Der Vergessene

Vault of Heaven #1

by Peter Orullian

Wenn der vergessene Gott sich regt …

Die Schöpfer formten die Welt. Doch einer von ihnen verdarb ihr Werk, und die Welt war verdammt. Tahn Junell muss seine Heimat verlassen, nachdem ein Dämon das Baby seiner Schwester entführte und der junge Mann es nicht verhindern konnte. Auf seiner Suche erwarten Tahn Rückschläge, Krieg und Verrat. Und jener, dessen Name vergessen werden musste, regt sich in seinem Gefängnis. Tahn schwankt zwischen Bangen und Hoffen. Denn vielleicht ist er derjenige, auf den die Schöpfer des Guten warten – oder aber er ist das Werkzeug des Vergessenen!

Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Science Fiction, High Fantasy, Epic

672 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 2011

About the author

Peter Orullian has worked in marketing at Xbox for nearly a decade, most recently leading the Music and Entertainment marketing strategy for Xbox LIVE, and has toured as a featured vocalist internationally at major music festivals. He has published several short stories. The Unremembered is his first novel. He lives in Seattle. "

Reviews

[Eric Allen · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Unremembered
By Peter Orullian

***My review of the "Author's Definitive Edition" of this book is in the first comment below***

A Review by Eric Allen

I was at a book signing to have Brandon Sanderson sign some of my books of his and there was a second author there signing named Peter Orullian. Everyone was lining up for Brandon, and like two people had Peter sign anything. He was sitting there for an hour or so just messing around with his phone looking rather bored and really hopeful anytime anyone stepped near him. He looked so let down when people looked like they were coming toward him and then veered away to something else. So I guiltily picked up a copy of his book from the shelf that had been set out for the people standing in line to have Brandon sign their books and I read the first chapter while I was waiting. It was actually pretty good. It grabbed me. And so I decided that I'd buy it, and have the author sign it for me there. Looking back, I wonder if the fact that there were very few people wanting him to sign their books wasn't indicative of a little more than the fact that he is a lesser known author than Brandon Sanderson.

***Disclaimer*** I did not read this book in its entirety. I only read half before I gave up on it. As people on Goodreads tend to get rather snippy with people who don't finish the book before blasting it, let me say that these are mere observations on the half of the book that I did read that prevented me from enjoying it. It is not a review of the book in its entirety, only an explanation of why I didn't like it and stopped reading it. If you have a problem with that, I invite you to get over yourself, grow up, and go whine about it to someone who cares, which, if you couldn't tell, is not me. If that doesn't work, and you absolutely HAVE to make your opinion known to me, at least be civil in doing so. I am getting rather sick of people throwing temper tantrums when I try to explain why a book was so bad I couldn't even finish it. Thank you.***Disclaimer***

Over the last year I have tried to read this book, and I have only managed to get halfway through. Every time I pick it up, I just can't make myself read much more than a few pages. It's not that the book is badly written. In fact, I'd say that the prose is rather good for an author's first novel. It's not perfect, but it's really not that bad on the writing side of things for an author's first book. There are other issues with the book, mostly on the story side of things that have put me off of completing it. As of now, unfortunately I think I'm going to have to just toss in the towel on The Unremembered and call it quits.

The Unremembered is about a young man by the name of Tahn, a hunter with no memory of his younger life. We've all heard this story before. He lives in the middle of nowhere, and suddenly a stern wizzardly fellow shows up, tells him he's in danger and has to leave, yada yada yada. Cue the Lord of the Rings fanfare.

I've thought long and hard about why I just can't get into this book. It's based on a story archetype that I greatly enjoy. Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, The Wheel of Time, all of these follow the same archetype and I love them all. So why not this one? I've narrowed it down to three major problems, and a couple of minor ones, that I have with this book, and all of them are on the story side of things. The writing is actually not bad, it's just that the story is so lacking in these three major areas. As I so often find myself explaining to fans of Patrick Rothfuss when they freak out over my not liking his second book, being able to write, and being able to tell a story are two COMPLETELY different things. Being a storyteller takes BOTH of these things, and when you've got only one of them, your book is going to suck. With fiction, a well written book with no story is not a very good book, and a great story badly written isn't a very good book either. To be a good writer, you need to both be able to tell a good story, and tell it well. And frankly, this just isn't a very good story because of how soul-crushingly generic it is. If this book had only suffered from one of those big problems I had, or maybe even two, I think I'd have been able to get through it, but all three made it just impossible for me to care much about reading further. Maybe if there were an audiobook version and I didn't actually have to expend the effort to read it myself I could finish it, but there is none, unfortunately.

Firstly: the humor. Peter Orullian is not funny, AT ALL, but he frequently tries to be. I consider myself to be a comedic writer. My night job is writing comedic reviews on awful books for a magazine. Comedy is sometimes very hard to write, because humor is subjective, and very dependent upon the person who is reading it, rather than the one writing it. The humor in this book is more than just bad or unfunny, it's insulting. Every single comedic moment in this book is extraordinarily low brow and sophomoric to the point that I actually felt that my intelligence was being insulted while reading it. The jokes and events I think were meant to be played for comedy are just so dumb. I mean, we're talking stuff as crude and low as excrement gags and fart and erection jokes here. The majority of this crap is perpetrated by the character Sutter, whom I wish would die horribly, painfully, and over the space of many weeks. These are things that even the lowest common denominator would find pathetic and offensive to their intelligence. Not even babies would laugh at this crap. And yet he continually tries to cram this garbage down our throats throughout the book like he thinks we're being entertained by it. I found myself cringing, rolling my eyes in disgust, and honestly feeling rather insulted by the majority of the humor in this book. This book was written for adults. I am an adult. I tend to be insulted when I am not treated like one, and Orullian did not treat me like one. I do not find humor mostly based around bodily functions to be entertaining in the slightest bit. The first thing about writing comedy, Pete, is to know your audience, and in this you completely failed. The typical person that would pick this book up is not going to be entertained by fart and erection jokes. We're going to be insulted and abhorred by them instead. Epic Fantasy book series, in my experience, draw a classier breed of nerd. The type of nerd that tends to think such low humor is not only not funny, but horribly offensive to their intelligence. This sort of humor might fly with the sort of people who think Jeff Foxworthy or Larry the Cable Guy are funny, but those are two COMPLETELY different demographics that do not typically mix well. You see what I'm getting at here? Peter Orullian does not seem to know who he is writing for. His story is geared toward fantasy nerds like me, and his humor is geared toward rednecks and children. You're a big boy now Pete, writing big boy stories, time to grow up.

Secondly: flashy things that happen for no reason and to no discernible purpose. There are a lot of instances in this book where things just sort of happen. It's not explained WHY they happen, or HOW they happen. They just sort of do. Let me give you an example. A character named Braethan is handed a sword. For no discernible reason he gets sucked into darkness, fights against it, and finds the light. Okay... why? What made that happen? Why did it happen? What purpose did it serve? It completely lacks a context within the story, and therefore any meaning whatsoever to the reader. The only reason I can come up for it is that the author thought it would be cool for the character to grapple with his inner darkness for no apparent reason upon being handed a sword, so he did. The half of the book that I read is FULL of instances like that. Things just happen, to no point or purpose, simply because the author thought they would be cool, or because the plot says so. I mean, sure, it would be cool if they lived in a world where random crap just happened every now and then, adding an edge of danger and foreboding, with the characters always on their toes, never knowing what will happen to them and when. Robert Jordan did an EXCELLENT job of incorporating this sort of thing into his Wheel of Time series. The reason it works there and not here, is because it is an explained event in The Wheel of Time. We are TOLD that these random things are happening for a SPECIFIC reason, and that they can happen at any time, in any place, and will be drawn to the three main characters because of who and what they are. For something like that to work, YOU HAVE TO BUILD IT, AND HOW IT IS SUPPOSED TO WORK, INTO THE STORY AND LET THE READERS KNOW ABOUT IT AHEAD OF TIME!!! When things just happen for no apparent reason, it makes the writer look lazy. If the events of your book are so boring that you have to toss in random things like this just to spice it up, maybe it's time to go back to the drawing board and look at what you can do with the story itself to make it more interesting rather than tossing in random, plot serving garbage to add false tension to scenes that are otherwise a little dull. If you, as a writer, do not feel the need to explain how your own world works to the reader, and set the rules ahead of time, events like the one I used as an example here become confusing, meaningless, and completely lose any coolness factor they might have otherwise had. If there's one thing I hate in a book, it's lazy storytelling and let me tell you, Pete, you're about as lazy a storyteller as they come.

