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Sorcery Within #1
The Sorcery Within
With the great king dying, the sole hope of the people of Alemar to protect them from the powerful dragon and its minions lies in two warriors, lost deep in the heart of a perilous desert
295 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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February 11, 2024A lot of authors are at last getting the rights back to books published traditionally decades ago--and often, as in this case, summarily cut off before the end of the sequence, thereby pretty much guaranteeing that the story arc would not find its audience.
There are some books very much of their time, with aspects that might make today's reader raise a couple of brows, or even wince. Other books still read well. Often (but not always) that's because the author has taken time to go over the text, smoothing out errors that cropped up, and perhaps tweaking a character, an idea, or an artifact so as to read better for today's audience. This is a time-honored thing--Mary Shelley revised and revamped Frankenstein several times, Richardson seems to have rewritten Clarissa every few years, as reader complaints reached him; Bulwer-Lytton and Trollope, among many, tinkered with older texts.
Sometimes these emendations are unfortunate, as many Heinlein critics maintain about his "author's version" reissues.
That is not the case here. Dave Smeds has taken the opportunity to apply years of writing experience to a rousing adventure tale he wrote as a much younger writer. The good bones are kept--interesting, complex world building, distinctive characters you want to cheer for (or hate), and (not often found in those days by male writers) interesting women.
This first novel in the arc sets up the world. We get to know it as the twin protags try to survive in new and tough circumstances. I found it tough to put this down; the pacing was brisk, the settings vivid, and I couldn't predict where things were going to go. I really enjoyed it quite a lot.
There are some books very much of their time, with aspects that might make today's reader raise a couple of brows, or even wince. Other books still read well. Often (but not always) that's because the author has taken time to go over the text, smoothing out errors that cropped up, and perhaps tweaking a character, an idea, or an artifact so as to read better for today's audience. This is a time-honored thing--Mary Shelley revised and revamped Frankenstein several times, Richardson seems to have rewritten Clarissa every few years, as reader complaints reached him; Bulwer-Lytton and Trollope, among many, tinkered with older texts.
Sometimes these emendations are unfortunate, as many Heinlein critics maintain about his "author's version" reissues.
That is not the case here. Dave Smeds has taken the opportunity to apply years of writing experience to a rousing adventure tale he wrote as a much younger writer. The good bones are kept--interesting, complex world building, distinctive characters you want to cheer for (or hate), and (not often found in those days by male writers) interesting women.
This first novel in the arc sets up the world. We get to know it as the twin protags try to survive in new and tough circumstances. I found it tough to put this down; the pacing was brisk, the settings vivid, and I couldn't predict where things were going to go. I really enjoyed it quite a lot.
June 13, 2015
I read this when I was 7. I can't remember it well. I was confused by my first novel, but totally addicted to reading fantasy after that, it appears, so I must have dug it. I must reread it!
-- Update: I just reread it. Blast from the past! As a kid, I must have completely missed all the sex scenes and just read it for the swords and sorcery. Mom tells me that I said this a month after I first read it: "Mom, I think that book must have been too old for me, because I only just now realized that that one part was a flashback."
-- Update: I just reread it. Blast from the past! As a kid, I must have completely missed all the sex scenes and just read it for the swords and sorcery. Mom tells me that I said this a month after I first read it: "Mom, I think that book must have been too old for me, because I only just now realized that that one part was a flashback."
September 8, 2017
A solid fantasy novel. The interwoven time distracts a bit, and the gratuitous violence is gratuitous, but overall it was a fun romp through a land that's... well, still fairly cliche, but at least puts interesting twists on it.
June 9, 2009
A solid book. I found the frequent shifts in narration to be slightly annoying, but I loved the end effect. While the story itself was nothing special, I absolutely loved the way Smeds wove the various pieces of story together. No differentiation existed between the past and the present forcing me to learn the history and slowly put together a mental timeline and character relationships.
I really want to give it 3 stars for narrative technique, but the story does /not/ justify such a rating.
I really want to give it 3 stars for narrative technique, but the story does /not/ justify such a rating.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews