles in worlds particular to the world without much explanation. It generally works, but then it makes inclusion of words like 'faggot' disorienting. 'Flandrijn,' 'krinzanz,' 'fireship,' 'dwenda' all pop in and out of conversation while epithets like 'shit,' 'cunt' and 'fuck' are frequently used as well, a strange mix of imaginary and vernacular. One of the things I loved about the Kovacs series is the inventive world-building, and I think that is one area his writing talent shows. Unfortunately, I felt it was missing here.

I just could not enjoy it; there was too little that felt redemptive or that I could empathize with, in contrast to my reaction to Joe Abercrombie's book anti-heros in The First Law series. I will note that I found it both more cohesive and intriguing than the Prince of Thorns, so if you were interested in either of those series, you might enjoy this. Further, my reading buddy Naomi liked it a great deal. She was able to give it the careful attention that I couldn't due to discomfort with the violence and the emotion of it. Many thanks to her for the read and the discussion!

For me, this was a strictly one star book out of mood--I didn't enjoy it at all due to the violent, angry mood. However, it was not a one-star writing level--in that I'd give it three stars. I won't be continuing the series.

[Overhaul · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Los hombres eran como hojas, todos se rompían tarde o temprano, incluido tú. Pero cuando mirabas a los hombres a tu mando veías en sus ojos el acero con el que debías luchar, cómo había sido forjado y templado y qué golpes resistiría, si es que podía resistir alguno"



El autor británico, Richard Morgan, debutó en el mundo de la literatura con el libro de CF y toques de Cyberpunk, Carbono Alterado. Este es su inicio en el género de fantasía. Solo el Acero es el libro con el que da inicio a su trilogía de fantasía grimdark, Tierra de Héroes. Aunque este es el primero de la trilogía, trata de ser autoconclusivo y lo consigue con bastante éxito. Esta reseña y cada palabra puesta en ella es una opinión muy personal. El libro no es ni redondo ni perfecto y tiene sus cosillas. Ni es lo mejor que vayáis a leer en vuestras vidas. Pero para mi ha sido una auténtica gozada leerlo. Hacía tiempo que no me frenaba tanto para que me durase más la lectura. Y estoy contento con mi comienzo dentro de lo que es el grimdark. Por que es un estilo que como intuía, me encanta.


"Solía ganarme la vida matando dragones, hijo. A ti te voy a usar de mondadientes"


Richard Morgan dice las cosas con total descaro, haciéndolas brutales y lo que menos muestra son reparos a la hora de hacerlo. Coge los clichés de la fantasía y los cercena con Críacuervos, después de dejarlos un poco en el suelo mirándolos impasible se baja la cremallera y les mea encima, se da la vuelta sin mirar atrás sin perder un segundo de dedicarles una mirada y tira una cerilla para terminar con su agonía prendiendoles fuego.


Flipante y alucinante: Esas son las palabras que mejor refleja mi reacción instantánea después de terminar este libro. Pero es que todo esto comenzó en medio del primer capítulo. Y lo mas importante no paró ni bajo el ritmo. Intencionalmente ralentice mi lectura para poder saborear cada palabra, hasta el final. Ahi ya no tuve elección.


"Huir sólo convierte tu culo en una diana más grande"


Es un libro "difícil" o mejor dicho una lectura que no es para todos. Es violento, no muestra un mundo bonito y mucho menos compasivo, sino un realismo sucio cargado de odio, sí un poco como el nuestro, muestra un lenguaje duro, obsceno y varias escenas de sexo explicito. Aquí debo añadir que coincido con algunas reseñas, aplaudo que Richard Morgan se haya atrevido con el recurso novedoso de que en su mayoría, sea sexo explícito homosexual (masculino).


"La gente es un rebaño de ovejas... Putas ovejas agilipolladas"


Sí, tenemos violencia y sexo en este libro para dar y regalar. Tenemos unos personajes que bueno no tienen la profuncidad ni están perfilados como otros que se pueden encontrar pero que están bien, logran ganarse al lector y le aportan a la historia y a la trama que se está desarrollando lo que tienen que aportarle. Tenemos un mundo no muy complejo ni enorme pero sí es suficiente para lo que se nos plantea. Una trama un poco detectivesca que le aporta una pizca de intriga y algo que no me esperaba y es una pequeña dosis bien mezclada de CF. Tenemos una buena historia con acción, sangre, civilizaciones desaparecidas, dioses ancestrales y tecnología avanzada que se entremezclan de una forma hábil. Hay magia/hechicería que no es ni perfecta ni muy currada, pero ni falta que le hace. Y es que no le hace falta más, todo en conjunto consigue que te metas en la historia y que la puedas disfrutar.


"El liderazgo es una criatura escurridiza, difícil de rastrear y apresar"


¿Fantasía? ¿O CF ? Otra parte que me gustó es que no solo sea una saga de fantasía grimdark al menos por ahora. Hay pequeños elementos de CF en esta historia que intuyo que en los dos siguientes llevará esta saga mucho más allá de los confines de lo que es la espada, la capa y la hechicería.


En la historia seguimos a tres héroes. Tres historias paralelas que, ¿Terminarán de entrecruzarse o no? Estos personajes han logrado ganarme como lector porque son personajes con un realismo descreído, socarrón. Personajes que muestran crudeza. Es posible que este recurso ya este muy usado o no tenga la misma calidad que pueden mostrar otros como Abercrombie, David Gemmer pero me gustó. Creo que aún después de leer a ambos, diré que es aceptable.


"Son capazes de ejecutarte en la estaca por quién eliges llevarte a la cama, y llamarlo piedad. Observarían y brindarían por tu agonia dedicándole el acto a sus dioses idiotas. Son brutales, necios, tienen la conciencia ética de los simios y el nivel de iniciativa de las ovejas. Pero te enfrentaste a los reptiles en el campo de batalla por ellos. ¿Por qué?"


Nuestro protagonista principal, Ringil Eskiath, es homosexual. Sí, se que Morgan no inventa la novela de fantasía con protagonista homosexual, pero trata el tema de manera genial y de una forma que despierta mi interés a la hora de leer. Rompe ciertos clichés. Un personaje homosexual que se cruza con otras personas y situaciones. Llamándole chupapollas, maricon etc. Pero, ¿Qué hace Ringil? Bien Ringil no se siente intimidado ni mucho menos, no deja que su sexualidad sea un problema para el. Todo lo contrario. Lo desafía todo y a todos. Una patética sociedad que me suena por desgracia de ver y oír ciertas cosas y situaciones, cargada de odio, asco y furia tratando ya sea por su sexo, su color como si no fueran personas. Todos somos seres humanos, todos sangraramos del mismo color.
Ringil no permite que otros usen su sexualidad contra él, sino que la usa contra ellos poniéndolos en ciertas situaciones que les cierra la boca, primero con palabras después ya se las cierra de una manera algo más literal. Pues Ringil no tiene nada de que avergonzarse y no es precisamente de los que se queda cayado. Esos hipócritas que van de gallitos pero cuando se les mira sin apartar la mirada pasan a ser gallinas. Una familia que le exilió y lo repudio pero que tienen que acudir a el, por que aún teniendo hermanos es el único con las pelotas necesarias para lograr con éxito cierta misión, el y su fiel espada. Críacuervos un mandoble de puto acero kiriath asesino. Que nos muestra las caricias de su filo en una promesa de acción, sangre y muerte.