Thirdly: Generic to a disgusting degree. This is the biggest problem that this book has. It's just so generic. The front cover should have been plain white with a bar code on it and the words "Generic Fantasy Adventure" underneath in boring, blocky letters. Every story has already been told. It's just a fact of life. It is very rare that a truly original story comes along. The really good writers are the ones that can take a story we've read a thousand times before, and make it interesting enough by putting a new spin on it, or by having such great and entertaining characters acting out the familiar events, that we actually want to read that same old story again. They take the old, and mix it with something new. A new idea. A new gimmick. A crazy new character. Witty and entertaining humor. ANYTHING to make it stand out in ANY way. Peter Orullian failed to do so. This book feels sooooo generic. There's nothing new here. These characters are cardboard cutout stereotypes. I haven't even finished the book and I can tell you exactly how it ends, because I've read this exact same story a thousand times before. The world is pretty cool, I'll give him that, but the characters are so dull and uninteresting, and he doesn't even TRY to toss in any new twists or turns to spice things up. It's just the same old story, following the same old formula, with tired old character archetypes that have nothing new to give. I realize how difficult it can be to come up with something new, or to put your own shine on something that's been around for ages like the story of this book. I'm an aspiring novelist myself, and I know how hard it can be to be original. But, there are authors out there that do it every day. Is it so much to ask that someone who is writing books for a living actually put some real imagination into the story he's telling rather than following the exact same storyline of 90% of the fantasy books out there without a single new twist or turn? Kudos to Peter Orullian for finding a publisher willing to go with something this tired and generic, but that doesn't change the fact that it IS tired and generic, without a single new twist or turn to grab my attention and make me want to read further.

Now for the minor issues I had with the book. The characters of your book should be likable. They should be people that the reader wants to cheer for, and see how they will overcome opposition. Even bad guys can be made likeable by a writer with enough talent by making them sympathetic to the reader. And that is the key word here. Sympathetic. There isn't a single sympathetic character in the entire half of the book that I read. I don't care about any of them. I don't sympathize about any of them. I don't care if they live or die. I don't care if they succeed in whatever mission the author still hadn't gotten around to telling the readers about yet, even over halfway through the entire damn novel. Why? Because not a one of the characters is even remotely likeable to me. Every character in this entire book is a complete douchebag with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. It is very, very hard to care about a character you want to punch in the face every time he opens his mouth. Your protagonists should be people that the reader identifies with, feels like they share something in common with, and wants to be more like. No one wants to be more like a complete asshole. No one wants to be a smart ass whose goal in life is to come up with the next great fart joke, and frequently attack his best friend with physical violence because hey, that's how guys are, right? Yeah... WRONG! Not to this extent anyway. No one wants to be bland, boring, and irrelevant to the world around them.

Peter Orullian told the wrong story. Perhaps he should have repeated Tahn's mantra to himself before beginning on this book, because the story he told was not the one he should have. The story that he SHOULD have told was about the outcast God in the first chapter. That was both highly interesting and rather original. Instead, he went for the bland, boring, generic mediocrity of retelling the exact same story everyone has already heard a thousand times, without even trying to put his own spin on things. He must have the greatest agent on earth to have actually sold this book to a publisher. It's not exceptionally well written, and it is sooooo generic. I mean, for a first novel it's not horribly written, but there is vast room for improvement here, and the story just isn't there.

Oh, and for the record, it is not the life's ambition of every woman on earth to have children. In my experience, most women have other goals in mind, even after having children. Several of my female friends didn't ever want children at all for various, rather understandable reasons, and it was only after they accidentally ended up with one or two that they found any joy in being a mom. Motherhood is a good and noble purpose in life, without our mothers, none of us would be here, and there is nothing wrong with any woman aspiring toward it. My own mother raised four children all while working a full time job and I respect the hell out of her for doing it. However, the implication that it is the only thing that women truly want out of life, as Orullian seems to believe, seems rather insulting and condescending. I would like to quote my friend Karen on the subject. "Women and men are different, but we are also much the same as well. Like men, women have hopes, dreams, aspirations for the future, etc, and like men, those hopes, dreams, aspirations for the future, etc, rarely include children until children waltz into the picture and firmly wreck all of those hopes, dreams, aspirations for the future, etc. The suggestion that all I want out of life is to squeeze out a few babies and content myself with raising them is pretty insulting. Sure, I may have kids one day, probably sooner rather than later, but until then, they're the furthest thing from my mind and desires. Any man that sincerely believes otherwise clearly doesn't know the first thing about women, and certainly shouldn't be writing any female characters without some strict female supervision." She also tried and failed to read this book, having seen it on my coffee table, and stopped because she was so insulted over this issue by it. She, like many women, and very understandably, has a hard time stomaching being told that she's good for nothing but raising children. No one wants to hear that they're worthless, and in this book, Orullian basically says that 52% of the world's population is good for nothing but procreation. I find that insulting, and I'm a man. What's worse is that I'm pretty sure this guy has a wife he can run this crap by before writing it, and yet he didn't.

Rape is a very touchy subject, and as a man, I can only imagine the horrors that it inflicts upon the victims, especially those who are impregnated by it. I consider it to be the absolute worst, most horrible thing that anyone can ever do to another human being. I find it VERY hard to believe that ANY woman is going to PROTECT the man that did that to her from justice by refusing to give his name to the authorities. I can understand withholding it out of fear, yes, but (and I don't even remember her name because she was such a bland and uninteresting character) this character does not give any signs that she fears retaliation. She simply refuses to give up his name to protect him from justice. This man has done the most horrible thing that a person can do to another human being to her. It resulted in pregnancy. And yet she protects this man by refusing to give up his name or description? IN FACT, she seems to have WELCOMED the attack after the fact because it helped her to fulfill that supposed lifelong ambition that every woman supposedly feels, according to the extraordinarily flawed understandings of Peter Orullian, to be a mother. BULLSHIT!!! I CALL BULLSHIT!!! Welcome to real life Pete, where women are people too, just like you and me, in case you missed that fact. Maybe you should start treating them like it. Honestly, has this guy's wife even bothered to read this book? Probably not, she probably got about three chapters in and couldn't force herself to read any further and just sort of smiles and nods to him when he asks how she liked it. This guy needs a female editor to filter all this crap through before it goes to publication. Seeing things like this is books makes me angry. Is it not 2012? Have we not moved past these archaic ideals of inequality amongst the sexes? Apparently not. I see congressional panels made up of all men who seem to think a woman can control whether or not she is impregnated by rape debating issues of women's rights without a SINGLE female committee member to add her perspective to the proceedings, and I see authors like Peter Orullian and Patrick Rothfuss who haven't got a shred of respect for women as people. Ladies, I'm sorry that you have to put up with this bullshit. I truly am. No one should have to deal with being treated as subhuman because of something as trivial and completely uncontrollable to them as their gender.

In conclusion this book had those three major problems, plus a whole slew of minor ones, and because of that I just couldn't work up the desire to even finish it. I got halfway through, but I can't force my way through any further. The half that I read is just plain TERRIBLE. It has, literally, not one single redeeming quality to save it, or even make me want to finish. Unfortunately I cannot give any more than one star to a book that I was incapable of finishing. I really wanted to like this book, the first chapter was extremely good. Unfortunately, everything else about the book completely fails. I do not think I will ever finish it, and I certainly do not think I will be picking up the second volume when it eventually comes out. Some people may enjoy it, though I really can't see myself recommending it to anyone except as an example of everything NOT to do while writing a fantasy adventure.

Check out my other reviews.

[Bookwraiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths.

The Unremembered is an epic fantasy which, unfortunately, lives up to its title since many fans do not even know it exists. Something that is a shame, because Peter Orullian’s masterful tale is worthy of inclusion into any discussion of the best epic fantasy series out there. This mesmerizing story of a world split in two by a gods’ created magical Veil written in the tradition of such classic fantasy sagas as The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan and Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. And I have to admit that I was one of those readers who disregarded this saga for many years. But, now, I have experienced this vivid, lyrical narrative and am sold on the inherent grandness of Mr. Orullian’s fantasy vision.

