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Echoes of Empire #1
The Garden of Stones
Shortlisted for the 2014 Gemmell Morningstar Award - Best Debut Novel
When the Shrīanese Empire explodes into civil war, fighters of all kinds flock to the banners of their lords. Indris, a skilled swordsman and brilliant sorcerer, seeks to end the bloodshed once and for all. He knows this war is simply a ruse—a power play by a ruling Family desperate to take control of the Empire by any means necessary. Indris cares little for the politics except to see that justice is upheld. But even he can't see the terrible price his opponents are willing to pay to secure their legacy.
A true epic, the first book in the Echoes of Empire series creates a spellbinding new world. With its twisted politics, new races, compelling heroes and villains, and unique magic, The Garden of Stones is a lyrical fantasy on the grandest scale.
506 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 9, 2013
301 people are currently reading
3662 people want to read
About the author
Mark T. Barnes
6 books100 followersMark Barnes was born in Sydney, Australia, in September of 1966. A strong athlete, he was also drawn to the arts at a young age, penning his first short story as a seven-year-old. He worked in finance and advertising before establishing himself in IT services management. Currently he owns and operates a freelance organizational change consultancy.
In 2005, when Mark was selected to attend the Clarion South residential short story workshop, he began to write with the intention of making it more than a hobby. Since that time, Mark has published a number of short stories, worked as a freelance script editor, and has driven creative consultancy for a television series.
Mark is the author of the Echoes of Empire series, published by 47 North. The series includes The Garden of Stones, and The Obsidian Heart. The Pillars of Sand is book three of the series. In 2014 the Garden of Stones made the Top 20 novels for the David Gemmell Legend Award for best novel, and was a finalist for the David Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Debut/Newcomer.
You can find out more at www.marktbarnes.com, his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/marktbarnes.author, or follow Mark on Twitter @MarkTBarnes.
In 2005, when Mark was selected to attend the Clarion South residential short story workshop, he began to write with the intention of making it more than a hobby. Since that time, Mark has published a number of short stories, worked as a freelance script editor, and has driven creative consultancy for a television series.
Mark is the author of the Echoes of Empire series, published by 47 North. The series includes The Garden of Stones, and The Obsidian Heart. The Pillars of Sand is book three of the series. In 2014 the Garden of Stones made the Top 20 novels for the David Gemmell Legend Award for best novel, and was a finalist for the David Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Debut/Newcomer.
You can find out more at www.marktbarnes.com, his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/marktbarnes.author, or follow Mark on Twitter @MarkTBarnes.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
May 25, 2018
*** 4.25 ***
This was very, very good! From the beginning you are thrown into the action and it takes a sec for you to get your bearings, but once it gets going, it doesn't let the reader down. Very imaginative and interesting. If I could improve something, it would be to add a glossary of the different races of people in pictures, so we could share in the author's intent of the vast variety. I recommend it to all Fantasy fans😀😀😀!
This was very, very good! From the beginning you are thrown into the action and it takes a sec for you to get your bearings, but once it gets going, it doesn't let the reader down. Very imaginative and interesting. If I could improve something, it would be to add a glossary of the different races of people in pictures, so we could share in the author's intent of the vast variety. I recommend it to all Fantasy fans😀😀😀!
April 19, 2017
I wasn't sure what to expect form this book, I just knew I was excited to read it. My buddy Ryan had dubbed it "A more accessible Malazan with Magitek." From that moment I was sold. With that being said there was nothing in this boom that struck me as Magitek, but maybe there in the sequels :)
This book was big and thought out. It is one of the most quotable books I have ever read. There is political intrigue and sweeping action scenes that keep you in the edge of your seat. There are characters that are studly beyond your expectations. And it was spectacular.
There is pretty much no magic to speak of. Almost in a Game of Thrones type way, even though you are living in a fantastical world. There are lion men and races you couldn't even think of. And there is "magic" by the name of disentropy. This, in my mind, was something between the cross of the life stream from Final Fantasy 7 and Stormlight from The Way of Kings. I don't fully understand it, but I was fully interested.
I have a couple of complaints about the book, but I'm only going to list one. Each chapter has a quote from some book or poem from the world we are living in. They were great overall. But as I was reading one night 2 chapters had the same exact quote with the only difference being who said it. This kind of thing pulls me out of the world that at that pint I had fully envisioned as real. Minor things like this pulled me out of the story. A good editor and a little sprucing up and this book is an easy 5*.
Overall I think this book was a blast. Well worth the read if you are looking for something exciting, intelligent, and a little bit darker. While confusing at times, with some of the weirdest names I've read in a book, it will enthrall anyone with a hankering (sorry, really wanted to use that word) for a darker low fantasy novel.
“By refusing the various calls we hear throughout our lives, we often condemn ourselves to later years of regret. We see them, those elders, bent under the weight of doubt: living their twilight years thinking might have, could have, or should have. Let me answer the calls which come to me, so perhaps I will look back at my life and say, I did.”
This book was big and thought out. It is one of the most quotable books I have ever read. There is political intrigue and sweeping action scenes that keep you in the edge of your seat. There are characters that are studly beyond your expectations. And it was spectacular.
“It is through art, music, and literature we truly understand a culture. Violence and war are nothing more than the voices of childish envy.”
There is pretty much no magic to speak of. Almost in a Game of Thrones type way, even though you are living in a fantastical world. There are lion men and races you couldn't even think of. And there is "magic" by the name of disentropy. This, in my mind, was something between the cross of the life stream from Final Fantasy 7 and Stormlight from The Way of Kings. I don't fully understand it, but I was fully interested.
“True friendship is a wonder rarely matched in nature for its beauty, or its rarity. Born of love, admiration, and affection, it is the place where wrongs are forgiven and we see with the heart, not the eyes.
I have a couple of complaints about the book, but I'm only going to list one. Each chapter has a quote from some book or poem from the world we are living in. They were great overall. But as I was reading one night 2 chapters had the same exact quote with the only difference being who said it. This kind of thing pulls me out of the world that at that pint I had fully envisioned as real. Minor things like this pulled me out of the story. A good editor and a little sprucing up and this book is an easy 5*.
‘It is almost a certainty that, when a person is most sure, they are often most mistaken."
Overall I think this book was a blast. Well worth the read if you are looking for something exciting, intelligent, and a little bit darker. While confusing at times, with some of the weirdest names I've read in a book, it will enthrall anyone with a hankering (sorry, really wanted to use that word) for a darker low fantasy novel.
November 15, 2013
I was a little hesitant approaching The Garden of Stones by Mark T. Barnes in audiobook form as I'd heard it was a bit akin to Steven Erikson (more than Garden in the titles) where the reader is simply thrown into the action without much, if any explanation. It turns out my fears were not unfounded and yet I would still highly recommend this book.
I've noticed in reading books or listening to audiobooks, there are some books I have a harder time with given the medium through which I am experiencing them. I had the hardest time getting into Dune by Frank Herbert when I tried it in paperback because I kept feeling like I had to look up every single word I didn't understand and I quickly grew tired of it and gave up.
Later, I picked up the audiobook thinking I needed to at least finish this classic of the genre and not only did I do so, I loved the crap out of it. It's still one of my favorite books and I've been meaning to go back and read it in paperback again.
I know, this isn't a Dune review, but it illustrates the point that some books are more accessible if you just let go, trust that the author will lead you where you need to go, and leave your worries behind. You'll get it, even if it's tough. And audiobooks allow you to do so because you don't have that handy dandy glossary to look through. That's also not to say that all books and stories work this way.
With The Garden of Stones, I wonder if I would have stalled in my reading. I'm no stranger to being thrown into the action having survived (and thoroughly enjoyed!) Erikson's masterpiece, The Malazan Book of the Fallen, so that probably wouldn't have been a problem. I did, however, have a difficult time keeping a lot of the characters, names, and races straight through listening only. Had I had my eyes on this one, I probably would have enjoyed it even more than I already did.
I'm sure I missed a lot of the connections that were being made early on, but I did get my bearings by the end and quite enjoyed this world that Barnes has created. It's full of wonder and imagination, tons of creatures, and races that were well-crafted and constantly interesting. I enjoyed exploring each new thing in this world and many kudos to Barnes for that. The characters are also highly interesting, Barnes even plays with an Erikson-like main character who is supremely powerful and someone you really don't want to mess with. I love a good character like that and feel many shy away because it's easier to write about characters with many weaknesses.
In the competition between paper and audio, I really do think The Garden of Stones would probably work better in paper, though it's definitely enjoyable in audio.
Another hesitation I had when starting this audiobook is that it's read by Nick Podehl. The only experience I had with Podehl prior to this was his reading of Kemp's A Discourse in Steel. In Discourse, there's quite a bit of banter and it's overall a light-hearted piece with lots of jokes and humor even in the most deadly situations.
Hearing that same voice again brought back those memories of slapstick from Discourse, when Garden is actually a serious piece lightly sprinkled with humor if at all. It was about midway through the book when I realized that I no longer thought of Podehl that way, as the joke-telling, razzing narrator, but instead I heard him as the serious purveyor of piety. Okay, not that far, but suddenly I was sucked into Podehl's storytelling and the story itself. I think that says a lot about both Podehl's strengths as a narrator and the book's story as well.
4 out of 5 Stars (highly recommended)
I've noticed in reading books or listening to audiobooks, there are some books I have a harder time with given the medium through which I am experiencing them. I had the hardest time getting into Dune by Frank Herbert when I tried it in paperback because I kept feeling like I had to look up every single word I didn't understand and I quickly grew tired of it and gave up.
Later, I picked up the audiobook thinking I needed to at least finish this classic of the genre and not only did I do so, I loved the crap out of it. It's still one of my favorite books and I've been meaning to go back and read it in paperback again.
I know, this isn't a Dune review, but it illustrates the point that some books are more accessible if you just let go, trust that the author will lead you where you need to go, and leave your worries behind. You'll get it, even if it's tough. And audiobooks allow you to do so because you don't have that handy dandy glossary to look through. That's also not to say that all books and stories work this way.
With The Garden of Stones, I wonder if I would have stalled in my reading. I'm no stranger to being thrown into the action having survived (and thoroughly enjoyed!) Erikson's masterpiece, The Malazan Book of the Fallen, so that probably wouldn't have been a problem. I did, however, have a difficult time keeping a lot of the characters, names, and races straight through listening only. Had I had my eyes on this one, I probably would have enjoyed it even more than I already did.
I'm sure I missed a lot of the connections that were being made early on, but I did get my bearings by the end and quite enjoyed this world that Barnes has created. It's full of wonder and imagination, tons of creatures, and races that were well-crafted and constantly interesting. I enjoyed exploring each new thing in this world and many kudos to Barnes for that. The characters are also highly interesting, Barnes even plays with an Erikson-like main character who is supremely powerful and someone you really don't want to mess with. I love a good character like that and feel many shy away because it's easier to write about characters with many weaknesses.
In the competition between paper and audio, I really do think The Garden of Stones would probably work better in paper, though it's definitely enjoyable in audio.
Another hesitation I had when starting this audiobook is that it's read by Nick Podehl. The only experience I had with Podehl prior to this was his reading of Kemp's A Discourse in Steel. In Discourse, there's quite a bit of banter and it's overall a light-hearted piece with lots of jokes and humor even in the most deadly situations.
Hearing that same voice again brought back those memories of slapstick from Discourse, when Garden is actually a serious piece lightly sprinkled with humor if at all. It was about midway through the book when I realized that I no longer thought of Podehl that way, as the joke-telling, razzing narrator, but instead I heard him as the serious purveyor of piety. Okay, not that far, but suddenly I was sucked into Podehl's storytelling and the story itself. I think that says a lot about both Podehl's strengths as a narrator and the book's story as well.
4 out of 5 Stars (highly recommended)
August 18, 2017
For a debut fantasy epic, Mark T Barnes "Echoes of Empires" is nothing if not ambitious, at least in concept. Huge cast of characters, empires falling down like houses of cards, rich worldbuilding and a backstory spawning millenia. It starts with a clash of armies and continues with a lot of political backstabbing and smaller skirmishes between the main actors, most of whom are proficient both in martial arts and in magical casting. Along the way the reader gets introduced to the many human, half-human, elvish, demonic and undead races that populate the empire of Shrian. We also learn about the previous empires and the legacy of ruins, manuscripts and dangerous artifacts that they left behind. History is actually the catalyst for the plot in the first volume of the epic, as one of the six feudal overlords governing Shrian, one Corajidin, enters the Romarq - a forbidden land rich in ancient ruins - in search of the ultimate weapons and of the magical knowledge that will make him emperor of the currently elected government of the country.
I remember too well our people fascination with the Romarq. It has long been a lure for those seeking out the works of those older, or wiser, than themselves. Yet always it led to suffering. It is not a wholesome place – those brackish waters, its flooded cities, its memories of sunlight and laughter. No, the Romarq clings to its secrets, as dearly as people who have sought to unearth them.
Civil war ensures and the powerful house of Erebus under Corajidin appears to have the upper hand. As is usual in fantasy epics, a fellowship of unlikely heroes/adventurers forms to derail his plans. And dark prophecies of both apocalyptic times and of a promised saviour are promptly introduced to foreshadow coming events.
The reluctant leader of the resistance is one 'Pah-Nasarat fa Amonindris, blood royal of the Great House of Nasarat. Former Knight-General of the Seq Order of Scholars and once the commander of the Immortal Companions nahdi company'. He's a bit of a Gary-
Stu – unbeatable in combat, magical proficient, great lover, good friend and with a quirky sense of humour. Also wise beyond his age, loyal, courageous, etc etc etc. Actually he's not that bad as lead characters go – at least he's not a baker boy stumbling over a magical sword, although Indris does carry a soul-blade (think Elric of Melnibone) and a secret heritage from a spell of travel in the mythical dragon kingdom. Indris companions, briefly, are a fierce flying elf, Shar-fer-rayn, a war chanter and last of the Rayn-ma troupe, Hayden Goode, an elderly human rifleman and scout, Sassomon-Omen, an undead knight moving around in a metal frame, an elite bodyguard that is half human / half lion and
—«»—«»—«»—
I did enjoy the story, most of the time. It has a thinly disguised flavor of fan-fic for both Frank Herbert's Dune and for Steven Erikson's Malazan. It's full of interesting concepts and exotic locales. But ...
... the prose is really clunky and more than once made me roll my eyes in exasperation, especially when I came across a particular bland aphorism that graces every new chapter or some poorly worded dialogue. Of the three or four rotating POV's, I particularly dreaded the Corajidin chapters, a by-the-numbers bad guy that seems to get his pointers from that internet 'evil overlord' playlist.
Some leeway should be granted to Mr. Barnes for his imagination and for putting together a complex plot. I was going to grant an extra star for this being a debut novel, but I was late in reviewing and in the meantime I read the next two books in the series – where the poor writing skills are even more in evidence. Oh, well: recommended mostly to hardcore fans of fantasy epics.
June 9, 2014
Complex world building, rich histories, imaginative set of races, interesting magic system. And the reader is thrown right into the middle of it all – which I found very disorientating at first, but it was very enjoyable and rewarding to be able to unpack and discover this universe as the story unfolds.
The story takes place in the country of Shrian which consists of a Federation of Six Great Houses and the “Hundred Families.” There’s a real sense of depth to the history of the world which includes past Empires that have spanned Millenia. There are races that are Elemental and other races that have been manufactured in “Torq Spindles” combining the genetics of races as well as animal genes to generate some interesting creatures.
Apart from the various political factions, there are also competing military orders and schools of thought like The Seq that teaches various mental, physical and spiritual disciplines – a bit like Shaolin. Then there are the Angothic witches that teach a darker version of the Seq disciplines. I’d compare those two orders with the Starwars Jedi Knights and Sith with the same level of animosity toward each other. Throw into the mix warrior mages, war poets, war chanters, assassins, mercenaries and more.
The magic system, called Disentropy, was rather cool as well. Disentropy taps into the creative force that surrounds all things and can be manipulated by adepts via a process of mental calculation of cause and effect to direct that energy to their bidding. Disentropy can also be used to power machines – like the Sky ships – sort of like Zepplins but powered by Disentropy rather than steam, and with normal ship sails rather than hydrogen balloons.
The other interesting aspect involving magic is the process of Awakening which every Rahn (Leader of a Great House) undergoes when they ascend to office. When a Rahn dies he passes on all his memories as well the memories of all the Rahns before him. It reminded me of the Bene Gesserit memories in the Dune books.
As much as I enjoyed the various aspects and premise of the book there were a few things that dragged this down for me - the major one being the audio narration by Nick Podehl. It was terrible. I got used to him but I will make sure I read the rest of the series rather than listen to the audio. Apart from the terrible narration a lot of the names are unusual and sound similar and I found myself wishing I had ready access to a glossary of terms. Mark T Barnes does have a glossary on his web page – but it doesn’t help me when I’m listening while exercising or driving. The other thing I found annoying was Barnes doesn’t stick to the “show don’t tell” maxim. There was a lot of dialogue that felt unnatural because characters were expounding on information the other person should already know. I also felt some of the personal interactions were a bit overdone.
Despite those annoyances I still enjoyed the book – and Barnes does some terrific action/battle/mage battle sequences. They were just cool and left me thinking it was worth enduring Nick Podehl and the rest just to see Indris “Dragon-Eye” melt hoards of Fenlings or fight those puppetmaster things trying to possess his body - the latter reminded me of the xenomorphs in the “Alien” movies.
This is the first book in a trilogy but the plot mostly resolves in this book so it can be read as a standalone. But I for one am looking forward to book two in the series.
It’s 3.5 stars for me
(but I’m rounding up to four because I think the audio narration gave this at least a ½ star handicap).
The story takes place in the country of Shrian which consists of a Federation of Six Great Houses and the “Hundred Families.” There’s a real sense of depth to the history of the world which includes past Empires that have spanned Millenia. There are races that are Elemental and other races that have been manufactured in “Torq Spindles” combining the genetics of races as well as animal genes to generate some interesting creatures.
Apart from the various political factions, there are also competing military orders and schools of thought like The Seq that teaches various mental, physical and spiritual disciplines – a bit like Shaolin. Then there are the Angothic witches that teach a darker version of the Seq disciplines. I’d compare those two orders with the Starwars Jedi Knights and Sith with the same level of animosity toward each other. Throw into the mix warrior mages, war poets, war chanters, assassins, mercenaries and more.
The magic system, called Disentropy, was rather cool as well. Disentropy taps into the creative force that surrounds all things and can be manipulated by adepts via a process of mental calculation of cause and effect to direct that energy to their bidding. Disentropy can also be used to power machines – like the Sky ships – sort of like Zepplins but powered by Disentropy rather than steam, and with normal ship sails rather than hydrogen balloons.
The other interesting aspect involving magic is the process of Awakening which every Rahn (Leader of a Great House) undergoes when they ascend to office. When a Rahn dies he passes on all his memories as well the memories of all the Rahns before him. It reminded me of the Bene Gesserit memories in the Dune books.
As much as I enjoyed the various aspects and premise of the book there were a few things that dragged this down for me - the major one being the audio narration by Nick Podehl. It was terrible. I got used to him but I will make sure I read the rest of the series rather than listen to the audio. Apart from the terrible narration a lot of the names are unusual and sound similar and I found myself wishing I had ready access to a glossary of terms. Mark T Barnes does have a glossary on his web page – but it doesn’t help me when I’m listening while exercising or driving. The other thing I found annoying was Barnes doesn’t stick to the “show don’t tell” maxim. There was a lot of dialogue that felt unnatural because characters were expounding on information the other person should already know. I also felt some of the personal interactions were a bit overdone.
Despite those annoyances I still enjoyed the book – and Barnes does some terrific action/battle/mage battle sequences. They were just cool and left me thinking it was worth enduring Nick Podehl and the rest just to see Indris “Dragon-Eye” melt hoards of Fenlings or fight those puppetmaster things trying to possess his body - the latter reminded me of the xenomorphs in the “Alien” movies.
This is the first book in a trilogy but the plot mostly resolves in this book so it can be read as a standalone. But I for one am looking forward to book two in the series.
It’s 3.5 stars for me
(but I’m rounding up to four because I think the audio narration gave this at least a ½ star handicap).
December 23, 2013
Story: 3.5/5
This has the potential to be a huge story. At the end of this first book we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of this world. If Barnes can continue this epic it will rival even Eriksons Malazan world. It’s sheer size is also a worry for Barnes, a lot of readers are fickle and don’t want to work whilst reading and with this book, more than any other epic I have read, I had to work. Without the Glossaries from the authors website I would have struggled to understand the cast. The glossaries are a must and open the story up much faster for the reader.
