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The Ultima Saga #1
The Forge of Virtue
Lord Ironhawk's son, Jordan Hawson; Althea; Drum, the blacksmith; and Jordan's kid brother, Squirt, search for Balthan, Althea's magician brother, the only one to know the truth about the evil infesting the land of Britannia.
312 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
70 people want to read
About the author
Lynn Abbey
146 books192 followersLynn Abbey began publishing in 1979 with the novel Daughter of the Bright Moon and the short story "The Face of Chaos," part of a Thieves World shared world anthology. She received early encouragement from Gordon R. Dickson.
In the 1980s she married Robert Asprin and became his co-editor on the Thieves World books. She also contributed to other shared world series during the 1980s, including Heroes in Hell and Merovingen Nights.
Abbey and Asprin divorced in 1993 and Abbey moved to Oklahoma City. She continued to write novels during this period, including original works as well as tie-ins to Role Playing Games for TSR. In 2002, she returned to Thieves World with the novel Sanctuary and also began editing new anthologies, beginning with Turning Points.
In the 1980s she married Robert Asprin and became his co-editor on the Thieves World books. She also contributed to other shared world series during the 1980s, including Heroes in Hell and Merovingen Nights.
Abbey and Asprin divorced in 1993 and Abbey moved to Oklahoma City. She continued to write novels during this period, including original works as well as tie-ins to Role Playing Games for TSR. In 2002, she returned to Thieves World with the novel Sanctuary and also began editing new anthologies, beginning with Turning Points.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 21, 2021
There's some weirdly prominent text proclaiming the derivation of the contents from works copyrighted by Richard Garriott and used under license. I've seen similar legalese but not on the back cover and not in such large typeface.
The author takes a set of game mechanics and game conveniences--the Virtues, the quasi-Medieval society, the magic system--and bashes it into a meaningful narrative from the perspective of a group of 'the next generation' growing up and coming to terms with themselves. And this takes place on the cusp of the Ultima 5 storyline, where Lord British has recently vanished, Blackthorn is starting to assert tyrannical control, and weird clouds are descending on urban areas and making people act antisocially.
Which is what it is. The protagonists aren't going to do anything significant about these problems because the clock is ticking for the Avatar to appear and set things right (after rebuilding him/herself to the requisite level 8 and re-mastering combat and magic yet again). In fact the protagonists serve more as witnesses to the setting and problems while on their own quest and while confronting their own inner strife and interpersonal conflicts.
This is appropriate to the setting, which changed the game (so to speak) with a storyline about self-improvement and attaining mastery instead of beating the heck out of some villain. There are explorations of that here, where the kids confront the fact that their personal Virtue (Honor, Honesty, Compassion) is both limited in scope and conflicts with other ideals. And of course the game is always about starting small and becoming a force to reckon with.
But it wasn't what I was looking for. The protagonists bicker and their immaturity shines through, and their journey is not about bold adventure through interesting and dangerous places as much as a travelogue through game references and the preparation for everything that comes next. And then it sort of cliffhangers with a wholly unsatisfying ending.
The author takes a set of game mechanics and game conveniences--the Virtues, the quasi-Medieval society, the magic system--and bashes it into a meaningful narrative from the perspective of a group of 'the next generation' growing up and coming to terms with themselves. And this takes place on the cusp of the Ultima 5 storyline, where Lord British has recently vanished, Blackthorn is starting to assert tyrannical control, and weird clouds are descending on urban areas and making people act antisocially.
Which is what it is. The protagonists aren't going to do anything significant about these problems because the clock is ticking for the Avatar to appear and set things right (after rebuilding him/herself to the requisite level 8 and re-mastering combat and magic yet again). In fact the protagonists serve more as witnesses to the setting and problems while on their own quest and while confronting their own inner strife and interpersonal conflicts.
This is appropriate to the setting, which changed the game (so to speak) with a storyline about self-improvement and attaining mastery instead of beating the heck out of some villain. There are explorations of that here, where the kids confront the fact that their personal Virtue (Honor, Honesty, Compassion) is both limited in scope and conflicts with other ideals. And of course the game is always about starting small and becoming a force to reckon with.
