Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion
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"Sandmagic" by Orson Scott Card
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I read this a couple years ago here: http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/new/n...I thought it was interesting but just ok. I rated it a 3. I actually read the whole Mither Mages series which was also just ok. My favorite book in the series is actually the novella Stonefather. Card has a tendency to get too philosophical and preachy and not bother with important things like plot later on in the series.
The story started really slow for me but I love the climax and the ending. Been a long time since my last and only Card novel (Enders Game) so I forgot the style and could not compare...
As I started reading this story I realized I had actually read it before, way back in 1999 in the Treasures of Fantasy collection. It's probably more suited for a YA anthology like that one. 2 stars.
Brendan wrote: "As I started reading this story I realized I had actually read it before, way back in 1999 in the Treasures of Fantasy collection. It's probably more suited for a YA anthology like that..."
It's YA in the sense that the protagonist is a teenager (at least at the start of the story, I didn't get a good sense of how much time elapsed while he was with the treemage and the sandpeople. Card just sort of fast forwards through a lot.)
OTOH, it's not typical YA in that the protagonist isn't exactly heroic (and not entirely sane, I think.)
It's YA in the sense that the protagonist is a teenager (at least at the start of the story, I didn't get a good sense of how much time elapsed while he was with the treemage and the sandpeople. Card just sort of fast forwards through a lot.)
OTOH, it's not typical YA in that the protagonist isn't exactly heroic (and not entirely sane, I think.)
By the way, I found the character and country names in this story to be symptomatic of the fantasy cliché that names must be weird and hard to pronounce. No Bilbo, but Fhywrkhysha.
But at least it doesn't go full apostrophy. :)
But at least it doesn't go full apostrophy. :)
Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy
Books mentioned in this topic
Treasures of Fantasy (other topics)Treasures of Fantasy (other topics)
Stonefather (other topics)
Epic: Legends of Fantasy (other topics)
Swords Against Darkness IV (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Orson Scott Card (other topics)John Joseph Adams (other topics)
"Sandmagic" by Orson Scott Card
From the anthology Epic: Legends of Fantasy edited by John Joseph Adams. See the Epic: Legends of Fantasy anthology discussion hub for more info on the anthology and pointers to discussion of its other stories.
"Sandmagic" was originally published in Swords Against Darkness IV and reprinted in Card's Maps in a Mirror. It can be read on-line at Fantasy Magazine.