Beginning simply, The Unremembered gives readers a glimpse of an ancient past. A time of legend when the creator gods still walk the world yet are determined to abandon it to a harsh fate. But one of their servants will not stand by idle while evil triumphs, and he passionate pleas for a final boon from the creators: A way to ward off the forces of the fallen god. And due to the singing of a bereaved woman to her dead loved ones, the heart of a god is softened, the Song of Suffering born; this magical song a way for the Veil, which holds back the creatures of Quietus, to be forever renewed and strengthened.

Skipping ahead millenniums, the Veil still holds . . . barely. The world having experienced several major invasions by the Velle (the monsters shut behind the Veil), but those struggles long in the past, more legend than reality. And now the people have moved forward, evolved, changed. The creator gods scoffed at as myths. The Veil a physical part of the world, one which is viewed as eternal in its nature. The Song of Suffering a superstitious bit of nonsense. Even the wielders of this world’s “magic” are barely tolerated; the Sheason portrayed as parasites on society, their only use to trick superstitious fools into providing them with an easy living. All of these progressive ideas touted and enforced by the League of Civility, which is seen as the torchbearers for mankind’s continued trek toward enlightenment.

Born into this societal turmoil (but having been sheltered from most of it due to their rural home), Tahn, Wendra, Sutter, and Braethen find themselves far from home, following along behind a Sheason named Vendanj. This mysterious stranger having convinced our young quartet to join his damn fool crusade. Velle dodging their every turn. Fate tearing asunder all their plans, as they are slowly forced apart yet struggle to remain together. The end of the journey a place called Tillinghast, where Tahn will be asked to face his life choices and attempt to survive!

Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? A little reminiscent of other series without a doubt, and it goes without saying (though it appears I’m going to say it anyway) that this novel is in the vein of those familiar fantasy tales of the past with classic tropes: the farm boy, the mysterious stranger, the coming-of-age quest, and the god-like villain — to name only a few. And if you hate that you will probably not enjoy The Unremembered. On the other hand, if you don’t instantly despise these type of tropes, you will quickly find that Peter Orullian uses them to craft an engrossing tale inhabited by developed characters, emotional stories, and as fine a magical system as any seen outside of a Brandon Sanderson novel. All of it playing out upon a well crafted world which radiates immense age, deep history, and epic secrets yet untold.

The characters were probably the biggest surprise for me personally. Beginning as familiar faces, Tahn, Wendra, Sutter, Braethen, Vendanj, and several others soon began to develop into unique individuals, endowed with their own problems, hopes, fears, and dreams for tomorrow. Love for family and friends an important theme in all their minds. And while none of them completely broke out of their familiar mold, they did turn into people whom I empathized with and wanted to follow along behind on their journey.

I also have to admit quickly becoming enamored of Peter Orullian’s writing. His silky smooth style was clear, concise yet filled with a lyrical quality. Every paragraph a succinct, descriptive epiphany clearly illuminating the scene and the action transpiring. His tendency to insert small tidbits of information regarding the people, places, and history a delight taking me back to the way J.R.R. Tolkien made Middle Earth come alive for me.

But The Unremembered did have some issues.

With this new edition, Peter Orullian throws readers directly into the action — no introduction to the characters or revelations of how they come together as a group. For good or bad, they are already set out on an epic journey, beset by enemies as well as carrying around baggage from their past. This circumstance requiring the reader to absorb every morsel of information they can quickly to understand what the hell is going on. Nothing wrong with this approach. Many epics use the same sink-or-swim opening. Here, though, the pacing was too fast at the beginning, too much being thrown at you without any context in which to put the info. The net experience nearly causing me to give up on this novel. And when this initial cram session ended, the middle portion of the story slowed down quite suddenly, spending massive amounts of time on plot lines which apparently went nowhere. Thankfully, the narrative finally found its rhythm in the last third, mixing in the perfect amounts of action, lore, magic, surprises, and foreshadowing to make it all worthwhile.

I’d also feel remiss if I didn’t point out that there is no real explanation given for the Velle always showing up at the exact right time and place to find our heroes and cause them problems. In Lord of the Rings, the Ringwraiths were drawn to the ring, which, at least, gave some plausibility to them always being on Frodo’s tail. Here, though, there isn’t any element like that to make the Velle’s appearances plausible, which wasn’t a huge issue the first or second time they appear out of nowhere, but eventually it moved from head-scratching to annoying.

Whether a reader ultimately enjoys The Unremembered Author’s Definitive Edition mostly has to do with what they are looking for in their fantasy. We all have our preferred “type” of fantasy after all, but everyone also loves to discover new flavors for their reading (whether that is grimdark, urban, epic, or some other), and in this day and age where Game of Thrones is the face of fantasy, I can see many people finding Peter Orullian’s more modern and mature version of traditional epic fantasy to be exactly the change of pace novel they were looking for. Certainly, The Unremembered harkens back to a simpler era in the genre when subtle twists on familiar tropes were applauded, epic quests were enjoyed, and naive farm boys were preferred over sociopath antiheroes, yet that might be exactly what some readers (myself included) find so appealing about it.

[Mogsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2015/07/30/b...

This review is for the “Author’s Definitive Edition” of The Unremembered. What does this verbiage spell for the book, exactly? According to an interview I found, author Peter Orullian made a ton of changes for this re-issue, many of which were not just limited to minor adjustments like adding an excerpt or fixing a typo here and there, though there was certainly some of that involved too. In fact, there are significant differences between this and the original (but Orullian also assures that those who read the latter will be able to transition into the sequel just fine), like about fifteen thousand words added in, but even more cut out. So, unlike a lot of Author’s Editions, this new version is actually substantially shorter than the original. It’s all supposed to make a stronger book – trimming the fat, bolstering what needed to be bolstered, fixing the pace, improving character development, etc.

I’ve not read the original, so I can’t really speak to whether or not the Author’s Definitive Edition met its goals, but finding out all that information did make me curious about this book. It’s so rare that an author gets a chance to do this, and I wanted to see the end result.

The Unremembered opens with a god condemned by the rest of the pantheon for creating a world filled with terrifying creatures, upsetting the divine balance. As punishment, he is sent to live for eternity with his abominations in the Bourne. Thousands of years later, the focus shifts to the perspective of a villager named Tahn who encounters nightmarish creatures around his home and the lands of the Hollows. Mysterious strangers arrive in town, and one of them – an old man named Vendanj – warns Tahn of great danger. A tear between the realms has resulted in the evil things from the Quiet entering the world, putting everything in peril.

Together with his sister Wendra and his friend Sutter, Tahn sets off on a quest with Vendanj and the old man’s other companions, the Sodalist Braethen and the beautiful-but-deadly warrior Mira. Tahn has no idea where this quest will take him, but he is all too aware that the world is depending on him and his group to stop the darkness from swallowing up everything he knows and loves.

The Hero’s Journey immediately comes to mind. The Unremembered is exactly that, pulling in the familiar tropes in the genre for this traditional quest narrative. This makes it a tough book to review. On the one hand, many of the themes can be recognized as the conventional and rehashed ideas from well-known fantasy classics, and though I wouldn’t exactly describe the story as generic, I can’t exactly call it original either. On the other hand though, there’s a certain charm and appeal to reading a book that harkens back to the days of old-school fantasy, almost like slipping on a worn but comfortable and much-loved sweater. As with all books in general, I suspect how you feel about this one will entirely depend on the sort of mood you’re in.

Still, that’s not to say Peter Orullian brings nothing to the genre. I find his world and characters intriguing, and whether or not this has to do with the changes he made in this edition, I liked his writing style and found it flowed very smoothly. His world-building is deep and very detailed, and his characters – while playing a bit to clichés – are people you can relate to. After all, archetypes such as The Hero are popular because they resonate with us. Tahn is likeable in that role, and his companions also play out their respective parts nicely. Orullian fleshes out his characters and gives them individual traits that make them memorable, even if they are present in a derivative capacity.

Is The Unremembered perfect? No, but I still enjoyed reading it. It’s well-paced, probably much improved from the original version is my guess. Some scenes carry a lot of weight, and in these the author does a fantastic job with the atmosphere, highlighting tough choices and the consequences of making them. Sometimes, it can get very poignant and emotional in keeping tensions high and the reader hooked on every word. As well, at a certain point in the book, the story diverges into two different threads, which threw some variation into the mix.