Barnes literally throws you into the story and lets you get on with it. I won’t even try to explain the story here, except to give you an idea of its size and the exciting things you have to look forward to. There are 13 races, most, maybe some, maybe a few, who knows, we only met four or five races in this book, have been created by humans ages ago, in Torque spindle machines. Our story is set mainly with the Avans and a political typical fight for ultimate power. There are 6 great family houses of power and a hundred families that serve them. (see what I mean about potential size? This is just one race!!)
In a nutshell the story is based on a political grab for power amongst the Avan, but there are other races involved. The seethe, immortal (but can be killed ??) and pretty fine as warriors, Humans, which we only meet one, a bad ass witch and oh, then there are other warrior races, horse/men and lion/men hybrids. Yep, so did I mention the magic system? No, why? Because I have no idea how to explain it. Surely one of the most complex systems ever written about. Parts of it at times too powerful and almost Deus Ex Machina like, but then it all falls down and collapses and is rendered useless when some one throws a salt forged iron earring at you. (I made that bit up). The best I can describe the magic system is mathematical chaos. I am sure that we’ll learn more in future books.
Characters: 4/5
I am big on character development. If an author doesn’t spend time developing characters I get bored with the vanillaness of that person. Given the amount of characters in this book I was expecting to be at least three books in before I got to like characters and yet, I already have begun to picture some of the characters and Barnes has done a great job with developing some early relationships that are genuinely interesting. Indris/Shar is a fascinating friendship that I can’t wait to learn more about. The development of Mari is also worth a mention as it was done very well with her conflicting emotions and decisions.
Read Weight: Heavy/Struggle
I won’t lie, this is heavy to struggle. You have to commit to the story and be prepared to review the notes to get a good understanding of the world. By two thirds through I became familiar with the houses, races and characters enough to feel comfortable with what was then thrown into the story.
Engagement: 4/5
By half way, there was like a switch that was flipped! I was suddenly engrossed.
Recommend: 3.5/5
I can’t highly recommend this to everyone, because like Erikson, I think a lot of people will try it and give up with it being hard to read. I can however, recommend it if you have loved reading long epics with a huge character list and story. If you like China Mielvilles way of immersing you into a world, you’ll like this. If you love the epicness of huge stories, you’ll love this. If you want to be lead by the hand and have everything explained to you, you’ll probably struggle.
All in all, I am ‘into’ this story and look forward to book 2.
1: Being Vague, rambling plot with no little believable storyline
5: Ripping yarn, clever, thought provoking
This has the potential to be a huge story. At the end of this first book we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of this world. If Barnes can continue this epic it will rival even Eriksons Malazan world. It’s sheer size is also a worry for Barnes, a lot of readers are fickle and don’t want to work whilst reading and with this book, more than any other epic I have read, I had to work. Without the Glossaries from the authors website I would have struggled to understand the cast. The glossaries are a must and open the story up much faster for the reader.
Barnes literally throws you into the story and lets you get on with it. I won’t even try to explain the story here, except to give you an idea of its size and the exciting things you have to look forward to. There are 13 races, most, maybe some, maybe a few, who knows, we only met four or five races in this book, have been created by humans ages ago, in Torque spindle machines. Our story is set mainly with the Avans and a political typical fight for ultimate power. There are 6 great family houses of power and a hundred families that serve them. (see what I mean about potential size? This is just one race!!)
In a nutshell the story is based on a political grab for power amongst the Avan, but there are other races involved. The seethe, immortal (but can be killed ??) and pretty fine as warriors, Humans, which we only meet one, a bad ass witch and oh, then there are other warrior races, horse/men and lion/men hybrids. Yep, so did I mention the magic system? No, why? Because I have no idea how to explain it. Surely one of the most complex systems ever written about. Parts of it at times too powerful and almost Deus Ex Machina like, but then it all falls down and collapses and is rendered useless when some one throws a salt forged iron earring at you. (I made that bit up). The best I can describe the magic system is mathematical chaos. I am sure that we’ll learn more in future books.
Characters: 4/5
1: Unrealistic/unbelievable. Feel nothing for these characters
5: Fully engaged with the characters, believable. Researched.
I am big on character development. If an author doesn’t spend time developing characters I get bored with the vanillaness of that person. Given the amount of characters in this book I was expecting to be at least three books in before I got to like characters and yet, I already have begun to picture some of the characters and Barnes has done a great job with developing some early relationships that are genuinely interesting. Indris/Shar is a fascinating friendship that I can’t wait to learn more about. The development of Mari is also worth a mention as it was done very well with her conflicting emotions and decisions.
Read Weight: Heavy/Struggle
Fluffy, Light, Solid, Heavy, Struggle
I won’t lie, this is heavy to struggle. You have to commit to the story and be prepared to review the notes to get a good understanding of the world. By two thirds through I became familiar with the houses, races and characters enough to feel comfortable with what was then thrown into the story.
Engagement: 4/5
1: Not fussed about finishing
5: Could stay up all night
By half way, there was like a switch that was flipped! I was suddenly engrossed.
Recommend: 3.5/5
1: Would advise you to read something else
5: Go read it now. It is THAT good
I can’t highly recommend this to everyone, because like Erikson, I think a lot of people will try it and give up with it being hard to read. I can however, recommend it if you have loved reading long epics with a huge character list and story. If you like China Mielvilles way of immersing you into a world, you’ll like this. If you love the epicness of huge stories, you’ll love this. If you want to be lead by the hand and have everything explained to you, you’ll probably struggle.
All in all, I am ‘into’ this story and look forward to book 2.
May 13, 2018
Actual rating: 3.5 stars.
January 27, 2014
Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths Reviews
The Garden of Stones is the first installment in the Echoes of Empire fantasy series by Mark T. Barnes, and it is quite simply a spectacular concoction imbued with potential brilliance.
From the very first page of this epic, Mr. Barnes immerses his first time reader in a world filled with vivid cultures, unusual species, ancient mysteries, and complex characters. Through beautifully worded descriptions, he unveils an original fantasy landscape, filled with amazing details. A land so richly-imagined and so complex, drawing on concepts and imagery that are so fresh and original, that a casual reader may find themselves caught up in the deluge of fantastical races, names, and places and begin to flounder in this sweeping tide. However, if you can fight against the surge of information and steady yourself by latching onto and constantly referring to the glossary, you will bob to the surface and settle down into a steady rhythm of reading and glossary checking. Once this equilibrium has began, the story that Mr. Barnes pens will quickly carry you away.
The tale itself is set in Shrian, a civilization dominated by a diverse ecosystem of peoples. At the top of the peeking order are two non-humans races called the Seethe and the Avan. The Seethe, or Wind-Masters, have feathers in place of their hair and are the “creators” of the Avan, who were designed to be the Seethe’s servants but ultimately became their masters. Joining these two races upon the world stage are many unique and varied creatures including the Iphyri "giant men with the heads, legs, and tails of horses," Wyvern riders, Tau-se (lion-like people), and Fenlings, who reminded me a great deal of Warhammer’s Skaven. The newcomer to this diverse environment is Man, who arrived from the stars in their ships long ago.
Among the Shrian culture, there is no shortage of “magic” though it is not the type most fantasy readers are accustom to. Here it is labeled “disentropy” and is described as “the energy of creation generated by all living things, eddied and swirling” within the air itself. But more than that, the users of disentropy are described as using "numbers” cascading through their mind to create three dimensional image as they attempt to influence the worldly elements and string together form from chaos. A description that reminded me more of the “force” in Star Wars than any magic system I’ve encountered in fantasy literature. But the magical wonders do not stop with disentropy itself, because Mr. Barnes unveils mighty machines such as flying ships, time portals, cloning engines, rifle-like guns, and other marvels of a highly advanced technology. Technology that was developed and partially lost in cataclysmic events of the past.
This lost past opens up yet another avenue for Mr. Barnes to world build, as he slowly reveals an extensive and elaborate history. A past which stretches out thousands and thousands of years behind these people, filled with world-spanning empires, cataclysmic events, forgotten technologies, eternal spirits, and ancient enmities. Enmities that are still at play in the current world, fueled by the Great Houses of nobility who via with one another for power and fan the flames of ancient grudges. This world building setting in place a combustible mixture ripe for an epic explosion of conflict and adventure.
A reader’s tour guides through this epic world are no less interesting than the land upon which they reside. The central character is Indris, called "Dragon-Eyed." He is a prince from the Great House of Nasarat and a former knight of the Seq Order of Scholars. Though among the mighty of the warrior-poets, he abandoned his calling to marry the woman he loved only to loose her. Now, still grieving from her presumed death, he has become a daimahjin (a mercenary warrior-mage) and come to Amnon to aid his father-in-law, Rahn Far-ad-din, who is beset by political machinations at their finest.
The diabolical instigator of Indris’ problems is one Corajidin, who is the leader of the Great House of Erebus in the Shrianese Federation. Although he is losing hold of sanity and more than likely dying, Corajidin will not relinquish power but wishes to fulfill a prophecy he was given, believing that he is destined to be the next Asrahn (High King) of Shrian, Ruler of all the Great Houses belonging to the Federation. All that stands between him and his desire is Far-ad-din, Indris, and his growing insanity.
To further complicate things, we have a forbidden relationship between Indris and Corajidin’s daughter, Mariam "Queen of Swords,"which forces her to make an impossible decision to aid her father or her lover.
From all these different ingredients, Mr. Barnes serves up a fantasy feast of epic proportions. No one beginning this novel should view it as anything resembling a fast, casual read, but undertake it as if you were beginning The Wheel of Time, The Malazan series or A Song of Fire and Ice. Also, please understand that this is no YA novel but an adult one. Throughout this story, Mr. Barnes tells his story through multiple points of view; there is political intrigue resembling a game-within-a-game chess match; sexual situations do get explored; violence and bloody mayhem rule the day many chapters; and there is lots of grey morality exhibited by both the “good guys” and the “bad guys.” If all of that sounds good to you then this is an epic fantasy you must read.
Having said all of this, I want to explain why I only gave this book 3 stars, which in my rating system means that I “liked” the book.
