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A review by dark_reader
Horselords by Larry Elmore, David Zeb Cook
4.0
I was not sure what to expect with this book, given its place in the publishing order of Forgotten Realms novel and beginning a trilogy written by three different authors. I was very pleasantly surprised, however. The 'Empires' trilogy takes a different empire's perspective in each book, allowing each entry to plot its own course and work reasonably well as standalone novels.
Horselords takes place in lands to the East of the usual happenings of the Forgotten Realms, leading to the lands of Kara-Tur, which is basically Asia (though you would be mistaken to think of this as a Kara-Tur trilogy, but forgiven since it was published in close proximity to the Maztica trilogy, which took readers to the West of the Realms). One could liken the Tuigan people of 'Horselords" to Mongol hordes for a frame of reference, although with magic and stuff mixed in. The magic of the Realms takes a back seat in this story, however. We are introduced to a new culture through the eyes of an outsider. The unfolding of the details of that culture occur with a natural feel, thanks to the writing style found here. The story, to me contained many surprises. I came in without any particular expectations beyond hoping that it would not be a terrible book that I would nevertheless feel committed to finishing, and came out very pleased at the quality of the writing and the way that the story and characters evolved.
Horselords takes place in lands to the East of the usual happenings of the Forgotten Realms, leading to the lands of Kara-Tur, which is basically Asia (though you would be mistaken to think of this as a Kara-Tur trilogy, but forgiven since it was published in close proximity to the Maztica trilogy, which took readers to the West of the Realms). One could liken the Tuigan people of 'Horselords" to Mongol hordes for a frame of reference, although with magic and stuff mixed in. The magic of the Realms takes a back seat in this story, however. We are introduced to a new culture through the eyes of an outsider. The unfolding of the details of that culture occur with a natural feel, thanks to the writing style found here. The story, to me contained many surprises. I came in without any particular expectations beyond hoping that it would not be a terrible book that I would nevertheless feel committed to finishing, and came out very pleased at the quality of the writing and the way that the story and characters evolved.