Ultimately, I don’t know if I would recommend this book to everyone, but I imagine there will be fantasy readers who will enjoy it. If you’re looking for something wildly fresh and original, this probably won’t be it. But if you’re feeling nostalgic for some traditional epic fantasy reminiscent of The Wheel of Time or The Lord of the Rings, then it’s quite possible that this could work for you. Personally I thought this was a decent read, and I felt invested enough that I will most likely read the sequel.

[seak · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Only the Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy


One of the most stunning covers I've seen in a long time, The Unremembered is one of the biggest releases of 2011. The question remains, does the book live up to its cover?

In many ways, The Unremembered is a very traditional tale. A couple almost-kids are swept up in an adventure they never imagined they would be in, chased by monsters who were thought to be myth, helped by people who know what they're doing (and have awesome powers). Luckily, even after the many traditional tales I've read, I still very much enjoy this type of story, but I'm sure many will find it a bit of a retreading.

And still, The Unremembered took me a while to get into. There are a few characters who are well introduced, but also a few more who are not, but yet are swept up into this adventure anyway. The author does do a great job of filling you in as the story progresses, through dreams and/or the places they visit, which have their own special power. One of those characters, Wendra, actually became one of my favorites by the end.

This lack of introduction, however, does lead to a bit of a disconnect with the reader...or maybe I should say a never-connect and hampered my ability to really get into the story for a while.

The author also tends to switch in and out of third-person omniscient and third-person limited. This is something that you can get used to, but can also be jarring and confusing at times at least at first, and yet another reason that it took a while to get into the story.

Another thing that grated on me, and this will be the last of my complaints, is that while the characters were well drawn and realized, they still tended to fall into some patterns, some cardboard characterization, that annoyed me.

Almost like Edding's Belgariad (and moreso in the Mallorean) where anytime Belgarath said anything, it was almost like "Oh Belgarath, you're always such a grouch". These types of things continued throughout the story even in the most dire of circumstances, and instead of lightening the mood, bugged me thoroughly.

While I've mentioned some good things, up till now I've focused mainly on the negatives and I'm sorry. I actually did enjoy this book and I think it's worth your time as well.

The world Orullian has created is amazing. It's detailed, it's completely well thought-out, and it has a deep history. There is plenty more to tell and plenty that has been hinted at, giving it a rich atmosphere and a world all it's own.

There are different races, most notably, the Quietgiven and the Far. The former, evil beings from the Bourne, the latter, a short-lived race with certain powers of their own. I sometimes called them "reverse elves". Then there's the League of Civility, a group that has successfully taken over much of the known world and attempting to get rid of history, and really write their own. They are also attempting (and somewhat successful) in getting rid of the Sheason, the magic wielders (for good), who they don't trust to wield so much power.

His writing is epic and fulfilling. It reminded me a lot of Robert Jordan at times - detailed, layered, and not as gritty as a lot of the contemporary works like Abercrombie, Lynch, or Erikson. In fact, The Unremembered is very reminiscent of The Wheel of Time, especially The Eye of the World. It's a coming-of-age tale in a highly realized world full of good and evil.

I mentioned the characters earlier, and while I had some reservations, overall, they're extremely three-dimensional. The main protagonist, Tahn, begins the story as a hunter. Every time he shoots his bow, he has to repeat a certain mantra that allows him to only kill those who deserve it, in accordance with the Will. He struggles to know who he is, why he must always utter these phrases.

Tahn is very close to his sister, Wendra, who when we first meet her, has given birth to the baby she had after being raped. This baby, who is stillborn, is immediately taken away by the Bar-dyn, one of the races of the Quietgiven who end up causing Tahn and Wendra to leave their homes.

They are taken away by a Sheason, Vendanj, and a Far, Mira, and meet some great characters on the way as they go from one dangerous adventure to the next and as they attempt to fulfill their destinies. Whether those are actually destinies or selfishly played pawns remains to be seen.

Why Read The Unremembered?

If you like coming-of-age tales with a different twist and plenty of action, you'll enjoy The Unremembered immensely. It's an epic tale with deep history and plenty of potential to become a very satisfying series ... possibly even the successor to The Wheel of Time.

After saying that, I also think that some might be disappointed because of the hype-machine that's been working on 11 (Spinal Tap reference) for the past few months. Sadly, I think that might kill the book for quite a few people. It was good, it has tons of potential, but it's not quite the next The Name of the Wind.

In this respect, I'd have to say that The Unremembered earned its beautiful cover, but only by the skin of its teeth.

4 out of 5 Stars

[Felicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclosure, I have actually tangently worked with this author at MS with The Guild, and I received an ARC copy, but this review is 100% objective.

I have all of Robert Jordan's books in hardback, I was obsessed with the Wheel of Time at like 13 or 14. Later on when the series disappointed me a bit, I still look back on those years of total immersion in his world with fondness, that deep and epic fantasy storytelling that only fantasy fans can really buy into. This book is very much a citizen of that kind of literature. I mean, if you ever read out the names of people and places outloud, it would be silly, but for some reason you buy into it on the page when you delve into this kind of novel.

I believe this is the first book in a really wonderful fantasy series of that Jordan/Goodkind/Brooks/Tolkien-like ilk. It's not a light read, but definitely pays off all the tropes of this kind of book well. I particularly enjoyed the female lead character, who at first had me wanting her to die off quickly, and over the course of the novel became more interesting and empowered. Definitely want to see where her conflict leads her.

Anyway, I'll be reading the next!

[Artemas]

I think 226 pages is a fair effort on my part for this one...or that's when the magical effect from the beautiful cover art wore off for me. Either way, abandoning this one is the only option left. Had this book been shorter I would continue on, but 940 pages is too much demand on something that has yet to grab my attention. Uninteresting characters combined with weird names lacking any explanation left me feeling bored, confused, and a little pissed off. Moving on...

[Spencer Pranger · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are books in the fantasy genre that are so great they make you want to stand up at the end and offer the author a round of applause. I for one can say I had to do such a thing at 2 am, to the surprise of my wife. This book has everything a reader can want in a book from extreme high emotion filled chapters to amazing action sequences. Decisions for the characters actions hold real consequences, rarely have I seen it that well done.
Please don't let the back blurb put you off. It does the book no justice. Read what Peter has had to write concerning his own blurb on Peter's Blog I was fortunate to get to read the entire book as an advanced reader copy. I couldn't put it down, I had to read the book as fast as I could. I would highly recommend this book to everyone that enjoys an amazing read. I'll post a much more in depth review once it's actually out to discuss more of the book.

[Ranting Dragon · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://www.rantingdragon.com/the-unre...


In general, there seem to be two types of modern epic fantasy series: One the one hand, there are writers such as Joe Abercrombie and George R. R. Martin, who try to reinvent the genre by discarding the known epic tropes and strive to create a more “realistic” type of fantasy (by completely erasing the distinction between right and wrong); on the other hand, there are authors who try to improve the genre, like Brandon Sanderson. Peter Orullian is without a doubt part of the latter type. His debut novel, The Unremembered, is the first installment of his new Vault of Heaven series and stays true to the tropes of the genre while attempting to ramp up the epicness of the story. Like Sanderson’s works, Orullian’s debut is set in a more colorful world than can be found in many of the traditional epic series. This world has a richer history than most of the epics before him and the scope of Orullian’s story is greater than that of most any traditional work before him.

Asset and flaw
While, as a fan of the genre, I can certainly appreciate what Orullian is attempting, one might suggest he’s biting off more than he can chew. Its scope is not only the biggest asset for The Unremembered, it is also one of its few flaws, resulting in a story that is sometimes hard to follow. For example, regardless of how much I love the diversity of dark creatures serving Orullian’s version of the traditional evil overlord, when four kinds of them are introduced almost simultaneously without any background, it’s rather hard to tell them apart.

To rip off or not to rip off
The Unremembered tells the story of a world, Aeshau Vaal, where one of the gods, Quietus, joined the dark side during creation. He was locked away with all his evil monstrosities, a magic veil separating this vault of heaven from the rest of the world. That veil, however, is weakening, and the evil of legend is roaming the lands freely. It is at this time that a mysterious magician, the Sheason Vendanj, enters a small town known as the Hollows and rescues Tahn and his sister Wendra from these creatures, taking them and their friends Braethen and Sutter on a journey to save the world.

