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stevetw's review against another edition
4.0
Well, I was hoping I liked this book more than the last, and I wasn't disappointed. While certainly not on the caliber of the first half of the series, this is a good book, and I liked it much more than Worldbinder. Farland seems much more sure of himself in this book, and seems to be developing characters that he's sticking with, instead of the situation as I felt in the last book, where he seemed to be uncommitted to either the world he had created or the one he was creating, he seems invested in this one. I'm getting to know these characters better, instead of seeing them as the bastardized versions of the previous characters I'd enjoyed. After too much turnover, and then several key characters only lasting one book, this one makes it seem that we'll be sticking with them for a while.
I enjoyed in this book the fact that we're getting to see Wyrmlings as people, far more than we ever got to know the Reavers. Of course, the Wyrmlings are definitely portrayed as inherently evil and knowing it, vs the Reavers, who were only evil, IMHO, the way an antelope sees the lion as evil. I also love the way that Vulgash was dealt with! I'm not sure I could have come up with that interesting way of doing it without "attacking" him!
Overall, a worthy addition to the Runelords saga! Yes, unfortunately, it means slogging through Worldbinder, but this book made it worth it!
I enjoyed in this book the fact that we're getting to see Wyrmlings as people, far more than we ever got to know the Reavers. Of course, the Wyrmlings are definitely portrayed as inherently evil and knowing it, vs the Reavers, who were only evil, IMHO, the way an antelope sees the lion as evil. I also love the way that Vulgash was dealt with! I'm not sure I could have come up with that interesting way of doing it without "attacking" him!
Overall, a worthy addition to the Runelords saga! Yes, unfortunately, it means slogging through Worldbinder, but this book made it worth it!
souljaleonn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
troy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
kurt's review against another edition
2.0
Well, this one kind of really took a nosedive. It was rather mundane, and run-of-the-mill. But for me, what really killed this was Lord Despair. UGH I hated this character. I don't think David Farlard could have created a cheaper cookie-cutter type villain than this poor excuse! Just... No! I want to punch this jerk square in the ego!
You, Lord Despair, are the very reason for 2 stars! Thanks, jerk!!!
You, Lord Despair, are the very reason for 2 stars! Thanks, jerk!!!
kyratt's review against another edition
2.0
I just can't get used to this new world, these last books might as well have been a new series. The story seems to slow down alot in this installment. All the villains are ridiculously impossible to defeat, and it seems to become a gimmick of the series now ("you didn't think the villains could become even worse, did you? Well: there you go!"). The only thing that saves the story are themes about the goodness of people toward others (enemies included) and self sacrifice for the greater good. I am wondering how this train wreck will end so I will pick up the next book..
trsclee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
storyphoria's review against another edition
3.0
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After a smackdown, our heroes are largely put out of commission, serving as secondary characters or set pieces to a story that is largely intent on showing us repeatedly just how powerful the forces of evil are.
Every inch forward in progress that the heroes make feels like it's instantly wiped out in a hail of horrible and hopelessness. It's still that solid Farland writing that has been consistent throughout the series, but it also feels a bit like this series has veered into "Hold my beer" territory. An interesting story premise heavy with plot armor to make it go... not bad, just not great.
https://solo.to/storyphoria
After a smackdown, our heroes are largely put out of commission, serving as secondary characters or set pieces to a story that is largely intent on showing us repeatedly just how powerful the forces of evil are.
Every inch forward in progress that the heroes make feels like it's instantly wiped out in a hail of horrible and hopelessness. It's still that solid Farland writing that has been consistent throughout the series, but it also feels a bit like this series has veered into "Hold my beer" territory. An interesting story premise heavy with plot armor to make it go... not bad, just not great.
bmjcdj's review against another edition
5.0
I have always been more of a fan of Science Fiction than I have of Fantasy which makes sense for someone who grew up watching Star Wars and Star Trek with my Dad. I have always loved thinking about the future and what amazing things will be possible, whereas fantasy always feels like I am looking back at things that are definitely not possible. (I also think that the best horror is always about what is possible and not what is fantastic.) In spite of all that I still find myself reading a lot of Fantasy. I think that this is because writing well about the fantastic is easier than writing well about what might be possible someday. Thus there are many more, well written fantasy books than there are Science Fiction. A well written science fiction book always shoots ahead of many fantasy books on my favorites list.
In spite of this I feel that The Runelords by David Farland is decent fiction. I have very little to compare this to because my adult fantasy experience consists of [b:The Lord of the Rings|34|The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Part 1)|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156043001s/34.jpg|3204327] and The Sword of Shannara. I loved the former but the latter didn't seem to offer me much. The Runelords falls somewhere in between. There are two major concepts presented in this series that I see as unique.
The most intriguing is the concept of endowments. In this world an individual can acquire attributes from another using a kind of metal brand that draws the attribute from one person and grants it to another. The attributes that are transferred include brawn, grace, beauty, stamina, metabolism (speed), sight, hearing and many more. This concept is thoroughly examined and flushed out through the first four books as this process is an integral part of this world and many aspects of this culture are examined.
The second concept at the center of these novels is the creation story of this universe. The idea is that all worlds used to be one, where everybody lived in a quasi perfect state. One individual sought to gain control over the whole world and in the process destroyed this sense of perfection and shattered the world into a “million million shadow worlds,” each one being a shadow of the “one true world” and containing some portion of what the one true world once was. This concept is much less clear through out the course of the novels is not clearly described. Part of this, I am sure, is because all the information is not available to any one character and the information is presented as the characters learn about it. However it is very difficult to pick up on everything all at once and does cause a little bit of confusion.
This series of novels is an epic and the author explores many storylines and subplots that take up many pages within the novels, some being much more interesting than others. All of these have value and contribute to the overall feeling of the book. The Wyrmling Horde I feel is probably the best of the series but I do reserve final judgment until after the 8th and final book is published.
In spite of this I feel that The Runelords by David Farland is decent fiction. I have very little to compare this to because my adult fantasy experience consists of [b:The Lord of the Rings|34|The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Part 1)|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156043001s/34.jpg|3204327] and The Sword of Shannara. I loved the former but the latter didn't seem to offer me much. The Runelords falls somewhere in between. There are two major concepts presented in this series that I see as unique.
The most intriguing is the concept of endowments. In this world an individual can acquire attributes from another using a kind of metal brand that draws the attribute from one person and grants it to another. The attributes that are transferred include brawn, grace, beauty, stamina, metabolism (speed), sight, hearing and many more. This concept is thoroughly examined and flushed out through the first four books as this process is an integral part of this world and many aspects of this culture are examined.
The second concept at the center of these novels is the creation story of this universe. The idea is that all worlds used to be one, where everybody lived in a quasi perfect state. One individual sought to gain control over the whole world and in the process destroyed this sense of perfection and shattered the world into a “million million shadow worlds,” each one being a shadow of the “one true world” and containing some portion of what the one true world once was. This concept is much less clear through out the course of the novels is not clearly described. Part of this, I am sure, is because all the information is not available to any one character and the information is presented as the characters learn about it. However it is very difficult to pick up on everything all at once and does cause a little bit of confusion.
This series of novels is an epic and the author explores many storylines and subplots that take up many pages within the novels, some being much more interesting than others. All of these have value and contribute to the overall feeling of the book. The Wyrmling Horde I feel is probably the best of the series but I do reserve final judgment until after the 8th and final book is published.