Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson

Book 2 of the Malazan Book of the Fallen

Rating: 4 out of 5

Welcome back to the world of the Malazan Empire. This time the story takes place away from the original setting of the Steven Erikson’s first book, Gardens of the Moon, to another continent where the Seven Cities are living under the rule of the Malazan empress, Laseen. And now, trouble is brewing.

In the Holy Desert Raraku, the followers of the seer, Sha’ik greet the coming of the Whirlwind – the prophesized uprising against the Malazan Empire that will engulf the whole Seven Cities – with bloodshed and massacres and plunge the whole continent into turmoil. It will be the one of the bloodiest wars the empire has ever been involved in and will shape its destiny and give birth to epics and legends.

In the middle of this maelstrom and what will be the backbone of the book is the Malazan 7th Army and the Wickans commanded by the Fist Coltaine. Caught in the middle of a continent in flames, this formerly ragtag excuse of an army whipped into shape by the newly arrived general finds itself escorting tens of thousands of Malazan refugees on the long and distant road to safety, an ordeal that would be beset by months and months of grueling hardship and loss, faced with thirst and hunger, and constant attacks from the rebel army, compounded by the distrust between the civilians and the military. It is an epic story that is gripping, captivating and exhilarating, while at the same time, tragic and heart-wrenching. Steven Erikson paints for the reader a proud and, at times, heroic picture of the Malazan soldier facing incredible odds doing an impossible task. For military history buffs, this thread of the story would probably evoke images of Mao’s Long March, or Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow, or the March to the Sea by Xenophon. Deadhouse Gates is first and foremost, a war story.

But as with the first book, Deadhouse Gates is not just one tale but several threads of tales. Fresh from Gardens of the Moon, the assassin Kalam and the sapper Fiddler, of the outlawed Bridgeburners accompany the once-possessed girl, formerly named Sorry, now Apsalar and her companion Crokus of Darujistan, hoping to help them find their way back to Apsalar’s home and father. But all is not as it seems as Kalam and Fiddler have another secret, darker and more dangerous mission while being caught up in the events of the Whirlwind. There is the Trell called Mappo and the half-Jhagut Icarium, in search for their fate and hiding a terrible secret.

It is also the story of Felisin Paran, the sister of Ganoes Paran, Bridgeburner captain from Gardens of the Moon. She and her family are swept by the ramifications of the Bridgeburners going outlaw. As the empress decides to punish Ganoes Paran’s family, Felisin’s older sister Tavore betrays her kin by facilitating their arrest to prove her loyalty and become the Empress’ new Adjunct. Felisin finds herself in a slavery mine with Heboric, a priest with no hands and the thug Baudin. Together their plot to escape would lead them to a path nobody ever expected and into the heart of the Whirlwind.

Just like in the first book, Erikson weaves these different story threads into a vast epic that would culminate into a surging climax which would glue the reader into the pages. The story is vast in scope and full of wonderful twists and turns as the current history of the Malazan Empire unfold before the reader’s eyes. It is a story of legendary figures, noble soldiers, fickle gods, ruthless armies, devious plots and heart-breaking friendships. Steven Erikson, just like in Gardens of the Moon never lets up. In fact, having gone through this before, the author refines his style and improves his writing.

Still, there is room for more improvement. There are times when the reader could get confused because Erikson doesn’t take the time to explain things. Maybe, with all the happenings he has to take note in this vast story, he forgets to explain some of the concepts he puts into it. With the enormous ensemble of characters, it would be a stretch to expect the characters to grow and evolve, although there are a few exceptions where one would really feel for a character. Examples of characters remaining stale (and in this case, even take a few steps back in terms of growth) are the Crokus and Apsalar, who in Gardens of the Moon were growing and somewhat evolving (and even compelling) characters, yet in Deadhouse Gates find themselves almost being observers in the background by the last part of the book.

Yet again, taken as a whole, Deadhouse Gates is a wonderful story. Steven Erikson is truly one of the gems of contemporary fantasy and among the authors reshaping the genre. He invites you to return to the world of the Malazan Empire, albeit on a different continent this time (reading the first story isn’t a must but is preferable). He will take the reader in a rollercoaster ride with a story of war, loyalty and friendship and if they are able to slog it out like the Malazan 7th Army through the immense weave of this amazing plot, through the battles, the bliss of triumph and the tragedy of loss, they will find in their hands a gem of an epic.