Many, including Patrick from Pat’s Fantasy Hitlist, have pointed out the similarities between The Unremembered and The Eye of the World, first volume in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series — even going as far as calling it “The Eye of the World with different names for characters, places, and monsters.” While I agree that there are indeed similarities, I wholeheartedly disagree that The Unremembered is a Wheel of Time rip-off. The truth is that these similarities are in fact tropes many years older than most of us, appearing in works ranging from The Lord of the Rings to the Star Wars movies.

Longing for originality
Instead of being The Eye of the World with different names, I felt that The Unremembered worked with these tropes rather well, even deviating from them here and there — though certainly not often enough. The world, people and events in Orullian’s work are quite original and always fresh and surprising. However, don’t expect anything you haven’t seen before; this is still traditional epic fantasy in its truest sense, and I was, at times, longing for some original plots.

Masterful world building
Fortunately, Orullian’s prose, characters, and masterful world building made up for much of this lack of originality. The world building in particular impressed me a great deal. This isn’t some small world with ten nations, but a large, rich world with dozens and dozens of countries and peoples, the few of them that have already been introduced coming with hints of an expansive background and history. The political atmosphere is intriguing and holds great promise for future novels.

Equally impressive was the magic in The Unremembered. Magic in the world of Aeshau Vaal reminded me of ‘The Force’ in the Star Wars universe. In Orullian’s work, it is called The Will and can be “rendered” to create or destroy in numerous ways. For example, the Sheason — and their evil counterpart the Velle — can render it through The Gift, which is passed on from one Sheason to the next, and the Decant musicians can render by channeling their emotions through songs. This type of magic has a universal feel to it, as it is the energy that binds the world together. There is also potential for many different ways of rendering, simply because the magic hasn’t yet been fully explained in The Unremembered. The fact that this rendering of The Will is outlawed makes it all the more interesting.

A darker edge
Despite the obvious use of the conventions of the epic genre in The Unremembered — leading to a book that isn’t set apart by the originality of the story, but by the world in which it takes place — there is a distinct darkness to The Vault of Heaven that I haven’t experienced in any other epic series. This darkness goes beyond the simple outlawing of magic, touching all aspects of life in the world of Aeshau Vaal. This is a place where no one is safe. Women are robbed of their freedom and children are taken from their parents. The Bar’dyn — soldiers of the enemy — aren’t dumb beasts like Tolkien’s Orcs or Jordan’s Trollocs, but have a mind of their own, giving some scenes a more horrifying feel than you would expect to find in the traditional half of the epic genre. What’s more, there is this nagging feeling that right and wrong may not be as conventional as they seem, and there might be more to this ancient war than the surface suggests.

Cliffhangers and interludes
While The Unremembered is always intriguing and often surprising, it isn’t a page turner. It probably could have been, if not for the very flaw — the scope of Orullian’s writing — that I mentioned earlier. There were many interludes — short chapters that deviate from the main story line and bring us several viewpoints from characters not formally introduced — in the first two hundred pages of the book, making the book very hard to get into. When the story finally gets underway after the main characters separate — another one of those overused tropes you could see coming from miles away — the pacing is thrown off by chapters constantly ending on a cliffhanger, followed by a chapter from a different viewpoint. While this served to keep a reader interested — in a rather cheap way, I might add — it became very annoying very quickly.

Why should you read this book?
If you are, like me, a fan of traditional epic fantasy like The Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time, you will definitely enjoy The Unremembered. While this book has a great many flaws, it is certainly a worthy read. It is conventional material with a dark and promising edge. I look forward to its sequel, which I hope will surprise me with twists and turns, leading away from the somewhat obvious tropes and into original territory. While it is far from the best book I’ve read, the many layers of The Unremembered make The Vault of Heaven one of the most promising series I’ve encountered.

[Skylar Phelps · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual Rating 1.5 Stars

I got to meet Peter Orullean at a convention and sat in a panel or two that he spoke in. A few things that he said made a serious impression on me and have stuck with me since. I remember thinking that I really ought to sample his work in the near future.

So eventually I did with his debut novel The Unremembered...
And I’m sad to say that the title says it all.

I did not enjoy this one. The cover was beautiful, there was even a little blurb from Brandon Sanderson on it, so all was looking good at the onset. But beyond the cover there was only disappointment.

The writing irked me, the narrator was mediocre (I did audio, thank heaven), the characters were unmemorable (ironically) and the story felt secondhand. My impression was that it was a poor replica of the Wheel of time. Which is a shame because I thought The Eye is the World was a poor replica of LoTR. Double ouch.

I do really hope that the author got better later on in his career. I hear he also does some short fiction in some reputable anthologies, I’d be glad to check some of those out. This one, however, was not for me.

[Brandon Zarzyczny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this debut book, it has all the makings of another amazing epic fantasy series. The world is a little goofy, with a group of god like beings creating the universe, but one of them goes rogue creating only crazy evil things, which then makes the rest of the gods strip him of his power and exile him to live with his creations. It sets up some interesting possibilities, but I had some trouble believing it. The magic system itself is much better, it's believable but not too scientific, it still has a large element of mystery at this point. Basically the good sorcerers use the energy from their own body (each time they use it it shortens their life) to effect change on the world around them (healing/fire/lightning/wind/earthquakes/etc) while the evil sorcerers drain the life/energy from everything around them to effect change. There is also some interesting political subplots to the story, where a new regime has enforced a law that essentially on penalty of death no one is allowed to use magic.

The character development in this novel is top notch. Each character distinctly changes from who they were at the beginning of the book, for better and worse. The story is pretty typical Epic Fantasy, it follows in the path of books like The Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time. Where a group/fellowship is gathered and then they set out on a quest while being pursued by deadly monsters, they eventually split up into groups and have their own adventures where they greatly evolve as characters, and finally they all meet up again for the climax of the story. Peter Orullian takes this fantasy trope and spins a phenomenal tale within its guidelines, of course with a few plot twists and reveals.

My only real small problem with the book is that like other novels with multiple characters, with each chapter coinciding with a perspective shift to a different character and story, I couldn't help but read the book chapter by chapter. I didn't really feel the need to blaze through the book. Along with this, I also ended up liking some characters/plot-lines more than others, making it a little annoying when I have to read multiple chapters of characters I didn't love as much to get to those I do.

Nevertheless, if you enjoy Epic Fantasy at all, you should absolutely give The Unremembered a try.

[Bcvs · Rating 3 out of 5]

The good:
Nice character development and excellent world building. There is an interesting take on the magic system. Some bits are very gritty and have real depth of character, setting and dialog.
The bad:
ALL female characters are obsessed with motherhood. ALL male characters have daddy issues. Truths are being revealed to the reader along with the characters very slowly and never fully. That can be OK once or twice, but in this case, this happens every time, up till the end.
The ugly:
A very slow beginning compared to a very fast paced ending, giving the feeling of an unbalanced read. Some places visited and characters encountered feel very forced and, well... childish. The timing of the baddies' attacks is unbelievable. They are always exactly on time and in the right numbers, for our heroes to evade or defeat.
To sum it up:
I really liked many parts of this book, bordering on the 5 stars. However, the rest was just OK.

[THE BIBLIOPHILE (Rituranjan) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Epic fantasy that pays a sort of homage to Tolkien and Jordan. Readers who love classic fantasy and elaborate worldbuilding with interesting characters, and a quest story to highlight the fight between good and evil will definitely find a lot to enjoy here. The sad thing is, majority of the readers don't even know that this book exists, and some are even disappointed because it relies on familair tropes and trappings. But, the fact is, Orullian's book stands on its own, though the influence is apparent, and the people who went through Jordan's laborious work will find this more easier, because Orullian is a much skillful and talented writer than his predecessor.

I enjoyed reading this. I loved the lore, and how Orullian builds up his world, and the familiarity to LOTR and WOT made me nostalgic. There's a kind of deep magic here, a world filled with flaws of people, and those made by the gods. There are ruins, ancient mutated races, magic swords and all. The book also beautifully integrates music and memory as the primal source of magic, and it was frankly poignant and wonderful to behold. Going through the narrative, the readers will find that it isn't action-oriented, rather it builds upon the characters and their choices. Orullian paints a world which is at war with itself as well as their enemies, fraught with fanaticism, slavery, injustice, and inequality. In fact, even the enemy doesn't feel like the evil at all, rather like broken beings with terrible choices for survival amidst discrimination and abandonment.

