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Talion: Revenant
The man he is sworn to protect is the man who butchered his family.
Justices—the select of the Talion, endowed with fearsome magick and lethal martial skills—roam the Shattered Empire, crushing the lawless and championing the oppressed. Their word is law and their judgement binding on highborn and low.
Nolan is a Justice born in what once was the free nation of Sinjaria. Orphaned in the war of conquest with the nation of Hamis, he traveled to far Talianna and secured the right to become a Justice. Now, years later, the Master of all Talions has a dangerous assignment for He is to guard the life of the king who destroyed Sinjaria and slaughtered his family. Alone, Nolan ventures into the political maelstrom that is the court of Hamis to stop an assassin even his Masters think cannot be slain. . . .
Justices—the select of the Talion, endowed with fearsome magick and lethal martial skills—roam the Shattered Empire, crushing the lawless and championing the oppressed. Their word is law and their judgement binding on highborn and low.
Nolan is a Justice born in what once was the free nation of Sinjaria. Orphaned in the war of conquest with the nation of Hamis, he traveled to far Talianna and secured the right to become a Justice. Now, years later, the Master of all Talions has a dangerous assignment for He is to guard the life of the king who destroyed Sinjaria and slaughtered his family. Alone, Nolan ventures into the political maelstrom that is the court of Hamis to stop an assassin even his Masters think cannot be slain. . . .
467 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 160 reviews
June 7, 2023
O carte fantasy clasică, bine scrisă
July 4, 2017
I very much enjoyed this novel which alternates chapters from present and past, the latter explaining more about the Talions’ world and traditions, with amazing twists and suspense.
The characters are seemingly real and their growth/development is very well done, with past circumstances and motivations behind their actions and changes. I would have liked some more clear depicting of the countries and their populace, as I found the present ones very interesting - we get a glimpse of Dhesiri, some lizard people living underground in a kind of a hive with a queen; some descendants of elves; some kind of griffins-huge hawks.
Funny facts / similarities with other works: Stackpole just couldn't get away from a little Jedi magic and talk, so he made one of the characters sound exactly like the old lovely master Yoda :) “Dismissed you are, Catalin. Appreciated your aid was.”; couldn’t help but think that maybe N.K. Jemisin inspired her Dreamblood gatherers from Talion justices?; probably this is where Christopher Paolini drew his inspiration for Du Weldenvarden, the elves’ magic forest and home; oh, there’s also a movie on my list: the lizard men made me think of The Time Machine Morlocks, the way they emerged from underground and hunted people.
The characters are seemingly real and their growth/development is very well done, with past circumstances and motivations behind their actions and changes. I would have liked some more clear depicting of the countries and their populace, as I found the present ones very interesting - we get a glimpse of Dhesiri, some lizard people living underground in a kind of a hive with a queen; some descendants of elves; some kind of griffins-huge hawks.
Funny facts / similarities with other works: Stackpole just couldn't get away from a little Jedi magic and talk, so he made one of the characters sound exactly like the old lovely master Yoda :) “Dismissed you are, Catalin. Appreciated your aid was.”; couldn’t help but think that maybe N.K. Jemisin inspired her Dreamblood gatherers from Talion justices?; probably this is where Christopher Paolini drew his inspiration for Du Weldenvarden, the elves’ magic forest and home; oh, there’s also a movie on my list: the lizard men made me think of The Time Machine Morlocks, the way they emerged from underground and hunted people.
April 24, 2021
This is my first read of Michael A. Stackpole and it is a stunning read. I haven't read a such wonderful heroic fantasy book for a long time. The story line between Talion and Nolan shows how the protagonist became a justice to save people, moreover saved a kingdom.
at First I follow Nolan's trial , which gave me a surprise; As the rule of the Trial, Nolan should have failed the test was given by the master of Justices . But they gave a reasonable explain and save Nolan from fail. They want a critical-thinking and thought provoking novice for Justice's candidate.
Not like other fantasy books protagonists always passed trials and show how strong they are.
All the time,I’ve seen Nolan grow and learned.I’ve seen him suffered from the tragedy: family was butcher, his relationship with friends
was broken, His girl friend became mad. Inevitably, he painfully chose to protect a monarch who conquered his home land and slaughtered his family.
Compare to my life,I must say that this is ironic. I was born in the wrong place. My family they hate and disdain Foreign country. I don’t follow their passage, I chose to defend. However, the fact is People from English country they don’t care people like me. Because I am not like them. I am not a part of their family. I am a silly boy. I know I must immigrate to English country. But I know I won’t have a happy ending. In reality I don’t have a actual home. Not like Nolan his country was conquered. After I was born , I am a vagrant. But one thing never changes. My loyalty is to fantasy worlds. Even I become a monster.I am still following the path to fantasy worlds.
at First I follow Nolan's trial , which gave me a surprise; As the rule of the Trial, Nolan should have failed the test was given by the master of Justices . But they gave a reasonable explain and save Nolan from fail. They want a critical-thinking and thought provoking novice for Justice's candidate.
Not like other fantasy books protagonists always passed trials and show how strong they are.
All the time,I’ve seen Nolan grow and learned.I’ve seen him suffered from the tragedy: family was butcher, his relationship with friends
was broken, His girl friend became mad. Inevitably, he painfully chose to protect a monarch who conquered his home land and slaughtered his family.
Compare to my life,I must say that this is ironic. I was born in the wrong place. My family they hate and disdain Foreign country. I don’t follow their passage, I chose to defend. However, the fact is People from English country they don’t care people like me. Because I am not like them. I am not a part of their family. I am a silly boy. I know I must immigrate to English country. But I know I won’t have a happy ending. In reality I don’t have a actual home. Not like Nolan his country was conquered. After I was born , I am a vagrant. But one thing never changes. My loyalty is to fantasy worlds. Even I become a monster.I am still following the path to fantasy worlds.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2017
SINGLE-VOLUME FANTASY ALERT!!!! Yes, I know, these are as rare as a Loch-Ness Monster sighting but it really is true. If you are tired of reading trilogies and you want a solid single-volume fantasy to read, this one is excellent. Pretty traditional fantasy story but with a lot of action and intrigue. Stackpole is mostly known for his Star Wars X-Wing series but here he proves that he's just as good at writing fantasy. I enjoyed this one a great deal and highly recommend it.
January 14, 2016
Fantasy în adevăratul sens al cuvântului, cu un fel de super-erou în persoana Talionului Nolan. O carte densă și alertă în același timp; recenzia, aici: https://fansf.wordpress.com/2014/12/0....
dnf-gave-up-on-not-for-me
May 30, 2017Incredibil de proasta traducerea!! Tradusa cuvant cu cavant, fara adaptare, iar o parte zici ca e facuta cu Google Translate. Dezamagitor: traducator Mircea Pricăjan; echipa de corectura Roxana Samoilescu si Eugenia Ursu.
Voi lasa deoparte editia in romana si ma apuc sa o citesc in engleza. Pacat de coperta, care arata foarte bine..
L.E. Am mai incercat pe la jumatate sa citesc un capitol din editia in romana: suna exact ca dublajul din desenele animate :(
Eu sunt intr-adevar foarte dezamagita, ca sa fiu in ton cu traducerea..
A incercat sa ridice mainile si sa se stearga la fata.
Mania mi se urcase la cap si imi arunca vorbe pe gura.
Eu, Weylan, nu inteleg. (I, Weylan, I don’t understand.)
Voi lasa deoparte editia in romana si ma apuc sa o citesc in engleza. Pacat de coperta, care arata foarte bine..
L.E. Am mai incercat pe la jumatate sa citesc un capitol din editia in romana: suna exact ca dublajul din desenele animate :(
Eu sunt intr-adevar foarte dezamagita, ca sa fiu in ton cu traducerea..
August 6, 2017
I'm summing this one up as "there's nothing new here". Not a bad book, just basic. You've got your Gary Sue orphan boy who is grows up and is great at everything, there's kingdoms in conflict, and even elves (except guys, they're "Aelves" in this book - it's different), and a lackluster deus ex machina ending.
July 15, 2011
Talion: Revenant at first seems a quite simple story about a man by the name of Nolan who is a Talion Justice. The Talions are broken into various groups according to the tasks they can perform. One such group is the Justice, an elite group of individuals that works as a sort of cross between an elite military group (Rangers/Seals/etc) and the CIA. It is their job to administer Justice and it is up to each individual as to what that Justice means. They are answerable only to their superiors and the head of the Talions.
The book starts off at the end of his current assignment, but then quickly goes back to give us a back story of both Nolan and the Talions. The transitions between present and past are well done so I never felt lost. A lot is revealed of Nolan's back story and his motivations for why he does what he does. There are many likable characters which also sets up for some tragic parts within the story. That is one thing that did make this approach of present and past much more acceptable in this story, because you are given time to know the current situation so that such tragedies are a part of this persons past and make them what they are. It gives more of a meaning to such tragedies rather than the author instead throwing them at the reader for shock value. It gave me at least the more comfortable position of looking at old wounds so to speak. The more current part of the story is his mission to prevent the death of a king he despises due to his invasion of the country Nolan lived in as a child and the death of his family at the hands of those invaders.
I have to say over all the book is extremely well done and comes off as a solid history of the character and how he stands now. There were many little reveals that setup well for future stories both in subtle hints as well as outright prophesies.
Which brings up the important fact to those that like the story. The author is offering to do a sequel. He finally got the rights back to the story and has release a Kindle and epub version. Since he now owns the total rights to it if sales do well enough that he can take time from writing other paying stories he will finally write the sequel to it.
The book starts off at the end of his current assignment, but then quickly goes back to give us a back story of both Nolan and the Talions. The transitions between present and past are well done so I never felt lost. A lot is revealed of Nolan's back story and his motivations for why he does what he does. There are many likable characters which also sets up for some tragic parts within the story. That is one thing that did make this approach of present and past much more acceptable in this story, because you are given time to know the current situation so that such tragedies are a part of this persons past and make them what they are. It gives more of a meaning to such tragedies rather than the author instead throwing them at the reader for shock value. It gave me at least the more comfortable position of looking at old wounds so to speak. The more current part of the story is his mission to prevent the death of a king he despises due to his invasion of the country Nolan lived in as a child and the death of his family at the hands of those invaders.
I have to say over all the book is extremely well done and comes off as a solid history of the character and how he stands now. There were many little reveals that setup well for future stories both in subtle hints as well as outright prophesies.
Which brings up the important fact to those that like the story. The author is offering to do a sequel. He finally got the rights back to the story and has release a Kindle and epub version. Since he now owns the total rights to it if sales do well enough that he can take time from writing other paying stories he will finally write the sequel to it.
June 2, 2021
I was not prepared for this book. On the surface, it seems like a stereotypical fantasy novel. In fact, for the first 200 pages, it's exactly that. I thought that during the first half that there was barely any thematic work in this book...
...Boy was I wrong.
We follow Nolan ra Sinjaria, a Talion Justice, whose job it is to go around the world and administrate justice as ordered by the council of Talions and by the Master. At face value, this really seems similar to the Jedi of Star Wars. The Talions are forces for good with special powers, who recieve no compensation and usually are taken from birth(with the notable exception of Nolan). See the comparison? The author is even famous for writing Star Wars novels!
But that is not where this entirely lines up. It seems to me that the Talions are almost more similar to the Aes Sedai of The Wheel of Time. Both Talions and Aes Sedai go through a series of tests to advance different levels, and are separated into different groups where they have designated tasks and therefore designated talents and lifestyles. Ah, that's a more accurate comparison...expect that this book was written before the Wheel of Time came out(released well after the WOT books were popular though), so for inspirations I'll have to assume more of a Star Wars focus.
This book does have some great thematic elements, specifically about redemption and forgiveness. The final scene is one of the most powerful scenes I've read in a book, and it makes me very interested in reading more from Stackpole.
Unfortunately, there are some themes I didn't appreciate in the book. Stackpole relies on some...shall I say...permiscuous elements that I don't care for. Those are common in most fiction and fanatsy though, and Stackpole's were still fairly tame.
There was a bit of odd themes regarding human life. As a whole, Michael Stackpole nails the importance of human life and the sanctity of it, but one decision made by the protagonist at the end of the book has me scratching my head. I won't reveal it for spoiler reasons, but I'm sure you can pick it up after reading the book.
My final gripe is that while the whole book is entertaining, the plot takes a while to get going, and the first half's tone is substantially different from it's second half. However, I loved both parts and really, really had a great time reading the book, which is exactly what it was supposed to do.
Overall, I loved reading this book. It is most definitely stand alone, but Stackpole has some great potential for sequels(which we honestly probably won't get). I enjoyed my experience, but had a few gripes. But overall this is a solid standalone, going in my top standalones list. 9.1 out of 10! Excellent job Stackpole!
...Boy was I wrong.
We follow Nolan ra Sinjaria, a Talion Justice, whose job it is to go around the world and administrate justice as ordered by the council of Talions and by the Master. At face value, this really seems similar to the Jedi of Star Wars. The Talions are forces for good with special powers, who recieve no compensation and usually are taken from birth(with the notable exception of Nolan). See the comparison? The author is even famous for writing Star Wars novels!