Quite simply, the pacing of the story was too slow for me. While I understand that Mr. Barnes had to accomplish a massive amount of world building to setup the actual plot, it still doesn’t excuse the plodding nature of much of the narrative. This story just crawled at times. And the big showdown between Indris and Corajidin, which is set up and begins to build from the first page, was unnecessarily delayed by minor subplots. I have no problem with there being numerous subplots going on in an “epic” novel like this, but these side issues should either buildup the final showdown or be more in the nature of foreshadowing future events. Here we had unimportant - at least in this novel - characters taking up massive amounts of time for no apparent reason. Later in the series, Mr. Barnes may show me the error of my assumptions, but as of right now, I do not understand what the point was for them and view them as filler material.
Other than this one complaint, I enjoyed The Gardens of Stone. It was a fresh, original approach to epic fantasy. Sure it appears to borrow a few concepts from other fictional works, but Mr. Barnes does a great job of incorporating enough new ideas to make this no copycat work. Plus, I absolutely loved the twist at the end of the book and can’t wait to see what happens with Indris going forward.
Netgalley provided this book to me for free in return for an honest review. The review above was not paid for or influenced in any way by any person, entity or organization, but is my own personal opinions.
The Garden of Stones is the first installment in the Echoes of Empire fantasy series by Mark T. Barnes, and it is quite simply a spectacular concoction imbued with potential brilliance.
From the very first page of this epic, Mr. Barnes immerses his first time reader in a world filled with vivid cultures, unusual species, ancient mysteries, and complex characters. Through beautifully worded descriptions, he unveils an original fantasy landscape, filled with amazing details. A land so richly-imagined and so complex, drawing on concepts and imagery that are so fresh and original, that a casual reader may find themselves caught up in the deluge of fantastical races, names, and places and begin to flounder in this sweeping tide. However, if you can fight against the surge of information and steady yourself by latching onto and constantly referring to the glossary, you will bob to the surface and settle down into a steady rhythm of reading and glossary checking. Once this equilibrium has began, the story that Mr. Barnes pens will quickly carry you away.
The tale itself is set in Shrian, a civilization dominated by a diverse ecosystem of peoples. At the top of the peeking order are two non-humans races called the Seethe and the Avan. The Seethe, or Wind-Masters, have feathers in place of their hair and are the “creators” of the Avan, who were designed to be the Seethe’s servants but ultimately became their masters. Joining these two races upon the world stage are many unique and varied creatures including the Iphyri "giant men with the heads, legs, and tails of horses," Wyvern riders, Tau-se (lion-like people), and Fenlings, who reminded me a great deal of Warhammer’s Skaven. The newcomer to this diverse environment is Man, who arrived from the stars in their ships long ago.
Among the Shrian culture, there is no shortage of “magic” though it is not the type most fantasy readers are accustom to. Here it is labeled “disentropy” and is described as “the energy of creation generated by all living things, eddied and swirling” within the air itself. But more than that, the users of disentropy are described as using "numbers” cascading through their mind to create three dimensional image as they attempt to influence the worldly elements and string together form from chaos. A description that reminded me more of the “force” in Star Wars than any magic system I’ve encountered in fantasy literature. But the magical wonders do not stop with disentropy itself, because Mr. Barnes unveils mighty machines such as flying ships, time portals, cloning engines, rifle-like guns, and other marvels of a highly advanced technology. Technology that was developed and partially lost in cataclysmic events of the past.
This lost past opens up yet another avenue for Mr. Barnes to world build, as he slowly reveals an extensive and elaborate history. A past which stretches out thousands and thousands of years behind these people, filled with world-spanning empires, cataclysmic events, forgotten technologies, eternal spirits, and ancient enmities. Enmities that are still at play in the current world, fueled by the Great Houses of nobility who via with one another for power and fan the flames of ancient grudges. This world building setting in place a combustible mixture ripe for an epic explosion of conflict and adventure.
A reader’s tour guides through this epic world are no less interesting than the land upon which they reside. The central character is Indris, called "Dragon-Eyed." He is a prince from the Great House of Nasarat and a former knight of the Seq Order of Scholars. Though among the mighty of the warrior-poets, he abandoned his calling to marry the woman he loved only to loose her. Now, still grieving from her presumed death, he has become a daimahjin (a mercenary warrior-mage) and come to Amnon to aid his father-in-law, Rahn Far-ad-din, who is beset by political machinations at their finest.
The diabolical instigator of Indris’ problems is one Corajidin, who is the leader of the Great House of Erebus in the Shrianese Federation. Although he is losing hold of sanity and more than likely dying, Corajidin will not relinquish power but wishes to fulfill a prophecy he was given, believing that he is destined to be the next Asrahn (High King) of Shrian, Ruler of all the Great Houses belonging to the Federation. All that stands between him and his desire is Far-ad-din, Indris, and his growing insanity.
To further complicate things, we have a forbidden relationship between Indris and Corajidin’s daughter, Mariam "Queen of Swords,"which forces her to make an impossible decision to aid her father or her lover.
From all these different ingredients, Mr. Barnes serves up a fantasy feast of epic proportions. No one beginning this novel should view it as anything resembling a fast, casual read, but undertake it as if you were beginning The Wheel of Time, The Malazan series or A Song of Fire and Ice. Also, please understand that this is no YA novel but an adult one. Throughout this story, Mr. Barnes tells his story through multiple points of view; there is political intrigue resembling a game-within-a-game chess match; sexual situations do get explored; violence and bloody mayhem rule the day many chapters; and there is lots of grey morality exhibited by both the “good guys” and the “bad guys.” If all of that sounds good to you then this is an epic fantasy you must read.
Having said all of this, I want to explain why I only gave this book 3 stars, which in my rating system means that I “liked” the book.
Quite simply, the pacing of the story was too slow for me. While I understand that Mr. Barnes had to accomplish a massive amount of world building to setup the actual plot, it still doesn’t excuse the plodding nature of much of the narrative. This story just crawled at times. And the big showdown between Indris and Corajidin, which is set up and begins to build from the first page, was unnecessarily delayed by minor subplots. I have no problem with there being numerous subplots going on in an “epic” novel like this, but these side issues should either buildup the final showdown or be more in the nature of foreshadowing future events. Here we had unimportant - at least in this novel - characters taking up massive amounts of time for no apparent reason. Later in the series, Mr. Barnes may show me the error of my assumptions, but as of right now, I do not understand what the point was for them and view them as filler material.
Other than this one complaint, I enjoyed The Gardens of Stone. It was a fresh, original approach to epic fantasy. Sure it appears to borrow a few concepts from other fictional works, but Mr. Barnes does a great job of incorporating enough new ideas to make this no copycat work. Plus, I absolutely loved the twist at the end of the book and can’t wait to see what happens with Indris going forward.
Netgalley provided this book to me for free in return for an honest review. The review above was not paid for or influenced in any way by any person, entity or organization, but is my own personal opinions.
August 1, 2014
The Garden of Stones is truly epic in regards of the imagination and world-building author Mark T. Barnes put into his work.
The book is overflowing with sense of wonder, magical objects, interesting races and memorable characters.
At the beginning this cocktail can be overwhelming, cause the reader is put right into the middle of a battle with complicated political motivations. Within the first 100 pages the reader needs to remember around 40 characters and twice as much new terms.
For some characters you have to remember their full name and the name that is often used. For example one of the supporting characters is named Pah-Erebus fa Belamandris. "Pah" standing for him being the son of the House of "Erebus" and Belamandris being his first name. He is also called the Widowmaker, but his siblings call him Belam, short for Belamandris. It's like that for most of the characters, so you see, there is a lot to learn.
Therefore I think that this book isn't for everyone, cause all those terms and names really force you to pay attention.
But in contrast to this, the main focus of the story lies on 3 characters, so there aren't like 6-8 povs to keep up with next to all those terms.
Our main cast includes Indris of House Näsarat, a warrior-mage who was a mercenary. In the beginning we find him with the army of his father-in-law Far-rad-din, a Seethe (think feathered humaoids, maybe a little bird-elvish) noble and leader of one of Shrian's (the nation our story takes place in) six Great Houses. As almost all characters in the story, Indris is of the Avan race, a race that was created as a mixture from Seethe and humans.
The humans itself occupy other nations, which are mentioned in the book, but don't play a role yet. We're only going to see one human throughout the whole book.
Our second protagonist is Corajidin, the leader of the Great House of Erebus. He is part of the army opposing Far-rad-din and his story is a political grip for power, his fight against a fatal illness and his trial to keep his family together.
The last character is Mariam, daughter of Corajidin. She's in the service of the Feyassin, an elite guard appointed to protect Vashne, the head of state in Shrian.
She develops feelings for Indris and finds herself within the uncomfortable decision between her father and the man she loves.
I liked all three characters and eventhough Corajidin is clearly the villain in this story, there is a lot to like about him and although I don't agree with his decisions I can understand where he's coming from. This is always agreat achievement by an author, if both sides of an argument are displayed well.
I think under normal circumstances the plot and characters would make this book a 3,5 or 4 star read for me, but the world-building and sense of wonder catapult this one into higher spheres. So, if you're into very imaginative world-building and aren't repelled by a high learning curve at the beginning of the novel, you're going to love it.
Now is an ideal time to start with this series. Book 2 is already out and book 3 will hit the shelves May 20th.
And hopefully, Mark T. Barnes will write some more stories in his vast world. I would be there to read them.
The book is overflowing with sense of wonder, magical objects, interesting races and memorable characters.
At the beginning this cocktail can be overwhelming, cause the reader is put right into the middle of a battle with complicated political motivations. Within the first 100 pages the reader needs to remember around 40 characters and twice as much new terms.
For some characters you have to remember their full name and the name that is often used. For example one of the supporting characters is named Pah-Erebus fa Belamandris. "Pah" standing for him being the son of the House of "Erebus" and Belamandris being his first name. He is also called the Widowmaker, but his siblings call him Belam, short for Belamandris. It's like that for most of the characters, so you see, there is a lot to learn.
Therefore I think that this book isn't for everyone, cause all those terms and names really force you to pay attention.
But in contrast to this, the main focus of the story lies on 3 characters, so there aren't like 6-8 povs to keep up with next to all those terms.
Our main cast includes Indris of House Näsarat, a warrior-mage who was a mercenary. In the beginning we find him with the army of his father-in-law Far-rad-din, a Seethe (think feathered humaoids, maybe a little bird-elvish) noble and leader of one of Shrian's (the nation our story takes place in) six Great Houses. As almost all characters in the story, Indris is of the Avan race, a race that was created as a mixture from Seethe and humans.