The Scar by China Mielville

Rating: 4.5 out of 5


There is something to be said about scars. They are signs that someone got wounded. They are signs that the wounds have healed. They are also signs that some wounds cannot ever truly and completely heal. They will always be reminders of the pain that someone went through. Scars are a sign of something being severed and its attempt to reattach itself, although unable to return to the way it was before. Scars feature prominently on The Scar, the third novel by China Mielville, probably the most imaginative writer in speculative fiction of this time. Most of the story’s characters carry scars on them, either physically or mentally.

The Scar may also be a statement by the author on traditional epic fantasy trends where characters always strive to bring the world back to what it once was before the great evil emerged. In most of those stories, after the dark enemy is defeated, everything goes back to normal, the world turns as it once did, even slightly better, a little bit brighter. For Mielville, a world going through great, terrible and calamitous events never reverts back to what it was before. There will always be something severed, something lost. Some things will never completely heal. There will always be scars, in the bodies and minds of the people who went through them. And it shows in Mielville’s works, more so in The Scar.

The Scar takes the readers back to the world of Bas-lag, introduced first in Mielville’s second novel, Perdido Street Station. But this time, he takes us away from the remarkable city of New Crobuzon into the vast incredible world outside it. (Incidentally, The Scar is a standalone book where the reading of Perdido Street Station is not a requirement. Although yours truly recommends reading Perdido… first to be able to properly appreciate the events of both books.) Anyone familiar with the author’s dark and quirky style knows by now that Bas-lag is a world unlike any other worlds of fantasy. There are no elves, dwarves or orcs. Instead Bas-lag contains khepri, cactacae, anophelii, cray, scabmettler, and vampir. And then there are the Remade, those whose bodies have been transformed in different ways, either as punishment for a crime or as a requirement for a profession. One Remade in the story is a woman, whose lower part of the body is attached to a mechanical steam contraption that allows her to travel through caterpillar tracks that replaced her legs.

In the story, we glimpse Bas-lag mostly through the eyes of Bellis Coldwine, a fugitive from New Crobuzon escaping the authorities because of her perceived connection to some calamitous event which had happened in the city (an event chronicled in Perdido Street Station). She hires out herself as a translator aboard the New Crobuzon ship, Terpsichoria, whose passenger manifest include people looking for a new life away from New Crobuzon and a cargo of criminal Remades destined for a prison colony, including one Tanner Sack, who had tentacles attached to his torso as a punishment for some crime (and from whose point-of-view are some parts of the story also told).

They reach Salkrikaltor, a cray city with whom New Crobuzon has business with concerning the operation of three deep-sea mining rigs nearby. And now, one of them is missing. Here they also pickup a new passenger, Silas Fennec, who without any explanation, forces it to return back to New Crobuzon. It never reaches there. Pirates attack the Terpsichoria and take all the survivors to a new destination: the Armada.

To say that the Armada is a floating city is an understatement. It is built upon a vast number of ships, steamers, boats, all kinds of ocean-going vessels (even the husk of a dead whale) collected, hijacked or stolen throughout the centuries by pirates who created their own home and a fully-functioning self-sufficient society with semi-autonomous districts, currently ruled by a scar-faced couple known only as The Lovers and protected by the formidable and enigmatic warrior, Uther Doul. And contrary to expectations, the captives of the Terpsichoria are offered citizenship, jobs, equal status aboard the Armada. And for some, especially the Remade prisoners like Tanner Sack, it means a new life and a new chance for respect, and a reason to embrace being a Remade (so much so that he had himself further remade.) But for Bellis, who discovered that the price of acceptance is to never leave the city, the Armada becomes a prison and yearns, ironically, for the home she has been fleeing from.

But all is not as it seems. The capture of the Terpsichoria has not been an unfortunate twist of fate. They have come at a time when plans are in motion - plans which are unknown to other schemers. Information suggests that New Crobuzon is coming under attack from an unknown and terrifying force. Something is searching the oceans for an important object. An impossible mythical creature is being summoned. A legend is being sought. The future of the Armada is being contested. Manipulations and schemes abound.

Such are the multi-layered complexities found in The Scar yet the reader isn’t overwhelmed by them. Mielville creates such a subtle weave of the plot that one never realizes how complex a story this is. Written in a more linear form that Perdido Street Station but still proceeding in an easy pace, at least for more than half of the story, until everything shifts into higher gear in the final part including getting involved in the most exciting and epic naval engagement in fiction this side of George R. R. Martin.