"Ringil, yo… Sacudió la cabeza. Hizo un ademán cargado de impotencia. Tú, sabes… Si hubieras sido… Si tú…
—Si no me gustara comer pollas. Sí, ya lo sé —Ringil imprimió brío a sus pasos mientras se dirigía a la puerta, pasando con rapidez junto a Gingren para no tener que ver cómo la expresión de su padre se retorcía de asco. Se detuvo junto al hombro de su progenitor, se inclinó y murmuró— Pero el problema, papá, es que me encanta.
Gingren se estremeció como si acabara de encajar un puñetazo. Con un suspiro, Ringil levantó una mano y le dio unas palmaditas en el pecho y el hombro.
Gingren se quedó inmóvil, sin decir nada, envuelto en un silencio absoluto"


La violencia de los combates y su descripción es muy visual y uno se hace una imagen de ellos con sencillez. Cierta mención a la habilidad para crear personajes secundarios a los que se da nombre y se caracteriza en un par de líneas para bueno luego liquidar a varios xD. No son personajes secundarios que diríamos están de adorno o escasamente trabajados. En ningún momento estorban y le da cierta relevancia a los combates y otros a la trama. Nos muestra las consecuencias de la guerra en la que ciertos personajes quedan marcados por la brutalidad vivida en el pasado quedándoles solo el aferrarse a una imagen de ellos mismos que se va desvaneciendo y otros que se benefician de su resultado.


"Si ni siquiera sabes cómo se llaman las personas que están a tu espalda, luego no te extrañes si no te siguen a la batalla"


Me ha gustado como escribe Morgan, la mala leche que muestra con cierto gore y crudeza. Quiero leer su CF, Carbono Alterado. Y estoy deseando que me llegue pronto la segunda parte de esta trilogía, El Gélido Mando. Pues aún con un final autoconclusivo quiero y deseo seguir. Para terminar, como se está haciendo costumbre ya por mi parte, tengo que agradecer por estos lares a Xabi1990 por la recomendación de esta delicia de lectura. Pues sino a saber cuando me hubiera cruzado con esta saga. Menos mal que no apuesto contigo por que sino me arruino a cervezas.

[Mayim de Vries · Rating 3 out of 5]

“When a man you know to be of sound mind tells you his recently deceased mother has just tried to climb in his bedroom window and eat him, you only have two basic options. You can smell his breath, take his pulse and check his pupils to see if he's ingested anything nasty, or you can believe him.”

You need to admit that as far as epic opening sentences go, this one scores pretty high. It promises you a rich world, a solid narrator with just the right touch of dry sarcasm, and a constant action. Steel Remains will give you all of this, interspersed with pockets of darkness, sometimes grimly disturbing, other times, pityingly convenient. Those who like Joe Abercrombie should be very satisfied.

The story features three main protagonists: two males and one female, also two homosexual characters and one promiscuous lecher. They are war heroes, and like all the war heroes, they are scarred, jaded and bitter. For all of them the days of fighting for the cause of justice, truth and light are done; they scavenge the remnants of their old lives, each in a very peculiar way.

Egar of the Majak tribe, also called the Dragonbane to underline the chief achievement of his life, comes back to his clan but never really returns which makes him a poor clanmaster. He is one lazy slob unfit for being a leader, mainly lost in his own memories of what was, drinking, and carnal pleasures with milkmaids young enough to be his daughters I really couldn’t fault his brothers for wanting to get rid of him. Archeth Indamaninarmal aka. Archidi, half-Kiriath half-human, left behind left by the mysterious humanoid race, serves as an advisor to a young Emperor and shields herself against the world with amused detachment, perhaps enhanced by her frequent drug abuse. And finally, Ringil Angeleyes or Ringil of Eskiath, who lives now an obscure life of a municipal exterminator in a border-town settlement. Ringil is the main focal point of the unfolding story. He also is a pretentious cock either striking a pose or throwing a self-pity party every other page.

The story kicks off when Ringil’s mother arrives and talks him into finding a missing cousin despite the fact that Gil deliberately cut ties with the family (daddy issues). The whole estrangement felt phoney. Ringil narrates that „He was going back to what he used to be, and the worst of all was that he couldn’t make himself regret it at all.” OK., he had a falling-out with his father, but the drama factor must have been rather low if all it took to bring him back was one (ONE) visit from his Mommy. And let us be honest, she didn’t have to beg/bribe him too much. All that was required from her was to withstand an emotional tantrum, which when spent, led to a prompt “let’s go”. I had a feeling that Ringil had stayed away from home that long only because nobody came earlier and asked him to “please be back on the family bosom”. How very mature—not.

In addition to the fact that it was very difficult for me to form an emotional or intellectual bond with the main protagonists (Archidi was closest to hitting the mark), the flow of the story posed another obstacle. Don’t get me wrong, the prose is decent, occasionally bordering on the extraordinary beautiful description of the main enemy, lyrical yet terrifying, but the way it is told, or rather thrown at the reader, feels like somebody drenched you with a bucket of waste.

There are authors who can build a dense and layered universes (Pierce Brown), worlds (Martha Wells) or even single cities (Scott Lynch, Robert Jackson Bennett) and immerse the reader into the reality they have created without info dumps and yet with firm guidance. Here you are dumped into the depth but without the information and you are forced to wade through weird names, words and events: Alrdain, Kiriath, dwenda, krinzanz, Helmsmen, An-Monal, but without guidance in a hope that eventually, you will figure everything out. At the beginning, there are far too many enigmas to appreciate all the intricacies, and when you painstakingly manage to put all the pieces of the puzzle together in the final bits of the book, what is revealed, is a rather standard fantasy-scape, nothing very path-breaking (even if there is an attempt to bridge fantasy and sci-fi, not very thought through if I were to be honest). There is also a motif of hardline religion and puritan concern for public morals (which doesn’t make sense, especially in the free cities) pitched against the sexual preferences of our heroes. But the theme of religious zealots campaigning against homosexuality has been trendy for some time now, and in Steel Remains, it follows a simplistic design unable to flesh out anything new or substantially profound.

The book is generously laced with all things dark, and the prose is layered, except for the dialogues. Dialogues read like school break chats. Ringil’s voice especially, as if the author equates grimdark with vulgar and petulant teenager. You will get a lot of vulgarity and generous dosages of ‘faggots’ and ‘cunts’ and other obscenities. There were violent sex scenes, and very sexual fighting sequences (with Ringil stroking the hilt of his sword like a prick, I kid you not), also flashbacks, but I largely skimmed all of the above.

You should be perhaps aware of the fact that there is a brutal m/m rape scene at the military academy. Ringil recounts it oozing with bitterness that his older brother didn’t save him from the rite. Simultaneously, he is unable to reflect that there was nobody to save the very same older brother, who also had to go through this “initiation” or wonder what kind of scars it left his sibling with. That I found pathetic to the core.

There were however some fun moments (my favourite at the barricade leading to the slaving quarter), good fighting sequences, and a genius vision of how everything ends with no one remembering or caring or understanding and with the sword secured away behind a glass in a museum case (even if it peeves me that they should know a word “museum” in a civilisation clearly foreign to such concept). These occasional lapses into the beyond average did not stop the author to have his heroes miraculously saved by an unknown yet friendly higher power, miraculously bumping on each other in the heat of twisting plot or miraculously discovering or doing other things needed to propel the plot onward.

Overall, good writing and a decent plot merit a three-star rating. Even though upon finishing the novel I had a very unpleasant feeling I had dabbed with something smelly and not really healthy.