The humans itself occupy other nations, which are mentioned in the book, but don't play a role yet. We're only going to see one human throughout the whole book.
Our second protagonist is Corajidin, the leader of the Great House of Erebus. He is part of the army opposing Far-rad-din and his story is a political grip for power, his fight against a fatal illness and his trial to keep his family together.
The last character is Mariam, daughter of Corajidin. She's in the service of the Feyassin, an elite guard appointed to protect Vashne, the head of state in Shrian.
She develops feelings for Indris and finds herself within the uncomfortable decision between her father and the man she loves.
I liked all three characters and eventhough Corajidin is clearly the villain in this story, there is a lot to like about him and although I don't agree with his decisions I can understand where he's coming from. This is always agreat achievement by an author, if both sides of an argument are displayed well.
I think under normal circumstances the plot and characters would make this book a 3,5 or 4 star read for me, but the world-building and sense of wonder catapult this one into higher spheres. So, if you're into very imaginative world-building and aren't repelled by a high learning curve at the beginning of the novel, you're going to love it.
Now is an ideal time to start with this series. Book 2 is already out and book 3 will hit the shelves May 20th.
And hopefully, Mark T. Barnes will write some more stories in his vast world. I would be there to read them.
June 12, 2013
Just wow. In this first instalment we get an epic new world unlike anything I've seen before (though he kinda reminds me of Gene Wolfe, Steven Erikson, John M. Harrison with hints of Patricia McKillip and China Mieville) in that he's mixed genres a little and made it work a lot.
The world is incredible, the characters engaging and well realised (to the point where I even empathised with the villain a little) and the story interesting. Barnes ties the story up nicely, though it's clear it's part of a bigger tale. This is one for the people who want their epic fantasy epic, but also smart, and touching.
The prose is a little dense in places, and totally beautiful in others. The book isn't perfect, but it's a terrific read and I'm definitely waiting on the sequel. Thankfully it won't be a long wait, as Amazon has it listed as an October 2013 release.
And hooray for a man who can write strong female characters, ones with intelligence and realistic motivations that weren't rooted in one form of abuse or another. It was fantastic to see.
The world is incredible, the characters engaging and well realised (to the point where I even empathised with the villain a little) and the story interesting. Barnes ties the story up nicely, though it's clear it's part of a bigger tale. This is one for the people who want their epic fantasy epic, but also smart, and touching.
The prose is a little dense in places, and totally beautiful in others. The book isn't perfect, but it's a terrific read and I'm definitely waiting on the sequel. Thankfully it won't be a long wait, as Amazon has it listed as an October 2013 release.
And hooray for a man who can write strong female characters, ones with intelligence and realistic motivations that weren't rooted in one form of abuse or another. It was fantastic to see.
May 6, 2018
A good opening book to this series. I like the world and the characters. The story at time was a little bit slow.
My biggest complaint is the author throws out a lot of names of places, events and people without giving proper context. We know they're important because of the gravitas the characters are giving them but without their history it doesn't completely hit home. If I said Mount Doom, The Mad King, The Knights Radiant, The Crippled God.......you would know by the name they were something important but without the back story they are just a name.
The characters active in the story are the best part of it and the villains have motivations and the protagonists flaws.
I look forward to seeing where this goes next.
My biggest complaint is the author throws out a lot of names of places, events and people without giving proper context. We know they're important because of the gravitas the characters are giving them but without their history it doesn't completely hit home. If I said Mount Doom, The Mad King, The Knights Radiant, The Crippled God.......you would know by the name they were something important but without the back story they are just a name.
The characters active in the story are the best part of it and the villains have motivations and the protagonists flaws.
I look forward to seeing where this goes next.
July 13, 2024
Who in gods green earth is giving this less than 4 stars? This book was absolutely amazing. The authors prose was perfect for me. I really enjoyed how descriptive he was which I could see as being annoying but my imagination is never as good as the author so I appreciate letting me into his imagination.
The story basically is about a wealthy powerful man that wants to kill everyone above him to be supreme of the land. His daughter Mari is the most bad ass female character you’ll ever read. She is the head warrior guard of the man her father wants to overthrow. She gets caught between familial loyalty and her oath before God. Indris is an elite warrior who is set on getting rid of Mari’s father but he’s also in love with Mari.
One of my favorite parts of this book are the cultures. You have 8 ft tall humanoid creatures that have heads of horses or lions. There are immortal creatures and humanoid creatures that can fly, etc.
The story has top tier character work with tons of politics and an extremely unique world. I 100% do not recommend listening to the audiobook. Not because the narrator is bad but because the story is so different from anything you’ve read with tons of characters and unfamiliar words that you are going to have to read slow and consult the glossary a bit, at least the first several chapters. I’ll immediately be reading book 2 soon!
The story basically is about a wealthy powerful man that wants to kill everyone above him to be supreme of the land. His daughter Mari is the most bad ass female character you’ll ever read. She is the head warrior guard of the man her father wants to overthrow. She gets caught between familial loyalty and her oath before God. Indris is an elite warrior who is set on getting rid of Mari’s father but he’s also in love with Mari.
One of my favorite parts of this book are the cultures. You have 8 ft tall humanoid creatures that have heads of horses or lions. There are immortal creatures and humanoid creatures that can fly, etc.
The story has top tier character work with tons of politics and an extremely unique world. I 100% do not recommend listening to the audiobook. Not because the narrator is bad but because the story is so different from anything you’ve read with tons of characters and unfamiliar words that you are going to have to read slow and consult the glossary a bit, at least the first several chapters. I’ll immediately be reading book 2 soon!
September 7, 2015
3 Stars
I really wanted to love The Garden of Stones by Mark T. Barnes, but I only thought it was just OK. There are some really spectacular aspects to this book. From the fantastic writing, the deep and complex world, the magic system, and the rich history of the world are all exceptionally well done. Unfortunately, I really didn't like any of the main characters. I also found the first 25% of the book to be almost too slow and too complex to continue reading.
I did push through the very slow start and did my best to understand what was going on and who was who in this world that we are simply dropped into. The book never really picks up pace as it is quite slow. Things only got better because I finally became familiar with my surroundings.
The magic is awesome.
The writing is top notch.
As a whole it was quite difficult to make it to the end.
I really wanted to love The Garden of Stones by Mark T. Barnes, but I only thought it was just OK. There are some really spectacular aspects to this book. From the fantastic writing, the deep and complex world, the magic system, and the rich history of the world are all exceptionally well done. Unfortunately, I really didn't like any of the main characters. I also found the first 25% of the book to be almost too slow and too complex to continue reading.
I did push through the very slow start and did my best to understand what was going on and who was who in this world that we are simply dropped into. The book never really picks up pace as it is quite slow. Things only got better because I finally became familiar with my surroundings.
The magic is awesome.
The writing is top notch.
As a whole it was quite difficult to make it to the end.
May 31, 2013
About time for something new!! Warning, Barnes doesn't screw around here, he presents a fully realised world, and you will be thrown in the deep end. He makes the assumption that his audience is intelligent enough to swim rather than sink. The beginning is a whirlwind, it is straight in to action an intrigue. Politicking is heavy in the air and the pace moves quickly, driven by both character and plot. Female characters seem to function in all 3 dimensions, which is delightfully refreshing.
We are presented with a world that is unlike most in the sci-fan genre, and the attention to detail is beautiful.
If you are a fan of Epic Fantasy fiction, this is a definite must read.
Good thing we only have to wait till October for book 2!!!
We are presented with a world that is unlike most in the sci-fan genre, and the attention to detail is beautiful.
If you are a fan of Epic Fantasy fiction, this is a definite must read.
Good thing we only have to wait till October for book 2!!!
June 19, 2013
A fantastically crafted world that welcomes you in with characters that stand tall amoungst a world of ambiguity.
Mark Barnes fills every page with the complex details of his world, it's politics and magic. Like a baroque church the closer you come the more interconnected complexity you see.
Yet against this backdrop his characters stand out with their greater motives driving dynamic action in set pieces that create a fantasy story driven by politics.
I was often reminded of Dune and Herbert's great familial factions, and I think that is where Mr Barnes will take the story in the next two installments.
Mark Barnes fills every page with the complex details of his world, it's politics and magic. Like a baroque church the closer you come the more interconnected complexity you see.
Yet against this backdrop his characters stand out with their greater motives driving dynamic action in set pieces that create a fantasy story driven by politics.
I was often reminded of Dune and Herbert's great familial factions, and I think that is where Mr Barnes will take the story in the next two installments.
January 7, 2014
This was a great read - finished it a while ago but Christmas festivities got in the way of review-writing. These days I tend to lean more towards historical than fantastical, so this was quite a change for me. Made me think of Dune, it was 1 part fantasy, one part sci-fi, and totally EPIC! Excellent characters and cool action, with a strong Egyptian feel thrown into the mix. Inventive and cerebral but grounded in character. Looking forward to the next one.
August 15, 2013
“Hear these portents, oh would-be master of masters, you who would be prince of the world, for these signs will see the undoing of all you have wrought. Mark the day a mirror beggars you of your reflection. Beware the hand of a dead king who will bring you to your knees. Fear the phoenix where it rises from a garden of stone flowers—“
Every now and then I stumble across a debut author that’s trying something new, something truly original. He’s not pushing the envelope, so to say. He’s starting in a different letter altogether.
Mark T. Barnes’s The Garden of Stones reminds me a lot of Mark Charan Newton’s Legends of the Red Sun series. While both have flaws in their first novel, I feel they are the voices of a strong Science Fantasy/Weird sub-genre that is hard to explain. Both are so alike in their writing, yet so very different in their approach.
This book is like many speculative fiction novels, focusing largely on the setting. To that, Barnes receives the highest possible points; his imagination is breathtaking, beautiful, stunning. There isn’t enough words for me to describe the breadth of his creation. It could be summed up into a few genre labels such as Eastern influenced, Dying Sun-esque Epic Fantasy, but that would be doing this marvel a disservice.
But with all that jam packed into a 500 page debut, we get a little bit of clutter.
The beginning is where my first critique comes in. It’s very confusing. From what I’ve gathered, people are comparing it to the jarring start of Erikson’s Malazon series. All I can say is that Barnes uses a ton of new words and strange names, throwing every major character right onto our plates from the first few chapters.
