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willrefuge's review
4.0
Despite the fact that it took me over two weeks to finish, the Children of Amarid (CoA) was actually quite a good read. Written in the classic fantasy style of good vs. evil (or so I thought, at first), the first LonTobyn Chronicle takes several things for granted.
1. The use of magic by mages is pretty much instinctive.
Unlike some of the more recent novels that try to redefine the magic system, explaining it away in different and unique ways, CoA pretty much uses what you remember as magic. There's healing, blasts of fire, and energy shields. In this universe familiars--usually birds--are the conduit by which mages control and wield their magic. But nothing else is terribly inventive. It's maybe a little boring, a little to grey and within-the-lines, but otherwise perfectly fine.
Another aspect of this comment is that there really wasn't anything in the way of formal training. The protagonist, Jaryd, received minimal training for and in bonding with his familiar, and then he could do magic. Almost by, well, magic. So I guess it was instinctive, and that anyone with the access could achieve it easily.
2. We are good, they are evil
This was really taken for granted in the beginning of the book, but waned towards the end when we found out more about the enemy. Though the adversary depicted in this book were your typical cut-and-dry evil doers, I'm hopeful the second book will depict them as more human. But for this one, they were evil, and that's all you should think about it. There were really no shades of grey involved.
3. Overwhelming description is norm
The early books of the Wheel of Time are among some of my favorites due to Oliver Rigney (Robert Jordan) 's exhaustive description of the world around him. Everything down to the last detail was written in, helping paint a pristine word-picture of the entire land. David B. Coe's attempt at exhaustive was decent, though his attempt for description fell short. I realize this is a revised edition, but I haven't read the first edition of the book. Maybe it was worse. In this edition however, there were times when I felt my eyes glossing over certain paragraphs where two of the main characters fell in love virtually at first sight, and felt the need to keep blathering on and on about it, reiterating each point again and again and again.
4. Fantasy is good.
Sometimes an old-school fantasy is just what the soul needs. This was no exception. While far from the best fantasy I've ever read, this was an enjoying adventure that I by no means regret taking. I read a lot of Fantasy, because, well... fantasy is good. Despite my complaints about how the CoA did nothing to redefine the genre, sometimes trying overly hard ruins the story. And the story IS the important part.
Maybe this review was a bit rambling. I suppose I won't post it to my blog until I've retooled it a bit. Maybe like the Children of Amarid, I'll have it out in another thirty or so years.
1. The use of magic by mages is pretty much instinctive.
Unlike some of the more recent novels that try to redefine the magic system, explaining it away in different and unique ways, CoA pretty much uses what you remember as magic. There's healing, blasts of fire, and energy shields. In this universe familiars--usually birds--are the conduit by which mages control and wield their magic. But nothing else is terribly inventive. It's maybe a little boring, a little to grey and within-the-lines, but otherwise perfectly fine.
Another aspect of this comment is that there really wasn't anything in the way of formal training. The protagonist, Jaryd, received minimal training for and in bonding with his familiar, and then he could do magic. Almost by, well, magic. So I guess it was instinctive, and that anyone with the access could achieve it easily.
2. We are good, they are evil
This was really taken for granted in the beginning of the book, but waned towards the end when we found out more about the enemy. Though the adversary depicted in this book were your typical cut-and-dry evil doers, I'm hopeful the second book will depict them as more human. But for this one, they were evil, and that's all you should think about it. There were really no shades of grey involved.
3. Overwhelming description is norm
The early books of the Wheel of Time are among some of my favorites due to Oliver Rigney (Robert Jordan) 's exhaustive description of the world around him. Everything down to the last detail was written in, helping paint a pristine word-picture of the entire land. David B. Coe's attempt at exhaustive was decent, though his attempt for description fell short. I realize this is a revised edition, but I haven't read the first edition of the book. Maybe it was worse. In this edition however, there were times when I felt my eyes glossing over certain paragraphs where two of the main characters fell in love virtually at first sight, and felt the need to keep blathering on and on about it, reiterating each point again and again and again.
4. Fantasy is good.
Sometimes an old-school fantasy is just what the soul needs. This was no exception. While far from the best fantasy I've ever read, this was an enjoying adventure that I by no means regret taking. I read a lot of Fantasy, because, well... fantasy is good. Despite my complaints about how the CoA did nothing to redefine the genre, sometimes trying overly hard ruins the story. And the story IS the important part.
Maybe this review was a bit rambling. I suppose I won't post it to my blog until I've retooled it a bit. Maybe like the Children of Amarid, I'll have it out in another thirty or so years.
agafina's review
5.0
Definitely still a firm favourite of mine. I chose this book as my first read of the year because I remember being blown away by this book the first time I read it. I was NOT disappointed! The book was even better than I remembered! I surprised myself with how much I had forgotten and was pleased to rediscover parts of the story as I reread this favourite. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I can't wait to learn more about the mage craft and Lon-ser!
sharonskinner's review against another edition
3.0
This was a good story with nicely drawn characters, but it was a bit long-winded. Perhaps I've really just forgotten just how verbose most adult fantasy writers are?
saraishelafs's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting magic system using familiars. A young man uses his talent to thwart the conquering of his nation.
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