Mielville being a true great writer explores a number of themes within his story. As stated earlier, and being true to its title, he explores the motif of scars. Like physical scarring as a result of physical wounds or the weird and exotic sexual expression of the Lovers deliberate scarring of their faces. Or the emotional scars that one obtains after being exiled from one home, or after experiencing the loss of a loved one.

Another important theme raised is the importance of writing in society – the profound meaning of the simple act of a person writing his name on an object he owns; or as a tool to control information to an isolated society one wants to control; or the knowledge preserved and obtained by the ability to pass important information from one generation to another in books, or the power to undermine an empire by the putting in pages the weaknesses and strengths of a city.

All these are just a small part of the things that come out of the mind-boggling imagination of China Mielville. One has to read his works in order to comprehend his brilliance. He even managed to write a compelling story with a lead character that is cold, relatively uninteresting, unsympathetic and a little bit whiny. With The Scar, he solidifies his place in his genre (Sci-fi? Fantasy? Horror? All of the above? Who cares! As long as we enjoy them.), and proves that the accolades he received with Perdido Street Station was not a fluke. This guy is for real.

He comes at a time when speculative fiction is starting to break away from the chains it imposed on itself, trying to find a fresh new identity. It is no secret that he has made himself a critic of J.R.R. Tolkien and for some fans of fantasy, this may be sacrilegious. Still, as no one could ever deny the place of Tolkien as the father of today’s form of epic fantasy, he challenges the Tolkenesque idea that fantasy should be the place of ideals and hierarchy and standards. For Mielville, fantasy should be much more. It should be a genre that challenges every writer to create wonder, to create fantasies with no limitations in mind. And with The Scar as with Perdido Street Station, Mielville has given the genre just that, making him probably the most important speculative fiction writer of his generation.

Perdido Street Station by China Mielville

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

For the past 30 years or so, the fantasy genre has, with the exception of a few great works from a few great authors, mired itself in a situation where it has become unimaginative and unoriginal where works have become practically clones of each other. In recent years though, a few inspired souls have gradually tried to take the genre out of its familiar and commercially safe elements hoping to take fantasy back to an environment when it was wide-open in terms of storyline, setting, characterizations, etc., where every other author wasn’t trying to be the Second Coming of J.R.R. Tolkien. Daring and creative authors have emerged who have taken their work away from the accepted formulaic approach and looked for inspirations outside of the established works of the genre, instead of keeping on repeating its own successes.

Perdido Street Station takes the reader in a totally different world from that of your typical fantasy fare. Take a look at these:

• The story isn’t set in a quasi-medieval or feudalistic society. Instead it takes place in an industrial city that seems to invoke images of Victorian-era London that is ruled by a government with an iron fist.


• Magic (or thaumaturgy) co-exists with science and both are “systemized” in their usage.


• There are no elves, dwarves, orcs or some other typical fantasy race. Instead there are races never seen in before. Among others, there are the frog-like vodyanoi; the khepri females with human bodies and insects for heads; winged, bird-like garuda; and humanoid cacti, the cactacae.


• There are bio-engineered beings, called the Remade, who have humanoid or animal parts, or even machine parts grafted onto the body to serve as a tool for a profession, or a punishment for a crime. (One punishment has a mother who murdered her own baby have the child’s limbs permanently attached to her face, a constant reminder of her sin.)


• There are monsters including a giant spider that phases in and out of each plane of reality, constantly maintaining the web of existence; and slake-moths who prey on the unwary feeding on their thoughts and dreams.


• There is a machine-intelligence living in a junkyard who thinks it is a god.


• Hell has established diplomatic relations with the government and actually has an embassy.

And all these only on just one city, which is the setting of the story: New Crobuzon. We get the hint that there are lots more to see in the world called Bas-Lag.

China Mielville, who describes his work as “weird fiction” and influenced by early fantasy authors like H.P. Lovecraft and Mervyn Peake, deliberately stayed away from Tolkienesque formulas in order create his work. He incorporated fantasy, science fiction, horror, and steampunk to create this highly imaginative, complex and downright amazing masterpiece that breaks the established boundaries taking the genre to heights unexplored for a very long time.

The story revolves around Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin, an outcast scientist who dabbles in scientific experiments in a warehouse and has an existing sexual inter-species relationship with a Khepri named Lin, who herself is an artist who creates sculptures by using her own insect spit. One day, as Lin was being commissioned for a job by someone who turned out to be the biggest crime boss of the city, Isaac receives a visitor. He is approached by a garuda, Yagharek, who has his wings cut off as a punishment for some terrible crime. Yagharek wants to fly again, and he asks Isaac to make it so.