But it wasn't what I was looking for. The protagonists bicker and their immaturity shines through, and their journey is not about bold adventure through interesting and dangerous places as much as a travelogue through game references and the preparation for everything that comes next. And then it sort of cliffhangers with a wholly unsatisfying ending.
December 1, 2011
A weak three stars. The plot's okay, but I just could care less whether any of these all-too-realistic whiny teenagers survive. The challenges the characters face are also too serial and quickly (if not easily) dealt with. I was mostly propelled by curiosity about the Ultima setting. I doubt it will be enough to get me to find and read the rest of the series, but it makes me think there might be some other Lynn Abbey that would be worth reading. She at least has a decent handle on verisimilitude, which is a quality I find lacking in too many fantasy authors.
October 10, 2021
Forge of Virtue has a lot of issues. None of them are particularly unique either, but let's talk about some of the bigger ones.
I will have to mention that I don't know the Ultima franchise or Richard Garriott that well so I can't say if this book is "faithful" to the source. Or if that libertarian streak that raises its head from time to time is from Garriott or Abbey. But most of my issues are more on the technical side anyhow so let's get into it.
One of the main issues this book has is structure. The start waffles, the end jumps. At the start, I didn't care about the story because it continued on a snail's pace; at the end, I couldn't keep up because almost each new chapter was in a new place and I couldn't logically figure how the characters ended up there; and finally, it comes to an end that feels unsatisfying and like someone just wanted to stop writing. It's a common problem and I wonder what caused it in this case. Maybe the author was on a deadline that didn't allow rewriting the start and balancing the novel. I could imagine that happening with a tie-in novel.
A related problem is that what happens to the main characters on their quest doesn't feel so much a result of the quest but like someone had some dice and a random encounter table at hand to add something to the narrative. Because the actual quest is essentially a walk from point A to point B and not in a very subtle way either.
By the end of this book, I realised that I don't think any of the main characters liked each other. They all hold some hidden resentments that pop up each time they talk about the other. This might be fine if this was part of some arc but no, this has been the case throughout the book. But I do get it. Practically all of the characters are very unlikable.
In the end, it's not offensively bad. The writing on the page isn't that bad even though the larger structure doesn't hold up. But it's not exactly a good time either.
I will have to mention that I don't know the Ultima franchise or Richard Garriott that well so I can't say if this book is "faithful" to the source. Or if that libertarian streak that raises its head from time to time is from Garriott or Abbey. But most of my issues are more on the technical side anyhow so let's get into it.
One of the main issues this book has is structure. The start waffles, the end jumps. At the start, I didn't care about the story because it continued on a snail's pace; at the end, I couldn't keep up because almost each new chapter was in a new place and I couldn't logically figure how the characters ended up there; and finally, it comes to an end that feels unsatisfying and like someone just wanted to stop writing. It's a common problem and I wonder what caused it in this case. Maybe the author was on a deadline that didn't allow rewriting the start and balancing the novel. I could imagine that happening with a tie-in novel.
A related problem is that what happens to the main characters on their quest doesn't feel so much a result of the quest but like someone had some dice and a random encounter table at hand to add something to the narrative. Because the actual quest is essentially a walk from point A to point B and not in a very subtle way either.
By the end of this book, I realised that I don't think any of the main characters liked each other. They all hold some hidden resentments that pop up each time they talk about the other. This might be fine if this was part of some arc but no, this has been the case throughout the book. But I do get it. Practically all of the characters are very unlikable.
In the end, it's not offensively bad. The writing on the page isn't that bad even though the larger structure doesn't hold up. But it's not exactly a good time either.
September 30, 2022
Quite a not-ending, though it suffices. I’ll need to read the second book to decide what I think, overall. I will agree with another reviewer, that the characters aren’t that likable. I think Abbey is a wonderful author, and I still enjoyed my time reading this video-game tie-in. (Set during Ultima V, I think)
January 19, 2021
Decent story but there were only two Ultima novels.
Want to read
February 28, 20226
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews