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nick_borrelli's review
4.0
It's not often that you come across a book and series with the depth of character and story that Dan Fitzgerald has mustered with THE ARCHIVE and The Maer Cycle. To say that this story goes well beyond the usual fantasy tropes would be an understatement for there is a much deeper message here. In Hollow Road we were introduced to mysterious savage beasts known as the Maer. A marginalized group that was forced to hide in the rocky mountains surrounding the kingdom, superstitious tales were spread regarding them to scare children and keep the population fearful of what might happen if contact were ever made.
Fast forward to THE ARCHIVE and the Maer are very much still looked upon with a degree of fear and suspicion. They have established a tentative peace living alongside humans but it is difficult to know whether those who have initiated this detente are sincere or merely doing so for their own selfish motivations. Can the Maer truly trust their human neighbors, or will war break out soon making what happened during the time of the Great Betrayal look like child's play?
I really enjoyed this sequel a lot. There are so many different personal stories at play and what remains is the social message that Dan Fitzgerald has been so adept at delivering throughout this series. It is really what makes this series not just your standard everyday fantasy in my opinion and gives it an emotional added dimension. You can't help but pick out all of the parallels of real world unchecked colonialism and the oppression of indigenous peoples in this story. To have it delivered in a fantasy setting is quite original and very effective.
There is one scene in particular in this book that really shook me and brought my mind immediately to the dishonest "peace" negotiations by the early colonial settlers toward the Native Americans. It was hard to shed that image even as I kept reading with a pain in the pit of my stomach knowing what the eventual outcomes were of those fateful historic events. Would this fantasy story take a similar horrific turn, or would Dan Fitzgerald go in another direction entirely? I turned the pages with both a growing sense of dread and tense curiosity.
Besides the social message aspect, there was also something quite different in this book as opposed to the first and that is the mystery of the Archive. I enjoy a good mystery in my fantasy and this one was compelling indeed. The Archive supposedly houses all of the history and achievements of the Maer before they were betrayed, routed, and sent into hiding. Despite knowledge of its existence, no Maer alive knows its location. The journey to find the archive is truly what took my enjoyment of this book to another level. Not knowing whether they would find it or what would be contained within if they in fact did was some fantastic and suspenseful reading. If the rumors were true about a powerful magic being housed there, it could be a devastating tool for any with nefarious plans. Would the humans try to control it for themselves and wipe out the Maer for good? It all had a very Indiana Jones feel to it that kept me transfixed as I progressed through the book.
In the end I came away feeling as if I am experiencing an increasingly important series that needs to be more widely read and a second book that changes the game completely, setting up a potentially stunning final installment. It's almost as if I know how things are going to turn out, but I need to keep going regardless in the hopes that there will be some sort of salvation or redemption for these characters. This is not a feel good story, but it is one that engages the reader and compels you to examine what you are doing in your life to combat the prejudice and bigotry happening in today's society. And I'd say that is a very worthwhile result for any book to achieve on its reader. Oh and it's also one heck of a fine fantasy tale as well.
Fast forward to THE ARCHIVE and the Maer are very much still looked upon with a degree of fear and suspicion. They have established a tentative peace living alongside humans but it is difficult to know whether those who have initiated this detente are sincere or merely doing so for their own selfish motivations. Can the Maer truly trust their human neighbors, or will war break out soon making what happened during the time of the Great Betrayal look like child's play?
I really enjoyed this sequel a lot. There are so many different personal stories at play and what remains is the social message that Dan Fitzgerald has been so adept at delivering throughout this series. It is really what makes this series not just your standard everyday fantasy in my opinion and gives it an emotional added dimension. You can't help but pick out all of the parallels of real world unchecked colonialism and the oppression of indigenous peoples in this story. To have it delivered in a fantasy setting is quite original and very effective.
There is one scene in particular in this book that really shook me and brought my mind immediately to the dishonest "peace" negotiations by the early colonial settlers toward the Native Americans. It was hard to shed that image even as I kept reading with a pain in the pit of my stomach knowing what the eventual outcomes were of those fateful historic events. Would this fantasy story take a similar horrific turn, or would Dan Fitzgerald go in another direction entirely? I turned the pages with both a growing sense of dread and tense curiosity.
Besides the social message aspect, there was also something quite different in this book as opposed to the first and that is the mystery of the Archive. I enjoy a good mystery in my fantasy and this one was compelling indeed. The Archive supposedly houses all of the history and achievements of the Maer before they were betrayed, routed, and sent into hiding. Despite knowledge of its existence, no Maer alive knows its location. The journey to find the archive is truly what took my enjoyment of this book to another level. Not knowing whether they would find it or what would be contained within if they in fact did was some fantastic and suspenseful reading. If the rumors were true about a powerful magic being housed there, it could be a devastating tool for any with nefarious plans. Would the humans try to control it for themselves and wipe out the Maer for good? It all had a very Indiana Jones feel to it that kept me transfixed as I progressed through the book.
In the end I came away feeling as if I am experiencing an increasingly important series that needs to be more widely read and a second book that changes the game completely, setting up a potentially stunning final installment. It's almost as if I know how things are going to turn out, but I need to keep going regardless in the hopes that there will be some sort of salvation or redemption for these characters. This is not a feel good story, but it is one that engages the reader and compels you to examine what you are doing in your life to combat the prejudice and bigotry happening in today's society. And I'd say that is a very worthwhile result for any book to achieve on its reader. Oh and it's also one heck of a fine fantasy tale as well.
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