The characters were written quite well, and although I found it hard to connect with the main protagonist Tahn, I felt a connection with the women characters, mostly Wendra and Mira. They've have their own loss, suffering, and trauma, but, they deal with it. Wendra is a strong woman, who has come into terms with her own power, and at the same time dealing with a terrible loss of her own. She grows as a character, and I'm interested to see how she develops herself as a person. Mira is intriguing, as she is the royal descendant of a reclusive race, and has to die when she comes to adulthood. She is stoic, confident, and a badass warrior. Both of them has a sense of selflessness and inner strength which makes them resilient against all odds. I also like Grant the exile, and the wizard Vedanj, and their way of interacting and mentoring Tahn. There are some moments of internal conflicts, which makes the relationship dynamics even more interesting.

Peter Orullian's writing is excellent, as he has a knack of penning lovely descripitive prose. I found it to be lyrical in places, and the dialogues are also handled quite well, a mix of light philosophy and gentle humour. The descriptions of places were vivid, and hence it was very easy to visualize them in my mind's eye. I felt like I was in those places myself, and I was able to experience the thrill of adventure and journeying through places. I will definitely continue with the sequel, and see how Orullian carries on with this epic story.

P.S: I would suggest to read the book first, atleast try to get through a few chapters, before you judge the book merely by trusting the opinions of others. Every book has its pros and cons, so consider it carefully before going ballistic on the author. Don't be toxic.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had a copy of the original Unremembered for a few years now, and over time had picked it up and read chunks, going through a decent portion of it over quite a bit of time. I found the writing to be great, with enjoyable characters and an enjoyable world, but it felt long-winded, a bit bloated, a bit unrefined. When Peter told me that Tor was relaunching the book with his own personal edits, I was pretty excited, as I was hoping it would deliver the book I felt that this could be, without some of the rough edges. In the end, it was exactly that.

The Unremembered is a fairly traditional high fantasy tale, and felt very much akin to Terry Brooks or Robert Jordan, both in scale and in setting. There's an overarching enemy on a large scale, varying layers of problems, and a group of people who come together to grow and develop as they go through their mission. The characters are all unique and well developed, their backstories, their character traits, backgrounds, powers, etc are all wonderful and interesting. At no point was I ever disengaged from a character, bored by one, or otherwise disinterested in their wellbeing or story. This is one of the biggest things I take into consideration when I'm reading a book, and Peter hit a home run in this aspect - they all drew me in, made me want to care about them and want to know what happens. They change and develop over the course of the book, in believable and organic ways, and it feels very natural and flowing, which is great.

The world he has created, while not earth-shatteringly new, contains it's on unique characters, magic, politics. Peter does a wonderful job of immersing you in this world and making you feel at home, making it feel lived in, making you fear the enemy, understand the various geographies, and developing his magic systems along the way. The magic is powerful without being overly powerful, and comes with consequences and realities that make it so a magician is not all-powerful. The characters who are magical learn their powers slowly, not fully understanding them until late into the story, rather than coming to understand them in the first few pages then blasting away the rest of the book. I felt this was a much more realistic approach, and made you feel like you were really watching the characters grow and learn before your eyes.

Peter's prose is really great - it's got a flowing smoothness to it, using soft words and tones at the right times, and harsher ones at other times. It's at the same time very easy to read and get into, and you never feel that you're overwhelmed by language or the cadence of his writing, but at the same time feel like you're reading a talented author as well as storyteller, unlike some of the authors in the more traditional high fantasy setting.

There were some hiccups, as with any book - there's a bit of 'been there, done that' with this kind of setting and story structure, which isn't to say it's a bad thing, but after reading a ton of fantasy you start to feel like you've read this type of book many times. The ending had a bit of a sitcom feel to it, where everyone ends up together, laughing and making one-liners, and you could almost picture them making that hard-stop screen of all them laughing while the credits rolled by. It was a fast-paced and rewarding ending to the book, and you left it feeling good, but it did feel a bit incongruous to the overall tone of the rest of the book, in my opinion.

I left the book very satisfied - it was so much tighter and more refined than the original edition, less bloated, letting the characters, story and writing really be the showcase. Peter's got major talent and some big ideas, and I would definitely recommend this book (especially the A.D.E.) to anyone who is really interested in the genre. The bonus parts added into this book (short story and chunk of the next book) were great additions as well, and really added value to the re-release.

[Melliane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mon avis en Français

My English review

I’m not necessarily a big fantasy reader but it’s true that I can be easily surprised by the genre. When I received the book, I was not sure that it would be for me but I admit that I was curious to find out how the story would be. I was also fortunate enough to have the second volume at hand to discover the following adventures.

From the beginning of the novel, we discover Tahn, a young man whose past is still quite unclear. The memories of his childhood have disappeared and he hopes to find them to understand who he really is. Yet this quest is far from easy, especially when the only person able to give him what he wants, explains that it’s for his own good, and that will recover everything in time. Launched on an adventure with his sister Wendra, whom he could not protect during the kidnapping of her child, he will try to deal with the terrible plagues that threaten his kingdom.

The novel is divided (as for most fantasy books) in several POVs. It must be said that in their quest, our heroes will be separated so we alternately follow their evolution. Tahn was a pretty interesting character to follow, full of guilt because he failed to protect his sister, but also full of desires to regain his memories. I also loved Wendra, we feel and understand her pain because of the loss of her child but also her desire to help and protect as she has not been able to do that before.

It was an interesting read even if I did not manage to get as easily into the story or to enjoy all the characters, but I admit that I was curious about the end of the story and I was surprised to see what the memories of our heroes contained.

[Tom Lloyd · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope, I'm done after 100 pages.

The sentence (spoken by Vendanj) "we'll hope there isn't an entire collogh of bar'dyn at the edge of je'holt" just seemed to ram it home that he was trying to annoying me by picking the wrong bits of trad fantasy tropes to throw in. Added to that, I thought the author's definitive edition would be a good version to try, but it appears he's cut out most of the start. Characters and concepts just get dropped in like I've missed the first few chapters where the explanations and introductions were - but it's not reading like a Malazan book where there's a great sense of the world you've got to uncover piece by piece, the author just didn't bother.

Which means it's come across as a mess (in the REVISED edition for pity's sake) and while I don't expect to know what's going on by 100 pages, I should at least be vaguely interested to find out. But I'm not and there's nothing keeping me going. Certainly not when one of the main characters is called Vendanj and I keep misreading Sodolist as Sodomist.

[Lynn Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-4 stars
https://lynnsbooks.wordpress.com/2015...
Just finished reading Peter Orullian’s epic adventure story.

The Unremembered is almost a coming of age story with a Fellowship of the Ring type feel. Which isn’t to say that it’s mimicking Tolkien or anyone else just merely it’s an adventure story in which a number of travellers unwittingly embark upon a quest, get split up along the way and all continue to travel towards a known destination.

This is a story of good vs evil although there is still room for manoeuvre in that respect, by which I mean not everything is as cut and dried as it may first appear. I don’t really want to elaborate on the plot too much as it develops quite well as you read along.

There are a number of characters and I won’t deny that these are all introduced in fairly quick succession which does slow the read down somewhat as you try to remember who everyone is, their names, the relationship they have to each other and their histories. We have Tahn, who is really the ‘chosen one’. His sister Wendra, who has some magical ability of her own and their friends Sutter and Braethen. We are then introduced to a mysterious character called Vendanj. He is a Sheason and therefore able to perform magic. Unfortunately in this world this isn’t a welcome ability. His companion is Mira of the Far race of people. The Far live their lives full and fast and die young with the promise to meet in the lands beyond. Alone the way we have a young boy who is taken under the wing of Wendra and something of a rogue character who lives in Exile, called Grant.

Now on top of these characters and all your other everyday types we have the evil which is currently being kept apart from the rest of the world by a veil. This veil is maintained by magic. Unfortunately over the course of time people have forgotten about the danger that lives so close to them. They have become complacent and in fact superstition and fear means they have now turned against those that would protect them. Magic is outlawed and the League enforce law and order. For those practising magic the penalty is death.

I thought this was a well imagined and well written book. The threat from evil escalated quickly with creatures called The Quiet Given and the Bar Dyn. The author clearly has a vision of where this is going and this story provides a strong foundation. I did however have some criticisms.

