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Amalrok: Book One
A great evil looms in Amalrok and threatens to end the world. The king is dead, and the kingdom is crumbling. Uruk of the Elowendi and his timid apprentice search for the ancient Sword of Kings and the only heir who can wield it. But the princes have disappeared, and with them, quite possibly the last hope for the survival of all mankind.Assembling a diverse party of young knights, brash mercenaries, and contentious pirates, Uruk sets out for the dreaded Tanglewood, accompanied by a drunken wizard, an irascible druid, and a petty footpad who strives to be so much more. Guided by a family of rangers, they follow rumors of the lost prince Alaren, a captive of fugitive bandits who have fled into the dense forest.In the east, the missing Prince Zareth now leads the very evil that plagues the land. He, too, is searching for the Sword and for his brother, and wants revenge for a quarrel that has cost him everything. With his growing army of savage beasts and ruthless outcasts, he seeks to destroy all that his brother stands to inherit.
390 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 8, 2020
2 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Timothy Mitchell
60 books226 followersProfessor
Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures
Columbia University
612 Kent Hall, Mail Code 3928
1140 Amsterdam Ave.
New York, NY 10027
Tel: 212-854 5252
Email: tm2421@columbia.edu
Timothy Mitchell is a political theorist who studies the political economy of the Middle East, the political role of economics and other forms of expert knowledge, the politics of large-scale technical systems, and the place of colonialism in the making of modernity.
Educated at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he received a first-class honours degree in History, Mitchell completed his Ph.D. in Politics and Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University in 1984. He joined Columbia University in 2008 after teaching for twenty-five years at New York University, where he served as Director of the Center for Near Eastern Studies.
Mitchell is the author of Colonising Egypt, a study of the emergence of the modern state in the colonial period and an exploration of the forms of reason, power and knowledge that define the experience of modernity. The book has been influential in fields as diverse as anthropology, history, law, philosophy, cultural studies, and art history. Translations have appeared or are in preparation in seven languages, including Arabic, German, Polish, Spanish and Japanese.
Mitchell's subsequent work covered a variety of topics in political theory and the contemporary political economy of the Middle East. His essay on the modern state, originally published in the American Political Science Review, has been republished on several occasions. Further writings on the nature of European modernity include an edited volume, Questions of Modernity, bringing together the work of leading scholars of South Asia and the Middle East. In political economy he has published a number of essays on agrarian transformation, economic reform, and the politics of development, mostly drawing on his continuing research in Egypt. The research includes long-term fieldwork in a village in southern Egypt, which he has studied and written about for more than a decade.
His 2002 book, Rule of Experts: Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity, draws on his work in Egypt to examine the creation of economic knowledge and the making of “the economy” and “the market” as objects of twentieth-century politics; the wider role of expert knowledge in the formation of the contemporary state; the relationship between law, private property, and violence in this process; and the problems with explaining contemporary politics in terms of globalization or the development of capitalism.
Mitchell's research on the making of the economy led to a four-year project that he directed at the International Center for Advanced Study at NYU on The Authority Of Knowledge in a Global Age. Articles on The Middle East in the Past and Future of Social Science, The Properties of Markets, Rethinking Economy, and The Work of Economics: How a Discipline Makes Its World, explored these concerns, and developed Mitchell's interest in the broader field of science and technology studies (STS). His current research brings together the fields of STS and postcolonial theory in a project on "Carbon Democracy," which examines the history of fossil fuels and the possibilities for democractic politics that were expanded or closed down in the construction of modern energy networks.
Mitchell has served on the editorial committees of the International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, the American Political Science Review, Middle East Report (where he has also been chair of the editorial committee), Social Text, Society and Space, the Journal of Historical Sociology, the Journal of Cultural Economy, and Development and Change. He has been invited to lecture at most leading research universities in the United States, and at universities and academic conferences in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. Several of his wri
Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures
Columbia University
612 Kent Hall, Mail Code 3928
1140 Amsterdam Ave.
New York, NY 10027
Tel: 212-854 5252
Email: tm2421@columbia.edu
Timothy Mitchell is a political theorist who studies the political economy of the Middle East, the political role of economics and other forms of expert knowledge, the politics of large-scale technical systems, and the place of colonialism in the making of modernity.
Educated at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he received a first-class honours degree in History, Mitchell completed his Ph.D. in Politics and Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University in 1984. He joined Columbia University in 2008 after teaching for twenty-five years at New York University, where he served as Director of the Center for Near Eastern Studies.
Mitchell is the author of Colonising Egypt, a study of the emergence of the modern state in the colonial period and an exploration of the forms of reason, power and knowledge that define the experience of modernity. The book has been influential in fields as diverse as anthropology, history, law, philosophy, cultural studies, and art history. Translations have appeared or are in preparation in seven languages, including Arabic, German, Polish, Spanish and Japanese.