Also in the series:

2. The Cold Commands
3. The Dark Defiles

[Krell75 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Di Morgan avevo già letto la trilogia di Takeshi Kovacs capace di dare una ventata di freschezza e originalità al genere cyberpunk quindi riponevo buone speranze per questo romanzo.
Quello che ho trovato invece è stato deludente sotto tutti i punti di vista.
E' evidente la volontà dello scrittore nel voler esagerare, portando le caratteristiche del grimdark ai suoi limiti degenerando però in un pessimo risultato complessivo.

Città libere in cui si è legalizzata la schiavitù per debiti o crimini e un grande Impero del sud sono ormai ai ferri corti. La guerra contro un esercito di creature lucertoloidi è terminata da cinque anni e tre eroi, ora separati, vivono le loro vite con i loro problemi. Adesso si preannuncia una nuova minaccia e i tre ne saranno nuovamente coinvolti.

La trama per buona parte del romanzo è praticamente inesistente con personaggi che arrancano nei loro ricordi.
I protagonisti di questo romanzo, eroi della guerra contro i rettiloidi, sono dei pessimi individui, nulla di nuovo nel grimdark, direte voi, invece no.
Tra le loro caratteristiche principali abbiamo: assassini, drogati, pedofili e infanticidi. Se sulle prime due si trovano motivazioni coerenti con il loro passato turbolento, per le seconde non ne abbiamo.
I personaggi con imperfezioni fisiche o di dubbia morale sono quasi una costante nel genere grimdark ma qui i loro comportamenti non sono giustificati e di conseguenza non ho provato alcuna empatia con loro. Fare sesso con minorenni e sventrare un bambino per rabbia? Perché mai dovrebbe interessarmi leggere la loro storia? Bisogna giungere a questo per rendersi originali oggi?
Provate a chiedere a Sanderson, Abercrombie o Erikson.

Il sesso è onnipresente, una costante in tutto il romanzo, un chiodo fisso in ogni capitolo e in ogni dialogo. Davvero gratuito ed eccessivo. Morgan dovrebbe lasciare queste scelte narrative da quattro soldi a scrittori di poco talento in cerca di visibilità e creare personaggi che si rendano interessanti per le azioni che compiono non con chi fanno sesso.
Altra costante è la tendenza a dialoghi scialbi e infarciti di volgarità. Solitamente non un problema, ma qui non si fa alcuna differenza sull'estrazione sociale, che siano mendicanti, nobili o divinità, parlano tutti allo stesso modo da scaricatore di porto.

Terribile l'utilizzo dei flashback come semplici infodump, tutti incredibilmente inseriti al momento sbagliato. Risultano tutti eccessivi perché invece di fornire informazioni cardine atte a svelare misteri accennati e preparati in precedenza (che qui non esistono) non risolvono nulla, sono solo informazioni a valanga.

Le scene di azione lunghe intere pagine con parate, schivate, fendenti e piroette mi annoiano alla terza riga e passo oltre. Mi riprendo pensando a Gemmell e ad Erikson, dove un colpo ben assestato termina lo scontro e la vita del malcapitato alla prima riga.

Prego Morgan di tornare a scrivere cyberpunk come sapeva fare. Takeshi Kovacs e il suo mondo mi mancano.

---------------------------
I had already read Morgan's trilogy by Takeshi Kovacs, which brought a breath of fresh air and originality to the cyberpunk genre, so I had high hopes for this novel.
What I found, however, was disappointing in every way.
The author's intent to overdo it is evident, pushing the grimdark genre to its limits, resulting in a terrible overall result.

Free cities where slavery for debt or crime has been legalized and a great Southern Empire are now at loggerheads. The war against an army of lizard-like creatures ended five years ago, and three heroes, now separated, live their lives with their own problems. Now a new threat looms, and the three will be caught up in it again.

The plot is practically nonexistent for much of the novel, with characters struggling with their memories.
The protagonists of this novel, heroes of the war against the reptilians, are terrible individuals—nothing new in grimdark, you might say, but it's not.
Among their main characteristics are murderers, drug addicts, pedophiles, and infanticides. While the first two have motivations consistent with their turbulent pasts, the second lacks them.
Characters with physical imperfections or questionable morals are almost a constant in the grimdark genre, but here their behavior is unjustified, and consequently, I felt no empathy for them. Having sex with minors and disemboweling a child out of anger? Why should I be interested in reading their story? Must this be the case to be original today?
Try asking Sanderson, Abercrombie, or Erikson.

Sex is omnipresent, a constant throughout the novel, a constant in every chapter and every dialogue. Truly gratuitous and excessive. Morgan should leave these cheap narrative choices to untalented writers seeking visibility and create characters who are interesting for the actions they perform, not the people they have sex with.
Another constant is the tendency toward bland dialogue peppered with vulgarity. Usually not a problem, but here there's no difference in social class; beggars, nobles, or deities, they all speak the same dockworker-like manner.

The use of flashbacks as simple infodumps is terrible, all incredibly inserted at the wrong time. They all feel excessive because, instead of providing key information to unravel previously hinted and set-up mysteries (which don't exist here), they solve nothing; they're just a barrage of information.

The page-long action scenes with parries, dodges, slashes, and pirouettes bore me by the third line, and I move on. I recover by thinking of Gemmell and Erikson, where a well-placed blow ends the fight and the unfortunate man's life in the first line.

I pray Morgan will return to writing cyberpunk like he used to. I miss Takeshi Kovacs and his world.

[James Tivendale · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Steel Remains is the story of Ringil "Angeleyes" Eskiath, the hero of Gallows Gap and wielder of Ravensfriend, and is set a decade after the end of the war with the lizard folk. We join him at the novel's beginning in a backwater town where he resides in an inn living off his fame as a warrior. Here he remains, drinking and fucking, until his mother arrives requesting his assistance.

Ringil's cousin Sherin has been sold to slavers and in accepting the mission to track her down, our protagonist's fire and fury have been reignited and given a focus. When Ringil puts his mind to something he is unapologetic, unswerving and steadfast. He is heralded as a champion throughout the land for his deeds but to those who know him better, he is often spoken about as being depraved and perverted. The reason for this is that Ringil is homosexual. I can't think of many gay male leads in medieval history inspired grimdark so I found Ringil's voice and representation refreshing and great to follow.

I thought Ringil was a brilliant character and after reading a few of his chapters I decided to buy the next two books in the series as I knew I was going to be fully invested in him. Ringil reminded me of Sapkowski's Geralt of Rivia with his temperament and I often envisaged grunts or "for-fuck-sakes" before he acted. I think the very opening paragraph presents Ringil's disposition expertly:

"When a man you know to be of sound mind tells you his recently deceased mother has just tried to climb in his bedroom window and eat him, you only have two basic options. You can smell his breath, take his pulse and check his pupils to see if he’s ingested anything nasty, or you can believe him. Ringil had already tried the first course of action with Bashka the Schoolmaster and to no avail, so he put down his pint with an elaborate sigh and went to get his broadsword."

In addition to Ringil's, there are two other main point of view perspectives. That of clan leader Egar the Dragonbane and of Archeth, a kiriath half-breed who is an advisor to the Emperor of Yhelteth. Both were interesting characters yet their sections were not quite as intriguing as Ringil's point of view. Like Ringil's, though, they both reflect on the past and their important contributions in the great war ten years before. The further through the book we progress, it becomes evident that the three main characters knew each other well in the past and this definitely sparked my attentiveness to see if these past relations and experiences will have any impact on the current day storylines.

I would certainly class The Steel Remains as epic fantasy and although the novel is quite short by that genre's standards at around 350-pages it has high-quality world-building, comprising of deep histories, religions, races, magics, and what is and isn't acceptable in particular cultures. To say it features romance wouldn't be quite correct as Ringil isn't shown as being the romantic type, but the novel does feature gay relationships and some graphic sex scenes.