The story starts out in a complicated way with many introductions and this undoubtedly slows down the speed at which you become involved as there is a lot to take on board. On top of that I personally felt this could probably have been shortened slightly. I really enjoyed the late introductory and middle chapters but personally felt like the last third dragged a little. This definitely has an old school feel to it which I personally really enjoyed as it’s becoming fairly rare these days but in that respect there is no snarky dialogue to offset the darker elements. In fact there aren’t really any darker elements. I would have liked to see a bit more banter between the group. And of course we have the whole ‘chosen one’ element which I’m never overly fond of, particularly when in conjunction with a number of the people knowing more than the rest and sharing nods and winks but never sharing their knowledge. I really dislike this to be honest. It ranks right up there with my dislike of love triangles. I just don’t see how withholding information from people who are already in life threatening situations is a good thing. You certainly won’t be able to impart your words of wisdom to them if they die in the next fight so really this comes over as little more than a poorly concealed device to keep information from the reader. On a very small note I found the constant reference to Sutter as ‘Nails’ irritating. Okay. It’s his nickname. But it wasn’t used as such. It just changed from Nails to Sutter for no apparent reason. Only a little niggle but nonetheless something that did bug me slightly.

On the whole though I thought this was a good read. It could use a little refinement but I think if you’re looking for old school, epic fantasy this could be just what you’re after.

I received a copy from the publishers via Netgalley for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

[Silus28 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book based on the quote from Terry Brooks on the cover and I was not disappointed. I'm a big fan of Brooks' work and must say I'm now a fan of Peter Orullian as well. I love epic fantasy and The Unremembered is one of the best I've read in years.

I found the basic premise of the story quite intriguing. The Gods strive to create balance in the worlds they construct, however one of thier own has "fashioned a world with hellish creatures too powerful to allow balance". So the Gods banish this miscreant to a desolate region of the world he created, to live forever with his horrific creations imprisoned behind a veil maintained by the magical power of song. The Gods then abandon this world and leave it's fate to Will of mankind.

Building upon this premise, the author develops an incredibly vivid and indepth world that plays host to a both a captivating plot and some of most endearing characters in recent memory. What sets Orullian apart from most of his counterparts is the extensive character development and the descriptive focus on the inter-relationships of his cast. I found his characters to be incredibly well developed, unique and easy to identify with. The authors ability to convey the subtleties of the relationship between his central protagonist Tahn and his best friend Suttter demonstrates he is master at his craft.

In addition to the engaging characters and masterful storytelling, I found the combinitation of the two distinct yet intertwined magic systems to be both innovative and fascinating. There is one system based on the utilization of "Will" or life energy to effectively cast magical spells and another based on the power song. I beleive we have only observed the tip of the iceberg with the latter of these two systems and I eagerly await the next book to further explore it's potential.

I'm definatley looking forward to the ensuing volumes of The Vault of Heaven series and would recommend The Unremembered to anyone who enjoys great epic fantasy. Truly one of the best fantasy series openings in past few years. Don't miss this one!

[James Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

Today I will be reviewing The Unremembered (Vault of Heaven Book 1) Author's Definitive Edition by Peter Orullian.

I was very excited to read this book, It just sounded like a book I would really enjoy. The concept of music as magic really appealed to me. Well, I did and I didn't enjoy this book. It took me a very long time it seemed to get into this one. I have thought about it for awhile trying to figure out just why that was. The main reason I came up with was that I could not get into the characters at first. It seemed as though to many characters were introduced in to short of a time and it took some time for me to warm up to everybody. Once that happened I did finally enjoy this book. Don't get me wrong the characters are very good once I got my head wrapped around who they were. This is very much a story driven book, and that story is very good. The story is classic fantasy with the authors unique spin. The worldbuilding is really where Mr. Orullian shines. I was very intrigued by the world he has brought to life. All in all I have to say this book was a great introduction book for this series. You can definitely see there is a grand story to be told and this book was just the tip of the iceberg. I am very anxious to see how the author and the story grows in the next book Trial of Intentions. On a final note the cover art is one of the best I have seen in a long time.

As you know if you have read my reviews before I am not about long reviews with synopsis and spoilers. I just give my opinion on my experience with this book and you can take it from there. Now on to the next book.

3.5/5 STARS

Check out all of my reviews at https://mightythorjrs.wordpress.com/

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is pretty long, but not as long as some of the other epic fantasies like Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time, or something by Goodkind, or Eddings. It took some time to read it, partially because I had been working long hours, but it was well worth it. The cover is incredible, leaves you asking what is he looking for.
I really enjoyed this book, it took me on a journey with some unlikely heros that I enjoyed getting to know. The story was told with flavorful, descriptive words that put you right in the scene. My favorite characters were Wendra and Tahn. I was left wanting to see more of Wendra's musical ability and hope there will be more of it in the next book. Braethen was someone I could relate to, along with many other characters who populate this world. I enjoyed watching him find the courage that he needed through the course of the book.
I thought all of the characters were well developed. The world was also well developed, you could immerse yourself in the book and "see" what the characters were "seeing". I think that Peter Orullian is in the same league as Terry Brooks, and Patrick Rothfuss. If you enjoy reading them you will thuroughly enjoy reading this book.
The interactions between best friends Tahn and Sutter kept it light hearted as well. I thought the situations the characters found themselves in were very creative and well written, and that the way they handled the situations were surprising and satisfying.
I am looking foward with anticipation for the next book.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a book I read for the Endeavour awards. There was some interesting and good world-building attempted here. But this book just plain suffered from too much too soon. I never cared about any of the characters, not when they were together, not when they were separated, not when they re-found each other. There was too much stupid-name syndrome and this started from the very first page. And yet there were glimpses of the author's storytelling capabilities - just a couple pages - but these would have made nice short stories. And I guess that's what I would want to fix this overly long book - make it 2500 pages and multiple books rather than almost 700. Slow it down. Learn to actually like the characters and their place. Note - this book is clearly first in a series. Nice cover though.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

...sigh. This novel genuinely has a lot of potential, and it's clear a lot of world-building and thought has gone into it. But at the same time it's also just so...lazy and formulaic, and frankly offensive.

When it comes to the plot and the characters involved, it seems like the author went to TV Tropes, looked up the list of fantasy tropes, and used them as a checklist while writing. Including, unfortunately, the "Magical Negro" trope (the character Seanbea, who fits that trope to a T). ...I'd almost thought that was a retired trope, because I haven't seen it used unironically in years. Note to Mr. Orullian: ...please don't. Just don't.

Oh, and my favorite part. A female character enters the scene? Two things must always be mentioned, threatened, dwelt upon, whatever: rape and babies. Sometimes for extra offensiveness you get both! At the same time!

Double sigh. The sad part is, one of the most interesting and compelling characters in the book is a woman (Wendra), but the author's own biases cripple her and reduce her to "cardboard cutout" status, to be carried around by basically every other male character from plot point to plot point like some sort of prop. She could be a far more compelling character than her brother, the yawn-worthy protagonist, but since she's a woman in The Unremembered...sorry, Wendra. Your reward is rape and babies.

(Seriously, has no one ever told Mr. Orullian that women don't think with our ovaries? And that not every woman is obsessed with motherhood, and might have some other life goals? And that his abuse of the Rape as Backstory trope coupled with incessant rape threats just makes me concerned for his mental well-being?)

There's a lot of other flaws in the book, from randomly inserted vignettes (that do tie into the rest of the story but could be cut at no loss to the narrative) to lazy "plot twists" you can see coming five miles and 150 pages off, but I've wasted enough time on this offensive tripe masquerading as "epic fantasy" as it is.

[Michael]

After a long time it happened again that I did not finish a book.

I know there is some hype around THE UNREMEMBERED and Tor is pushing it a lot.

I stopped reading after 98 pages.

I remember when I read the blurb for the first time. I decided that I did not want to read this book. So I did not make it to my list. Then I received an ARC from Tor and I still did not want to read it. Finally my wife convinced me to give THE UNREMEMBERED a try and I did. I should have trusted my first impression ...

It started promising with the prologue but then ...
- I never got any connection to one of the characters
- I did not find the rhythm of the book
- I felt separated from the story
- The style of the author was not my cup of tea

We can't love every book.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. In the beginning I felt like some parts were a little stilted and not quite as coherent as they could be. I felt like I was clobbered over the head with the buddy-buddiness of Tahn and Sutter for the first third. But half way through, the story took me away from all that. I wasn't expecting the music theme to come up, and I was impressed by the depth of the characters. Each one had choices and personality unique to them.