But that is not where this entirely lines up. It seems to me that the Talions are almost more similar to the Aes Sedai of The Wheel of Time. Both Talions and Aes Sedai go through a series of tests to advance different levels, and are separated into different groups where they have designated tasks and therefore designated talents and lifestyles. Ah, that's a more accurate comparison...expect that this book was written before the Wheel of Time came out(released well after the WOT books were popular though), so for inspirations I'll have to assume more of a Star Wars focus.
This book does have some great thematic elements, specifically about redemption and forgiveness. The final scene is one of the most powerful scenes I've read in a book, and it makes me very interested in reading more from Stackpole.
Unfortunately, there are some themes I didn't appreciate in the book. Stackpole relies on some...shall I say...permiscuous elements that I don't care for. Those are common in most fiction and fanatsy though, and Stackpole's were still fairly tame.
There was a bit of odd themes regarding human life. As a whole, Michael Stackpole nails the importance of human life and the sanctity of it, but one decision made by the protagonist at the end of the book has me scratching my head. I won't reveal it for spoiler reasons, but I'm sure you can pick it up after reading the book.
My final gripe is that while the whole book is entertaining, the plot takes a while to get going, and the first half's tone is substantially different from it's second half. However, I loved both parts and really, really had a great time reading the book, which is exactly what it was supposed to do.
Overall, I loved reading this book. It is most definitely stand alone, but Stackpole has some great potential for sequels(which we honestly probably won't get). I enjoyed my experience, but had a few gripes. But overall this is a solid standalone, going in my top standalones list. 9.1 out of 10! Excellent job Stackpole!
December 12, 2010
Embarrassingly juvenile writing and stilted characters. I actually PAID for this drivel based on the very high average rating for it, both here and at Amazon, and rave reviews. My mistake. Most of those reviews must have been written by the author or friends thereof - or perhaps teenagers moving on from Eddings and R.A. Salvatore.
I tossed this aside 20% into it - a few paragraphs after this statement by the then 13-year-old protagonist, following the "Lord of Justices" (real title!) on the first day after acceptance into training as a Justice.
"Lord Hansur glided through the maze without making a sound. Thrown back over his left shoulder, his black cloak did not hide the death's-head ensign on his left breast, but I could not imagine that anyone who saw him could mistake him for another. His bearing and aura of power were unique. Even blind and half-dead I would know him."
The next paragraphs got worse, but I'm not retyping them here because I can't bear to reread them.
I tossed this aside 20% into it - a few paragraphs after this statement by the then 13-year-old protagonist, following the "Lord of Justices" (real title!) on the first day after acceptance into training as a Justice.
"Lord Hansur glided through the maze without making a sound. Thrown back over his left shoulder, his black cloak did not hide the death's-head ensign on his left breast, but I could not imagine that anyone who saw him could mistake him for another. His bearing and aura of power were unique. Even blind and half-dead I would know him."
The next paragraphs got worse, but I'm not retyping them here because I can't bear to reread them.
July 4, 2014
For years, Stackpole has been lauded by the Science Fiction community for his superb Star Wars and Battletech novels. This review is about his first novel, Talion:Revenant. The interesting thing about Talion: Revenant is that it originally was not published because it was to long for an unknown author. All I have to say is I am quite glad that Talion: Revenant was eventually released.
The novel begins with Nolan, an experienced Justice, hunting down the thief Morai and his various lackeys. After Nolan deals with a fair amount of Morai’s lackey’s, the story switches to when Nolan was younger in and pursuit to become a Justice. Stackpole does a great job of switching the viewpoints of the young and adult Nolan.
The word Talion, in the title, refers to the peacekeeping force of the Shattered Empire. The closest example that I can think of to describe Talion’s are Jedi from George Lucas’ Star Wars. Talions reside in the beautiful valley city, Talianna and are divided into seven different groups.
1. Elites- A group of Talions who ride hawks and do reconnaissance missions.
2. Wizards- A group of Talions who use magic
3. Warrior- A group of Talions who are trained as an elite fighter
4. Lancer- A group of Talions who train with a lance
5. Archer- A group of Talions who master the bow and arrow
6. Servers- A group of Talions who deal with maintaining Talianna
7. Justice-The most important group of Talions who are tasked with maintaining peace in the Shattered Empire.
The division of Talions that is the most interesting is the Justice. Before one can become a Justice, they must be at least adequate in the skills of other divisions and go through a grueling training regimen. The most notable thing about the Justice is the skull tattoo on there hand which allows them to steal the soul of whomever they would like. If a Justice decides to steal the soul of a person, they must undergo a ritual in which they are cleansed of the soul. If the soul was taken in malice, the Justice is put to death.
Nolan, as a Justice, is put in intriguing moral situations as both as an adult and a prospective justice. The adult Nolan has all of the power of the world, but must refrain from using it because of his own moral code. The young Nolan’s quest to find his place as a prospective Justice is intoxicating. Should he dispense justice as a fearful entity or use his wits and good nature to ensure stability in the Shattered Empire?
I only had two issues with the novel. The first issue is more of a personal gripe than an issue with the novel itself. One of the fight scenes in the middle of the book involves Nolan and 3 others, fighting back hundreds of goblin workers. The issue I have with this fight is that it lacks the finesse of all of the other fights throughout the novel and is reduced to a massacre that resembles a DOTA game (I apologize for the nerdy video game reference) or a tower defense game. The second issue I have with the novel is that the ending is a bit rushed. The issues I have in all honesty are quite small and should not affect your decision to read the book.
Talion:Revenant was a quick and interesting read for me. The novel has all the qualities that a novel should have: a believable setting, fleshed out characters, and intriguing moral questions.
The novel begins with Nolan, an experienced Justice, hunting down the thief Morai and his various lackeys. After Nolan deals with a fair amount of Morai’s lackey’s, the story switches to when Nolan was younger in and pursuit to become a Justice. Stackpole does a great job of switching the viewpoints of the young and adult Nolan.
The word Talion, in the title, refers to the peacekeeping force of the Shattered Empire. The closest example that I can think of to describe Talion’s are Jedi from George Lucas’ Star Wars. Talions reside in the beautiful valley city, Talianna and are divided into seven different groups.
1. Elites- A group of Talions who ride hawks and do reconnaissance missions.
2. Wizards- A group of Talions who use magic
3. Warrior- A group of Talions who are trained as an elite fighter
4. Lancer- A group of Talions who train with a lance
5. Archer- A group of Talions who master the bow and arrow
6. Servers- A group of Talions who deal with maintaining Talianna
7. Justice-The most important group of Talions who are tasked with maintaining peace in the Shattered Empire.
The division of Talions that is the most interesting is the Justice. Before one can become a Justice, they must be at least adequate in the skills of other divisions and go through a grueling training regimen. The most notable thing about the Justice is the skull tattoo on there hand which allows them to steal the soul of whomever they would like. If a Justice decides to steal the soul of a person, they must undergo a ritual in which they are cleansed of the soul. If the soul was taken in malice, the Justice is put to death.
Nolan, as a Justice, is put in intriguing moral situations as both as an adult and a prospective justice. The adult Nolan has all of the power of the world, but must refrain from using it because of his own moral code. The young Nolan’s quest to find his place as a prospective Justice is intoxicating. Should he dispense justice as a fearful entity or use his wits and good nature to ensure stability in the Shattered Empire?
I only had two issues with the novel. The first issue is more of a personal gripe than an issue with the novel itself. One of the fight scenes in the middle of the book involves Nolan and 3 others, fighting back hundreds of goblin workers. The issue I have with this fight is that it lacks the finesse of all of the other fights throughout the novel and is reduced to a massacre that resembles a DOTA game (I apologize for the nerdy video game reference) or a tower defense game. The second issue I have with the novel is that the ending is a bit rushed. The issues I have in all honesty are quite small and should not affect your decision to read the book.
Talion:Revenant was a quick and interesting read for me. The novel has all the qualities that a novel should have: a believable setting, fleshed out characters, and intriguing moral questions.
July 23, 2010
I came across this book by chance. One of the ebook blogs I read said the author was offering DRM-free versions of some of his books on his site. So I bought this one for 5 bucks. I like to support authors directly especially when they offer DRM-free books.
This was actually his first novel, though originally not published because they thought it too long for a new author and so was not published until after he had built a solid reputation and following.
The Taliion is sort of like a cross between and FBI agent and a Palidin and the story tells of the hero's latest mission along with alternating chapters filling in the backstory of how he became and Talion and his subsequent training.
I was very quickly engrossed in the story and stayed that way throughout. I really liked the moral aspects as the hero deals with tempering mercy and justice as he holds himself to high ideals. I found the characters in the story to be well fleshed out and quite likable and while the novel has many common attributes of most fantasy novels I found I did not feel like I was just going over old territory.
This was actually the first of his books and I will be looking for his others books, especially his highly regarded Star Wars novels.
This was actually his first novel, though originally not published because they thought it too long for a new author and so was not published until after he had built a solid reputation and following.
The Taliion is sort of like a cross between and FBI agent and a Palidin and the story tells of the hero's latest mission along with alternating chapters filling in the backstory of how he became and Talion and his subsequent training.
I was very quickly engrossed in the story and stayed that way throughout. I really liked the moral aspects as the hero deals with tempering mercy and justice as he holds himself to high ideals. I found the characters in the story to be well fleshed out and quite likable and while the novel has many common attributes of most fantasy novels I found I did not feel like I was just going over old territory.
This was actually the first of his books and I will be looking for his others books, especially his highly regarded Star Wars novels.
February 12, 2025
Perhaps a bit of nostalgia, but I still adore this book. I read it when I was an adolescent and I still remember just how much fun I had. This is a swashbuckling sword and sorcery tale with lots of heart, an interesting world and a protagonist with all the right morals. It stands all by itself as a complete tale that's just good clean fun with a tiny bit of depth to morals and the use of violence. It's not a perfect book, the dialogue especially, but it's a good book. The quintessential example of a mid-nineties sword and sorcery book.
January 19, 2016
I'm kind of surprised this book hasn't gotten more notice. It's one of the best standalone fantasy novels I've ever read. Stackpole managed to write a story that feels both intimate and epic. The weaving of two different timelines for the main character really adds to the story, and everything comes together beautifully (and tragically) at the end.
Rating: 9/10
Rating: 9/10
July 22, 2011
One of the best stand alone fantasy novels I have ever read. SOOOO tragic that it is not a series...a very long series!!
April 2, 2019
A standalone heroic fantasy in the tradition of the great David Gemmell. I enjoyed reading this book. It has adventure, excitement, magic, action, and likable characters. It is beautifully written, and the story is full of heart and energy that has a element of bittersweet sadness to it. It is nothing new, but, the entire story is a journey which you will undertake with the protagonist, cheer for him, and fight with him along the way. It exudes passion, and the underlying themes of friendship, love, Justice will engage you with myriad emotions and make you feel.
The plot is done almost hundreds of times before, and yet Stackpole manages to renew it with vigour. The worldbuilding is pretty solid. I liked the idea of an elite independent military organisation that doesn't have any political affiliations, and are tasked with keeping order and maintaining peace, and justice. The first-person narrative switches back between the past and present smoothly, giving depth and significance to the plot. We get to know more about the background of the protagonist, his training, his internal and external conflicts, both with himself, his friends, and his enemies. The magic system that has to do something with souls is fascinating, and the action is vicious when it comes. There were some parts that didn't work for me, particularly the winter-games part, but, otherwise it was definitely entertaining.
The characters were interesting, and our protagonist Nolan is a Justice, the most revered and feared division of the Talions. For him Justice isn't a weapon or a privilege, it is a gift that is tempered with mercy and common sense. He is sensible, makes good decisions, a strong fighter, and has a compassionate outlook towards life. His backstory is very intriguing, and has a surprised twist towards the end. I liked the dynamics of relationships between him, Marana, Lothar, Jevin, and the others. I enjoyed the romantic angle with Marana. Morai, the brave bandit was a fun character that brought humour and quirkiness to the story. His interactions with Nolan were delightful, and elicited a chuckle or two from me while reading.
The most interesting part comes when Nolan is sent to protect the very king who destroyed his country and killed his family. Nolan does his job with grudging respect, and gains favor of the king when he rescues the king's hunting group from a colony of goblins. The court politics is subtly weaved into the events, and that adds a sense of anticipation to the ending that is to come. Nolan learns his purpose, and his sense of vengeance doesn't impede upon his actions as the protector to the king's heir. He develops a sense of trust with the king whom he detested earlier, and also, builds a friendship with the princess and protects her from an assassination at the cost of his life.
Talion is undoubtedly a tale of heroism and sacrifice, and of goodness that exists amidst all the chaos of the world. I think that despite the satisfactory and beautiful ending, there are possibilities of more stories to be told in this world. I think that Stackpole should write more fantasy, and this book needs more attention from the fantasy reading community. I would like to read more about Nolan, Jevin, Morai, and join them in their quest for justice. I would recommend this to readers who are looking for a goodhearted story with soul and action.
The plot is done almost hundreds of times before, and yet Stackpole manages to renew it with vigour. The worldbuilding is pretty solid. I liked the idea of an elite independent military organisation that doesn't have any political affiliations, and are tasked with keeping order and maintaining peace, and justice. The first-person narrative switches back between the past and present smoothly, giving depth and significance to the plot. We get to know more about the background of the protagonist, his training, his internal and external conflicts, both with himself, his friends, and his enemies. The magic system that has to do something with souls is fascinating, and the action is vicious when it comes. There were some parts that didn't work for me, particularly the winter-games part, but, otherwise it was definitely entertaining.
The characters were interesting, and our protagonist Nolan is a Justice, the most revered and feared division of the Talions. For him Justice isn't a weapon or a privilege, it is a gift that is tempered with mercy and common sense. He is sensible, makes good decisions, a strong fighter, and has a compassionate outlook towards life. His backstory is very intriguing, and has a surprised twist towards the end. I liked the dynamics of relationships between him, Marana, Lothar, Jevin, and the others. I enjoyed the romantic angle with Marana. Morai, the brave bandit was a fun character that brought humour and quirkiness to the story. His interactions with Nolan were delightful, and elicited a chuckle or two from me while reading.
The most interesting part comes when Nolan is sent to protect the very king who destroyed his country and killed his family. Nolan does his job with grudging respect, and gains favor of the king when he rescues the king's hunting group from a colony of goblins. The court politics is subtly weaved into the events, and that adds a sense of anticipation to the ending that is to come. Nolan learns his purpose, and his sense of vengeance doesn't impede upon his actions as the protector to the king's heir. He develops a sense of trust with the king whom he detested earlier, and also, builds a friendship with the princess and protects her from an assassination at the cost of his life.
Talion is undoubtedly a tale of heroism and sacrifice, and of goodness that exists amidst all the chaos of the world. I think that despite the satisfactory and beautiful ending, there are possibilities of more stories to be told in this world. I think that Stackpole should write more fantasy, and this book needs more attention from the fantasy reading community. I would like to read more about Nolan, Jevin, Morai, and join them in their quest for justice. I would recommend this to readers who are looking for a goodhearted story with soul and action.
April 7, 2023
Our story starts with the Main Character, Nolan, tracking a group of fugitives. You see, Nolan is a Talion which is an elite squad of soldiers from a place called Taliana. There are a variety of factions in the Talions, examples being Lancers, Elites, Justices, and so on. Our boy Nolan is a Justice, and wouldn't you know it, his job is to hunt criminals and seek justice. The Talions belong to no nation but police all the surrounding countries that allow them to. All the nations were part of an empire and it crumbled and broke off into many smaller nations kind of like the Western Roman Empire. The Talions were the enforcers for the Emperor but still continue to function now that the empire is no longer around. That's a hell of a lot of backstory but it's necessary to explain the general premise of the book.
Anyways, Nolan is hunting a group but one man in particular named Morai. He's been seeking this man for quite some time but has failed to bring him to justice. The story then alternates between the present day and the past, for the rest of the novel, showing how Nolan became a Talion. I generally hate this type of storytelling, because it cuts away from the good parts, and more often than not the backstory could be condensed considerably. I would say it's no different here but I tolerated it nonetheless. Nolan's family was killed when he was young and his nation was conquered by a neighboring country so he sought out the Talions to become a Justice. He then goes through trials and becomes a justice. After the mission with Morai ends he is given an important assignment to travel to his old country and protect the king who conquered his nation. I skipped a lot of details but I don't want to spoil anything and it's mostly superfluous anyhow. Nolan is very upset by this but agrees to take the mission regardless.
Anyways, Nolan is hunting a group but one man in particular named Morai. He's been seeking this man for quite some time but has failed to bring him to justice. The story then alternates between the present day and the past, for the rest of the novel, showing how Nolan became a Talion. I generally hate this type of storytelling, because it cuts away from the good parts, and more often than not the backstory could be condensed considerably. I would say it's no different here but I tolerated it nonetheless. Nolan's family was killed when he was young and his nation was conquered by a neighboring country so he sought out the Talions to become a Justice. He then goes through trials and becomes a justice. After the mission with Morai ends he is given an important assignment to travel to his old country and protect the king who conquered his nation. I skipped a lot of details but I don't want to spoil anything and it's mostly superfluous anyhow. Nolan is very upset by this but agrees to take the mission regardless.
Read
July 13, 2010Michael A. Stackpole (Author of Star Wars novels including "I, Jedi" and many Battletech novels) has retained his electronic publishing rights and re-released "Talion: Revenant", an amazing fantasy novel, as an e-book for $5. He's setting aside profits from the sales and promises to write a long awaited sequel once he's sold 10,000 copies (After all is said and done he estimates he'd net around $27,000 from the sales that he'd then live on for the year he estimates it would take to write and edit the novel). I HIGHLY recommend this novel, and really want to read the promised sequel. It's available either from Amazon for the Kindle, or from Michael's own website and store (http://www.michaelastackpole.com/store/). If you are interested in a good read, buy the book, if you are interested in DIRECTLY employing an excellent author, buy the book, if you'd like to show the big publishing houses the way of the future, buy the book.
April 1, 2017
This was one of the worst books I've read. Talion: Revenant is written in first person perspective and waddles its way through a cliched and under developed story where adventure meets political intrigue, love, loss, and betrayal...all of which is terribly written.
This book warms the thoughts of many readers. I could see enjoying this work if it were your first venture into reading a larger book as a child. I could see enjoying this work if you've never encountered fantasy before (maybe). If you don't care about characters, emotion, consistency..you may also like the book. I mean there are knights with soul-sucking tattoos on their palms.
I have no idea how this book has such high reviews. I found it absolutely awful.
This book warms the thoughts of many readers. I could see enjoying this work if it were your first venture into reading a larger book as a child. I could see enjoying this work if you've never encountered fantasy before (maybe). If you don't care about characters, emotion, consistency..you may also like the book. I mean there are knights with soul-sucking tattoos on their palms.
I have no idea how this book has such high reviews. I found it absolutely awful.
September 24, 2018
The first two chapters felt a little clunky to start with but then the author seemed to hit his stride and the storytelling was much smoother. I really enjoyed the world of the Talions even if the magic was a bit random. I liked Nolan though he wasn’t perfect and I really liked the jump from present to past as you learnt how Nolan came to be as he was. I thought the ending was a bit rushed but overall a good read.