There’s nothing wrong with this, expecting the reader to be intelligent and go with the flow right from the pistol shot. But it did take me about 20 percent for the story to finally click. I understand that he has a glossary at the back for this very reason, but I will recommend that if you pick this book up, go with a physical copy. I had an ebook, which doesn’t work well with flipping between places and the end.
Or maybe I’m doing it wrong. Probably am.
“Flee you men strayed too far from redemption, your prints as bloody sins upon the earth.”
The pace is slow burning, a stew that bubbles in the begging, reaches a fever pitch, steam rolling from that top, at around the 1/3 mark. From there, it calms down, meanders a bit, has fun. Barnes throws you at the top then lets you roll down, climbing every step of the way until about 2/3 of the way through where he rockets you straight up. It kicks into high gear, pages turning at a break neck speed. Resolutions come fast and hard, beautiful and unexpected. I can’t compliment him enough on the twists.
But I fear there is one major twist, not shown in this book, but in later installments, that I believe I’ve figured out. If it’s a red herring, then this author is one to watch out for.
This is a political novel, intersecting three POVs and treachery, sluggish but necessary. It doesn’t balance both sides of the ideas only creating an “understandable” POV in the bad guy of Corajidin.
On that same note, violence is actually sparing in the first half of the novel, a different take than the common gritty Western Fantasy we’ve been so enamored by over the past decade or so. But when it comes, it snaps your neck. There is no gratuitous scenes, all used to great effect and power.
However, his actions scenes were another miss for me.
“Warriors flowed in complex formations like colored inks swirled in turbulent water. Arrows buzzed like gnats.”
Purple prose is alright when used sparingly. When an author can adopt this style throughout and still manage to keep my attention, that’s great. But flowery descriptions don’t work in tight action.
I like simplicity. I like sharp fights. I want it to be clear in my mind. Barnes didn’t accomplish that.
What I feel his most dividing work is characters.
“You carry such a burden of grief for the lives you could never save, as well as the guilt for being alive when they’re not. You’re murdering yourself from the inside out, and I hate to see you do it.”
Indris sold me in the blurb. I love a good warrior mage, and he delivered. The character was complex, full of honor and duty to his people. He did what was right, what was necessary, sometimes without bloodshed. His entanglement in it all was sad, yet at the same time understandable.
Mari was the opposite. While complex, I don’t shoot that as a compliment. I’ve never liked indecisive characters, and she was the biggest. Not angsty teenage indecision, but general stupidity. I mean, if I had to pick either the man I loved (or thought I loved) who was an honorful man trying to right the wrongs I had helped create, or my father who was an ambitious, crazy old man who killed for the sake of advancement, I know which side would be mine. I didn’t see it as that hard of a decision.
And it takes the whole book for her to choose a side. You could level this as playing a double agent, but I don’t see that. If so, Barnes didn’t do a good job on that field.
Moving into a better light (darkness?) we have the antagonist of the novel, Corajidin, Mari’s father, Indris’s enemy, and the man trying to become ruler of a fallen empire. It is from this perspective that the narrative really shines. Barnes doesn’t imagine a villain; he creates a human being growing insane over time, ruled by his blind ideas.
From this bashing, it may seem that I didn’t like this book. Far from it. We have a well realized world between the pages, beautifully described. I’m a sucker for civilizations that came before. Battle mages are another weakness. Plus, horse soldiers. How cool is that?
Femenestri was by far the best character in this story, an old teacher whose wit quite surpasses her pupil, Indris. She was amazing and so much fun when present.
If you’re looking for something different, something to strike that vein of Eastern Fantasy with a twinge of weird, this is what you need to go with. Barnes has crafted a great debut with plot twists galore, exactly what speculative fiction needs.
“Death was a beginning, in the way all endings were beginnings. Farewell, rather than good-bye.”
Every now and then I stumble across a debut author that’s trying something new, something truly original. He’s not pushing the envelope, so to say. He’s starting in a different letter altogether.
Mark T. Barnes’s The Garden of Stones reminds me a lot of Mark Charan Newton’s Legends of the Red Sun series. While both have flaws in their first novel, I feel they are the voices of a strong Science Fantasy/Weird sub-genre that is hard to explain. Both are so alike in their writing, yet so very different in their approach.
This book is like many speculative fiction novels, focusing largely on the setting. To that, Barnes receives the highest possible points; his imagination is breathtaking, beautiful, stunning. There isn’t enough words for me to describe the breadth of his creation. It could be summed up into a few genre labels such as Eastern influenced, Dying Sun-esque Epic Fantasy, but that would be doing this marvel a disservice.
But with all that jam packed into a 500 page debut, we get a little bit of clutter.
The beginning is where my first critique comes in. It’s very confusing. From what I’ve gathered, people are comparing it to the jarring start of Erikson’s Malazon series. All I can say is that Barnes uses a ton of new words and strange names, throwing every major character right onto our plates from the first few chapters.
There’s nothing wrong with this, expecting the reader to be intelligent and go with the flow right from the pistol shot. But it did take me about 20 percent for the story to finally click. I understand that he has a glossary at the back for this very reason, but I will recommend that if you pick this book up, go with a physical copy. I had an ebook, which doesn’t work well with flipping between places and the end.
Or maybe I’m doing it wrong. Probably am.
“Flee you men strayed too far from redemption, your prints as bloody sins upon the earth.”
The pace is slow burning, a stew that bubbles in the begging, reaches a fever pitch, steam rolling from that top, at around the 1/3 mark. From there, it calms down, meanders a bit, has fun. Barnes throws you at the top then lets you roll down, climbing every step of the way until about 2/3 of the way through where he rockets you straight up. It kicks into high gear, pages turning at a break neck speed. Resolutions come fast and hard, beautiful and unexpected. I can’t compliment him enough on the twists.
But I fear there is one major twist, not shown in this book, but in later installments, that I believe I’ve figured out. If it’s a red herring, then this author is one to watch out for.
This is a political novel, intersecting three POVs and treachery, sluggish but necessary. It doesn’t balance both sides of the ideas only creating an “understandable” POV in the bad guy of Corajidin.
On that same note, violence is actually sparing in the first half of the novel, a different take than the common gritty Western Fantasy we’ve been so enamored by over the past decade or so. But when it comes, it snaps your neck. There is no gratuitous scenes, all used to great effect and power.
However, his actions scenes were another miss for me.
“Warriors flowed in complex formations like colored inks swirled in turbulent water. Arrows buzzed like gnats.”
Purple prose is alright when used sparingly. When an author can adopt this style throughout and still manage to keep my attention, that’s great. But flowery descriptions don’t work in tight action.
I like simplicity. I like sharp fights. I want it to be clear in my mind. Barnes didn’t accomplish that.
What I feel his most dividing work is characters.
“You carry such a burden of grief for the lives you could never save, as well as the guilt for being alive when they’re not. You’re murdering yourself from the inside out, and I hate to see you do it.”
Indris sold me in the blurb. I love a good warrior mage, and he delivered. The character was complex, full of honor and duty to his people. He did what was right, what was necessary, sometimes without bloodshed. His entanglement in it all was sad, yet at the same time understandable.
Mari was the opposite. While complex, I don’t shoot that as a compliment. I’ve never liked indecisive characters, and she was the biggest. Not angsty teenage indecision, but general stupidity. I mean, if I had to pick either the man I loved (or thought I loved) who was an honorful man trying to right the wrongs I had helped create, or my father who was an ambitious, crazy old man who killed for the sake of advancement, I know which side would be mine. I didn’t see it as that hard of a decision.
And it takes the whole book for her to choose a side. You could level this as playing a double agent, but I don’t see that. If so, Barnes didn’t do a good job on that field.
Moving into a better light (darkness?) we have the antagonist of the novel, Corajidin, Mari’s father, Indris’s enemy, and the man trying to become ruler of a fallen empire. It is from this perspective that the narrative really shines. Barnes doesn’t imagine a villain; he creates a human being growing insane over time, ruled by his blind ideas.
From this bashing, it may seem that I didn’t like this book. Far from it. We have a well realized world between the pages, beautifully described. I’m a sucker for civilizations that came before. Battle mages are another weakness. Plus, horse soldiers. How cool is that?
Femenestri was by far the best character in this story, an old teacher whose wit quite surpasses her pupil, Indris. She was amazing and so much fun when present.
If you’re looking for something different, something to strike that vein of Eastern Fantasy with a twinge of weird, this is what you need to go with. Barnes has crafted a great debut with plot twists galore, exactly what speculative fiction needs.
“Death was a beginning, in the way all endings were beginnings. Farewell, rather than good-bye.”
July 6, 2013
Originally published at Reading Reality
This is one of those stories where you feel like you’re getting in at the middle, and it’s not a bad thing. Instead, it feels as if you are being dropped into a fully realized world, that history has already happened that you simply don’t know yet. Shrĩan has always been there, or maybe Dragon-Eyed Indris is an unknown avatar of the Eternal Champion. But his story pulls you in from the first page not in spite of, but because you know that it is definitely not the beginning of the story.
One man wants, not merely to cheat death, but to re-build an empire. As is unfortunately usual, he has decided to let nothing and no one stand in his way; not love, not family, not anything remotely resembling honor or decency. Corajidin of the House of Erebus believes he has a destiny to rule the empire. He has no concept that the empire he is forging with lies and deceit is not what he set out to rule.
Corajidin is a man who is literally losing his soul. Along with his mind.
Indris is the rock in his path. Not because he plans on it, but because others set him on that road long before his birth. Indris starts out believing that he is just helping his father-in-law escape a lethal trap.
But as the story unfolds, we learn that Indris is so much more than just a mercenary, and that he carries the weight of the world in the magic of his mind and the swiftness of his sword. All he wants is to be his own man. Instead, he fights against the oncoming chaos, again, and again.
No matter how often Indris tries to turn away, his destiny keeps coming for him.
Escape Rating A: The Garden of Stones was an immersive fantasy. It felt like being in the eye of a storm. The court machinations of Corajidin and his followers reminded me a bit of Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel's Dart series, in the way that every single action was political, motivated six different ways, and that he used every single member of his own family in multiple betrayals.
Indris, on the other hand, appears to have been used all his life. Someone seems to be pushing him towards a destiny that he doesn’t want, but is supposedly for the greater good, and he keeps resisting. He has secrets, and most of the important people in his life have secrets from him. But as the central character, he is completely compelling. He wants to save his friends, maintain a reasonable amount of the status quo, because that’s the best thing for his world, and not get sucked in to other people’s plans for him. He also carries a terrible burden of grief that he’s just barely beginning to overcome.