I also liked Orullian's way of telling how bad things happen. I got emotional at least 5 times throughout the book because he is a wonderful story teller. I'm looking forward to the next.

I really have a lot more to say about this book, but I'd recommend you just read it :)

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank god.

At last a new Epic Fantasy has been published - I really really miss new Epic Fantasy's, the trend these days seems to be 'gritty' and 'dark'.

That's not to say that I don't like those books - or that Orullian's debut doesn't have some dark moments - but I cut my teeth on the likes of Jordan and Brooks, and not many are doing that anymore.

THE UNREMEMBERED is BIG, it has depth and power, and (as in the vein of Janny Wurts) Orullian's prose is the sort that where you would do well to pay attention to every line because the even the smallest phrase can have the greatest meaning.

This is a very promising debut and I look forward to the next book in the series!

[Perry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stopped around the 400 page mark.

Utterly generic fantasy that not only follows just about every single convention, trope and archetype that exists in the genre, but pretty much facelifts Robert Jordan's Eye of the World while claiming not to.

Utterly forgettable.

[axe · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I wanted to reread Eye Of the World, I would have done so.

[Angela]

30 November 2015: $2.99 on Kindle

[Tiger Hebert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have actually been interested in reading Peter Orullian’s first novel, The Unremembered, for quite some time now. Why? Well in the realm of fantasy fiction, it is not all that often that you hear people saying that an author is bringing something new to the genre. Yes of course their stories and their voice is new, but that is usually the extent of it. However when I started to hear rumblings like, “Orullian is doing things in fantasy that we haven’t seen before...” I took notice.
     What could this Orullian guy be doing that hasn’t been done before? Well I think there are a few things that have set him apart, at least in my eyes. The first is in his world building. Now this is only the first book in the Vault of Heaven series, but my initial impression is that the world building is not on par with that of Sanderson or Erikson in terms of sheer scope (depth and vastness), but it gains merit in uniqueness. The concept of magic seems to be mostly broken into two categories as far as I can tell, one is the Rendering of the Will, but the second is the magic that lies within sound and resonance. The concept is that certain gifted individuals can unleash magic through song. After just one book, we only get a small exposure into that magic, but it is pretty interesting and unique enough to stand out.
    Another aspect of the world building that is really unique is more or less the plot. So what you have is a world where the creators gave life to a race of creatures that are more powerful than everyone else. Then the creators decided to abandon the world, but before leaving they decided to place a magical veil between the greater race and the lesser races. The key is that the veil can only be sustained through the use of magic, in the form of songs. The world is steeped in the rich history necessary to help the reader understand the veil, and the imminent danger posed when the veil begins to fail.
     Peter Orullian also has a unique way of inviting the reader to experience his world through the senses, especially the senses that relate to sound, like hearing and touch. You don’t just know that music plays, you get to experience the thrum of the instrument’s strings and the fevered pitch of an angry song. It’s not that other authors don’t do this well, it’s just that Orullian does it better than most. The characters don’t just hear an approaching threat, they experience it—and as a reader, so do you.
     In terms of themes, the book doesn’t shy away from it. The handful of themes that the book tends to focus on are rather direct, which is nice. The book deals with things like memories, intentions, innocence, identity, atonement, and forgiveness, but to me the single largest has to be about the parent child bond and the lack thereof. Orullian isn’t afraid to deal with ugly aspects where children are beaten, neglected, killed, or outright abandoned. It is a very touchy subject that would scare a lot of readers away—BUT IT SHOULDN’T. It isn’t graphic and more importantly Mr. Orullian handles this with such a fatherly tenderness, that his heart shines through even in the darkest parts.
     Now I did enjoy the book, but here are a few of the things that I didn’t love.
     Despite being a fan of Brandon Sanderson and Steven Erikson, truly grandiose world builders whose stories plod along very slowly, I found myself getting a bit anxious with this book. Don’t get me wrong, the characters do become well formed, and the story is interesting, but it was a slow “read” (audiobook) for me. This book took me longer than usual to finish, and I think it was due to the pacing. The odd thing about it, is there is actually quite a few interesting things that happen to our cast of characters along the way, but honestly there were times where I almost lost sight of all the adventure because of the dialogue. It’s not that the dialogue wasn’t bad, and at times I found that it had great substance and depth that merited pondering. But sometimes you just want the guy to shoot the damn arrow, amirite? I am not suggesting that the dialogue isn’t important, but it just felt like there were large sections that got bogged down with nothing but talking.
     Another issue, albeit minor, was that in my humble opinion the characters where developed rather slowly in some cases. I do feel that they were well formed, but I know that I was not emotionally attached to any characters until I was roughly 3/4s of the way through the book. I think this may partially be that the author got better at characterization by the time he got further into the book. For example, I felt Orullian did a better job creating distinct characters like Helena, Roland, and Bellamay, despite spending much less time with them.
     Another thing that you’ll find quite frequently in The Unremembered is Orullian’s ability turn a phrase. In his writing, he has created a nifty little collection of idioms and phrases that are unique to the world he has created. This is not uncommon in fantasy, and sometimes the turn of the phrase comes off as quite clever, however in some instances I found it to be a bit clunky or disruptive. It doesn’t happen that often, and honestly I could be in the minority here, but this is one tiny instance where I felt less is more.
     Overall, I must say that I enjoyed The Unremembered a great deal. It was unique in many ways and yet it is also a story with substance. Though my TBR pile is great, I wasted no time adding the next book, Trial of Intentions, to the queue.

[kat.loves.books_ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5/5 stars

[Russ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an advance readers copy through goodreads, so I'm going to go into a little more depth with this review than normal. I went into this book with very high expectations. Tor has been doing a lot of marketing for it, including the prequel readings on iTunes. I only listened to "Sacrifice of the First Sheason," but I thought it was terrific. My overall impression of this novel, though, was that it was only okay.

Here is the thing I liked: the potential. There's a really great story in here (though see things I didn't like for more on why it isn't coming out). There's some incredible world building behind this, there are characters that I think can (and perhaps will) become incredibly compelling, and I think somewhere in here is an interesting storyline.

Here are the things I did not like (this section might contain some spoilers):
1) The characters. I felt that many of them were inconsistent. Tahn and Sutter, in particular, confused me. I know that the author is trying to portray them as teenage boys, but I thought their attempts at hijinx in the midst of this dangerous journey rang untrue. I was a teenage boy and while I loved to goof off with my buddies, that tended to stop in stressful situations. Also, the two boys and Wendra are supposed to be from some small, rural community, but at times in the book they talk like nobility.
2) The introduction of the highwayman and the man (who turned out to be Grant) were awkward and seemingly random.
3) The whole journey that the protagonists took seemed overly long. Maybe some of this will prove important later in the series, but I thought Wendra's highwayman incident was wholly unnecessary. It seemed like Orullian was trying to introduce places and ideas through a lot of the "side missions," but it seemed a little forced.
4) I realize that he might be holding secrets back for future novels, but I feel like there's so much I don't understand yet, and not in the good way. The magic system of rendering the Will is still pretty hazy to me. Tahn's role in the grand battle between good and evil is still unclear. I felt like Orullian was inspired by the Wheel of Time, in which by the end of the first novel I understood that Rand was the Dragon Reborn and, while I didn't understand all of what that meant, I did have a general idea. This is not the case with Tahn. I don't feel like I know a whole lot more at the end than I suspected at the beginning.
5) I thought the conclusion was disappointing. It seemed like the author needed a major "villain" at the end and just threw in Zephora. There was no foreshadowing that I noticed, and thus no emotional response to his appearance. How evil was he? How little chance should the good guys have had against him?
6) Overall, I thought this was way too wordy. Perhaps I am influenced by having recently read Daniel Abraham, Joe Abercrombie, and Scott Lynch, but so many times while reading this I thought to myself, "Well get on with it!" This was a very long novel that I think could be made much better by cutting it down by a couple hundred pages. Orullian seems to be attempting to channel Tolkien and maybe Jordan to a lesser extent, but his craft is not yet up to the challenge.

That was a long list of things I didn't like, and I don't want to give the wrong impression. Orullian is clearly talented. I want to repeat that I think there is a really, really good story in here and I'll at the very least give the second book a shot. But if it isn't significantly improved, I wouldn't keep up with this series. I feel like I'm more interested in the history of this world than the action taking place, which isn't a good thing.