Challenged by this, Isaac agrees and this leads to horrible consequences that ultimately threaten the safety of everyone in the city. The danger is so great and so terrifying that even the Ambassador of Hell, who is offered anything in return, refuses to send demons to help. Why? Because they are afraid.

Isaac, feeling responsible, takes a quickly-banded motley group of companions, including Yagharek, to try to stop the nightmare. A task which he would risk his life... and others', as well (a dilemma which emerges deep into the story). Along the way, he is hunted by the government, the mob, a machine-intelligence, and a giant (and possibly demented) spider.

Perdido Street Station may be a little difficult for some to read as the story takes time and requires focus. He takes the reader into a tour of New Crobuzon and explores a city in decay through some rich and descriptive passages that define the cities structures, societies, creeds, history and its various races and creatures. In doing so, he also explores a little on themes like, crime, and racial intolerance, government control, poverty, merchantilism, freedom of expression, drugs, and religious societies. But as one takes the time to immerse in the writing of Mielville, one is taken to a city that is amazing at the same time dark. It is dark, vile, dirty, ragged, ill, decaying but also mesmerizing and amazing, and one which seems to impose itself on its inhabitants. No other city has come this alive with character in the pages of fiction since the establishment of Gotham City.

Such is the way the author writes. Each major character is well-rounded and fully dimensional. They have strengths and they have faults. Isaac isn’t a handsome and cool physical specimen. He is an overweight person, who makes love to an insect and probably caused the death of one of his friends. He will also make morally ambiguous decisions.

And through him, Mielville makes his readers think about the ethics of some issues. In the story, Isaac makes two decisions that could be subjects of a great moral debate about what is right and what is wrong. Does the end justify the means? How much is one life worth? Do our moral obligations supersede our morality?

And herein lies the reason why Perdido Street Station is a masterpiece. It is a manifestation of the wonderful imagination of a great mind. It dares to break standards and pushes and challenges its peers to reach for new heights in a genre that supposedly has very few limitations. It has a wonderful story and characters, even the non-humanoid types, feel down-to-earth-real that readers can sympathize with them. And most of all, it makes one think about ourselves as human beings.

And the good news is that China Mielville would return to the world of Bas-Lag for more stories.

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

Book 3 of A Song of Ice and Fire

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

This is the third book of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire well-loved epic saga and the author doesn’t let up, whether in terms of the plot, the pace, the characterizations, the twists, or the quality of the work in general. Just as before, despite the numerous story threads that the reader must follow, no one feels overwhelmed by a story that’s becoming more and more complicated. Martin takes care to tell his story clearly so that the reader isn’t confused by numerous events taking place. And just as before, Martin writes beautifully, incorporating elements of foreshadowing being careful to place hints here and there indicating that there’s more to the story that needs to be uncovered and that each plot thread may not be what it seems, in the process keeping the reader’s interest glued squarely on the book. No one notices its length, which is probably the biggest so far in the series.

Picking up from the story Martin started with A Game of Thrones and continued with A Clash of Kings, and although it has the feel of being a middle book with no beginning and ending, his writing seems to be getting better. And things in Westeros are getting messier. We continue to follow the march of Robb Stark, who although he continues to win his battles against the Lannisters, his situation is getting worse. Meanwhile, his siblings aren’t faring any better. Arya is still lost and continues to try to find her family, and on the way meets one of the most feared men in the land, Sandor Cleagane. Brandon, is escaping the fate that has befallen the Starks home at Winterfell and discovers talents that he never had before. Sansa, the poster-child of spoiled princesses the world over, finds herself still alone in King’s Landing and a pawn of people eager to use her Stark name. And Jon Snow, the one character whose tale follows the more traditional “coming-to-age” story of a lost boy (and therefore becomes one of the favorites of the story), finds himself caught in the midst of another Northern horde preparing to descend on the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.

Stannis Baratheon retreats from the defeat he suffered in the Battle of Blackwater Rush and contemplates his next move along with the mysterious and deadly Melisandre who seems to have an agenda of her own. Tyrion Lannister finds his relationship with his family deteriorating as fortunes seems to be turning towards the better for the Lannisters. And across the sea, Daenerys Targaryen, becomes more and more in control of her future as she braves every challenge coming her way while her army grows around her – an army poised for an invasion of Westeros and which may include one very frightening mythical monster.

Martin also introduces other POV characters, most particularly interesting that of Jaime Lannister as readers begin to understand his character and motivations. It is a testament to Martin's great writing that a character once reviled as almost a monster in the first two books, begins to shine in a different light, becoming a character in which readers can almost sympathize. And the author doesn’t just stop at that. Like before, he never lets his reader become secure with the direction his plot. Anything can still happen. Any one major character can still die, including the favorites. Martin weaves such a beautifully complicated yarn where the characters become quite messed up that by the end of the tale almost every major character’s story turns to a drastically and almost shockingly different direction in some of the biggest twists of tales written in the genre. And nobody, I repeat, nobody would ever be prepared for the final page of the book. Kudos to George R.R. Martin!

The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay

Rating: 4 out of 5

At a time when fantasy authors published almost carbon-copy stories of each other, Guy Gavriel Kay chose to approach fantasy in a different way – by creating stories of places whose cultures and geo-political situations are an almost-mirror-image of a real historical time and place. In one fell swoop, he eliminated the need for himself to engage in one necessary activity of fantasy writing: world-building. He did it first in the book, Tigana, which set his story in a world evoking images of Renaissance Italy, and again with A Song for Arbonne which depicts southern France (Provence and the troubadour culture). The Lions of Al-Rassan is inspired by Medieval Spain during the Reconquista (the war between the Christian kingdoms and the Moorish or Muslim states of Andalusia or Al-Andalus, the Moorish name of Spain).

The story is set in a peninsula that is divided between two regions and religions: The south, where the Asharite (Moorish) Caliphate once ruled but is now fragmented into small quarrelling city-states bent on dominating Al-Rassan; and the north, where the Jaddite (Christian) kingdoms of Esperana are starting to take advantage of the new balance of power and finding ways to work together, albeit reluctantly, to conquer their way south. Caught in the middle are the Kindath (Jews), trying to live their lives as best as they can, strangers in Asharite or Jaddite lands, tolerated, never fully accepted, and most of the time hated.

In the middle of this powder keg are the principal characters. Ammar ibn Khairan is an Asharite warrior, poet and assassin and advisor to King Almalik of Cartada. Rodrigo Belmonte is one of the finest cavalry captains in the Jaddite kingdoms (primarily based on the real-life figure of Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar – or El Cid). Both men find themselves betrayed by the rulers they serve, exiled and forced to make a living as mercenaries in an Asharite city where they cross paths with Jehane bet Ishak, a beautiful Kindath physician who captures the heart of both men.

Written like historical fiction in a world where magic is not visibly manifested, The Lions of Al-Rassan evokes a very real and tragic story of peoples unable to live alongside each other solely because they do not have the same faith – a problem that still exists into real-life present times, where with all the sorrow and horror that all this unjustifiable hatred causes, one has to wonder if anybody throughout the centuries has learned anything at all.

Beautifully written by Guy Gavriel Kay and well-researched, he gives his readers, through a story which is entirely speculative, a condensed version of the Spanish Reconquista, a glimpse of the life of El Cid and the tragic end of the Moorish society that has given so much beauty, culture and learning to the Iberian peninsula. He does this through the stories of well-defined characters, both primary and supporting, each representing the best and the worst of their cultures. Beautifully written, funny at times and also heart-rending, The Lions of Al-Rassan is a story that will leave images for the reader to contemplate for a long time.

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

Book 2 of A Song of Ice and Fire

Rating: 5 out of 5

Picking up where A Game of Thrones left off, this second book of A Song of Ice and Fire series not only continues the breathtaking saga that has created a sensation throughout the fantasy world, but also surpasses the first book in grandeur confirming the series as a landmark of the genre, and establishing George R.R. Martin as a giant (demi-god, even) in fantasy.

King Robert Baratheon is dead. Eddard Stark, one of the main characters in the first book, has been treacherously executed, his children separated from one another, and in a flash, the whole of Westeros has plunged into war. Eddard’s eldest son and heir, Robb has been proclaimed as “King of the North” and marches off to do battle against the Lannisters who placed the cruel boy-king Joffrey and his mother Cersei on the Iron Throne. But the claims to the throne doesn’t end there as King Robert’s two brothers, Stannis and Renly Baratheon discovers that Joffrey is not Robert’s son but the result of an incestuous relationship between Cersei and her twin brother, Jaime Lannister, each now claiming the throne as their own. While Theon Greyjoy, a former ward of Eddard Stark, plots to help his father regain the power once held by his family.