‘Ringil, I ...’ He shook his head. Gestured helplessly. ‘You, you know ... if you’d just been ... If only you ...’
‘Didn’t like to suck other men’s cocks. Yeah, I know.’ Ringil came to life, heading for the door, walking quickly past Gingren so he wouldn’t have to watch his father’s face twitch in revulsion. He paused at the other man’s shoulder, leaned close and murmured. ‘But the problem is, Dad, I do.’

I was engaged in The Steel Remains from the very start but it wasn't unputdownable. Around the 60-70% mark, I thought the pace was pretty slow and I was almost slogging through, that I couldn't really pinpoint more than 3 or 4 exciting moments up until that point, and, honestly, couldn't see how Morgan could conclude the novel and wrap it all together in a way that would stagger and truly impress me. Yet, he did. I thought the final scenes and the overall conclusion were majestically weaved, featuring a spectacular speech by Ringil, and I will not be completely content until I've seen a big-screen rendition of that moment as it was that impactful. Some of the amazing imagery created around the finale and the implications of what could follow in this series means that I am now fully involved in what a few reviewers I respect class as an underrated grimdark classic series. Ringil could become one of my favourite fantasy antiheroes and I'll be started The Cold Commands this evening. The Steels Remains is a violent and intense grimdark tale with a great lead narrator, a fine supporting cast, and a well-realised gritty and dark fantasy world. Final note: Simon Vance is excellent reading the audiobook. His delivery of certain standout moments gave me goosebumps.

"The Lord Administrator of Tidal Watch reached him, and lashed out with his left hand. The move caught Ringil by surprise; it was unlooked for, there was no weapon apparent, just a pair of gloves. The rough patterned leather stropped his cheek, and stung. ‘I demand satisfaction, Eskiath.’
Ringil punched him in the face."

[Robin Hobb · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engrossing read. Sometimes fate just won't leave you alone. Excellent.

[Xabi1990 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comentario de Joe Abercrombie en la portada del libro : “Descarada, brutal y sin reparos. No es que Morgan refuerza los clichés de la Fantasía, es que los parte a hachazos. Y luego los prende fuego”.

Resumen perfecto, me da casi vergüenza añadir nada. Digamos que unos personajes son mejores que otros y que la historia tiene algunas costuras sueltas que tal vez desarrolle en una posible –aunque no necesaria- continuación, pero el resultado es más que recomendable. % estrellas un poco justas, pero cinco.

¡Ah!, sí, … en un género donde no abunda el sexo el Sr. Morgan se atreve con pasajes de sexo “explícito” homosexual masculino. Toma ya!

[Felicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I loved his Sci-Fi stuff, but this fell flat to me. It felt like he was trying to break the cliches of fantasy novels but just doing the opposite of the cliche, rather than dig deep into the characters to make them real and believable. I wanted to love this book, with a gay male protagonist, but I never believed him as a character. Same for the other characters, they were missing heart and a sense of reality that could have take it from reverse cliche to awesome.

I would recommend Joe Abercrombie or Steven Erickson if you want hard fantasy that avoids the tropes of the genre.

[Sandi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like The Steel Remains so much more than I actually did. I was so looking forward to reading it. I've read two of Richard K. Morgan's science fiction novels, Thirteen and Altered Carbon and thought they were unique and amazing. Morgan takes sex and violence to a level I would never be able to tolerate in a movie and manages to glamorize neither. He reveals the damage violence does to those who commit it, even the bad guys. He really understands socio-politics and is great at extrapolating the future based on today. I really wanted to see how he would bring that ability to the fantasy genre.

It seems to me that Morgan is not at all comfortable with writing fantasy. The Steel Remains drags so much through the first 2/3 and never really achieves any kind of depth or meaning. The main character, Ringil, is a gay war hero. It really felt like Morgan was not comfortable with Ringil's sexuality and that he made him gay just for shock value. After all, he is messing with fantasy tropes here and you can't mess with the romantic male fantasy hero more than making him gay. He also includes several gay sex scenes involving Ringil that were very graphic and seemed very, very awkward. As a character, Ringil is at his best when he is flashing back to the memories of his first love who was tortuously executed for perversion. His horror and regret did ring true.

The Steel Remains is supposed to be the first installment of a trilogy. Fortunately, it is a complete story and does have a real ending. There's room for more, but it's not necessary. I, for one, will not be reading the next episode.

[Mon · Rating 5 out of 5]

¿Qué haces cuando la guerra termina? ¿Qué haces cuando comienzas a dudar sobre tu papel en esta? Egar, Archeth y, sobre todo, Ringil, tendrán que encontrar la repuesta a esas preguntas mientras se ven arrastrados a una nueva guerra contra algo que se creía era solo un mito.

Yo siempre me hago expectativas sobre los libros que leo, no puedo evitarlo porque, debido a la cantidad de libros pendientes que tengo, investigo muy bien antes de lanzarme a leer uno. Así es que sí que tenía ciertas expectativas con este, pero no esperaba para nada que me gustara TANTO.

Ya lo dije: este es uno de los mejores libros que he leído en mi vida.

Pero, ¿por qué?

Para empezar, Richard Morgan escribe de forma muy... singular. No usa un lenguaje sencillo, de hecho es de esos que utiliza demasiados adjetivos —que por lo general no me gustan—, pero lo impregna todo de un humor tan ligero que leerlo resulta bastante ameno y entretenido, aún considerando los temas que se tocan: Morgan no tiene reparos en describir escenas de sexo, tortura y, ya que la mayor parte de la historia se sostiene en base a la intolerancia, discriminación.

No es el libro con la mejor construcción del mundo físico, si prestas atención cada lugar que es descrito viene de algo que nosotros conocemos en la vida real, ya sea porque realmente existe o porque son cultura general, pero en cuanto a la construcción de la política, las leyes naturales y las religiones creo que Morgan ha hecho un excelente trabajo. Al ser un libro narrado desde la perspectiva de tres veteranos de guerra, la política y la religión juegan un papel muy importante y el autor no comete el error de pintar de rosa el lado del que los protagonistas pelean, aquí todos los bandos tienen sus defectos y es eso, al final, lo que acaba por hacer estallar la trama. Porque tanto Egar, Archeth y Ringil comienzan a experimentar distintos grados de duda sobre su papel en la guerra, sobre si realmente valió la pena luchar por una humanidad que ha convertido la esclavitud en un negocio legal, que castiga la homosexualidad con la tortura y la muerte y que no deja de matarse solo por tener creencias diferentes o colores de piel más oscuros o más pálidos.

Sí, la trama principal gira entorno a Ringil y la búsqueda de su prima que fue vendida como esclava, pero por debajo de todo eso son las dudas de los tres protagonistas lo que mueven todo. Archeth, que luego de dedicar toda su vida al servicio de los emperadores comienza a astiarse de servir a una humanidad a la que mira con ojos de superioridad (con motivos); Egar, que no soporta en lo que se ha convertido su vida luego de haber acabado la guerra; y Ringil, que tiene en su espalda un montón de traumas debido a la intolerancia de las personas por su orientación sexual, Ringil, quien menos motivos tenía para luchar por la humanidad y aún así...

Es difícil decir cuál fue mi parte favorita del libro, pienso que el conjunto fue lo que hizo que me gustara tanto y, sobre todo, fue lo que hizo que considere este libro como uno de los mejores que he leído en mi vida. Pocas veces se lee un libro que, al terminarlo, te hace notar como cada maldito diálogo tenía importancia, cada acto tenía un significado y ¡cada acción que aparentemente era incoherente acaba teniendo todo el sentido del mundo!