Then there’s Mari, a woman faced with a terrible choice. She can either betray her family and keep her oaths, or the other way around, knowing that her family will still betray her in the end.
The Garden of Stones gave me a book hangover. When I finished, I simply did not want to leave this world--particularly since it ended on a spectacular cliffhanger. I’m haunted by the last scene, and I’ll be haunting NetGalley until The Obsidian Heart pops up.
This is one of those stories where you feel like you’re getting in at the middle, and it’s not a bad thing. Instead, it feels as if you are being dropped into a fully realized world, that history has already happened that you simply don’t know yet. Shrĩan has always been there, or maybe Dragon-Eyed Indris is an unknown avatar of the Eternal Champion. But his story pulls you in from the first page not in spite of, but because you know that it is definitely not the beginning of the story.
One man wants, not merely to cheat death, but to re-build an empire. As is unfortunately usual, he has decided to let nothing and no one stand in his way; not love, not family, not anything remotely resembling honor or decency. Corajidin of the House of Erebus believes he has a destiny to rule the empire. He has no concept that the empire he is forging with lies and deceit is not what he set out to rule.
Corajidin is a man who is literally losing his soul. Along with his mind.
Indris is the rock in his path. Not because he plans on it, but because others set him on that road long before his birth. Indris starts out believing that he is just helping his father-in-law escape a lethal trap.
But as the story unfolds, we learn that Indris is so much more than just a mercenary, and that he carries the weight of the world in the magic of his mind and the swiftness of his sword. All he wants is to be his own man. Instead, he fights against the oncoming chaos, again, and again.
No matter how often Indris tries to turn away, his destiny keeps coming for him.
Escape Rating A: The Garden of Stones was an immersive fantasy. It felt like being in the eye of a storm. The court machinations of Corajidin and his followers reminded me a bit of Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel's Dart series, in the way that every single action was political, motivated six different ways, and that he used every single member of his own family in multiple betrayals.
Indris, on the other hand, appears to have been used all his life. Someone seems to be pushing him towards a destiny that he doesn’t want, but is supposedly for the greater good, and he keeps resisting. He has secrets, and most of the important people in his life have secrets from him. But as the central character, he is completely compelling. He wants to save his friends, maintain a reasonable amount of the status quo, because that’s the best thing for his world, and not get sucked in to other people’s plans for him. He also carries a terrible burden of grief that he’s just barely beginning to overcome.
Then there’s Mari, a woman faced with a terrible choice. She can either betray her family and keep her oaths, or the other way around, knowing that her family will still betray her in the end.
The Garden of Stones gave me a book hangover. When I finished, I simply did not want to leave this world--particularly since it ended on a spectacular cliffhanger. I’m haunted by the last scene, and I’ll be haunting NetGalley until The Obsidian Heart pops up.
October 23, 2013
First Reads Review - Garden of Stones by Mark T Barnes
This is a slightly difficult book to review, mainly because, as a fantasy, I think I take a more critical approach to it than I would for some other genres, which is probably not its fault but more that I have read a lot of really good fantasy and this book, while good, is not what I would consider great. Mainly I would call it standard, would say that it is perfectly good political action fantasy with a fresh world and good characters. But there are some problems that I see here that I probably wouldn't bring up if this was a romance or a young adult book. So I will try to be fair and balanced and curse Goodreads for not having a 3.5 option.
The book is, from the start, very politically minded, though not with the medieval or feudal politics that so often drive political-minded fantasy books. Instead the political system is rather interesting, with something a bit more...Roman perhaps, with a governing senate (called the Teshri) and a ruling counsel (Great Houses) with both a Speaker (basically the leader of the Teshri) and a president (Asrahn). It's a very detailed system and the author definitely makes his world realized, with a long history that informs on the actions that take place during the book.
And the world building is the strongest part of the book in my opinion, setting up the races and the alliances, the animosities, making it seem real and justified and showing how those ancient conflicts come to a head in the story. There's certainly depth here, and while some of the power struggles come off as just a little shallow, most of it feels quite important and epic, families swirling around, killing each other, plotting for control of the political power to be had. It's a solid plot, with an array of characters that fit and make sense.
I had the slight feeling, though, that the characters were almost too epic. None of these characters is new, really; each has their own extensive history and they are all powerful people. And Indrus, the hero of the story, is the most powerful. And that somewhat bothered me, because it makes this more a story of his restraint than him actually trying to do something and doing it. And while there is some interest in that, in seeing him struggle against what he should be doing, it also made some of the conflict feel artificial to me, put there for the benefit of making things seem difficult. While there is a sense of loss in Indrus' past, he doesn't ever lose in the story. And that made him seem like too much a capital H Hero. Not that those can't be interesting, just that the normally come off as less so, like a toy that you refuse to let lose.
So I am rather torn on this book, and really wish that I could give it a 3.5, because that's what I feel it would deserve. If this was a scale out of ten I would give the book a 7, maybe a 7.25. It was good. The action moves well, the plot is well constructed, the world seems alive, if limited in this book to this one city. The characters are not bad, and credit where it is due, the author does manage to make a number of complex female characters. And I will say that I would read the next book in the series, though I won't be running out to get it any time soon. Still, it was a good book, and I guess that means I will round up today to four stars out of five.
This is a slightly difficult book to review, mainly because, as a fantasy, I think I take a more critical approach to it than I would for some other genres, which is probably not its fault but more that I have read a lot of really good fantasy and this book, while good, is not what I would consider great. Mainly I would call it standard, would say that it is perfectly good political action fantasy with a fresh world and good characters. But there are some problems that I see here that I probably wouldn't bring up if this was a romance or a young adult book. So I will try to be fair and balanced and curse Goodreads for not having a 3.5 option.
The book is, from the start, very politically minded, though not with the medieval or feudal politics that so often drive political-minded fantasy books. Instead the political system is rather interesting, with something a bit more...Roman perhaps, with a governing senate (called the Teshri) and a ruling counsel (Great Houses) with both a Speaker (basically the leader of the Teshri) and a president (Asrahn). It's a very detailed system and the author definitely makes his world realized, with a long history that informs on the actions that take place during the book.
And the world building is the strongest part of the book in my opinion, setting up the races and the alliances, the animosities, making it seem real and justified and showing how those ancient conflicts come to a head in the story. There's certainly depth here, and while some of the power struggles come off as just a little shallow, most of it feels quite important and epic, families swirling around, killing each other, plotting for control of the political power to be had. It's a solid plot, with an array of characters that fit and make sense.
I had the slight feeling, though, that the characters were almost too epic. None of these characters is new, really; each has their own extensive history and they are all powerful people. And Indrus, the hero of the story, is the most powerful. And that somewhat bothered me, because it makes this more a story of his restraint than him actually trying to do something and doing it. And while there is some interest in that, in seeing him struggle against what he should be doing, it also made some of the conflict feel artificial to me, put there for the benefit of making things seem difficult. While there is a sense of loss in Indrus' past, he doesn't ever lose in the story. And that made him seem like too much a capital H Hero. Not that those can't be interesting, just that the normally come off as less so, like a toy that you refuse to let lose.
So I am rather torn on this book, and really wish that I could give it a 3.5, because that's what I feel it would deserve. If this was a scale out of ten I would give the book a 7, maybe a 7.25. It was good. The action moves well, the plot is well constructed, the world seems alive, if limited in this book to this one city. The characters are not bad, and credit where it is due, the author does manage to make a number of complex female characters. And I will say that I would read the next book in the series, though I won't be running out to get it any time soon. Still, it was a good book, and I guess that means I will round up today to four stars out of five.
September 20, 2017
Starts off very messily, stuff chucked at you left right and centre that you can struggle to understand. Its like the author had read Gardens of the Moon too many times and decided to up the ante.
Once it gets going and you start to come to terms with all the different races and the frankly weird magic system, it is a real page turner with good Lead characters and some decent secondary ones. The bad guy is interesting as well, in so much that you feel some sympathy for him at times. Very good ending as well, sets up the next book perfectly.
Once it gets going and you start to come to terms with all the different races and the frankly weird magic system, it is a real page turner with good Lead characters and some decent secondary ones. The bad guy is interesting as well, in so much that you feel some sympathy for him at times. Very good ending as well, sets up the next book perfectly.
May 27, 2013
Picked this up as an ebook because Amazon recommended it (and it was only £2), and I couldn't put it down all weekend. It wasn't perhaps as gripping as that suggests, but I really enjoyed it.
A lot of the enjoyment was down to the exotic fantasy world the author has created with a lot of pan-asian elements. I read mostly western/northern-European-inspired fantasy, and I don't know as much about the history of south/east asia, or maybe I would have found the setting a bit less original and enjoyable (as happens for me with a lot of the cod-medieval crap you get in this genre). As another reviewer mentioned, there are a lot of exotic terms and names, but I didn't have any trouble (especially when I could search my kindle app for where they were defined if I got stuck!). There is a glossary, but I only found it after I was done, and the one word I got confused with wasn't in there anyway. Same with the list of characters--there are actually fewer than in some books in the genre, and they are handled it a much more disciplined way (only three are POV characters).
It's well-crafted and well-written, with intriguing characters and an engaging plot. Things don't happen terribly quickly, but at the same time the plot never has time to stall from start to finish. There isn't quite enough peril for the protagonists, and in that respect it's quite tame compared to some of the fantasy field, but I found that quite reasonable and refreshing. Oh yeah, and the antagonist is atypical for this genre, with understandable motivations and character--not evil but flawed.
My only gripe is that there was an opportunity to wrap the plot up neatly so that the sequel/inevitable trilogy wasn't necessary, and it wasn't taken. What I do like is that it is relatively self-contained, and that the sequel is invited by the ending rather than assumed. I like my first books to play like Star Wars, with the door left open for further books if you want, but without it being to obvious you are just at the start of a million pages that you might never finish. To be fair, this does pretty well in that regard.
All in all, an interesting and refreshing first book, and a world I wouldn't mind revisiting in the future.
A lot of the enjoyment was down to the exotic fantasy world the author has created with a lot of pan-asian elements. I read mostly western/northern-European-inspired fantasy, and I don't know as much about the history of south/east asia, or maybe I would have found the setting a bit less original and enjoyable (as happens for me with a lot of the cod-medieval crap you get in this genre). As another reviewer mentioned, there are a lot of exotic terms and names, but I didn't have any trouble (especially when I could search my kindle app for where they were defined if I got stuck!). There is a glossary, but I only found it after I was done, and the one word I got confused with wasn't in there anyway. Same with the list of characters--there are actually fewer than in some books in the genre, and they are handled it a much more disciplined way (only three are POV characters).