Mitchell's subsequent work covered a variety of topics in political theory and the contemporary political economy of the Middle East. His essay on the modern state, originally published in the American Political Science Review, has been republished on several occasions. Further writings on the nature of European modernity include an edited volume, Questions of Modernity, bringing together the work of leading scholars of South Asia and the Middle East. In political economy he has published a number of essays on agrarian transformation, economic reform, and the politics of development, mostly drawing on his continuing research in Egypt. The research includes long-term fieldwork in a village in southern Egypt, which he has studied and written about for more than a decade.
His 2002 book, Rule of Experts: Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity, draws on his work in Egypt to examine the creation of economic knowledge and the making of “the economy” and “the market” as objects of twentieth-century politics; the wider role of expert knowledge in the formation of the contemporary state; the relationship between law, private property, and violence in this process; and the problems with explaining contemporary politics in terms of globalization or the development of capitalism.
Mitchell's research on the making of the economy led to a four-year project that he directed at the International Center for Advanced Study at NYU on The Authority Of Knowledge in a Global Age. Articles on The Middle East in the Past and Future of Social Science, The Properties of Markets, Rethinking Economy, and The Work of Economics: How a Discipline Makes Its World, explored these concerns, and developed Mitchell's interest in the broader field of science and technology studies (STS). His current research brings together the fields of STS and postcolonial theory in a project on "Carbon Democracy," which examines the history of fossil fuels and the possibilities for democractic politics that were expanded or closed down in the construction of modern energy networks.
Mitchell has served on the editorial committees of the International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, the American Political Science Review, Middle East Report (where he has also been chair of the editorial committee), Social Text, Society and Space, the Journal of Historical Sociology, the Journal of Cultural Economy, and Development and Change. He has been invited to lecture at most leading research universities in the United States, and at universities and academic conferences in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. Several of his wri
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 3, 2023
Not a good book cover. The map at the start of the book is poor quality and not useful to the reader.
May 27, 2022
Mitchell layers his own details onto the classic fantasy quest to save a kingdom, creating an engaging tale set in an interesting world.
When his god withdraws his favour from the kingdom of Amalrok, Uruk of the Elowendi sets out to locate the rightful heir to the throne and the ancient Sword of Kings in the hope he can renew the covenant; unfortunately, his only lead is a rumour of about bandits fleeing into the vast and inaccessible Tanglewood with the prince as prisoner.
Mitchell opens with an author’s note that alleges the book is a dramatised version of a real manuscript discovered by one of his colleagues during an archaeological excavation, and that the original tale is from before the generally accepted start of civilisation. This is followed by what is purported to be a letter from the alleged time of the original manuscript relating that correspondent’s discovery of the following story. This framing device contains enough details of academia to sustain the conceit without actually becoming a dry treatise; depending on reader preference this might seem amusing or fall flat.
Framing aside, both the world and the narrative are solid epic fantasy that balance a comforting structure of common tropes with nuances that lift it above the derivative or stale.
Mitchell choice of a description-heavy distant third-person narration for all but these introductory chapters echoes the voice used in many translations of ancient myths and legends, which fits the image he advances for the text. However, it is not the intimate voice used in much of modern fantasy so might not be to every reader’s taste.
The central thread of this novel is Uruk gathering a misfit band to undertake the search and dealing with the social and situational obstacles encountered during it. However, unlike many fantasy quest tales, Uruk recruits units of mercenaries and entire families of rangers creating inter- and intra-factional conflict that adds variety and complexity to the trope of a party that really doesn’t agree on certain things.
In parallel with Uruk’s quest, Mitchell narrates the efforts of a pirate captain to protect his crew and wider community from a sizeable rival force and the authorities. While this includes larger-scale events, it is a more personal narrative; thus, in addition to giving readers a second perspective on the kingdom’s issues, it creates a pleasing contrast to the quest that amplifies the intensity of each.
These two threads are interwoven with each other and a few individual scenes showing character backgrounds or other events outside the main characters’ knowledge. Mitchell balances the shifts well; thus, although some readers might not agree with the exact number of pages they are left waiting for a thread to continue, they are unlikely to feel one subplot is losing out to another.
As might be expected of the first volume of a series, neither main arc fully concludes; however, both reach a significant point that changes the central dilemma, avoiding the sense this is actually a longer book that has been semi-arbitrarily sliced in two.
The characters are an engaging blend of recognisable trope, such as idealistic knight or young thief, and individual complexities, ensuring the larger cast remain distinct without losing the sense that they are complex individuals with their own full lives.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel. I recommend it to readers seeking a classic epic fantasy quest.
When his god withdraws his favour from the kingdom of Amalrok, Uruk of the Elowendi sets out to locate the rightful heir to the throne and the ancient Sword of Kings in the hope he can renew the covenant; unfortunately, his only lead is a rumour of about bandits fleeing into the vast and inaccessible Tanglewood with the prince as prisoner.