Otra cosa que me pareció curiosa es que este libro es obviamente Fantasía Epica, peeeero... Si alguien viene y me dice que es Ciencia Ficción no le llevaría la contraria. Hay incontables menciones a máquinas y armas más pertenecientes a la Ciencia Ficción que a la Fantasía y, la guerra de la que tanto se habla tiene más sentido si la interpretas como Ciencia Ficción.

Pero nada es perfecto. Al principio cuesta tomarle gusto, sobre todo porque no está muy claro que pintan en la historia Archeth y Egar, pero poco a poco todo va encajando. Sí creo que Egar no recibió la misma atención, por parte del autor, y sus capítulos se sentían más bien irrelevantes a excepción de algunos breves diálogos en medio de la oscuridad. Tambíen, el momento en el que Ringil va hacia ese otro lugar se me antojó muy inverosímil dentro del contexto de la historia... Lo justifico, porque al final, cuando Ringil comprueba que estar allí es igual de mierdoso que estar acá, su actitud tiene sentido. Sin duda su personaje es el fuerte del libro, no solo por su pasado, sino por su futuro y las cosas en las que ni siquiera se atreve a pensar pero que lleva grabadas en la mente.

[Alissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abercrombie's, Lawrence's (especially), Salyards's and Weeks's fans, this may be the next grimdark series for you. There is irony in all its forms, gallows humor, smoke gray morality, swearing, religious satire, subverted fantasy heroes, assorted trigger warnings and bucket-loads of cynicism.

Speaking about this first book what I liked the most are the opening line, the world-building and the presence of well-rounded adult characters. The protagonists are not in their twilight years of course, but they are old enough to have had their share of life’s experiences and, in particular, of normality in the aftermath of heroic fame.

The main lead is Ringil, a legendary swordsman (yup! Apt, isn’t it?) who lives off his fading deeds in a backwater tavern. He also happens to be openly gay in a world where homosexuality is a capital offence; inevitably, his sexual orientation defines his social behavior and his very being, outweighing his belonging to a noble family and his reputation as a warrior. This, and Ringil’s decision to flaunt it in the face of cultures steeped in bigotry, is a key element of the story.

“you don’t go queer baiting when your quarry has a reputation for rendering trained swordsmen into dogmeat at the drop of a gauntlet.”

Then there is Archeth, the embittered, drug-addicted woman adviser who was left behind. Half-human and long-lived, she is another very conflicted person who is defined by her biology, preferences and heritage; lastly, we have Egar the Dragonbane, former hero and now estranged chief of his home tribe. With a midlife crisis in full swing, he questions the principles that have driven him so far; he’s probably the character with less depth and emotional scars, and I still liked him very much.
The three of them played a pivotal role in saving the day against a global menace almost a decade prior, but now they’re just an inconvenient legacy.

Such an endearing start :)

Seemingly unconnected events cast them upon the path of action, and this group of misfits struggles to find purpose anew, bereft of the illusions of youth but armed with a dose of fatalism and anger which I truly relished. They are full of contradictions and real.
Actually, the whole cast vary from the utterly abhorrent to the truly questionable, anyway the narrative is very intriguing and little is revealed upfront.

Another preeminent feature is the aspect of sexuality, deeply explored in its many forms... So, it’s nice to find LGBT protagonists in a book which, I guess, is marketed toward a male audience; it's also choice that can backfire or lead to controversy because it's very easy to err when dealing with such themes (you know, relatability, accuracy of portrayal, avoidance of stereotypes....A fantasy book with a male MC fooling around with women is not cause for much comment. One with a woman (over?)addressing her desires is questionable, but it’s not uncommon. Other sexual stirrings? Debatable).
I appreciated the attempt to provide with main characters that are not standard, on many levels, but to have 2/3 of them also uncomfortable about their same-sex preferences felt like an overkill (and I add this while reading the third book).

The world building is very good, the kind that allows for inference without generating jarring confusion, and I always love a good puzzle challenge! Unfortunately at the outset the narrative style didn't work for me, I didn’t like the way the story unfolded and its erratic pace: some parts were too rushed, others too slow, and the fact that the boundaries between past and present twisted and blurred didn’t help. The descriptions though, were very vivid and skilled.

There are also unnecessary scenes for shock value's sake (of both the sex and gore variety), grimdark it may be, but the author straddles a fine line here between a healthy serving size of violent amorality and plain over-the-top nastiness. Same goes for Ringil’s ruling passions, the story shows more than needed to drive the point home about our disinclined hero’s longstanding trauma and self-destructive attitude.

For all that, after a while my perceptions changed and I simply fell into the rhythm of the story, its irregular timeline grew on me, as did the three third-person POVs and I’m glad I’ve followed through: if you give this book a try, at least reach the half mark before deciding whether to go on or to give it up for good.
This story is brutal, bleak and full of unsavory stuff – which I liked; there are a few more vulgarities than necessary, too, and I'm not overly impressed with the rushed finale, but the characters, the setting and the tight plot with its many tantalizing bits and few answers gave me a compelling case of the curiosities.


Books—the warm, leather-skinned weight of them in your hands, the way they smelled when you lifted them close to your face. The unfeasibly heart-jolting shock once, as a tome fell heavily open at some much-visited page, divided itself neatly in two blocky halves along the spine—and you thought, guiltily, that you’d broken it.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was brutal, even by grimdark standards. It's not so much the violence (which exists without being gratuitous) but the situations in which the characters find themselves. Stephen Crane would've been proud. There is an existentialist dread throughout, and the characters are lifelike and likable even when they are not exactly paragons of virtue. They are rounded and make decisions that don't reflect a stereotype, much like real people. Some of their decisions border on evil yet they retain their likability.

The protagonist is gay, which is something I don't recall seeing in the fantasy genre. He is not exactly monogamous (nor is anyone I can think of in this story) which I read in previous reviews some readers saw as pornographic. I wouldn't go so far as to say that, but there definitely is a fair amount of sex in the story. I don't see it as excessive, however. In order to convey the grit and atmosphere of the world the author has designed it's necessary to include details that might otherwise be seen as over the top. This includes the sex and violence.

The story kept me going throughout without pause. This is one of the most well-designed fantasy settings I have read. I know Morgan did some successful work with his Altered Carbon series which I have not read. His experience in world design shows.

Initially, it felt like a hard-boiled detective novel with the protagonist getting a rescue the girl assignment, but eventually plot threads blend and what seemed like the main storyline becomes a byline (which is not in any way a spoiler btw).

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this read and am looking forward to the next book.
Four stars.

[Rodrigo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tengo sentimientos encontrados con este libro, por un lado me ha gustado mucho la forma de escribir del autor, pero por otro no me ha terminado de convencer la historia y la longitud de los capítulos a veces me parecía demasiado larga y me daba pereza continuar, he dudado hasta le final de si darle 6.5-7/10 al final me he sido generoso y le he dado las 4 estrellas o sea 7/10.
El personaje que más me ha gustado ha sido el matadragones, los otros 2...
Ringil ni tan mal y Archeth es para mí el más flojo, así como su historia.
Los dioses o los dwanda me han gustado, pero de los primeros apenas se ve un esbozo.
Seguiré o no con la serie esa es la cuestión...
Sinopsis: ¿Qué es de los héroes cuando las guerras terminan?

Para Ringil Ojos de Ángel, la posguerra han sido largos años exiliado, ganándose el pan con el relato de sus hazañas mientras su espada, la legendaria Críacuervos, cuelga olvidada sobre la chimenea.

Para Egar el Matadragones, el triunfal retorno a las estepas como señor de su clan nómada está marcado por la nostalgia que siente por los tiempos felices pasados como mercenario en el civilizado Imperio.

Y en ese mismo Imperio, la mestiza Archeth, dejada atrás por su raza desaparecida, sirve al emperador e intenta en vano mantener en funcionamiento la tecnología abandonada.

Algo empieza a moverse, sin embargo, en su mundo rodeado por un anillo. Ringil es reclamado por su noble familia, que lo había repudiado, para que rescate a una pariente de los traficantes de esclavos. Egar es objeto de conspiraciones, inspiradas por los dioses, para apartarle de la jefatura de su clan. Y Archeth debe investigar el ataque a una guarnición costera del Imperio, realizado con armas que en teoría no deberían existir.

Los caminos de los tres viejos camaradas de guerra volverán a cruzarse, y entonces sabrán por fin si su tierra puede ser realmente apta para los héroes.
# 32. Un libro con una cita de tu autor(a) favorito en la portada o en la página de Amazon. Reseña de Joe Abercrombie (sigue siendo el rey). Reto Popsugar 2022.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.5 stars. Richard Morgan is one of my favorite authors so needless to say I am a big fan of his writing style, his characters and his very gritty, violent stories. I thought this was a brilliant fantasy "noir" novel that was never boring. I thought Morgan took some real chances in this book (most notably the graphic sexual descriptions involving the main character) but Morgan has never been one to shy away from telling a story his way. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!

Voted to SFSite Reader's Poll Top 10 (2009)

[Kaora · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a man you know of sound mind tells you his recently deceased mother has just tried to climb in his bedroom window and eat him, you only have two basic options. You can smell his breath, take his pulse, and check his pupils to see if he's ingested something nasty, or you can believe him.

And thus begins The Steel Remains, a whirlwind of sex, violence and sorcery that sucked me in and left me wanting more 390 pages later.

Where other men see only the rim of the world, you must look beyond. You must look to the sky.

It follows three main characters, Egar, Archeth and Ringil, all of whom I felt were very well developed. I struggled with liking Egar and Ringil, more so with Ringil, because of some of his actions, but despite that I did find myself liking him. My favorite by far however was Archeth.

Pull on the cold, clinking mail of your professional detachment, Archeth Indamaninarmal, inhabit it until it starts to feel warm and accustomed, and in time you'll forget you're wearing it at all. You'll only notice when it works, when it stops you feeling the steel-edged bite of something that might otherwise have gotten through and done you some damage. And then you'll grin and shiver and shake off the blow, like warriors do.

The book is fairly dark. There is a lot of sex, violence and swearing that some people may not appreciate. For me, I thought the battle scenes were some of the best I've experienced and although I normally do not like a lot of sex in my books, the rest of the book was so good that the frequent sex scenes did not bother me as much.

A large part of why this book was a winner is the world building. It is superb, with unique creatures, detailed history and creative cultures.

The star however was the writing.

Common men make a distinction between gods and demons, Poltar, but it's ignorance to talk that way. When the powers do our will, we worship them as gods; when they thwart and frustrate us, we hate and fear them as demons. They are the same creatures, the same twisted unhuman things. The shaman's path is negotiation, nothing more. We tend the relationship with the powers so they bring us more benefit than ruin. We can do no more.

Richard K. Morgan has a way with words, and while occasionally his vivid descriptions made me shudder, it definitely left me with a lasting impression and a desire to see what else he can do.

So if copious amounts of swearing and sex doesn't bother you, I highly recommend you pick this up.

Cross posted at Kaora's Corner.

[Malice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decir que me encantó es poco, es que este libro me ha volado la cabeza y sí, tiene algunas cosas que no han terminado de convencerme, como los dwendas y la batalla final, pero creo que lo que más me ha gustado son los personajes y con eso me ha ganado.

Necesito saber más sobre muchas cosas y sobre todo, necesito ver qué pasa con Ringil, Archeth y Egar. Sé que los siguientes libros van a peor, así que estoy preparada, jajaja.

[Krystal · Rating 1 out of 5]

PREPARE FOR A RANT.

Nothing says !!MALE AUTHOR!! like a sex act in almost EVERY. SINGLE. CHAPTER and women ALWAYS described first and foremost by their heaving, always engorged breasts.

I'm so mad.

A Summary:
- Characters are never properly described
-Allusions to the past make you feel you missed an entire book/trilogy before this
-Plot is hard to make out
-Sex nudity sex boobs rape sex boobs groping sex obscene paintings boobs rape nudity sex ETC

In further detail:

Characters
Having read this book, I still have very little idea of what ANY of these characters look like. I was 300 pages in before I realised one of the characters was black. That seems like something I should have known. Other than that, the dudes have guts and the ladies have heaving breasts.

It is very hard to follow a story with multiple characters when you have no idea what any of the characters actually look like.

Allusions to the Past
The setting of this book is about a decade after a big battle in which all the main characters were heroes, to the extent that they killed a dragon and led armies to great victory. Now they're old and essentially past their prime but things drag them back into the fold somehow.

I honestly had to double check that there wasn't another book or series set in the same world with these characters. I still feel like there is and I just missed it. Because there are so many references to things that happened in the past that are more confusing than scene-building. For example, how is it that they killed a dragon and it was a big deal and then there is just zero other references to dragons?! Also who/what are these Lizard people and where are they now? Admittedly, I skimmed a lot of the political rants because I could not make heads or tails of any of it. There are so many names for people, places, things, etc that I could not keep track one bit. There is so much information and none of it is explained clearly enough to get a true picture of this world.

Plot
So, as mentioned above, things are very messy and confusing. Our main protagonist, Ringil, is drawn out of the quiet life by the search for his cousin. This happens within the first few chapters of the book, yet we see almost zero progress in this quest aside from Ringil insulting people and either getting into fights or getting into bed with them. I liked the steppe dude and his basic story of sibling rivalry but the third main character? I just honestly had no idea what was going on with her. Something about being a lapdog for the emperor. *shrugs* She also has a lot of names that I honestly could not be bothered even READING let alone mentally pronouncing properly.

Sex etc.
DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED.

What IS it with male fantasy authors needing to live out their every pornographic fantasy in the books they write? There was 100% NO NEED for this level of debauchery. Also, WHY are fat, ugly, has-been heroes irresistible to one and all? Get outta here.

Conclusion
This book was just so heavily overshadowed by all the sex, rape and acts of sexual subservience that there was no room left to develop plot, characters or the world. A complete mess from start to finish.

Target audience: dudes who love 'anti hereoes' who are actually just unappealing men who get laid a lot; guys who say they like 'gritty' fantasy but actually just like lots of death and sex; readers who prefer sex and violence over plot and world-building.

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a big fan of R. Morgan ultra violent, ultra dark and quite explicit novels since his extraordinary debut Altered Carbon. Though in his last novels the repetitions of themes, plot and gimmicks became a bit tiresome, in The Steel Remains Mr. Morgan moves to epic/adventure fantasy and reinvigorates said themes. While longtime readers of his novels will be less surprised at the twists and turns of this novel because of the echoes of previous works, there is a lot of new stuff here and the 3 main characters especially Ringil who gets the most face time are as engaging as ever.

Not for the squeamish or easily offended - explicit descriptions of torture, mutilations, explicit mostly homosexual sex both with humans and human like aliens/wraiths and repeated profanities fill up the book - The Steel Remains is a very dense book, gripping and with a reasonable resolution of its original issues, but as with most first novels in a series, the larger issues just now start to impact our characters.

The best Morgan since his first two novels, Altered Carbon and Broken Angels

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.0 stars (would give it more if I could). Incredible fantasy novel by one of my favorite authors. Morgan's first fantasy novel is an outstanding accomplishment. Stands beside (1) The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, (2) the Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch and (3) the First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie as the most entertaining fantsy novel to come out in the last 5 years. Highly recommended!!

[Chris Gousopoulos · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that I wanted to read since it first came out. I was a big fan of Altered Carbon so I was excited with Morgan's turn to fantasy.
Somehow, I never read it.
I have no idea what I would have thought back then but reading it now left me very unimpressed.

There are some nice ideas in the story and worldbuilding and I think the action scenes are well written. Also the fact that the book was not big made it well paced. But I never felt that I read something special or fascinating.

As far as I am concerned, Morgan's writing suffers from some aspects I dont like in the modern grimdark authors. I am tired of the constant witty, sarcastic bantering. It always breaks my immersion. I think it is way overused.
I also feel that most of the characters are similar.
Not much voice distinction. Gritty, sarcastic characters, that even though they are always ready for the worst violence and thoughts, they are all capable for much compassion and virtuous behaviour if its necessary for the story's turn.
Its a cliche I find too often in the grimdark subgenre. Its like they all fill a big all-encompassing subgenre template.

To conclude, I think this book might appeal to readers who enjoy anything resembling the post-Abercrombie grimdark writing, but in my opinion it lacked the prose and the little details that made the few of these recent titles that stand out for me. Namely, The Broken Empire by Lawrence, Beyond Redemption by Fletcher, Vagrant by Newman and Blackwing by McDonald

[Stefan · Rating 2 out of 5]

4.51 :D

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book. His website calls it noir fantasy. I guess I kind of get that. It's certainly not the lovely elves dancing under the moon kind of book. War, violence, intolerance, politics, and religion all play a part. There is a lot of crude language and some sexually explicit scenes. The main character. Ringil, is a self-proclaimed queer. If you find homosexuality, or outright heterosexuality, both in scenes and language, to be offensive, this is not the book for you. I actually found it refreshingly honest.

As I was reading this fantasy novel, I found myself trying to keep in mind what I know about the author's style and intentions from reading his other books and website; I'm VERY curious where he will take the characters and story. He always has a point, usually several, well masked in the guise of an amusing tale.

It was definitely the first book in a trilogy. It wrapped up at the end but clearly foreshadows continuing conflict. First engagement in the long battle and all of that.

Overall, it was a joy to read a book by such a brilliant guy, who's intelligent observances and use of language makes him seem witty and fascinating instead of off-putting or uptight. His website is very enjoyable, I would recommend checking it out: RichardMorgan.com.

I especially enjoy his article Sound and Fury, Signifying ...? about the intense and sometime savage community of sci-fi/fantasy fans and authors.

Update November 2011: I enjoyed it even more the second time around. I got it from the library intending to skim through it as a reminder before reading The Cold Commands but I immediately became completely engrossed. Remembering a bit about the characters made me more interested in paying attention to their individual stories. I remember being a bit confused the first time because they don't meet up until almost the end of the book; it made me somewhat less interested in Egar's story in particular. And there are just a lot of details and nuances that I absorbed more easily this time with a bit of familiarity. Since I joined Goodreads my to-read list has been so long that I very rarely re-read books, but I'm glad I made an exception for this one, it was fantastic.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well...okay. This one has been on my radar for some time. It has a mixed bag of reviews and reviewers. many love it some hate it and a few fall all along the scale in between. It's one of those I kept meaning to get to but always had "other stuff' ahead of it.

What we have here is another in the current flood of books that strains to be dark and gritty. It accomplishes this...in spades...as the saying goes. This book is not only gritty it stands by your elbow the entire time you're reading and yells into your ear "SEE HOW DARK AND GRITTY I AM!"

The book revolves around a warrior who was a hero that saved his city only to have the city find out he was gay and try to kill him. He has lived as an outcast now for 10 years all because of his "gayness".

He's also bitter. It seems our hero is of a well known family which ultimately kept the great unwashed from being able to kill him but it did not stop the horrific killing of his best friend and lover. Thus when he's needed by the very people who turned on him and turned him out before his feelings are a bit...mixed. He's is let us say ambivalent. ("One man, alone, betrayed by the country he loves, now their last hope in their hour of need.")

Now don't get me wrong this book is not entirely concerned with gay sex. No this book is chocked full of all kinds of sex scenes. There's heterosexual sex, bondage sex, master and slave sex (this is between a literal master and the slave he owns rather than mere bondage sex...though bondage is often involved and consent is definitely not an issue)... We have gentle sex, rough sex, willing sex, unwilling sex, loving sex, recreational sex and so on. You get the idea. Not only is there blood, grit, darkness, bitterness and violence there's...well sex.

There's so much here that I didn't find it titillating I ultimately found all the "copulation" boring. So at least in my case I actually found the book a bit slow and at times tedious. The story is one we've seen before in fantasy lit but it's a good idea and could have been done better. I hold out hope for a bit more balance and better pacing on the next outing.

Just me of course as I said the ratings on this tend to spread out a bit...so maybe see what you think. Not really one I got into.

[Shaitarn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another grimdark fantasy novel. The three main characters of this book are veterans from a war against the lizard folk over a decade ago. All of them are damaged in some way: Ringil, our nominal hero, is gay in a culture where gay men are publicly executed. Egar Dragonbane is a steppe nomad chieftain; having seen the world as a young mercenary he’s frustrated and feels trapped in his clan, unable to leave and surrounded by people who don’t look any further than the horizon; Archeth is a half-human, left behind when her father’s people, the Kiriath, abandoned the human realm for their own world.

Ringil, living in a semi-exile, is summoned back to his family home by his mother: she needs him to rescue his cousin who was sold into slavery by her husband (before the war slavery was illegal; now people are sold legally to pay their debts); Ringil spent his youth hanging around with the criminal classes and it’s thought his contacts (and skill with his sword) are the best chance they have to find her. But his investigation stirs up a hornet’s nest and the three old comrades are drawn back together to fight against the dwenda (sort of albino super fey) who plan to take the world back from these human upstarts.

I enjoyed this book. I felt the world was interestingly detailed and I liked the characters. Ringil, the main character, wasn’t my personal favourite (too full of resentment and anger for me) and I would’ve preferred to spend more time with Egar and Archeth. Glancing at the other reviews, most people seemed to find Archeth their favourite character, but I have a sneaking fondness for Egar; I suspect (hope) his character will be developed in the future books.

I feel I should warn potential readers this is grimdark of the very blackest shade; there is a lot of detailed violence and sex and a lot of swearing. If this disturbs you, you probably would be best advised to avoid this book. If not, you may enjoy this trip into an ultra-violent grim world. Me, I plan to be reading the sequels very soon.

[Kara Babcock · Rating 2 out of 5]

Goodness, it’s been a long time since I read Altered Carbon , and nearly as long since I heard about The Steel Remains, Richard K. Morgan’s foray into fantasy, and knew I needed to give it a try. I was intrigued by the promise of a gritty approach to epic fantasy. Much like in the shooter genre of video games, the term gritty as applied to fantasy can get tossed around a lot without much accuracy. But I was pretty certain Morgan would deliver. In this respect he did. As a novel, however, The Steel Remains still leaves much to be desired.

The basic mechanics of Morgan’s fantasy world are nothing to write home about. There’s a powerful empire and a network of free cities nominally at peace after working together to repulse an invasion a decade ago by reptilian people from across the sea. There are steppe nomads with their own religion that doesn’t see eye-to-eye with the empire’s official monotheism. Humanity used to co-exist with a species known as the Kiriath, but after the Scaled Folk were beaten back, the Kiriath decided to attempt the long journey back whence they came, leaving behind a single, solitary, half-Kiriath woman named Archeth. Oh, and a lot of Kiriath artifacts, like the sword of Ringil Eskiath, the other protagonist of The Steel Remains. Ringil also happens to be gay, which in a better world than ours would be nothing to write home about either, but because our society remains stubbornly heteronormative, a gay protagonist (and gay sex! gasp!) in an otherwise “mainstream” book is significant.

Of course, in our world there are varying responses to homosexuality, ranging across a continuum from “OK. Go marry someone, if you like” to “Well, we’ll stone you now, and then you will burn in eternal hellfire!” Although the same is somewhat true in the world of The Steel Remains, most responses lean towards the eternal hellfire end of the continuum. Ringil has killed a dragon, but unlike his Majak friend Egar, who has also done this, Ringil doesn’t get the title Dragonbane. Despite his prowess and skill in the service of his people. Ringil doesn’t get much recognition or respect; even his family normally keeps him at a distance. He is an outcast in all but name.

This is something, in fact, that all three main characters share in common. Archeth is the last of her kind, surviving mainly in the service of a capricious emperor who is trying to hold on to an empire he doesn’t seem to deserve. Egar is the leader of a nomad clan, but his leadership is precarious owing to a lack of respect for the gods and his people’s shamanistic rituals. Notice that Morgan doesn’t necessarily go out of his way to show Archeth, Ringil, or Egar as “good” people. They are people, with good points and bad points, and I can appreciate that.

What I don’t appreciate is how The Steel Remains reads like it was written by … well, by me when I was in high school and making my first stabs at a fantasy novel. Morgan seems to have set out to write a fantasy novel, and boy has he ever. From the map at the front of the book to the names to the pacing of the story, The Steel Remains feels like an amateur effort. That surprises me so much, because I know Morgan is far from an amateur. Try as I might, however, I couldn’t shake that feeling as I read. Despite trying to shake up the typical fantasy tropes—such as the identity of the prophesied Dark Lord, which is pretty obviously telegraphed at several points in the story—Morgan doesn’t quite manage to pull it off.

The three protagonists share a common bond from their past involvements in war, and as such they have similar scars and burdens. As they come together to defend the world against a great threat, those scars show. These are far from perfect people, and they are weary of doing what they see as their duty. It takes a long time for this to happen, though. Morgan, to his credit, manages to avoid much in the way of infodumping—to the point where I would have been grateful for when, because half the time I had no idea what was going on.

There is one respect in which The Steel Remains strikes a chord with me. I don’t want to say too much, lest I spoil parts of the book. However, let’s just say that Morgan lets his science-fiction street cred show more than once, and it’s entirely possible that all the magic happening in this story is actually just sufficiently advanced science. I enjoyed how he put the clues there for the reader to see but didn’t beat us over the head with these implications. If/when I get around to reading the next book in this series, I look forward to seeing how Morgan develops this subplot further.

The next book isn’t jumping up my list, though. The Steel Remains didn’t grab me like Altered Carbon did. For the most part, I found it messy and far less skillful than any novel by someone of Morgan’s calibre has any business being. I do not recommend this as your first foray into Morgan’s writing; and, if like me you’ve already read some of his science fiction, be prepared for a big genre shock.

[Michael Pang · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Richard Morgan fantasy novel and it won't be my last.

Take 1 part grimdark add 1 part epic fantasy; blend well; bake 45 mins = bloody corpses, ghouls, sex-sexual violence, multiple races, broadswords, axes, politics and political maneuvering, potassium sorbate (to preserve freshness) and science-magic.

The book can fall into the occasional lull; however, as a whole, it is a strong 1st novel of a series. It is a no holds-barred introduction into a dark and epic world which has you wanting to find out what happens next.

[Fantasy boy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Steen Remains is my thirteenth fantasy books read in English. This book is totally grim, gritty and being horrific at characters, plots; and keep pushing the boundaries of violence in fantasy genre, this book is not shame of displaying the cruelties of villains and heroes; It’s gruesome not only at big scales of casualties in battles but also how heroes treating enemies. Richard K Morgan apparently removes all the brightish colors instead fills with dark shades in This bleak, excruciatingly hopeless world.

Ringil Eskiath was a war hero who had fought Lizard-like folks and dragons. After he came back from the war few years later, he indulged himself in brothels, trying to forget what he had done in the war: however, one day his mother found Ringil in a brothel and demanded him searching for his cousin who was missing for a few year. Reluctantly, Ringil set up to find his cousin and realized that he was back to the society which he was not familiar with because of long fighting in the war, and after that, the world before the war has changed. He realized that he still wanted to do in his tough way if anything or anyone was against him. He soon would discover a alien race that was trying to invade his world…

I can see why Ringil has suffered a lot from the war, and in his childhood, basically, his miserable life experiences have brewed him into a very tough also not afraid of doing horrendous things to other people. He was forced to be fucked by his classmates, the bullies included his older brother, when he was at school; since then, he became a faggot who like to fuck males. In his childhood, he had a best friend who were smuggling illegal goods with, but when the government had announced that no smugglers would escape from the new laws, hence Ringil and his best friend were on the scaffold to be executed, but Ringil had been pardoned due to his family’s status. Then he had witnessed his best friend was slowly being tormented to death; during the progress, one of the urchins who was less than 15 years old threw stones onto Ringil’s friend, and Ringil automatically broke the urchain’s neck… at that paragraph, I realized it was Ringil’s true love who was slowly suffering on the scaffold. A hysterical hag proclaimed that the king would rise from the marsh, and at this premonition that which is the end of Ringil’s dismal childhood.

The Land Fit for Hero series is a trilogy, the first book, The Steel Remains Combines Sci-Fi elements, detective story line, and some abhorrent creatures, and malevolences from heroes or the alien intruders; it is the most ultra-violent book in the trilogy . The Steel Remains is NOT for EVERYONE, especially those readers who just want a cozy and merrymaking adventures. Long time ago, when I First started reading Fantasy books in English, this is one of the fantasy books I recalled vividly, the writing of Ringil, the war hero that narrates his inner thoughts on wars, politics, and changes, make me feel he was furious at current situations, he was ranging at the alien intruders, he was frenzied in battle fields. His almost uncontrollable temper is good also bad while reading in Ringil’s POVs, although it worked for me.

A fantasy book has done something special, but if you do not like violence and how heroes have done terrible things to villains, things about gays etc, then it is not a book for you.

[Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

This book is pretty wild. Teetered back and forth between a 3 and 5 star rating. Overall, fascinating ideas and a brutal world that failed to ever realize the stakes that were being sold to me. However the setting and world are easily enough to continue the trilogy and hope the next two books really find a way to grip me.

[Hirondelle (not getting notifications) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally read this, and yeah, it checks out, right now, I am really not the reader for this kind of thing epic fantasy with multi threads and sardonic main characters and evil rises and alien races and all. But even if I am not the right reader for this, not anymore, I still finished it (so that is praise) and thought it was well done, if you are into that sort of thing.

It did some things interestingly, in ways different than previous fantasies (graphic unromantic gay sex for example) but also differently than what is popular right now (quite grim in showing what is happening to people enslaved, not a queernorm book at all) - that might be a turn off for all readers though it felt like intentional worldbuilding rather than just rearranging well worn tropes.

Not a standalone, but not too cliff hanger like. I will not check out the rest of the series, but I might try his sf books if any ever comes my eye...