It's well-crafted and well-written, with intriguing characters and an engaging plot. Things don't happen terribly quickly, but at the same time the plot never has time to stall from start to finish. There isn't quite enough peril for the protagonists, and in that respect it's quite tame compared to some of the fantasy field, but I found that quite reasonable and refreshing. Oh yeah, and the antagonist is atypical for this genre, with understandable motivations and character--not evil but flawed.
My only gripe is that there was an opportunity to wrap the plot up neatly so that the sequel/inevitable trilogy wasn't necessary, and it wasn't taken. What I do like is that it is relatively self-contained, and that the sequel is invited by the ending rather than assumed. I like my first books to play like Star Wars, with the door left open for further books if you want, but without it being to obvious you are just at the start of a million pages that you might never finish. To be fair, this does pretty well in that regard.
All in all, an interesting and refreshing first book, and a world I wouldn't mind revisiting in the future.
January 23, 2014
With an additional seven pages of combined glossary/listing of characters at the end and at almost 500 pages this is a hefty debut novel for the first volume of the Echoes of Empire series and it is nominated for one of Australia’s premier speculative fiction awards, the Aurealis Awards (www.aurealisawards.com/). Flavored with the middle-eastern ambiance of character titles and names, the extensive mythology, history and convoluted family ties ground this story firmly in the lists of unique post-apocalyptic fantasy, while not forcing you to slog through pages of backstory at one time. The writing is tight and the characters are fun to watch as they squirm through the hellish decisions the author forces them to make: save their friends or their family, but never both. I almost felt like I could have been reading the story of Tolkien’s Sauron before he became evil; what is the dividing line between the end justifying the means and absolute evil? Power corrupts and the kinds of incredible power shown here will kill family, friends and enemies as they try to keep it. Indris and his not-so-merry band of soldier-poets, witches and nonhumans are the main characters, but the back-stabbing, triple-crossing, magic-wielding, empire-building families can’t be ignored - as everyone has their favorite faction and centuries-long feuds make the story interesting. With the historical memory of every feud and wrong done to or by the family right in front of the Awakened through the mind of every ancestor who lives in their heads, it’s hard to not let the past rule their lives and it’s not surprising how many of them are borderline insane. It’s a great justification for some of the plot points that I might have thought were iffy without that knowledge controlling the character’s motivations. I liked that not everyone was human and the different races were well-delineated in their lifespans, actions and beliefs. And of course, the twist on the last page was awesome and sets Indris up in the next volume for some very nasty surprises. there is some sex, lots of adult concepts and violence so this may not be appropriate for younger teens.
November 7, 2013
Garden of Stones reminds me why I love to read fantasy. In it, Mark Barnes creates a unique and exquisitely detailed setting, where many races and cultures co-exist, sometimes well, sometimes badly, but always plausibly.
It is populated with a diverse and complex cast of characters, some I love to hate, some I love to love - as they explore the universal human themes of love, survival, belonging, and the powerful drive to find out what they're capable of. All of which produces great internal and external conflicts.
As a former student of anthropology, philosophy and ancient history, I am intrigued by the cultural & political aspects of this new Empire. And, the mix of magic & power/technology systems is awesome. Barnes' stunning world building whisks me into that place where my imagination takes off, and wherein I happily reside until the last page.
I love novels that make me think, that question my assumptions, that keep my imagination fired up, and Book 1 of the Echoes of Empire trilogy is one of those books that's left me excitedly waiting for the sequel.
This is exceptional fantasy. I highly recommend Mr Barnes' Garden of Stone for those readers who love to immerse themselves in original, complex, and mind-blowing epic fantasy.
It is populated with a diverse and complex cast of characters, some I love to hate, some I love to love - as they explore the universal human themes of love, survival, belonging, and the powerful drive to find out what they're capable of. All of which produces great internal and external conflicts.
As a former student of anthropology, philosophy and ancient history, I am intrigued by the cultural & political aspects of this new Empire. And, the mix of magic & power/technology systems is awesome. Barnes' stunning world building whisks me into that place where my imagination takes off, and wherein I happily reside until the last page.
I love novels that make me think, that question my assumptions, that keep my imagination fired up, and Book 1 of the Echoes of Empire trilogy is one of those books that's left me excitedly waiting for the sequel.
This is exceptional fantasy. I highly recommend Mr Barnes' Garden of Stone for those readers who love to immerse themselves in original, complex, and mind-blowing epic fantasy.
September 23, 2013
Picked up this book, among others, from the free stacks at Worldcon 2013. And wow, am I glad that I did.
This book was daunting to get into- I found myself reading the first half of the book in only a few chapters at a time, then needing time to put the book down and chew on them, to absorb the vast amounts of information that were being thrown around, bits at a time. But by the time I was halfway in, I was fully absorbed into the world, and found increasing difficulty in putting the book down. Deeper and deeper, little bits of information given like puzzle pieces, fitting into a vast and fully realized world of logical magics and political intrigue. This is a world where every detail is important, where little things that seem just filler will come back to hit you later with a huge Ah HA! moment. I was sucked in through the last paragraph, where a bombshell is dropped that left me even more anxious for the story to continue.
I look forward to reading more in this series.
This book was daunting to get into- I found myself reading the first half of the book in only a few chapters at a time, then needing time to put the book down and chew on them, to absorb the vast amounts of information that were being thrown around, bits at a time. But by the time I was halfway in, I was fully absorbed into the world, and found increasing difficulty in putting the book down. Deeper and deeper, little bits of information given like puzzle pieces, fitting into a vast and fully realized world of logical magics and political intrigue. This is a world where every detail is important, where little things that seem just filler will come back to hit you later with a huge Ah HA! moment. I was sucked in through the last paragraph, where a bombshell is dropped that left me even more anxious for the story to continue.
I look forward to reading more in this series.
June 20, 2013
If you like epic fantasy, then this debut novel is certainly worth a look. The world building in The Garden of Stones is exceptional, and I can see why comparisons to Steven Erikson's work have been made. The main protagonist (Indris) is something of a reluctant hero and his past is not an entirely happy one, which makes for some interesting choices throughout the novel. There's plenty of action for those who like weapon play, and an increasingly important romantic arc as well.
Yes, there are a lot of different terms to come to grips with, and many different cultures and kingdoms to sort out. But this is immersive writing and I found that it added to the reading experience, rather than detracting from it. The novel is also complete in its own right, but also deftly sets up the premise for the second novel, 'Obsidian Heart'.
Definitely worth checking this one out.
Yes, there are a lot of different terms to come to grips with, and many different cultures and kingdoms to sort out. But this is immersive writing and I found that it added to the reading experience, rather than detracting from it. The novel is also complete in its own right, but also deftly sets up the premise for the second novel, 'Obsidian Heart'.
Definitely worth checking this one out.
July 26, 2013
Right up front you are bombarded with a wealth of information about the world and those that inhabit it. At times it's just too much to absorb for the average reader. If you can get through the first half of the book you'll find this is a really great read. I wasn't fond of the exotic descriptions, especially of the battle scenes. The book as a whole has a lot to offer with well fleshed out characters and a plot that is anything but simple. Overall it was an enjoyable read and I look forward to future releases by this author.
This book was provided through GoodReads FirstReads. Thank you for your generosity. This in no way influenced my review.
This book was provided through GoodReads FirstReads. Thank you for your generosity. This in no way influenced my review.
June 25, 2014
*I received a copy of this book via NetGalley*
Review also on www.jolasbookshelf.wordpress.com
I've read this book in one sitting. Despite the reader being thrown in a new world, full of new names and races, the novel quickly grabs your attention and holds it to the very end. It was a bit of confusing at the beginning buy once you wrap your mind around things, the reading goes quickly. The glossary of terms and characters at the end was very helpful too.
I was blown away by the author's imagination and the unique magic system that he created. It is only his first book and I'm very interested to see what else Mark Barnes will come up with.
Review also on www.jolasbookshelf.wordpress.com
I've read this book in one sitting. Despite the reader being thrown in a new world, full of new names and races, the novel quickly grabs your attention and holds it to the very end. It was a bit of confusing at the beginning buy once you wrap your mind around things, the reading goes quickly. The glossary of terms and characters at the end was very helpful too.
I was blown away by the author's imagination and the unique magic system that he created. It is only his first book and I'm very interested to see what else Mark Barnes will come up with.
November 1, 2013
One of my books at 47North. Biased, but love it. I had read this on submission years ago, and was blown away by the intricacy of the world, the innovative magic system, and depth of the story. This is big-boy fantasy, by which I mean you need to dedicate yourself to a truly rich experience. But it's so worth it. Mark is a talent that needs to be read by anyone who loves Steven Erickson, R. Scott Bakker, Joe Abercrombie, Peter Brett, and Brandon Sanderson. Like I said, I'm biased, but I fully stand behind those comparisons.
January 7, 2019
I've been meaning to read this one for years now and went through the book in a matter of days!
Nice action, interesting characters and fabulous world building. It's been a while since I was this interested in the setting, as much as the story.
Not too heavy on the politicking, though way too naive at times.
Some of the plot was expected, some wasn't and I had lots of fun reading it.
A nice breath of fresh fantasy air for me amidst the recent sci-fi and dystopian fads.
Really looking forward to picking up the next book in the series.
Nice action, interesting characters and fabulous world building. It's been a while since I was this interested in the setting, as much as the story.
Not too heavy on the politicking, though way too naive at times.
Some of the plot was expected, some wasn't and I had lots of fun reading it.
A nice breath of fresh fantasy air for me amidst the recent sci-fi and dystopian fads.
Really looking forward to picking up the next book in the series.
August 24, 2013
Some books just leave me wanting more.
You know that feeling when you a finish a really good book and you don't want to leave the world it's set in? That any book you pick up after just isn't right because it's not the book you were just reading?
Well that just happened to me.
I love it when that happens! You can read the rest of my review here.
You know that feeling when you a finish a really good book and you don't want to leave the world it's set in? That any book you pick up after just isn't right because it's not the book you were just reading?
Well that just happened to me.
I love it when that happens! You can read the rest of my review here.
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