Mitchell opens with an author’s note that alleges the book is a dramatised version of a real manuscript discovered by one of his colleagues during an archaeological excavation, and that the original tale is from before the generally accepted start of civilisation. This is followed by what is purported to be a letter from the alleged time of the original manuscript relating that correspondent’s discovery of the following story. This framing device contains enough details of academia to sustain the conceit without actually becoming a dry treatise; depending on reader preference this might seem amusing or fall flat.
Framing aside, both the world and the narrative are solid epic fantasy that balance a comforting structure of common tropes with nuances that lift it above the derivative or stale.
Mitchell choice of a description-heavy distant third-person narration for all but these introductory chapters echoes the voice used in many translations of ancient myths and legends, which fits the image he advances for the text. However, it is not the intimate voice used in much of modern fantasy so might not be to every reader’s taste.
The central thread of this novel is Uruk gathering a misfit band to undertake the search and dealing with the social and situational obstacles encountered during it. However, unlike many fantasy quest tales, Uruk recruits units of mercenaries and entire families of rangers creating inter- and intra-factional conflict that adds variety and complexity to the trope of a party that really doesn’t agree on certain things.
In parallel with Uruk’s quest, Mitchell narrates the efforts of a pirate captain to protect his crew and wider community from a sizeable rival force and the authorities. While this includes larger-scale events, it is a more personal narrative; thus, in addition to giving readers a second perspective on the kingdom’s issues, it creates a pleasing contrast to the quest that amplifies the intensity of each.
These two threads are interwoven with each other and a few individual scenes showing character backgrounds or other events outside the main characters’ knowledge. Mitchell balances the shifts well; thus, although some readers might not agree with the exact number of pages they are left waiting for a thread to continue, they are unlikely to feel one subplot is losing out to another.
As might be expected of the first volume of a series, neither main arc fully concludes; however, both reach a significant point that changes the central dilemma, avoiding the sense this is actually a longer book that has been semi-arbitrarily sliced in two.
The characters are an engaging blend of recognisable trope, such as idealistic knight or young thief, and individual complexities, ensuring the larger cast remain distinct without losing the sense that they are complex individuals with their own full lives.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel. I recommend it to readers seeking a classic epic fantasy quest.
June 7, 2023
A solid start to what promises to be an engaging series. Mitchell’s writing style is good, natural and easy to read. He presents us with two story lines which look as though they will converge at some vital point. One of the storylines covers the assembling of a fellowship for a quest and their struggle on an arduous trail (as you would expect). The second storyline covers a heroic pirate and his battle against the forces that are massing against him because of his birthright. This second storyline is more immediately gratifying than the quest, with seat-of-the-pants action from the start. There is a third storyline which only pops up briefly. This one covers the pirate’s nemesis, possibly the origin of the forces of evil.
There’s a lot of promise in this book for the remainder of the saga. I guess I would have preferred fewer characters in the fellowship and a bit more action. There are some potentially formidable protagonists in this storyline, but they didn’t really have enough space to demonstrate their powers and so didn’t really shine as they could have. My guess is that they will kick ass in the sequels, and if they do, those books will be worthy of 4 stars or more! That said, this is so much better and more original than many published works, for example ‘The Sword of Shannara’ that it deserves to be read by fans of fantasy fiction.
There’s a lot of promise in this book for the remainder of the saga. I guess I would have preferred fewer characters in the fellowship and a bit more action. There are some potentially formidable protagonists in this storyline, but they didn’t really have enough space to demonstrate their powers and so didn’t really shine as they could have. My guess is that they will kick ass in the sequels, and if they do, those books will be worthy of 4 stars or more! That said, this is so much better and more original than many published works, for example ‘The Sword of Shannara’ that it deserves to be read by fans of fantasy fiction.
June 11, 2022
Action-packed, intriguing fantasy!people
A priest, his Apprentice, a Knight, 8 Pillars, a Druid and his daughters, Mercenaries, Pirates, and a few other set out on a quest to find the missing Prince. There are many trials and surprises along the way. Timothy Mitchell writes so compellingly to keep your attention throughout the book to see what will happen next. His descriptions of characters and scenes are well written and exciting. I really enjoyed this book, and if you like fantasy, you will like it also. I am looking forward to the next book. Happy reading! 😊
A priest, his Apprentice, a Knight, 8 Pillars, a Druid and his daughters, Mercenaries, Pirates, and a few other set out on a quest to find the missing Prince. There are many trials and surprises along the way. Timothy Mitchell writes so compellingly to keep your attention throughout the book to see what will happen next. His descriptions of characters and scenes are well written and exciting. I really enjoyed this book, and if you like fantasy, you will like it also. I am looking forward to the next book. Happy reading! 😊
February 3, 2023
Probably one of the best books I've found on here so far. Sure. It starts a little slow, but when it picks up, it'll take you on a ride like no other story you've read. Can't wait for Book Two.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews