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The Chathrand Voyage #2
The Rats and the Ruling Sea
THE RATS AND THE RULING SEA begins where THE RED WOLF CONSPIRACY ended; Thasha's wedding is hours away. It is a wedding that will both fulfil the promise of a mad god's return and see her murdered. Pazel has thwarted the sorcerer who would bring back the god but both sides now face deadlock. Can Thasha be saved? Can the war between two Empires be stopped? THE RATS AND THE RULING SEA is, once again, focused on the giant ancient ship, the CHATHRAND, but now she must brave the terrors of the uncharted seas; the massive storms and the ship swallowing whirlpools and explore lands forgotten by the Northern world, all the time involved in a vicious running battle with a ship half her size but nearly her match. Robert Redick's new novel takes the reader further into the labyrinthine plots and betrayals that have underscored the trilogy from the beginning. We learn more about the Ixchel as they fight for survival against the Chathrand's rats, discover more about the true motives of conspirators, live with Thasha and Pazel as they face death and deceit, and as the Chathrand sails into the infamous Ruling Sea. Robert Redick's sequel to the acclaimed THE RED WOLF CONSPIRACY is a masterpiece of plotting and adventure. As each page turns the reader shares with the characters the dawning realisation that nothing is at it seems.
592 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
89 people are currently reading
1135 people want to read
About the author
Robert V.S. Redick
13 books746 followersRobert V.S. Redick is the author of Master Assassins and Sidewinders (July 2021), the first two novels in The Fire Sacraments epic fantasy series. Master Assassins (2018) was a finalist for the European Booknest Award for Best Novel, and was featured on numerous Best of the Year lists. Patrick Rothfuss said of it, "I like this book so much I wish I could have written it, but deep down I know I couldn't have written it so well."
Robert is also the author of the Chathrand Voyage Quartet (The Red Wolf Conspiracy and sequels), among the most beloved and critically acclaimed epic fantasy series of recent years. He is a former instructor in the Stonecoast and University of Nevada Reno MFA programs.
Redick is also an environmental justice consultant, and has lived and worked in Indonesia, Argentina, Colombia and many other countries. He and his partner, Dr. Kiran Asher, pick wild blueberries in Western Massachusetts.
Robert is also the author of the Chathrand Voyage Quartet (The Red Wolf Conspiracy and sequels), among the most beloved and critically acclaimed epic fantasy series of recent years. He is a former instructor in the Stonecoast and University of Nevada Reno MFA programs.
Redick is also an environmental justice consultant, and has lived and worked in Indonesia, Argentina, Colombia and many other countries. He and his partner, Dr. Kiran Asher, pick wild blueberries in Western Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
July 3, 2021
LOVED. IT. This is going on my "favorites" shelf. This author cares about good writing, in the Strunk & White sense, and I have encountered so much of the opposite lately, it really stands out. He chooses his words with care; his writing is not sparse, but neither is it bloated at all. This is the kind of conscientious wordcraft that depends on multiple rounds of edits, by self and others, to smooth into perfection.
The book has a wonderful classic feel to it with its almost-episodic adventure, and several epistolary touches that I simply adore. Adventure at sea and on land, on remote jungle islands and in seaside cave complexes, the Chathrand battles enemy ships and the elements while its voyagers jockey for advantage as a multi-layered conspiracy unfolds, all in a world with loosely-defined magic, barely-seen supernatural creatures, and so many secrets still unrevealed. Two volumes left in this series—ooh, this is going to be good! And the author has recently stated that he expects to produce more work set in this world.
The book's world is desirable and believable, in terms of economics, politics, information systems, technology, etc. It's a gaslamp-type setting, but this wasn't clear to me until somewhere in the second book (when an actual gas lamp was in use), because the world is presented perfectly naturally through the experience of the characters and not as a 'character' in its own right. It's just where they live, without any explicit statements about what kind of world it it. I am so used at this point to grimdark and gritty fantasy, I have to adjust when characters actually care about individual lives in general and a single death is significant.
Who is "the editor"? My current guess is Neeps, but it's a total shot in the dark.
The book has a wonderful classic feel to it with its almost-episodic adventure, and several epistolary touches that I simply adore. Adventure at sea and on land, on remote jungle islands and in seaside cave complexes, the Chathrand battles enemy ships and the elements while its voyagers jockey for advantage as a multi-layered conspiracy unfolds, all in a world with loosely-defined magic, barely-seen supernatural creatures, and so many secrets still unrevealed. Two volumes left in this series—ooh, this is going to be good! And the author has recently stated that he expects to produce more work set in this world.
The book's world is desirable and believable, in terms of economics, politics, information systems, technology, etc. It's a gaslamp-type setting, but this wasn't clear to me until somewhere in the second book (when an actual gas lamp was in use), because the world is presented perfectly naturally through the experience of the characters and not as a 'character' in its own right. It's just where they live, without any explicit statements about what kind of world it it. I am so used at this point to grimdark and gritty fantasy, I have to adjust when characters actually care about individual lives in general and a single death is significant.
Who is "the editor"? My current guess is Neeps, but it's a total shot in the dark.
January 18, 2022
Great story. The character development is superb. At times I felt overwhelmed y the number of characters and their complex relationship with the plot, but after slowing down a bit I got a handle on it.
The author knows how to pick up the pace as the story reaches its climax. It felt like pinch after pinch for several chapters as I reached the end. I have another book on my tbr so I will have a short break from this series before I come back to finish it.
4.5 stars.
The author knows how to pick up the pace as the story reaches its climax. It felt like pinch after pinch for several chapters as I reached the end. I have another book on my tbr so I will have a short break from this series before I come back to finish it.
4.5 stars.
February 7, 2020
I never thought about a Fantasy story set almost entirely on a sailing vessel before. This series pulls that concept off beautifully. The ship is almost a separate character as well as a setting for the action. Really well done characters and story line with some very interesting plot ideas and twists. big book but a great read. Very recommended
January 1, 2012
4.5 Stars
I am not sure why these first two books in this series do not garner more praise and press. I have been swept away by wonderful, fantastical voyage that this series has been. Where the first book The Red Wolf Conspiracy is all about the adventure, about the voyage, and the mystery, this book The Rats and the Ruling Sea, is focused more on the characters. If you combined the first two novels into one very long one, I would have rated it 5 stars. Each book makes the other better.
The character development in this book made it work for me. I already was interested in many of the characters, both good guys and bad guys from the first book, I just never really felt attached with them. In this book Redick adds quite a bit of backstory, and chapters devoted to sole development of the heroes and the villains. The chapters that were letters written by Nilus and Isiq added a great deal of insight into the other POV's. Although this is a long novel, there is a great deal of action, tension, and twists and turns to keep you turning the pages.
It really is quite incredible to me the transformation and honing of the writing between these first two books in the series. Where the first book worked because it was just so damn fun and breathtaking. This book adds the depth, the human touch, and the emotional involvement needed to keeps us interested for over 1000 pages that tally only half the series. Redick adds a few new characters but really makes development a priority. I have grown attached to Pazel, Thasha, Hercol, and Neeps. Ott, Rose, Arunis, Taliktrum, and Oggosk make for a really diverse bunch of antagonists. Hercol and Dri add emotion to this story. Pazel and Thasha shed the little remaining childhood that they possess as they go through their trials and tribulations.
I loved this book and never felt that it was too long. I did not find chapters to be wasted as many reviewers seem to be touting. I will go on to book three and eagerly anticipate the fourth and final installment. I highly recommend this blast of a fantasy series that would also be appropriate for the YA reader as well... A fun voyage!
I am not sure why these first two books in this series do not garner more praise and press. I have been swept away by wonderful, fantastical voyage that this series has been. Where the first book The Red Wolf Conspiracy is all about the adventure, about the voyage, and the mystery, this book The Rats and the Ruling Sea, is focused more on the characters. If you combined the first two novels into one very long one, I would have rated it 5 stars. Each book makes the other better.
The character development in this book made it work for me. I already was interested in many of the characters, both good guys and bad guys from the first book, I just never really felt attached with them. In this book Redick adds quite a bit of backstory, and chapters devoted to sole development of the heroes and the villains. The chapters that were letters written by Nilus and Isiq added a great deal of insight into the other POV's. Although this is a long novel, there is a great deal of action, tension, and twists and turns to keep you turning the pages.
It really is quite incredible to me the transformation and honing of the writing between these first two books in the series. Where the first book worked because it was just so damn fun and breathtaking. This book adds the depth, the human touch, and the emotional involvement needed to keeps us interested for over 1000 pages that tally only half the series. Redick adds a few new characters but really makes development a priority. I have grown attached to Pazel, Thasha, Hercol, and Neeps. Ott, Rose, Arunis, Taliktrum, and Oggosk make for a really diverse bunch of antagonists. Hercol and Dri add emotion to this story. Pazel and Thasha shed the little remaining childhood that they possess as they go through their trials and tribulations.
I loved this book and never felt that it was too long. I did not find chapters to be wasted as many reviewers seem to be touting. I will go on to book three and eagerly anticipate the fourth and final installment. I highly recommend this blast of a fantasy series that would also be appropriate for the YA reader as well... A fun voyage!
March 4, 2023
A continuation to a tale with a classic feel that wanders into strange but never dark. It somehow manages to incorporate disparate ideas and remain relevant, whether rats erupt into song, the crew bickers or concerts in their workaday routines in the midst of a hidden world, or when the odds are stacked and the least guessed at occurs. Family-friendly and a good, adventurous, seafaring jaunt that shouldn't fail to entertain.
April 8, 2021
Second book in a series (The Chathrand Voyage,) that I am so thankful was suggested in my fantasy group.
Book 1 concentrated on building the world, setting the scene. This 2nd book is more character driven and I have fallen in love with most of them.
If you are like me, and fantasy reading is your escape from the real world, try this series, I doubt you will be disappointed.
Brimming with high adventure, dark enchantment, and unforgettable characters, this story deftly secures Redick’s place in the ranks of epic fantasy’s most original and enthralling storytellers.
Book 1 concentrated on building the world, setting the scene. This 2nd book is more character driven and I have fallen in love with most of them.
If you are like me, and fantasy reading is your escape from the real world, try this series, I doubt you will be disappointed.
Brimming with high adventure, dark enchantment, and unforgettable characters, this story deftly secures Redick’s place in the ranks of epic fantasy’s most original and enthralling storytellers.
March 6, 2021
I entered this book with a resentment. It is the second in the series. When I read the first, I thought I was reading a standalone.
There are a lot of words in these books. I trudged through the first, trying to figure out what the frak was going on. The moment came that held promise of a revelation, that would bring all the meandering to a point. The point was -- Buy the next pricey e book!
The first book in the series was reasonably priced. The Red Wolf Conspiracy was $3.99.
I just did the math to figure out what it would cost to figure out what is going on and knocked a star off of this book. $39.87. For books that cost virtually nothing to produce, and cannot be passed on. The publisher forgot to check the "leadable" feature.
I bought a book that looked interesting. It was reasonably priced. It turned into a prelude to a $38.87 experience. I will not be spending almost $40 to figure out what is going on. This has turned into something about money, not the magic of words.
Yes, writers should be paid for their work. Publishers getting rich on the backs' of writers, no. You can buy a paperback and pass it around forever. Unless you learn how to get tricky, you spend $40 on something that is locked into your device.
When e books came out affordability was a thing. Publishers hated them. Three of the big ones were indicted for price fixing. They are doing it again, legally. They are also setting themselves for the same fall-out that the recording industry got when they tried to jail teenagers for downloading songs.
I certainly had my Limewire t-shirt. I now pay a reasonable monthly fee to download all the music I want.
Publishers are going to end up on that train eventually. I know plenty of people who will pay a reasonable price for e books. When the price jumps to unreasonable, such as the last three books in this series, they liberate e books. I do not blame them a bit.
Words should not be held hostage.
Macmillan is trying to keep e books out of libraries. No free words! They must self-destruct after the first reader lays eyes on them.
Writers without publishers can price their books as they see fit. It is not Redick's fault that he has a greedy publisher, but writers with publishers will be the ones who suffer from the fall-out. They suffer already -- they typically make 18 cents on the dollar, before the agent's cut.
There is some decent writing in there. Most of the writing is cloaked in mystery. We have things like this:
Remove the dust of Now and Before, went the proverb, and things eternal are yours.
I tried to figure out what that meant. I think I got it. Who knows? The characters do not know. A few of them look like they know, then they turn out to be confused, also. I could not even figure out if I liked the characters. I did, then I did not, then I did again. One character remained consistently likeable, a warrior woman three inches tall.
There were a few gems in there. If this had all been condensed to one book, with a beginning, a middle, and an end, it would have been an easy five stars. I have a hunch that Redick was coached to keep the word count up and string it along. I spent three nights reading about everyone being thirsty.
Things like this were worth reading -- they did pop up occasionally:
He loved them, despite a growing fear that they were all insane.
The gems were buried, though, in this:
Isiq tilted the parchment towards the candlelight. The scrap was crumbling, and burned on two sides, but he could still make out a spidery hand.
‘—call’t it DROTH’S EYE, or en Arqual fe NIL-STONE, a cursed fing t’be sure, es it slays whoms’ever shel touch it, with a swiftnef hideous to bihold, all save fe littlest vermin, who furst suffer grotesqueries of change.
Fis stone yur Wizardess hath entombed in fe WOLF OF SCARLET IRON, lately taken by fe arch-heretic NESS, and lost in fe havoc of his fall.
There is no denying that it takes talent to produce such epic confusion. That talent would have better served the writer and the reader if it had spent telling a story.
As I said, I spent three nights with my eyes glazed, reading about thirst.
...‘We’re running out, we’re running out!’
‘Don’t worry,’ Pazel had begged. ‘We’ll find water, Thasha, I swear.’
‘Not water!’ she’d howled, clawing at him. ‘Not water! Thoughts! We’re running out of thoughts and we won’t have any left!’ And she had wept all the way back to the stateroom.
‘And later on, Neeps,’ Pazel concluded, ‘she couldn’t remember being on the berth deck at all. I’m scared, I tell you. She’s just so different, since the storm.’
Neeps looked at him, awestruck. ‘Everything is different,’ he said at last. ‘Don’t you sense it, mate? I can’t put my finger on it...
That is the recurring theme. I can't put my finger on it.....
It looks like they have finally found water, found the promise land, found the answer, and....shock. Horror. Disbelief. Then.......
Please hand over $13.99 and you will get to the next level of confusion.
There are a lot of words in these books. I trudged through the first, trying to figure out what the frak was going on. The moment came that held promise of a revelation, that would bring all the meandering to a point. The point was -- Buy the next pricey e book!
The first book in the series was reasonably priced. The Red Wolf Conspiracy was $3.99.
I just did the math to figure out what it would cost to figure out what is going on and knocked a star off of this book. $39.87. For books that cost virtually nothing to produce, and cannot be passed on. The publisher forgot to check the "leadable" feature.
I bought a book that looked interesting. It was reasonably priced. It turned into a prelude to a $38.87 experience. I will not be spending almost $40 to figure out what is going on. This has turned into something about money, not the magic of words.
Yes, writers should be paid for their work. Publishers getting rich on the backs' of writers, no. You can buy a paperback and pass it around forever. Unless you learn how to get tricky, you spend $40 on something that is locked into your device.
When e books came out affordability was a thing. Publishers hated them. Three of the big ones were indicted for price fixing. They are doing it again, legally. They are also setting themselves for the same fall-out that the recording industry got when they tried to jail teenagers for downloading songs.
I certainly had my Limewire t-shirt. I now pay a reasonable monthly fee to download all the music I want.
Publishers are going to end up on that train eventually. I know plenty of people who will pay a reasonable price for e books. When the price jumps to unreasonable, such as the last three books in this series, they liberate e books. I do not blame them a bit.
Words should not be held hostage.
Macmillan is trying to keep e books out of libraries. No free words! They must self-destruct after the first reader lays eyes on them.
Writers without publishers can price their books as they see fit. It is not Redick's fault that he has a greedy publisher, but writers with publishers will be the ones who suffer from the fall-out. They suffer already -- they typically make 18 cents on the dollar, before the agent's cut.
There is some decent writing in there. Most of the writing is cloaked in mystery. We have things like this:
Remove the dust of Now and Before, went the proverb, and things eternal are yours.
I tried to figure out what that meant. I think I got it. Who knows? The characters do not know. A few of them look like they know, then they turn out to be confused, also. I could not even figure out if I liked the characters. I did, then I did not, then I did again. One character remained consistently likeable, a warrior woman three inches tall.
There were a few gems in there. If this had all been condensed to one book, with a beginning, a middle, and an end, it would have been an easy five stars. I have a hunch that Redick was coached to keep the word count up and string it along. I spent three nights reading about everyone being thirsty.
Things like this were worth reading -- they did pop up occasionally:
He loved them, despite a growing fear that they were all insane.
The gems were buried, though, in this:
Isiq tilted the parchment towards the candlelight. The scrap was crumbling, and burned on two sides, but he could still make out a spidery hand.
‘—call’t it DROTH’S EYE, or en Arqual fe NIL-STONE, a cursed fing t’be sure, es it slays whoms’ever shel touch it, with a swiftnef hideous to bihold, all save fe littlest vermin, who furst suffer grotesqueries of change.
Fis stone yur Wizardess hath entombed in fe WOLF OF SCARLET IRON, lately taken by fe arch-heretic NESS, and lost in fe havoc of his fall.
There is no denying that it takes talent to produce such epic confusion. That talent would have better served the writer and the reader if it had spent telling a story.
As I said, I spent three nights with my eyes glazed, reading about thirst.
...‘We’re running out, we’re running out!’
‘Don’t worry,’ Pazel had begged. ‘We’ll find water, Thasha, I swear.’
‘Not water!’ she’d howled, clawing at him. ‘Not water! Thoughts! We’re running out of thoughts and we won’t have any left!’ And she had wept all the way back to the stateroom.
‘And later on, Neeps,’ Pazel concluded, ‘she couldn’t remember being on the berth deck at all. I’m scared, I tell you. She’s just so different, since the storm.’
Neeps looked at him, awestruck. ‘Everything is different,’ he said at last. ‘Don’t you sense it, mate? I can’t put my finger on it...
That is the recurring theme. I can't put my finger on it.....
It looks like they have finally found water, found the promise land, found the answer, and....shock. Horror. Disbelief. Then.......
Please hand over $13.99 and you will get to the next level of confusion.
April 24, 2022
DNF @page 82
I'm sorry Marc, I know you love it, but I can't get into it. I tried! I'm sad face!
I'm sorry Marc, I know you love it, but I can't get into it. I tried! I'm sad face!
October 2, 2013
If you are following my ramblings reviews, you have probably read how much I liked The Red Wolf Conspiracy, first part of Chathrand Voyages. Not even a rough start with too much jumping between characters could dampen my enthusiasm.
But, as often happens to me when I like the first part in series so much, I delayed reading The Ruling Sea. Will it be as awesome? Maybe it was a fluke? Will Robert V.S. Redick disappoint me or earn a place in a hall of my all-time-favorites? Finally I have gathered enough courage to sail on further into the adventure.
From the beginning it's perfectly clear that Robert V.S. Redick listened to the readers input. The Ruling Sea has a much more concise start and jumps between characters are not so often. Also, the fact that most of the characters are familiar to us from The Red Wolf Conspiracy helps. Although my reading went much smoother, I could not but sadly notice that excitement and tension, because of this, were also tampered down in The Ruling Sea. I know, you can never please some people. o:)
I liked that The Ruling Sea gives us a better understanding of Mzithrini culture and that we get the better look at the so-called 'enemy' but I hoped that the plot will progress more. The Ruling Sea seemed more to deepen and clarify the characterisation and world building.
Maybe if The Red Wolf Conspiracy was not so full of adventure you would not hear me complaining me so much, it's not like nothing happens. Chathrand sails The Ruling Sea and some new strands in the web of the conspiracy are revealed. And with huge shock and discovery at the end, I am definitely left intrigued and ready to find out more.
In The End...
The Ruling Sea continues adding more intriguing depths to the characters and the world, that The Red Wolf Conspiracy introduced us to. Although maybe a little bit calmer in pacing, it's a solid sequel to the series. Chathrand Voyages still has my recommendation as a good fantasy adventure if you like ships, conspiracies and magic.
My rating: 4 stars
Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. This text is also posted on my blog Bookworm Dreams in a little bit more styled edition.
But, as often happens to me when I like the first part in series so much, I delayed reading The Ruling Sea. Will it be as awesome? Maybe it was a fluke? Will Robert V.S. Redick disappoint me or earn a place in a hall of my all-time-favorites? Finally I have gathered enough courage to sail on further into the adventure.
From the beginning it's perfectly clear that Robert V.S. Redick listened to the readers input. The Ruling Sea has a much more concise start and jumps between characters are not so often. Also, the fact that most of the characters are familiar to us from The Red Wolf Conspiracy helps. Although my reading went much smoother, I could not but sadly notice that excitement and tension, because of this, were also tampered down in The Ruling Sea. I know, you can never please some people. o:)
I liked that The Ruling Sea gives us a better understanding of Mzithrini culture and that we get the better look at the so-called 'enemy' but I hoped that the plot will progress more. The Ruling Sea seemed more to deepen and clarify the characterisation and world building.
Maybe if The Red Wolf Conspiracy was not so full of adventure you would not hear me complaining me so much, it's not like nothing happens. Chathrand sails The Ruling Sea and some new strands in the web of the conspiracy are revealed. And with huge shock and discovery at the end, I am definitely left intrigued and ready to find out more.
In The End...
The Ruling Sea continues adding more intriguing depths to the characters and the world, that The Red Wolf Conspiracy introduced us to. Although maybe a little bit calmer in pacing, it's a solid sequel to the series. Chathrand Voyages still has my recommendation as a good fantasy adventure if you like ships, conspiracies and magic.
My rating: 4 stars
Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. This text is also posted on my blog Bookworm Dreams in a little bit more styled edition.
December 8, 2021
I just finished my reread of this. Can't believe the amount of action and shocking moments this book contains. If you haven't read this series yet, get on it
May 26, 2014
How is it that in the space of a little over a month, I got two book 2s in different series that did not want to admit on the cover that they were actually book 2's?
"The Ruling Sea" at least managed to introduce me to characters I really cared about and liked, a plot that I could follow and only a few plot threads from the first book that they didn't explain very well. In fact, there was only one major detail of the setting and story that I didn't really understand. The main characters are living on this huge ship, along with a few hundred other people, and they're allowed their own quarters, given food and generally have run of the ship. But there's plenty of people - at times it feels like most of the people - aboard who would love to kill them. And yet they don't. They just let them run about and make mischief, and occasionally collar them (sometimes literally) then they want something. This was sort of explained in that killing one of them can cause something bad to happen and they don't know which one. But man, just lock them in a cell or something.
That aside, this was a pretty entertaining book, a seafaring adventure with talking animals, mostrous insects and storms like you wouldn't believe, to say nothing of murder and magic. This book is one of those middle books that has a somewhat lacking start-to-finish plot and feels more like setup for the next book, but the fact is there IS a start to finish plot. That puts it miles ahead of many a book 2. That said, I don't think I'll be moving on. This was a good diversion, picked up as part of a grab bag at the library sale, and worth the time I spent, but I didn't like the world or characters enough to want to press forward.
"The Ruling Sea" at least managed to introduce me to characters I really cared about and liked, a plot that I could follow and only a few plot threads from the first book that they didn't explain very well. In fact, there was only one major detail of the setting and story that I didn't really understand. The main characters are living on this huge ship, along with a few hundred other people, and they're allowed their own quarters, given food and generally have run of the ship. But there's plenty of people - at times it feels like most of the people - aboard who would love to kill them. And yet they don't. They just let them run about and make mischief, and occasionally collar them (sometimes literally) then they want something. This was sort of explained in that killing one of them can cause something bad to happen and they don't know which one. But man, just lock them in a cell or something.
That aside, this was a pretty entertaining book, a seafaring adventure with talking animals, mostrous insects and storms like you wouldn't believe, to say nothing of murder and magic. This book is one of those middle books that has a somewhat lacking start-to-finish plot and feels more like setup for the next book, but the fact is there IS a start to finish plot. That puts it miles ahead of many a book 2. That said, I don't think I'll be moving on. This was a good diversion, picked up as part of a grab bag at the library sale, and worth the time I spent, but I didn't like the world or characters enough to want to press forward.
Read
February 22, 2015I am not going to rate this book in that I never actually finished it. The book stinks on so many levels. On the surface its about good guys, bad guys, pirates and secrets. Which usually means cool.
1. The Author is not descriptive enough...or my knowledge of ship terminology is under developed. The rats are as far as the Orlop....everyone is having a sword fight with the rats does this mean people are standing on solid wooden surfaces fighting like you would dance in haphazard circle? Or does this mean men are clinging to masts and nets and thrusting wildly while clinging against gravity?
2. The rules are still unestablished.....It can be a fantasy world with magic and characters that defy the laws of physics I am all for that....but illogic needs to be explained....The Matrix is weird X-men are mutants....but explain to me the rules of the world....500 pages into book two and the rules are still yet unexplained...thus the author can do anything....introduce characters on a whim take them away....bring them from the past....let the main character touch the nill stone when everything the author has said is that if you touch it you die.
3. I don't care about the characters....Diadrilu is killed and I don't care...This was the last straw. You want a reader to care about characters and regret when they die....Rue we all miss you....but in this case whatever. Maybe I am spoiled by Sanderson's beautifully written books but as far as Robert V.S. Redick is concerned, I am leaving his unfinished book on the shelf.
1. The Author is not descriptive enough...or my knowledge of ship terminology is under developed. The rats are as far as the Orlop....everyone is having a sword fight with the rats does this mean people are standing on solid wooden surfaces fighting like you would dance in haphazard circle? Or does this mean men are clinging to masts and nets and thrusting wildly while clinging against gravity?
2. The rules are still unestablished.....It can be a fantasy world with magic and characters that defy the laws of physics I am all for that....but illogic needs to be explained....The Matrix is weird X-men are mutants....but explain to me the rules of the world....500 pages into book two and the rules are still yet unexplained...thus the author can do anything....introduce characters on a whim take them away....bring them from the past....let the main character touch the nill stone when everything the author has said is that if you touch it you die.
3. I don't care about the characters....Diadrilu is killed and I don't care...This was the last straw. You want a reader to care about characters and regret when they die....Rue we all miss you....but in this case whatever. Maybe I am spoiled by Sanderson's beautifully written books but as far as Robert V.S. Redick is concerned, I am leaving his unfinished book on the shelf.
April 14, 2021
Angesichts dessen, dass Robert V. S. Redick der Autor des vierbändigen Seefahrtabenteuers „The Chathrand Voyage“ ist, könnte man vermuten, er sei in der Nähe des Meeres aufgewachsen. Tatsächlich wuchs er jedoch mitten Iowa auf, so weit entfernt vom Ozean wie nur möglich. Redick glaubt, seine Faszination mit der See ist genau darauf begründet: Durch die große Entfernung erhielt sie für ihn eine magische, mystische Ausstrahlung. Diese spezielle Beziehung ließ er offenbar in sein High Fantasy – Epos einfließen, das er im zweiten Band „The Rats and the Ruling Sea“ fortsetzt.
Ihr Hochzeitstag sollte für eine junge Frau der glücklichste ihres Lebens sein. Für Tasha Isiq ist dieser Tag ein Opfer. Ihre Ehe mit einem mzithrinischen Prinzen soll den lang erhofften Frieden zwischen ihrer Heimat Arqual und dem ehemals verfeindeten Mzithrin besiegeln. Leider ist die Hochzeit nicht mehr als eine Täuschung, ein perfides Manöver des arqualischen Königs, um den alten Gegner endgültig in die Knie zu zwingen. Als Tasha und ihre Verbündeten den kaltblütigen Plan des Königs an Bord der ehrwürdigen IMS Chathrand aufdeckten, waren sie entsetzt. Sie waren bereit, die Wahrheit zu offenbaren – jedoch nicht um jeden Preis. Tasha geriet in die Gewalt des finsteren Magiers Arunis, der droht, sie zu töten, sollten sie plaudern. Pazel, Neeps und Hercól befinden sich in einer aussichtslosen Lage. Reden sie, wird Arunis Tasha ermorden. Reden sie nicht, werden die Mzithrin Tasha hinrichten, sobald der Verrat des arqualischen Königs ans Licht kommt. Können sie die Hochzeit vereiteln, ohne Tashas Leben zu riskieren und die IMS Chathrand daran hindern, Kurs auf die unkartierten Gewässer der Ruling Sea zu nehmen und in einen Krieg zu segeln, der ganz Alifros erschüttern könnte?
Robert V. S. Redick schrieb 2013 in einem Blogbeitrag, dass großartige Geschichtenerzähler_innen Entdecker_innen sind, keine Architekt_innen. Diese Aussage lässt mich schmunzeln, denn in der Tetralogie „The Chathrand Voyage“ betätigt sich Redick äußerst erfolgreich als literarischer Architekt. Sein Worldbuilding von Alifros ist makellos. Ich erlebe selten High Fantasy – Welten, die so originell, kreativ, exotisch und bis ins letzte Detail durchdacht sind. Im zweiten Band „The Rats and the Ruling Sea“ nimmt Redick sowohl eine Erweiterung als auch eine Vertiefung des Settings vor. Beide Aspekte gelangen ihm eindrucksvoll, wodurch ich das Gefühl hatte, in intensiveren Kontakt mit der Welt zu treten. Besonders faszinierte mich das Phänomen der erweckten Tiere, das Redick durch die Ratte Felthrup intelligent und nachvollziehbar untersucht. Diese Idee ist wahnsinnig spannend, denn natürlich muss man sich die Frage stellen, was ein erwachtes Bewusstsein für ein Tier – wie zum Beispiel eine Ratte – impliziert. Die meisten Tiere, die dieses Schicksal ereilt, erleiden einen psychischen Zusammenbruch, was meiner Einschätzung nach vollkommen realistisch ist, weil ihr geistiger Horizont sie als Außenseiter_innen brandmarkt und brutal mit ihrer Lebenssituation kollidiert. Redick illustriert diese Diskrepanz sehr geschickt und deutet darüber hinaus an, dass das immer häufiger auftretende Erwachen ein Symptom des Wandels ist, der Alifros bevorsteht. Dieser Wandel ist in „The Rats and the Ruling Sea“ bereits eingeleitet und wirkte auf mich unaufhaltsam, unabhängig von den Bemühungen der Figuren. Zu viele Zahnräder wurden durch die Schachzüge verschiedener Interessengruppen in Gang gesetzt, um diese Entwicklung jetzt noch zu stoppen. Die Gestaltung ihrer Pläne zeichnet Redick ebenfalls als strategisch begabten Architekten aus. Die Intrigen, Verschwörungen und Manipulationen, die in den ersten beiden Bänden der Reihe offenbart und vorbereitet werden, sind brillant angelegt und zeugen von einem lückenlosen Verständnis der Bedingungen in Alifros. Doch leider konnten weder das Worldbuilding noch das souveräne Design dieser Handlungsbausteine die Lektüre für mich retten. Die Situation, die sich aus diesen Elementen ergibt, geriet einfach zu kompliziert. Es sind zu viele sich überlappende Interessen; ich habe in „The Rats and the Ruling Sea“ mindestens sechs Komplotte lokalisiert, die sich ergänzen, widersprechen, gegenseitig ausnutzen und insgesamt ein schwer durchschaubares Dickicht bilden, durch das Redick nicht mit der dafür notwendigen Autorität führt. Er bietet zu wenig Bezugspunkte und verschweigt zu viel zu lange, wodurch als schockierend gedachte Enthüllungen nicht mehr ihren vorgesehenen Effekt erzielen, weil ich den Weg dorthin nicht begleiten durfte. Deshalb empfand ich „The Rats and the Ruling Sea“ als zäh, schwerfällig und hatte Schwierigkeiten, allen Handlungsebenen die nötige Aufmerksamkeit und Bedeutung beizumessen. Das Lesen fühlte sich nicht wie ein Vergnügen, sondern wie Arbeit an.
Ich bedauere zutiefst, dass mich „The Rats and the Ruling Sea“ nicht abholen konnte. Bereits die Lektüre des ersten Bandes The Red Wolf Conspiracy fesselte mich nicht; die Lektüre des zweiten Bandes entpuppte sich als unangenehm anstrengend. Darum werde ich die Reihe abbrechen: Sie ist den Aufwand nicht wert. Ich bin überzeugt, Robert V. S. Redick weiß genau, wohin er mit „The Chathrand Voyage“ möchte und ich habe nicht den Eindruck, dass er sich verzettelt. Das dichte Verschwörungsnetz, das er beschreibt, ist eine direkte Folge seines mustergültigen Worldbuildings. Unter den Voraussetzungen, die er für Alifros formulierte, mussten diese Intrigen zwangsläufig zustande kommen. Es wäre seine Aufgabe als Autor gewesen, mich sicher durch die Fallstricke seiner Geschichte zu leiten, statt jedes Geheimnis so lange vor mir zu verbergen, bis ich es nicht mehr würdigen konnte. Er ist nicht gut darin, mit den Elementen seiner Handlung konsequent und natürlich Spannung zu erzeugen. Vieles wirkt allzu inszeniert. Am Ende beweist sich Redick eben doch eher als Architekt denn als Entdecker.
March 6, 2022
At 20%, I DNF’d this book because of of three things:
1) two different back stories for the same person within a chapter of each other.
2) the way the author casually glossed over the brutal rape of a woman for a day and a night at the hands of multiple men.
3) the way he had the woman subsume the guilt and accept the blame upon herself, calling herself used and spoiled.
Viewed through the lens of this sort of casual misogyny, I can’t help but notice that the leading heroine is a fighter, a masculine figure. She alone receives respect from the author. Other women are portrayed as sneaky, conniving and untrustworthy.
Others might not have noticed … I certainly didn’t catch it in the first book. The story is probably excellent, but the prejudice here is too much for me. I’m out.
1) two different back stories for the same person within a chapter of each other.
2) the way the author casually glossed over the brutal rape of a woman for a day and a night at the hands of multiple men.
3) the way he had the woman subsume the guilt and accept the blame upon herself, calling herself used and spoiled.
Viewed through the lens of this sort of casual misogyny, I can’t help but notice that the leading heroine is a fighter, a masculine figure. She alone receives respect from the author. Other women are portrayed as sneaky, conniving and untrustworthy.
Others might not have noticed … I certainly didn’t catch it in the first book. The story is probably excellent, but the prejudice here is too much for me. I’m out.
June 25, 2018
Ok... how to do this... here it goes: when I read the Red Wolf Conspiracy back when it first came out Robert V.S. Reddick and his series went to the top of my must-read radar. Then The Rats and the Ruling Sea (or just "The Ruling Sea" as it's known in most of its releases, which makes sense since the Rats don't really play that big of a part in the story and the Ruling Sea aka Nelluroq well... I'll get to that) came out and my enthusiasm waned. Over the years since I've often wanted to go back and finish this series, as the awesomeness of The Red Wolf Conspiracy stuck with me even after I largely forgot why the Rats and the Ruling Sea left me... well, at sea. In that regard, my reread of the series has helped to remind me why I lost interest and yet still hoped to finish the series (if an author annoys me or starts churning out mediocre books, I generally say "done", sell their books back to half-price books, and move on, as I have with Rick Riordan, Simon R. Green, Charles Stross, and Kevin Hearne, but with Robert V.S. Redick, I didn't just write him off... I wanted to go back). Explaining why is complicated. This is not a bad book, it's regularly quite entertaining, but it is very (and continually) frustrating.
The story picks up directly after The Red Wolf Conspiracy. Despite the victory of our heroes over the sorcerer Arunis and his scheme to recover the Nilstone (an artifact of insane magical power which is essentially a manifestation of death) and Sandor Ott's removal from the Chathrand, their plot to bring about a Mizithrini Civil War continues and there's very little our heroes can do to stop it except to try and find others who are willing to stand against Ott's insane ambition and Arunis's inhuman schemes even as they are forced to make a voyage across the seemingly impassable Nelluroq, a sea that is dominated by a massive eternal storm (minor spoiler, it seems to be cause by singularity that's continually sucking the skies and seas of the world in (must be spewing them out somewhere else on the world or it would've gone dry and airless years ago)) to reach a land out of ancient legends.
Part of my problem with this book is that it's a middle book. Almost everything goes the villains' ways, subplots grow like weeds, the protagonists are continually at odds with each other, and the only resolution we get is the tragic death of a major character, who was one of my favorites up to that point, and who dies in a particularly senseless act of cruelty. As with the first book, Redick uses an unusual variant of the shifting perspective style of narration, but whereas generally you would expect that each shift in perspective would let us follow-up from where we left off a certain character, there is a continual forward motion, so no matter what's happening, or if a character is far from the majority of the action, we only see what is happening in one place at any point in time. This is certainly a novel approach and it works most of the time, but as with the first book, there are places where important things happen off-page that leave you (the reader) thinking "Wait, WHAT!?!".
Worse than all that is that Redick does three things that really annoy me. First about halfway through the book, his authorial persona (the woken rat Fellthrup many years after the end of our tale) drops out of the narrative entirely and does a super spoiler-y chapter in which he laments the fact that it all ends horribly and that humanity is extinct. Remember, this is book 2 of a 4 book series and most of our protagonists are human; dude, who stole my motivation? That's not a good way to build reader interest. Second is that he uses a really annoying blackmail plot device to create artificial tension between his hero Pazel and heroine Thasha who spend most of the book sniping at each other as a result despite the fact that they both like each other a lot and every time they try and make up random shit happens to interfere in classic forced drama fashion; oh, and Thasha's going increasingly crazy due to reading a crazy magical book, which makes her parts of the story much less fun. Finally, at the end, he does a world-shattering rug-pull along the lines of the ending of Planet of the Apes (well, except that this story isn't post-Apocalyptic Earth... I think, there was a passing reference to what might've been a satellite in the sky in the first book, but I digress). It just comes down to the fact that there wasn't much room for fun amidst all of that. Don't get me wrong, the plotting is tight, the world-building is impressive (and Reddick always has fascinating ideas, such as the chillingly alien, vicious, and powerful psychic predator, the Eguar), and the story is fascinating, but all the tension and doom kind of ruin the sense of adventure that the first book managed to convey. I want to love this series, and I suspect that if I ever get through the whole series, it may make it all worth it, but the journey is so frustrating as this point. I fear starting River of Shadows lest it end up like Deepness in the Sky, sitting on my Goodreads currently reading list until the end of time, but I also really do want to know what happens next... it's a conundrum.
The story picks up directly after The Red Wolf Conspiracy. Despite the victory of our heroes over the sorcerer Arunis and his scheme to recover the Nilstone (an artifact of insane magical power which is essentially a manifestation of death) and Sandor Ott's removal from the Chathrand, their plot to bring about a Mizithrini Civil War continues and there's very little our heroes can do to stop it except to try and find others who are willing to stand against Ott's insane ambition and Arunis's inhuman schemes even as they are forced to make a voyage across the seemingly impassable Nelluroq, a sea that is dominated by a massive eternal storm (minor spoiler, it seems to be cause by singularity that's continually sucking the skies and seas of the world in (must be spewing them out somewhere else on the world or it would've gone dry and airless years ago)) to reach a land out of ancient legends.
Part of my problem with this book is that it's a middle book. Almost everything goes the villains' ways, subplots grow like weeds, the protagonists are continually at odds with each other, and the only resolution we get is the tragic death of a major character, who was one of my favorites up to that point, and who dies in a particularly senseless act of cruelty. As with the first book, Redick uses an unusual variant of the shifting perspective style of narration, but whereas generally you would expect that each shift in perspective would let us follow-up from where we left off a certain character, there is a continual forward motion, so no matter what's happening, or if a character is far from the majority of the action, we only see what is happening in one place at any point in time. This is certainly a novel approach and it works most of the time, but as with the first book, there are places where important things happen off-page that leave you (the reader) thinking "Wait, WHAT!?!".
Worse than all that is that Redick does three things that really annoy me. First about halfway through the book, his authorial persona (the woken rat Fellthrup many years after the end of our tale) drops out of the narrative entirely and does a super spoiler-y chapter in which he laments the fact that it all ends horribly and that humanity is extinct. Remember, this is book 2 of a 4 book series and most of our protagonists are human; dude, who stole my motivation? That's not a good way to build reader interest. Second is that he uses a really annoying blackmail plot device to create artificial tension between his hero Pazel and heroine Thasha who spend most of the book sniping at each other as a result despite the fact that they both like each other a lot and every time they try and make up random shit happens to interfere in classic forced drama fashion; oh, and Thasha's going increasingly crazy due to reading a crazy magical book, which makes her parts of the story much less fun. Finally, at the end, he does a world-shattering rug-pull along the lines of the ending of Planet of the Apes (well, except that this story isn't post-Apocalyptic Earth... I think, there was a passing reference to what might've been a satellite in the sky in the first book, but I digress). It just comes down to the fact that there wasn't much room for fun amidst all of that. Don't get me wrong, the plotting is tight, the world-building is impressive (and Reddick always has fascinating ideas, such as the chillingly alien, vicious, and powerful psychic predator, the Eguar), and the story is fascinating, but all the tension and doom kind of ruin the sense of adventure that the first book managed to convey. I want to love this series, and I suspect that if I ever get through the whole series, it may make it all worth it, but the journey is so frustrating as this point. I fear starting River of Shadows lest it end up like Deepness in the Sky, sitting on my Goodreads currently reading list until the end of time, but I also really do want to know what happens next... it's a conundrum.
September 11, 2025
Io capisco che i libri di mezzo siano, appunto, un intermezzo tra l'inizio e il climax. Però che palle! Ci dev'essere un limite al nulla che succede, alle scene che paiono slegate una dall'altra e all'assoluto nulla che succede. E quando succede qualcosa, be', pare completamente a caso.
Ho dato.
Ho dato.
January 26, 2025
I am having the same kinds of feelings that I remember from the first book. It's pretty good! Yet confusing and I find it a chore to follow when the main characters are children but the things that happen are fairly grimdark. And things just keep on happening while I don't get the sense that they advance plot. When it's a looong book! With two more tomes to go!
The one slain named character... I did not like the death at all. Nor did I think it was clever.
The one slain named character... I did not like the death at all. Nor did I think it was clever.
July 16, 2025
!!!!!!!
THIS REVIEW HAS A LOT OF SPOILERS. I usually discuss story elements openly and don't spoiler-hide my reviews, but in this review I specifically list a bunch of spoiler-y plot points, so this is your warning.
!!!!!!
Why I read it: I've read the first one & loved it.
Thoughts: Turns out book 2 is also a re-read, but I genuinely couldn't remember a single thing about it. I must've read it in such a hurry the first time around, so willing to rapidly ingest the words in order to find out what happens after the end of book 1, that I never properly digested the story. But the first time was over a decade ago, when I didn't have the reading skills I have now, and lacked the self-awareness I have now, which tells me I'll forget stuff if I don't write it down.
For some short, general thoughts: this was a loooooooong book. The first book was 560 pages, this one is 673 pages. It makes sense that I would've read these in 2009-2010; it was when I got into A Song of Ice and Fire, and I was primed for doorstopper fantasy novels. Now, I kind of wish they were shorter. Book 2 picks up almost immediately after the end of book 1, and book 3 (which I've already started) also picks up almost immediately after book 2. We're talking a matter of hours in between books in both cases, which is the gap between many of the different chapters, so these books could've very easily been split into two books each. Mind you, that wouldn't've changed the denseness of the story, just made it seem like a less endless read to me personally.
Anyway, no regrets in the time I spent reading this. Every section of the story serves a purpose and moves the narrative forward, and I love that. I can't think of any section that I found boring or useless, since this is a story with many players and moving parts. I did find some bits to be rather contrived, like Ramachni's dream-walking, but ultimately they're small bits in a muuuuuuuch larger whole. I also don't particularly like the teenage-feelings conflicts and arguments between Pazel, Thasha, and Neeps, but that's mostly because teenagers are blary (to use a word I picked up from this book) annoying, and these teenagers in particular have a lot more on their plate than others. And again, all their hot-and-cold, back-two-steps-forth-two-steps emotional teenager nonsense was a small part of the story; I just wish they wouldn't have their hot-and-cold switches at crucial moments in the story, when they should be confiding in each other and building stronger relationships of trust.
And for further details that I hope to not forget for the future, let's see what I can jot down by looking through my kindle highlights.
1. Plot & Character Developments:
> Thasha's own wedding falls through dramatically, but another wedding takes place, thereby putting the wheels on Sandor Ott's fake prophecy.
> Admiral Isiq is betrayed and imprisoned. Turns out neither Ott nor Syrarys are dead. Ott's survival was guaranteed, but Syrarys not being dead made me very sad.
> Hercol and Diadrelu Do It™, and I have to ask: how???????? She's an ixchel, maybe about as tall as a palm, and he's a normal-sized human man? How does that work???? I don't wanna say I need a diagram, but maybe a diagram would help!
> House Ixphir falls apart (not a surprise).
> Pazel's sister, Neda, makes multiple appearances but doesn't further the plot much... yet.
> Sandor Ott is a disgusting old man (also not a surprise).
> Hercol's trust is poorly placed. I understand who the lady he met in the garden in Simjalla was, I understand his deep sorrow & etc., but I don't understand why he immediately and implicitly trusted Greysan Fullbreech, who turns out to be yet another of Sandor Ott's spies. By the end of the series, it'll turn out that the only people who aren't Sandor Ott's spies are Pazel, Neeps, Thasha, Marila, Felthrup, and Captain Rose.
> Lady Oggosk says Thasha has a particular role to play; it's clear that has something to do with sorcery and the Polylex, and it's clear she has some power, some will she can exert that may not be her own, but the end goal is unclear, as is the source of her power (something to do with the treatment her mother received while being pregnant with her?). Hoping book 3 sheds some light on this.
> Even though I have a kindle note that says "hes totally cracked isnt he", it turns out Captain Rose is not more cracked than the rest of the POV characters who are cursed with abilities and/or extraordinary knowledge. He just sees ghosts, and now Thasha sees them too. Really wanna know more about this.
> Pazel's father remains somewhat of a mystery. Dollywilliams Druffle (what a name! what a coward guy!) sheds some more light on why Gregory Pathkendle might've turned pirate and turns Pazel and Chadfallow's relationship from "tenuous" to "outright hateful", but I'd still like to see all the pieces laid out correctly. I want to see Chadfallow eat shit, but mostly I want him to have a proper talk with Pazel and tell him everything he knows. Having said that, Pazel's father might've left Pazel something, some sign, some note, some word, when he last made an appearance. Anything would've been good.
> Pazel has to betray the ixchel secret (to an extent) when translating a map for Rose and Ott, but by the end of the book it's still not clear why the ixchel want to return to Stath Bálfyr. Nevertheless, I suspect that the reality of their return (if they manage it) will be disappointing to them. Nationalistic nostalgia is a hell of a drug.
> Who is the mysterious in-world editor of the Chathrand narrative I am reading? I saw a reviewer guess it was Neeps, but I'm guessing Felthrup, for no other reason than I think a wakened rat who envisions his human form as having golden spectacles would say the things the editor has said, and who knows? Some magic may yet turn a rat into a man.
> Pazel & Jervik finally see themselves and each other as they really are... more or less. It was a genuinely healing moment for me, the reader who sympathises with Pazel & rages against the injustice and violence heaped upon him. I hope this newfound peace doesn't degrade. Pazel so desperately needs allies, and an ally like Jervik, who has already hit rock bottom but who says he wants to change, is much better than Dastu (or Fulbreech), the guy everyone loves but who turns out to be Sandor Ott's finger puppet an absolute heel.
> Pazel uses the second of the Great Words, and it's awesome.
> Captain Rose telling Ott "I piss on your Emperor." was a highlight. 10/10, Captain.
> Mr Bolutu undergoing The Change™ was wonderful and he's a strange guy and I love him.
> The ending of the book is mysterious and scary.
2. Setting & Conflict Developments:
> I expected the rat invasion (the book title does include the rats quite specifically), and I liked the furious religious zealotry of it.
> I did not expect House Ixphir to fall apart quite as dramatically as it did -- I hoped Taliktrum would see sense before things went to complete and utter shit, but I guess Taliktrum seeing sense after things went to complete and utter shit is just as good. I definitely didn't expect House Ixphir to actually take over the ship the way they did. I can't believe they killed Diadrelu, though, and just as I was beginning to like her. She can't be fake dead, though, because Hercol had to slice and dice her in the tradition of the ixchel (unless he and Dri's sophister faked that somehow).
> This instalment of the series went to some really interesting places! First there was Simjalla, with the wedding and Isiq and Neda's POVs. There was the island with the sybil, where I really wanted to see what Captain Rose would ask of her, and where Klyst helped Pazel throw a spanner into Arunis's works. There was Bramian, where there was the jungle (w/ Jaguar People), the eguar, and the secret city of Shaggat fanatics. And finally, the Nelluroq itself, with the storm and the vortex. There was a lot of adventure on the high seas and on land.
> I'm getting real tired of Sandor Ott. Somehow he's still behind all the evil shit that happens on the Chathrand, he's still got an infinite number of schemes and puppets, and Hercol should've killed him for good when he had the chance.
> I still have an inkling, a small suspicion that this world setting is future-Earth somehow, but no real proof. The Nilstone being a powerful tool for good or for evil still makes me think of nuclear power, and the map of the known world/Alifros still makes me think of the Mediterranean; and then there's fact that there seems to have been some precursor civilisation that built unimaginable things that the current civilisation has lost the ability/knowledge to create. These may be coincidences. But I hope they're not.
3. Highlights:
> The chapters told from Eberzam Isiq's POV were true horror, as close to Edgar Allan Poe as I've ever seen a fantasy novel get. The darkness, the fear, the drugged food, the encroaching rats, the pit, the furnace, the noises, the "statues", the growing madness... honestly gave me chills... which is a blissful experience for a horror fan like me.
> Towards the end of the book there are several passages/chapters when the Chathrand travels the Nelluroq and goes through the magical storm and then traverses, I think, the Vortex itself (or at least goes in/out by way of slingshot maneuver, I'm not clear on this), and they were downright horror writing as well. The smothered mutiny, the giant mutated rats and the fight to keep control of the ship from three elements (the rats, the ixchel, the storm), the sleep sickness, Thasha's touching of the Nilstone, the continuous lack of water, the transformation and the vortex.
> Pazel and the eguar: more horror. Man, I guess my favourite sections of this book were all the horror bits, really. The eguar is a mystery wrapped in horror, or a horror wrapped in mystery. Either way, Mr Bolutu knows about it and I want to know more. What is its function? How did its ancestors build... a realm? What gives it its powers? What is the eguar? How and, more importantly, why can it read persons?
Would I read more from this author: Already started reading book 3.
Would I recommend it: If you've read book 1, yes.
Would I reread it: At this length, I don't know. If it was split into two books, maybe. My heart says it's worth rereading, but my brain says I spent over a week reading this and it's soooo long and unwieldy -- never mind that I don't own this in physical format (yet! but if I read all four books and my love endures, I'm getting physical copies).
THIS REVIEW HAS A LOT OF SPOILERS. I usually discuss story elements openly and don't spoiler-hide my reviews, but in this review I specifically list a bunch of spoiler-y plot points, so this is your warning.
!!!!!!
Why I read it: I've read the first one & loved it.
Thoughts: Turns out book 2 is also a re-read, but I genuinely couldn't remember a single thing about it. I must've read it in such a hurry the first time around, so willing to rapidly ingest the words in order to find out what happens after the end of book 1, that I never properly digested the story. But the first time was over a decade ago, when I didn't have the reading skills I have now, and lacked the self-awareness I have now, which tells me I'll forget stuff if I don't write it down.
For some short, general thoughts: this was a loooooooong book. The first book was 560 pages, this one is 673 pages. It makes sense that I would've read these in 2009-2010; it was when I got into A Song of Ice and Fire, and I was primed for doorstopper fantasy novels. Now, I kind of wish they were shorter. Book 2 picks up almost immediately after the end of book 1, and book 3 (which I've already started) also picks up almost immediately after book 2. We're talking a matter of hours in between books in both cases, which is the gap between many of the different chapters, so these books could've very easily been split into two books each. Mind you, that wouldn't've changed the denseness of the story, just made it seem like a less endless read to me personally.
Anyway, no regrets in the time I spent reading this. Every section of the story serves a purpose and moves the narrative forward, and I love that. I can't think of any section that I found boring or useless, since this is a story with many players and moving parts. I did find some bits to be rather contrived, like Ramachni's dream-walking, but ultimately they're small bits in a muuuuuuuch larger whole. I also don't particularly like the teenage-feelings conflicts and arguments between Pazel, Thasha, and Neeps, but that's mostly because teenagers are blary (to use a word I picked up from this book) annoying, and these teenagers in particular have a lot more on their plate than others. And again, all their hot-and-cold, back-two-steps-forth-two-steps emotional teenager nonsense was a small part of the story; I just wish they wouldn't have their hot-and-cold switches at crucial moments in the story, when they should be confiding in each other and building stronger relationships of trust.
And for further details that I hope to not forget for the future, let's see what I can jot down by looking through my kindle highlights.
1. Plot & Character Developments:
> Thasha's own wedding falls through dramatically, but another wedding takes place, thereby putting the wheels on Sandor Ott's fake prophecy.
> Admiral Isiq is betrayed and imprisoned. Turns out neither Ott nor Syrarys are dead. Ott's survival was guaranteed, but Syrarys not being dead made me very sad.
> Hercol and Diadrelu Do It™, and I have to ask: how???????? She's an ixchel, maybe about as tall as a palm, and he's a normal-sized human man? How does that work???? I don't wanna say I need a diagram, but maybe a diagram would help!
> House Ixphir falls apart (not a surprise).
> Pazel's sister, Neda, makes multiple appearances but doesn't further the plot much... yet.
> Sandor Ott is a disgusting old man (also not a surprise).
> Hercol's trust is poorly placed. I understand who the lady he met in the garden in Simjalla was, I understand his deep sorrow & etc., but I don't understand why he immediately and implicitly trusted Greysan Fullbreech, who turns out to be yet another of Sandor Ott's spies. By the end of the series, it'll turn out that the only people who aren't Sandor Ott's spies are Pazel, Neeps, Thasha, Marila, Felthrup, and Captain Rose.
> Lady Oggosk says Thasha has a particular role to play; it's clear that has something to do with sorcery and the Polylex, and it's clear she has some power, some will she can exert that may not be her own, but the end goal is unclear, as is the source of her power (something to do with the treatment her mother received while being pregnant with her?). Hoping book 3 sheds some light on this.
> Even though I have a kindle note that says "hes totally cracked isnt he", it turns out Captain Rose is not more cracked than the rest of the POV characters who are cursed with abilities and/or extraordinary knowledge. He just sees ghosts, and now Thasha sees them too. Really wanna know more about this.
> Pazel's father remains somewhat of a mystery. Dollywilliams Druffle (what a name! what a coward guy!) sheds some more light on why Gregory Pathkendle might've turned pirate and turns Pazel and Chadfallow's relationship from "tenuous" to "outright hateful", but I'd still like to see all the pieces laid out correctly. I want to see Chadfallow eat shit, but mostly I want him to have a proper talk with Pazel and tell him everything he knows. Having said that, Pazel's father might've left Pazel something, some sign, some note, some word, when he last made an appearance. Anything would've been good.
> Pazel has to betray the ixchel secret (to an extent) when translating a map for Rose and Ott, but by the end of the book it's still not clear why the ixchel want to return to Stath Bálfyr. Nevertheless, I suspect that the reality of their return (if they manage it) will be disappointing to them. Nationalistic nostalgia is a hell of a drug.
> Who is the mysterious in-world editor of the Chathrand narrative I am reading? I saw a reviewer guess it was Neeps, but I'm guessing Felthrup, for no other reason than I think a wakened rat who envisions his human form as having golden spectacles would say the things the editor has said, and who knows? Some magic may yet turn a rat into a man.
> Pazel & Jervik finally see themselves and each other as they really are... more or less. It was a genuinely healing moment for me, the reader who sympathises with Pazel & rages against the injustice and violence heaped upon him. I hope this newfound peace doesn't degrade. Pazel so desperately needs allies, and an ally like Jervik, who has already hit rock bottom but who says he wants to change, is much better than Dastu (or Fulbreech), the guy everyone loves but who turns out to be Sandor Ott's finger puppet an absolute heel.
> Pazel uses the second of the Great Words, and it's awesome.
> Captain Rose telling Ott "I piss on your Emperor." was a highlight. 10/10, Captain.
> Mr Bolutu undergoing The Change™ was wonderful and he's a strange guy and I love him.
> The ending of the book is mysterious and scary.
2. Setting & Conflict Developments:
> I expected the rat invasion (the book title does include the rats quite specifically), and I liked the furious religious zealotry of it.
> I did not expect House Ixphir to fall apart quite as dramatically as it did -- I hoped Taliktrum would see sense before things went to complete and utter shit, but I guess Taliktrum seeing sense after things went to complete and utter shit is just as good. I definitely didn't expect House Ixphir to actually take over the ship the way they did. I can't believe they killed Diadrelu, though, and just as I was beginning to like her. She can't be fake dead, though, because Hercol had to slice and dice her in the tradition of the ixchel (unless he and Dri's sophister faked that somehow).
> This instalment of the series went to some really interesting places! First there was Simjalla, with the wedding and Isiq and Neda's POVs. There was the island with the sybil, where I really wanted to see what Captain Rose would ask of her, and where Klyst helped Pazel throw a spanner into Arunis's works. There was Bramian, where there was the jungle (w/ Jaguar People), the eguar, and the secret city of Shaggat fanatics. And finally, the Nelluroq itself, with the storm and the vortex. There was a lot of adventure on the high seas and on land.
> I'm getting real tired of Sandor Ott. Somehow he's still behind all the evil shit that happens on the Chathrand, he's still got an infinite number of schemes and puppets, and Hercol should've killed him for good when he had the chance.
> I still have an inkling, a small suspicion that this world setting is future-Earth somehow, but no real proof. The Nilstone being a powerful tool for good or for evil still makes me think of nuclear power, and the map of the known world/Alifros still makes me think of the Mediterranean; and then there's fact that there seems to have been some precursor civilisation that built unimaginable things that the current civilisation has lost the ability/knowledge to create. These may be coincidences. But I hope they're not.
3. Highlights:
> The chapters told from Eberzam Isiq's POV were true horror, as close to Edgar Allan Poe as I've ever seen a fantasy novel get. The darkness, the fear, the drugged food, the encroaching rats, the pit, the furnace, the noises, the "statues", the growing madness... honestly gave me chills... which is a blissful experience for a horror fan like me.
> Towards the end of the book there are several passages/chapters when the Chathrand travels the Nelluroq and goes through the magical storm and then traverses, I think, the Vortex itself (or at least goes in/out by way of slingshot maneuver, I'm not clear on this), and they were downright horror writing as well. The smothered mutiny, the giant mutated rats and the fight to keep control of the ship from three elements (the rats, the ixchel, the storm), the sleep sickness, Thasha's touching of the Nilstone, the continuous lack of water, the transformation and the vortex.
> Pazel and the eguar: more horror. Man, I guess my favourite sections of this book were all the horror bits, really. The eguar is a mystery wrapped in horror, or a horror wrapped in mystery. Either way, Mr Bolutu knows about it and I want to know more. What is its function? How did its ancestors build... a realm? What gives it its powers? What is the eguar? How and, more importantly, why can it read persons?
‘I, Ma’tathgryl-eguar-child-of-the-south nameless-desireless-pitiless-all-these-are-prisons forward-and-backward perceive their plan, their venom, their cleverness-madness-debauchery-faith, perceive you, lidless-unarmoured-unskinned child-man, mind thrown open, with them, apart.’
Would I read more from this author: Already started reading book 3.
Would I recommend it: If you've read book 1, yes.
Would I reread it: At this length, I don't know. If it was split into two books, maybe. My heart says it's worth rereading, but my brain says I spent over a week reading this and it's soooo long and unwieldy -- never mind that I don't own this in physical format (yet! but if I read all four books and my love endures, I'm getting physical copies).
August 1, 2017
I guess there is a reason that it took me a solid three years to complete the 2nd book of The Chathrand Voyage, and this after really enjoying the first one, The Red Wolf Conspiracy.
The Rats and the Ruling Sea continues right where the first book ended, but then proceeds to plod along at a bit of a glacial pace. After stopping the plans of the various conspiracies aboard the gigantic Chathrand, the ship now sets out to cross the Ruling Sea, to further the plans of the Arquali Empire.
It's tough to follow the various conspiracies, and the main characters Pazel and Thasha are sometimes quite maddening. It wasn't until the last quarter of the book that it really picked up for me. Things come to a head as the Chathrand is about to end up in the heart of a maelstrom while the battling factions aboard come to a head.
The world building and the various characters are still as imaginative as in the first book. It's incredibly creative and definitely unique amongst the many fantasy books I have read in my life.
All in all 3.5 stars, and I will continue on, but man, I sure wish the looooooong middle stretch of the book had been more exciting.
The Rats and the Ruling Sea continues right where the first book ended, but then proceeds to plod along at a bit of a glacial pace. After stopping the plans of the various conspiracies aboard the gigantic Chathrand, the ship now sets out to cross the Ruling Sea, to further the plans of the Arquali Empire.
It's tough to follow the various conspiracies, and the main characters Pazel and Thasha are sometimes quite maddening. It wasn't until the last quarter of the book that it really picked up for me. Things come to a head as the Chathrand is about to end up in the heart of a maelstrom while the battling factions aboard come to a head.
The world building and the various characters are still as imaginative as in the first book. It's incredibly creative and definitely unique amongst the many fantasy books I have read in my life.
All in all 3.5 stars, and I will continue on, but man, I sure wish the looooooong middle stretch of the book had been more exciting.
June 7, 2015
The twists and turns continue in the second installment of The Chathrand Voyage.
Robert Redick had the petal to the floor from the first chapter and never let up. It seemed like there was a new revelation each chapter, from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows.
I also find myself really enjoying reading the letters from Captain Rose to his father and Fiffengurt to his son. They add a fresh perspective to the story and also a bridge between events when much time passes.
I am buddy reading this series with my husband and I'm glad because it's forcing me to take my time with this and appreciate all the small details.
Robert Redick had the petal to the floor from the first chapter and never let up. It seemed like there was a new revelation each chapter, from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows.
I also find myself really enjoying reading the letters from Captain Rose to his father and Fiffengurt to his son. They add a fresh perspective to the story and also a bridge between events when much time passes.
I am buddy reading this series with my husband and I'm glad because it's forcing me to take my time with this and appreciate all the small details.
March 21, 2018
From Robert Redick’s first published fantasy title, The Red Wolf Conspiracy (RW) to his most recent work, Master Assassins (MA) we see an author that has honed new tools without suffering the weaknesses common to authors whose creative life must satisfy deadlines.
RW loves to surprise. This was its least attractive feature. New elements were added in each of the early chapters, often in a fashion that stopped me and pulled me out of the story. MA makes as many twists and turns, but does a much better job of dropping clues for what is coming so that the moves are welcome instead of jarring. The presentation of the world in MA is a well-curated gallery, introducing in an ordered progression, a foreign and fantastic world—a desert kaleidoscope of otherworldly wonder.
Also new to Robert’s style is the inclusion of the gob-smacking turn of phrase or plot twist that stopped me cold and forced me to think.
More than once, Robert hits so hard, the bond between reader and story becomes immutable. MA’s world is not what it seems at first blush and the hook it sets is sharp indeed.
MA also tried something new in terms of delivery - switching back and forth from the present to the past. My first thought each time the point of view departed the present story, was that it was too much and the plot of the main story was bogging down. I prefer to learn character back-story through the narrative and dialogue—or so I had thought. Each flashback journey Robert delivers in MA is a silver staple that binds the reader back to the main tale. The second storyline stands on its own, and I have not previously seen a flashback point of view carried off so well. MA treats the reader to two tales that cultivate each other and rewards a careful reader again and again.
The way sword fighting and action carried between the two titles did not change. Sequences remain disjoined glimpses–like the shaking camera of a news correspondent running behind a platoon. It is not my favorite style, but Robert’s delivery is solid and did not weaken.
Crawling under the hood a bit more, I must make mention of the marketing copy for the new series and its reference to MA’s exploration of feminism, race, and religion. There is much to say on Robert’s evolution here.
MA does not shy away, in sharp contrast to RW, from recognizing and exploring the inequities that exist in its cultures. MA includes dynamic and powerful POC and female characters without stepping out of the story to wave and point at their inclusion. The view we are given of these rich and fantastic characters does suffer a touch from our limited view of them. The story’s perspective throughout is male and that of the oppressor never the oppressed. The emotions and struggles of these rich characters is that of the alien. We see them but from the outside, like boys peering through a crack in the wall of women’s bath.
As a final note, I must point out the one thing that did not change between RW and MA. Robert is now an author who must meet deadlines, but his work has not suffered for it. This matters and is the reason I give him 5 stars instead of 4.
I will be buying everything Robert writes, regardless of genre.
RW loves to surprise. This was its least attractive feature. New elements were added in each of the early chapters, often in a fashion that stopped me and pulled me out of the story. MA makes as many twists and turns, but does a much better job of dropping clues for what is coming so that the moves are welcome instead of jarring. The presentation of the world in MA is a well-curated gallery, introducing in an ordered progression, a foreign and fantastic world—a desert kaleidoscope of otherworldly wonder.
Also new to Robert’s style is the inclusion of the gob-smacking turn of phrase or plot twist that stopped me cold and forced me to think.
More than once, Robert hits so hard, the bond between reader and story becomes immutable. MA’s world is not what it seems at first blush and the hook it sets is sharp indeed.
MA also tried something new in terms of delivery - switching back and forth from the present to the past. My first thought each time the point of view departed the present story, was that it was too much and the plot of the main story was bogging down. I prefer to learn character back-story through the narrative and dialogue—or so I had thought. Each flashback journey Robert delivers in MA is a silver staple that binds the reader back to the main tale. The second storyline stands on its own, and I have not previously seen a flashback point of view carried off so well. MA treats the reader to two tales that cultivate each other and rewards a careful reader again and again.
The way sword fighting and action carried between the two titles did not change. Sequences remain disjoined glimpses–like the shaking camera of a news correspondent running behind a platoon. It is not my favorite style, but Robert’s delivery is solid and did not weaken.
Crawling under the hood a bit more, I must make mention of the marketing copy for the new series and its reference to MA’s exploration of feminism, race, and religion. There is much to say on Robert’s evolution here.