Want to read
October 22, 2025Michael sent me some encouraging words after I received rejections from some literary agents and he told me the story about how this book wasn't published for so long. I should read it :)
June 15, 2021
4.5 stars. Solid fantasy novel with good world building, interesting characters, and slightly unexpected plot twists. I will probably read it again in the future
May 4, 2024
Enjoyed the read, prose could be better. Strangely, a whole bunch of typographical errors; not sure if they are exclusive to the Kindle version I read or not. Good worldbuilding, not crazy about the ending.
February 28, 2019
Wow that was a huge disappointment.
First off, I want to begin by saying the first half of this book is absolutely astounding. It was action packed throughout, the side characters were great and the hero had good morals. It switches between perspectives from a younger version of Nolan to an Older one where he is a Justice. I really enjoyed Stackpole's writing style in the first person and I thought this book would be a definite 5 stars.
That's when the problems started.
For starters, the book's main premise does not start until halfway through the book. Stackpole is so busy on writing Nolan's current mission (Which is incredible) that he forgets he has an actual plot to fill in. This causes severe pacing issues which go way too fast for comfort reading. It was a total drag to get through the younger Nolan scenes as the chapters in that perspective got worse and worse, leading to a rage filled ending (on the readers side) that is not satisfying at all.
*SPOILERS BEGIN HERE*
Lets begin with my biggest problem. There is a scene where Nolan and Marana (A character interested in Lothar) are bonding together. What happens next? THEY BEGIN TO HAVE SEX! EVEN THOUGH MARANA IS WITH LOTHAR! I was screaming at this book for being so stupid and the thing that pisses me off the most is that Nolan thinks Lothar is going to give them his blessing to be together! ARE YOU GOD DAMN STUPID!? That leads to Lothar getting pissed and challenging Nolan to a death match... that doesn't happen until the end of the book.
And at this point, Lothar is completely villainized even though he has total right to be pissed at Nolan. The worst thing that happens is that Lothar dies but we don't know how at the moment. This leads the province of Jania (Which is where Lothar is from) to try and have Nolan Sentenced to death rightfully so. BUT OH NO! He is the main character so we can't let that happen so they give him a pat on the back and never do anything about it. No consequences. None.
What a Garry Stu. Which is another problem (Don't worry, I'll go back to the villainizing part in a second) Nolan becomes more of a Garry Stu character throughout the book. He is always good at fights, never gets hurt and no consequences ever happen to him throughout the second half.
But you know who killed Lothar? MARANA! Because he thought after being saved by Nolan, he was trying to choke him when he was checking his pulse! This is when the story goes off the frickin rails and leaves no satisfaction whatsoever to the reader. You villainized a completely justifiable character. Well done.
*SPOILERS END HERE*
It Sucks! Because the book started out so super strong and that characters (even the hero) felt real and the writing was great even the action scenes were superb and were consistent throughout! But then it turned into amateur fanfiction and the author kept making so many mistakes and it got so god damn frustrating!
Of course, I need to go easy on him. The Afterword said this was his first novel but it wasn't published until much later because he was a newbie at the time. They gave him Star Wars and Battletech novels to write and I'm curious to see how those turn out. Being a first novel, there will obviously be big mistakes made, there will obviously be things he will try to conquer at writing but will sometimes fail. I can't blame him for trying as this was his first novel and he said when this was published, nearly all the text was left unharmed and did not go another draft (Maybe that's why the second half sucks?) so if that's the case, I need to not holler so much.
For a first novel, it's not too bad, but it desperately needed several rewrites to work in the second half. If Stackpole put 200 more pages into the book, I think pacing wouldn't have been a problem. As I said, I do like how Stackpole writes so I will read his DragonCrown War Cycle when I can. I cannot really recommend it to people wanting a strong satisfying standalone. But if you want a diamond in the rough, Talion: Revenant will probably bring a smile one's face. Just be aware quality drops after the first half.
3.5/5
First off, I want to begin by saying the first half of this book is absolutely astounding. It was action packed throughout, the side characters were great and the hero had good morals. It switches between perspectives from a younger version of Nolan to an Older one where he is a Justice. I really enjoyed Stackpole's writing style in the first person and I thought this book would be a definite 5 stars.
That's when the problems started.
For starters, the book's main premise does not start until halfway through the book. Stackpole is so busy on writing Nolan's current mission (Which is incredible) that he forgets he has an actual plot to fill in. This causes severe pacing issues which go way too fast for comfort reading. It was a total drag to get through the younger Nolan scenes as the chapters in that perspective got worse and worse, leading to a rage filled ending (on the readers side) that is not satisfying at all.
*SPOILERS BEGIN HERE*
Lets begin with my biggest problem. There is a scene where Nolan and Marana (A character interested in Lothar) are bonding together. What happens next? THEY BEGIN TO HAVE SEX! EVEN THOUGH MARANA IS WITH LOTHAR! I was screaming at this book for being so stupid and the thing that pisses me off the most is that Nolan thinks Lothar is going to give them his blessing to be together! ARE YOU GOD DAMN STUPID!? That leads to Lothar getting pissed and challenging Nolan to a death match... that doesn't happen until the end of the book.
And at this point, Lothar is completely villainized even though he has total right to be pissed at Nolan. The worst thing that happens is that Lothar dies but we don't know how at the moment. This leads the province of Jania (Which is where Lothar is from) to try and have Nolan Sentenced to death rightfully so. BUT OH NO! He is the main character so we can't let that happen so they give him a pat on the back and never do anything about it. No consequences. None.
What a Garry Stu. Which is another problem (Don't worry, I'll go back to the villainizing part in a second) Nolan becomes more of a Garry Stu character throughout the book. He is always good at fights, never gets hurt and no consequences ever happen to him throughout the second half.
But you know who killed Lothar? MARANA! Because he thought after being saved by Nolan, he was trying to choke him when he was checking his pulse! This is when the story goes off the frickin rails and leaves no satisfaction whatsoever to the reader. You villainized a completely justifiable character. Well done.
*SPOILERS END HERE*
It Sucks! Because the book started out so super strong and that characters (even the hero) felt real and the writing was great even the action scenes were superb and were consistent throughout! But then it turned into amateur fanfiction and the author kept making so many mistakes and it got so god damn frustrating!
Of course, I need to go easy on him. The Afterword said this was his first novel but it wasn't published until much later because he was a newbie at the time. They gave him Star Wars and Battletech novels to write and I'm curious to see how those turn out. Being a first novel, there will obviously be big mistakes made, there will obviously be things he will try to conquer at writing but will sometimes fail. I can't blame him for trying as this was his first novel and he said when this was published, nearly all the text was left unharmed and did not go another draft (Maybe that's why the second half sucks?) so if that's the case, I need to not holler so much.
For a first novel, it's not too bad, but it desperately needed several rewrites to work in the second half. If Stackpole put 200 more pages into the book, I think pacing wouldn't have been a problem. As I said, I do like how Stackpole writes so I will read his DragonCrown War Cycle when I can. I cannot really recommend it to people wanting a strong satisfying standalone. But if you want a diamond in the rough, Talion: Revenant will probably bring a smile one's face. Just be aware quality drops after the first half.
3.5/5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2022
I must start by saying I feel like a heretic for giving this book only 2 stars. I was first introduced to Stackpole through his Star Wars books, and I loved them! I was so excited to discover he had fantasy novels as well, I had to read one. In the afterword, though (at least in the edition I read), Mr. Stackpole relates that this was his first novel, and it shows.
There are some excellent ideas here, and the world seems rich (though it's breadth is only hinted at, which is also fantastic). I love how Stackpole develops the geography and history of the world only through the story itself. (I often wonder how good The Belgeriad might have been without the huge intro giving away all the best secrets of the backstory.)
Unfortunately, this challenge leads to some painful flaws. The dialogue, not fantastic in the best of scenes, immediately switches to generic, voiceless prose anytime a character is engaging in an exposition dump. Within two sentences my inner voice is screaming, "People don't talk this way!" These monologues are hard to write, yes, but the ability to do them well is one of the things separating a good speculative fiction writer from a great one, and at this point in his development, I'm sad to say Stackpole wasn't *yet* great.
The story is also told through a dual timeline, and while this can be effective in some cases, and I enjoyed it at the beginning, as the narrative unfolded and the trajectory of the story became clear, I found myself wishing this tale had instead been told as a straight chronology. I believe the protagonist is engaging enough to carry the story through the first parts, before all the big, epic stuff starts happening, and a few of the character relationship arcs would have been so much more engaging if the book didn't do a "self-spoiler" of their outcomes through the parallel timelines. Maybe a brief introduction showing what the protagonist would one day become to hook the reader in, before jumping back to the origin, would have worked better.
All in all, I'm glad I read it, but I can only recommend it to students of writing and world-building and not to the general fan of the genre.
*I would gladly read a sequel to this book, or anything set in the same universe, by the more mature Stackpole with his developed skills. There might be something available in serial format through his Patreon, but I'm not in a position to invest in that right now. More's the pity.*
There are some excellent ideas here, and the world seems rich (though it's breadth is only hinted at, which is also fantastic). I love how Stackpole develops the geography and history of the world only through the story itself. (I often wonder how good The Belgeriad might have been without the huge intro giving away all the best secrets of the backstory.)
Unfortunately, this challenge leads to some painful flaws. The dialogue, not fantastic in the best of scenes, immediately switches to generic, voiceless prose anytime a character is engaging in an exposition dump. Within two sentences my inner voice is screaming, "People don't talk this way!" These monologues are hard to write, yes, but the ability to do them well is one of the things separating a good speculative fiction writer from a great one, and at this point in his development, I'm sad to say Stackpole wasn't *yet* great.
The story is also told through a dual timeline, and while this can be effective in some cases, and I enjoyed it at the beginning, as the narrative unfolded and the trajectory of the story became clear, I found myself wishing this tale had instead been told as a straight chronology. I believe the protagonist is engaging enough to carry the story through the first parts, before all the big, epic stuff starts happening, and a few of the character relationship arcs would have been so much more engaging if the book didn't do a "self-spoiler" of their outcomes through the parallel timelines. Maybe a brief introduction showing what the protagonist would one day become to hook the reader in, before jumping back to the origin, would have worked better.
All in all, I'm glad I read it, but I can only recommend it to students of writing and world-building and not to the general fan of the genre.
*I would gladly read a sequel to this book, or anything set in the same universe, by the more mature Stackpole with his developed skills. There might be something available in serial format through his Patreon, but I'm not in a position to invest in that right now. More's the pity.*
February 18, 2013
The main character in this book is a Talion. What's a Talion? Well, they're part James Bond, part knight, part old West wandering lawman, and part Dementor. They roam around the empire hunting down criminals and, if necessary, sucking out their souls if they've been really bad. Stackpole focuses on the story of a Talion from Sinjaria/Hamis. Every other chapter alternates between telling how he came to be a Talion (so his story from age 12 on up) and present day as he is chasing down criminals & about to catch his arch-nemesis only to be called home and sent on an undercover mission to protect a King from an undead assassin and whoever is controlling it. Oh, and the King just happens to be the guy who usurped the throne of Talion's birth country and was responsible for the soldiers that brutally murdered all of Talion's family.
Stackpole weaves a highly likeable, upright, honorable Talion for our main character. Talion is also an insanely skilled tactical and killing machine. Don't mess with him! He has an interesting array of supporting characters to flesh out the story. And the back and forth nature of the story reveals things to the reader in a clever manner so as to keep one guessing or jumping to wrong conclussions till the very end.
I liked the story and thought it was cleverly done and creative, but I didn't finish it thinking I would NEED to re-read it sometime soon.
Notes on content: There are about a half dozen uses of mild swearing throughout the book. There is a sexual relationship between two unmarried characters. It is just stated that they "make love" two times in the book with no further details or description. It is hinted that Talion's mom and sister are raped before they are murdered, but not stated or described outright. There is quite a bit of violence. Talion is constantly battling people throughout the book, so there are descriptions of slashes and broken bones and several battle scenes. The scene of Talion's family getting murdered is especially brutal. If it were made into a movie, the battle scenes would earn the film an R rating.
Stackpole weaves a highly likeable, upright, honorable Talion for our main character. Talion is also an insanely skilled tactical and killing machine. Don't mess with him! He has an interesting array of supporting characters to flesh out the story. And the back and forth nature of the story reveals things to the reader in a clever manner so as to keep one guessing or jumping to wrong conclussions till the very end.
I liked the story and thought it was cleverly done and creative, but I didn't finish it thinking I would NEED to re-read it sometime soon.
Notes on content: There are about a half dozen uses of mild swearing throughout the book. There is a sexual relationship between two unmarried characters. It is just stated that they "make love" two times in the book with no further details or description. It is hinted that Talion's mom and sister are raped before they are murdered, but not stated or described outright. There is quite a bit of violence. Talion is constantly battling people throughout the book, so there are descriptions of slashes and broken bones and several battle scenes. The scene of Talion's family getting murdered is especially brutal. If it were made into a movie, the battle scenes would earn the film an R rating.
July 15, 2024
I loved Michael Stackpole's Star Wars books, so I was excited to see a standalone fantasy novel from him. Sadly, this one was disappointing even when my expectations weren't incredibly high. Stackpole basically just wrote Star Wars as a fantasy novel with an uninspired Gary Stu as the lead.
The chapters go back and forth between present day and Nolan's origin story of becoming a Talion (not Jedi Knight). His present day chapters consist of walking somewhere, talking to someone, and killing a guy. Rinse and repeat. His flashback chapters were more compelling at first, but then they turned into "here's something important to know for the upcoming present-day chapter so he can kill another guy." The ending really makes everything convenient and perfectly work out for our main character despite promising us an interesting internal conflict on the back of the book.
I loved the Selia character and was excited for her to become a foil. Nope, she's only in like three chapters. I also got annoyed when everyone in the book just started talking like the author. I don't think everyone in a fantasy world would say, "Point taken."
My other major problem with this book is that the author apparently felt the need to dangle a shiny object in front of his readers every five pages. We can't possibly have a quiet moment of introspection or talking between characters, we need to have Nolan punch someone! There's too much travel in Lord of the Rings, throw in another fight sequence! While there were a few compelling moments where Nolan had to follow a contract to corrupt employers, I never genuinely feared for this character losing a battle and it just got exhausting. While this is a shorter fantasy novel (and a standalone!), it took me over a week to get through this slog.
The chapters go back and forth between present day and Nolan's origin story of becoming a Talion (not Jedi Knight). His present day chapters consist of walking somewhere, talking to someone, and killing a guy. Rinse and repeat. His flashback chapters were more compelling at first, but then they turned into "here's something important to know for the upcoming present-day chapter so he can kill another guy." The ending really makes everything convenient and perfectly work out for our main character despite promising us an interesting internal conflict on the back of the book.
I loved the Selia character and was excited for her to become a foil. Nope, she's only in like three chapters. I also got annoyed when everyone in the book just started talking like the author. I don't think everyone in a fantasy world would say, "Point taken."
My other major problem with this book is that the author apparently felt the need to dangle a shiny object in front of his readers every five pages. We can't possibly have a quiet moment of introspection or talking between characters, we need to have Nolan punch someone! There's too much travel in Lord of the Rings, throw in another fight sequence! While there were a few compelling moments where Nolan had to follow a contract to corrupt employers, I never genuinely feared for this character losing a battle and it just got exhausting. While this is a shorter fantasy novel (and a standalone!), it took me over a week to get through this slog.
June 1, 2013
Honestly, there's some really good ideas in this book, too bad they're not implemented well enough to be all that interesting.
The book started out well, the first chapter had a nice little fight scene. Then when Nolan is taking his test I thought it was decent. Then it just gets so boring. I found this book a chore to finish and it wasn't even that long. I guess that's what get for reading this after A Game of Thrones. The pacing is completely inconsistent, sometimes it moves along fast and nicely other times it drags really badly. The last 100 pages or so I just stopped caring what was happening. Someone mentioned that the ending was good, I didn't even give a crap at that point.
The characters are a little one dimensional and most of the emotions expressed feel very forced. And most of the parts where something is supposed to be revealing and a surprise just fall so flat it's sad. Putting an exclamation at the end of the sentence doesn't help it to be more revealing or exciting at all. I just didn't enjoy this book, I don't understand how some people rated this a 5 out of 5, I'm sorry. Glad to be done with it so I can read something much better.
The book started out well, the first chapter had a nice little fight scene. Then when Nolan is taking his test I thought it was decent. Then it just gets so boring. I found this book a chore to finish and it wasn't even that long. I guess that's what get for reading this after A Game of Thrones. The pacing is completely inconsistent, sometimes it moves along fast and nicely other times it drags really badly. The last 100 pages or so I just stopped caring what was happening. Someone mentioned that the ending was good, I didn't even give a crap at that point.
The characters are a little one dimensional and most of the emotions expressed feel very forced. And most of the parts where something is supposed to be revealing and a surprise just fall so flat it's sad. Putting an exclamation at the end of the sentence doesn't help it to be more revealing or exciting at all. I just didn't enjoy this book, I don't understand how some people rated this a 5 out of 5, I'm sorry. Glad to be done with it so I can read something much better.
January 3, 2015
Fantasy, set in a mythical world, 1,000 years after the collapse of a great empire. At the time of the book, all that remains of the empire are the Talions, created as peacekeepers during the Empire, and now acting as free agents to keep the competing nation-states in balance (very similar to the Jedi in Star Wars). There are various branches of Talion, including two military branches, Wizards, and "Justice Talions." The latter have the power to take people's souls.
The story follows one of these Justice Talions. Told in alternating narratives: one set in the present, one recounting his history of joining the Talions. The two stories ultimately merge with a plot to murder the King of one of the nations, which our hero is tasked with stopping.
Full of the usual action : sword fights, chases, and hand to hand combat, but also includes some significant character development. The twists in the story pull the reader along. However, a couple of plot twists are cliched (long lost twin--really?), which detracts from the overall power of the story. Nonetheless, a good read.
The story follows one of these Justice Talions. Told in alternating narratives: one set in the present, one recounting his history of joining the Talions. The two stories ultimately merge with a plot to murder the King of one of the nations, which our hero is tasked with stopping.
Full of the usual action : sword fights, chases, and hand to hand combat, but also includes some significant character development. The twists in the story pull the reader along. However, a couple of plot twists are cliched (long lost twin--really?), which detracts from the overall power of the story. Nonetheless, a good read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 20, 2012
In looking for a starting point to try reading more fantasy works, I thought I'd start with someone who's writting style hasn't proven a problem for me in the past. I came to this book as a fan of the author's work on the Star Wars X-Wing series. And now, a part of me wonders if I would have enjoyed this book more if it had been set in an already established setting where the author didn't have as much freedom to create.
I sit here trying to think of a reason why I didn't like this book more. I don't think there was one big thing that I can point to and say that "this is my problem with it". I think it was just a lot of little things that added up over the course of book. Things like deciding to use "fantasy language word" for fairly mundane item for several chapters before explaining what it means and the significance of why the word is being used. Or spending an entire chapter on world building that doesn't actually have any kind of payoff for the story.
I sit here trying to think of a reason why I didn't like this book more. I don't think there was one big thing that I can point to and say that "this is my problem with it". I think it was just a lot of little things that added up over the course of book. Things like deciding to use "fantasy language word" for fairly mundane item for several chapters before explaining what it means and the significance of why the word is being used. Or spending an entire chapter on world building that doesn't actually have any kind of payoff for the story.
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