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glimnore's review against another edition
5.0
By Force Alone is one of those rare gems that isn't talked about a lot but speaks volumes about the way we, as a society, glorify tales of kings and nights and heroes. In our attempts to grow as a people, we gaze fondly back toward the past, romanticizing it while ignoring our most painful present and the ever-terrifying future.
Lavie Tidhar strings together a beautiful story, excellent characters, and prose that practically drips off the page. The soft magic systems, the imminent and obvious end, and the nostalgia are the cherries on top.
And he does this while being creative and original with the source material and....having a Lancelot that knows Kung-Fu. If that last bit isn't enough to get you to read this, I don't know what is.
Lavie Tidhar strings together a beautiful story, excellent characters, and prose that practically drips off the page. The soft magic systems, the imminent and obvious end, and the nostalgia are the cherries on top.
And he does this while being creative and original with the source material and....having a Lancelot that knows Kung-Fu. If that last bit isn't enough to get you to read this, I don't know what is.
rainysakura's review against another edition
3.0
I'll be honest. If I didn't have a strict "start it, finish it" rule, I probably would not have finished this book. There were moments when I felt compelled to keep reading, moments where I chuckled, even moments where I cackled. Then there were long stretches where I felt like picking up my Kindle was a chore. I can't quite understand whether the writing style is extremely poor editing or intentional choice by the author. You get used to it, though it makes for a rocky start. I suppose this is my first introduction to Arthurian legend, and what a hazing indeed! I am unsure how much of the story (such as The Zone) corresponds with mainstream Arthurian legend (if there is such a thing), but the author's choice of plot points was fairly interesting. He made otherwise docile female characters badass. He had good insights into the human condition and made just the right amount of social commentary. The book's description got it right, describing it as "equally poetic and profane".
archergal's review against another edition
4.0
if you like stories of King Arthur and his knights to be full of noble and courtly manners, you probably won't like this book.
I like a noble King Arthur story as well as the next general reader, but I really enjoyed this version of Arthur as a jumped-up gangster/thug/drug dealer/ etc., and his knights not being much (if any!) better. I saw a YouTube review where the reviewer quoted Adrian Tchaikowsky as saying it was like "Peaky Blinders at the Round Table." Sounds about right.
Nothing here will make you feel better about heroic stories, or really, about people in general. But it's a fairly rollicking tale. I like Tidhar's style, dropping references to other things like scattering grain for pigeons, LOL. I know I missed a lot of them, but it was fun to spot the ones I did recognize.
Sometimes it's tonic to have a totally different look at an old legend. I got quite fond of seeing Sir Pellinor and the Questing Beast bounding through the story. And the side trip to what was apparently an alien artifact a la Roadside Picnic was odd and slightly out of place. But interesting.
I thought this book was a helluva ride, and I can't wait till our SFF book club gets to talk about it.
I like a noble King Arthur story as well as the next general reader, but I really enjoyed this version of Arthur as a jumped-up gangster/thug/drug dealer/ etc., and his knights not being much (if any!) better. I saw a YouTube review where the reviewer quoted Adrian Tchaikowsky as saying it was like "Peaky Blinders at the Round Table." Sounds about right.
Nothing here will make you feel better about heroic stories, or really, about people in general. But it's a fairly rollicking tale. I like Tidhar's style, dropping references to other things like scattering grain for pigeons, LOL. I know I missed a lot of them, but it was fun to spot the ones I did recognize.
Sometimes it's tonic to have a totally different look at an old legend. I got quite fond of seeing Sir Pellinor and the Questing Beast bounding through the story. And the side trip to what was apparently an alien artifact a la Roadside Picnic was odd and slightly out of place. But interesting.
I thought this book was a helluva ride, and I can't wait till our SFF book club gets to talk about it.
brompton_sawdon's review against another edition
5.0
The tale of King Arthur is centuries old. It varies slightly through the numerous retelling, mainly by film. Yet it remains a powerful and potent story. The one and true king who will save Britain in its hour of need. (Maybe now is a good time for him to reappear?). I’ve read many of these stories over the years, Stephen Lawheads books were the best until now.
By Force Alone is a raucous tale told from another viewpoint altogether. It owes a lot to the humour of Monty Python and Robin Hobbs. The world of Arthur is recognisable, yet the twists put on the story by Lavie Tidhar raise the well known story to the next level. Subtle at times Lavie plays with the characters providing moments when you laugh out loud, yet somehow the story remains serious.
The book is narrated from various sources which adds to the story without being confusing for the reader. The streak of humour is there for everyone to see, yet at times it’ll be obvious whilst at others it’s so subtle you’ll not notice until halfway down the next page, causing you to go back and check you had read what you thought.
An excellent addition to the canon, this book will delight those who read it. Fantasy at its best.
By Force Alone is a raucous tale told from another viewpoint altogether. It owes a lot to the humour of Monty Python and Robin Hobbs. The world of Arthur is recognisable, yet the twists put on the story by Lavie Tidhar raise the well known story to the next level. Subtle at times Lavie plays with the characters providing moments when you laugh out loud, yet somehow the story remains serious.
The book is narrated from various sources which adds to the story without being confusing for the reader. The streak of humour is there for everyone to see, yet at times it’ll be obvious whilst at others it’s so subtle you’ll not notice until halfway down the next page, causing you to go back and check you had read what you thought.
An excellent addition to the canon, this book will delight those who read it. Fantasy at its best.
humanpuke's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
warmreapertea's review against another edition
3.0
I don't have any particular interest in the Arthurian legends, but I thought I might give this a try because the cover looked absolutely stunning and the blurb mentioned something about "Arthurian legend but make it a gang war," which piqued my interest. The writing was way cruder and casual than I expected it to be, and I'm still a bit torn on whether I like the way certain things were handled, but honestly there's an interesting and refreshing edge to it. I feel like as the story went on, it started making less and less sense; throwing in new characters and mixing reality with myth but never describing what exactly was happening. The ending was good though, but god the part before it, what was happening? Not sure whether this chaotic style was a nice switch-up of the standard fantasy myth-rewriting, or simply rubbish. Anyhow, I enjoyed it.
sci_mom's review against another edition
2.0
I only made it about halfway through this book. There is a lot of description, some of which is repeated several times, and felt too cumbersome at times while not taking itself seriously enough at others. It’s entirely possible I’m not in the right frame of mind for this story right now, so I’ll most likely go back to it at another time.
dsteele's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
peapod_boston's review against another edition
Intriguing, well-written and relentlessly dark take on Arthurian myths. Tidhar is a gifted writer on both the micro level (beautiful language) and macro level (breathing fresh life into tired myths). But about fifty pages in, it was clear that his take was bitter and bleak. A few reviews confirmed that there were “no likable characters.” Twenty years ago, I would have devoured this. But now, I just can’t bring myself to finish a book about basically unpleasant people being unpleasant to other people. So I tucked it away. But I will likely check out some other things by Tidhar based on the exposure here.
swineberg's review against another edition
5.0
This book swings for the fences and for me, just totally nails it. Tidhar incorporates the familiar elements of Arthurian stories while also telling a tale of a people building a nation in the ruins of an empire, a rollicking fantasy and sci-fi adventure, a gangland tale, an examination of the rise of Christianity and the way it is at odds with both science and magic, and a deconstruction of why and how we tell these tales of might and nationalism and myth. Give it to the boy. This is catnip to me.
One of the most genre-blending books I’ve ever read, consistently dazzling in its imagination and references.
It seems in vogue to write these types of stories now, but they’re harder to pull off than they seem. It’s a complete gut rehab of its source material, placing it in a historical context rarely seen for Arthurian stories while throwing in everything under the sun in a way that somehow blends into a cohesive, boundless world. Just what I needed to read when I needed to read it, exactly what I hoped it would be.
That said, drink every time you read the phrase “by force alone”
One of the most genre-blending books I’ve ever read, consistently dazzling in its imagination and references.
It seems in vogue to write these types of stories now, but they’re harder to pull off than they seem. It’s a complete gut rehab of its source material, placing it in a historical context rarely seen for Arthurian stories while throwing in everything under the sun in a way that somehow blends into a cohesive, boundless world. Just what I needed to read when I needed to read it, exactly what I hoped it would be.
That said, drink every time you read the phrase “by force alone”