MA does not shy away, in sharp contrast to RW, from recognizing and exploring the inequities that exist in its cultures. MA includes dynamic and powerful POC and female characters without stepping out of the story to wave and point at their inclusion. The view we are given of these rich and fantastic characters does suffer a touch from our limited view of them. The story’s perspective throughout is male and that of the oppressor never the oppressed. The emotions and struggles of these rich characters is that of the alien. We see them but from the outside, like boys peering through a crack in the wall of women’s bath.
As a final note, I must point out the one thing that did not change between RW and MA. Robert is now an author who must meet deadlines, but his work has not suffered for it. This matters and is the reason I give him 5 stars instead of 4.
I will be buying everything Robert writes, regardless of genre.
March 14, 2021
The most intricate, perplexingly detailed and well-constructed fantasy you’ll ever read.
This is the second book in the The Chathrand Voyage series, and it’s just as good as the first book. The story follows the lives of several passengers on the massive ship, Chathrand, and details their adventures as they are pulled into a multi-leveled conspiracy that hopes to incite war, death, and doom across the world.
Our protagonist, Pazel Pathkendle is a young tarboy onboard the ship, who gets entangled into the confusing politics of conspiracy due to his magical abilities to understand any language he’s exposed to. It’s a unique and exciting kind of magic, unlike anything I’ve read before, and it gives Pazel the role of hero without making him a great warrior or strategist or anything of the sort. All he has is understanding and wits.
This is honestly one of the most complex and layered books I’ve ever read. There are conspiracies wrapped in conspiracies and the intricate politics and agency that drives all the big players make this an absolutely fascinating thrilleresque tye of fantasy novel. Also, the fact that almost the entire plot for two books so far has happened aboard the Chatrand makes this very unique. Sure, they find land here and there, and there are some brief side narratives that takes place away from the massive ship–which is the only one left of its kind–and it’s absolutely fascinating. One of the most well-crafted and exciting fantasy worlds I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.
At the same time, the intricate and complex narrative is also this book’s downfall. The book comes across as confusing and convoluted at times, making it a chore to keep reading. I imagine a lot of people don’t even make it to book two, because the language is at often times very difficult to grasp. I can’t quite put my finger on why, if it’s the use of strange fantasy words, a confusing and complex narrative, or the way characters keep talking in each other’s mouths, but I often struggled to understand what was going on.
One hand, the author has written one of the coolest fantasies I’ve read in a long while, on the other, I feel like he’s keeping it from me. As if the book contains some secret message that he doesn’t want readers to be able to decipher, so he hides it away by writing as difficult as humanely possible.
Maybe it’s just me – and don’t get me wrong, I still love the books and I can’t wait to start book three in the series – but I wish I didn't feel like it was a struggle to get to the meaning behind the writing.
This is the second book in the The Chathrand Voyage series, and it’s just as good as the first book. The story follows the lives of several passengers on the massive ship, Chathrand, and details their adventures as they are pulled into a multi-leveled conspiracy that hopes to incite war, death, and doom across the world.
Our protagonist, Pazel Pathkendle is a young tarboy onboard the ship, who gets entangled into the confusing politics of conspiracy due to his magical abilities to understand any language he’s exposed to. It’s a unique and exciting kind of magic, unlike anything I’ve read before, and it gives Pazel the role of hero without making him a great warrior or strategist or anything of the sort. All he has is understanding and wits.
This is honestly one of the most complex and layered books I’ve ever read. There are conspiracies wrapped in conspiracies and the intricate politics and agency that drives all the big players make this an absolutely fascinating thrilleresque tye of fantasy novel. Also, the fact that almost the entire plot for two books so far has happened aboard the Chatrand makes this very unique. Sure, they find land here and there, and there are some brief side narratives that takes place away from the massive ship–which is the only one left of its kind–and it’s absolutely fascinating. One of the most well-crafted and exciting fantasy worlds I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.
At the same time, the intricate and complex narrative is also this book’s downfall. The book comes across as confusing and convoluted at times, making it a chore to keep reading. I imagine a lot of people don’t even make it to book two, because the language is at often times very difficult to grasp. I can’t quite put my finger on why, if it’s the use of strange fantasy words, a confusing and complex narrative, or the way characters keep talking in each other’s mouths, but I often struggled to understand what was going on.
One hand, the author has written one of the coolest fantasies I’ve read in a long while, on the other, I feel like he’s keeping it from me. As if the book contains some secret message that he doesn’t want readers to be able to decipher, so he hides it away by writing as difficult as humanely possible.
Maybe it’s just me – and don’t get me wrong, I still love the books and I can’t wait to start book three in the series – but I wish I didn't feel like it was a struggle to get to the meaning behind the writing.
June 23, 2020
Four stars feels a little high, but I did enjoy it a lot. The book (well, series, I mean) has a lot of strengths, but there’s some missing ingredient that keeps it from being enthralling for me.
I like our spunky MC, Pazel. I like our feisty fighter, Thasha, and the bold little Neeps, and the steady quartermaster, Fiffingirt (sp?), and the dancing killer, Something Cole (sp?), and the noble little queen, Diadrelu (sp?). They’re a great ensemble. It’s fun to watch them work together to fight great corruption and evil.
Oh, and of course valiant and cogitating Philthrop (sp?)-the-Three-Legged!
I think the author does well at creating a convincing political scenario and guiding the story through this plot. There have t been any eye-rolling conveniences or discoveries. Some are a little convenient, but not distractedly so for me. I think he also does well at revelations. The magic used in this universe, and the novel races and characters, are revealed organically, but still with enough information to not leave raging gaps in my awareness of what’s going on. And the dialogue, the one-liners—there are some gems, and Michael Page executes them brilliantly. I’ll say it again: the voice performance really takes it to another level.
I feel I could move on to something else at this point. I don’t know exactly where it’s all going, or precisely ow things will end up, but somehow I’m left not overly caring about all that. That said, I’ve started book three today and don’t have anything else immediately urgent. I’m happy to continue seeing how Pazel will grow and outwit the centuries-old mage he ears against. At least for a while.
Yeah, four stars is too high. I’m bumping it to three. These are twenty-four-hour-long books. If they were shorter...
I like our spunky MC, Pazel. I like our feisty fighter, Thasha, and the bold little Neeps, and the steady quartermaster, Fiffingirt (sp?), and the dancing killer, Something Cole (sp?), and the noble little queen, Diadrelu (sp?). They’re a great ensemble. It’s fun to watch them work together to fight great corruption and evil.
Oh, and of course valiant and cogitating Philthrop (sp?)-the-Three-Legged!
I think the author does well at creating a convincing political scenario and guiding the story through this plot. There have t been any eye-rolling conveniences or discoveries. Some are a little convenient, but not distractedly so for me. I think he also does well at revelations. The magic used in this universe, and the novel races and characters, are revealed organically, but still with enough information to not leave raging gaps in my awareness of what’s going on. And the dialogue, the one-liners—there are some gems, and Michael Page executes them brilliantly. I’ll say it again: the voice performance really takes it to another level.
I feel I could move on to something else at this point. I don’t know exactly where it’s all going, or precisely ow things will end up, but somehow I’m left not overly caring about all that. That said, I’ve started book three today and don’t have anything else immediately urgent. I’m happy to continue seeing how Pazel will grow and outwit the centuries-old mage he ears against. At least for a while.
Yeah, four stars is too high. I’m bumping it to three. These are twenty-four-hour-long books. If they were shorter...
April 3, 2025
I feel bad about this, so I've given it 3 stars even though I did not finish. As they say, it's not you, it's me. I really enjoyed the first book, but I was at least seven years younger, and by the time I finally sat down with the second I no longer have the patience for a million characters, umpteen subplots, and the sense that this could go anywhere ... the very things that somewhat delighted me as a relative youngster.
If this book had grabbed me, and made me gleefully anticipate each new turn, then it wouldn't matter that it leaned too far into the saga side of things. But it didn't. It just sort of went on, like the second season of a show you quite liked, but you realised you'd just as soon not watch it now and try something else. Not terrible, but my time is limited.
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
If this book had grabbed me, and made me gleefully anticipate each new turn, then it wouldn't matter that it leaned too far into the saga side of things. But it didn't. It just sort of went on, like the second season of a show you quite liked, but you realised you'd just as soon not watch it now and try something else. Not terrible, but my time is limited.
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
April 2, 2022
I’m…not sure this is my series.
The story/plot is interesting, but the way it’s written just doesn’t capture my attention, or my interest. It’s like a chore to pick it up and read. Though when I do, it’s somewhat rewarding.
I’m not sure I want to go through the slog of the next book…maybe I’ll read some others for a bit.
The story/plot is interesting, but the way it’s written just doesn’t capture my attention, or my interest. It’s like a chore to pick it up and read. Though when I do, it’s somewhat rewarding.
I’m not sure I want to go through the slog of the next book…maybe I’ll read some others for a bit.
August 16, 2022
I'm enjoying this series, though I like his Fire Sacraments better. Some POVs are more enjoyable than others, and sometimes I wish we could stay with Pazel more. But it's refreshing to listen to a well crafted story by a truly excellent writer. These are not the same phrases you've read a hundred times before.
September 6, 2025
Not as easy to follow or as character driven as the first instalment, but still a masterpiece. Sea fantasy with talking rats and birds and different species of "humans" and the everything else one tends to love in a sea voyage novel!
definitely read it.
definitely read it.
October 9, 2017
I am invested now. There is just not enough story line for Neda and what will become of the little mere girl?
September 29, 2018
3 stars. Not bad, but story is simply too dragged out and has become tedious. Won't read rest of series
August 28, 2019
Great Book, funny and the plot depens a lot, Looking forward to read the continuation.
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