The story is still seen through the points of view the main characters – those who survived the first book and some new ones, like the mysterious Lady Melisandre, priestess of the Lord of Light, who attaches herself to cause of Stannis Baratheon for reasons unknown, and with frightening powers at her command. We follow the march of Robb Stark as he wins battle after battle against the Lannisters who do everything they can to keep control of their power. We follow the machinations of the Stannis and Renly Baratheon, whose actions undermine the victories gained by the Starks. And we follow the other Stark children after their father’s death: Sansa trapped in King’s Landing and being forced to marry Joffrey, Arya who is lost trying to get back North to her home, Bran and Rickon back at Winterfell unaware of the danger close to home, and the bastard Jon Snow, who joined the Night Watch as they protect the far North from what seems to be the coming invasion of some other dangerous force, as if Westeros didn’t have enough problems of their own. And all the while, there is Daenerys Targaryen, daughter of the king deposed and killed by Robert’s forces as she travels another continent gathering her forces an planning her own invasion of Westeros to regain what was lost by her family.

A complicated story effortlessly written by a masterful George R.R. Martin, who seems very much in control of the story as he weaves the numerous plotlines as skillfully as a master-weaver creates fine cloth. In A Clash of Kings, Martin seems to put head down and crash head on into battle himself as he approaches this book with more of a military epic take on it, climaxed by one of the most intense battle scenes ever written. Here, Martin continues to be as “realistic” as possible, not shying away from showing the realities of a life lead at a time and place similar to our own Middle Ages, where brutality, treachery and cruelty abound. An in a way, his style serves to increase the impact of the actions of the story hitting the readers like a hammer as never felt anywhere before in a fantasy story.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Book 1 of The Kingkiller Chronicles

Rating: 4 out of 5

If one were to describe a book as a “Harry Potter for adults” or a “darker, grittier version of Harry Potter”, it may be enough to make readers cringe and avoid it like the plague. Let’s see…. A gifted boy who is suddenly orphaned and subsequently finds himself studying in a university that teaches magic (or sympathy, as it is called in the book). Sound familiar? A tad unoriginal? True, maybe. In fact, this book is a throwback story similar to the times when stories of orphan boy-magicians became redundant and tiring. But then, Patrick Rothfuss, on his debut work, has succeeded in placing his own touch on the story and transports the reader into a tale of legends, heroics, demons, gods, and most of all, magic and music.

The Name of the Wind is the story of the legendary Kvothe (pronounced “quothe”), or rather the story of his beginnings. Kvothe, at the beginning of the story, is now called Kote and is living his days away from his past, tending to his Waystone Inn along with his assistant, Bast. One day, a man called Chronicler comes into the inn and discovers Kote’s true identity. He appeals to Kote to tell his life story. With reluctance, Kvothe begins to tell his tale. It is the story of a boy who grew up blissfully among his father’s troupe of artists and musicians, going from town to town to perform. He invites into the group a magician (or arcanist, as they are called in the book), Abenthy who sparks in him a strong interest in sympathy, in which Kvothe proves to be some kind of a prodigy. Abenthy also plants in him the idea that one day Kvothe might want to enter the University, where sympathy is taught.

Kvothe’s blissful life comes to a crashing turn as he comes home one day to find his camp burned and everyone he loved dead in what seems at that time, an unfortunate chance encounter with brigands. Left alone in the woods by himself with only his father’s lute, the only thing he salvaged from the wreckage of his life, he finds that he has a greater talent for music that anyone ever dreamt possible. He soon lives the life of an urchin in a city, learning to survive its mean streets until one day, he decides to take the biggest chance of his life and apply for entrance to the University, in which he makes it through. Here, Kvothe learns of power, determination, mischief, bravery, loss, desperation and friendship. He learns of the things that will drive him all his life – his magic, his music, and the woman that will haunt his heart. He will learn of names and the name of the wind.

The Name of the Wind with its story, in itself, would have been unremarkable considering this is a setup book for the next parts of The Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy, but for the amazing prose of Patrick Rothfuss which is elegant, intelligent, witty in the right places, at the same time simple and straightforward. But most of all it has passion. And it is this passion that speaks to the reader and tugs at the heartstrings that pulls one in. One would be hardpressed to find another work that speaks with so much beauty. The Name of the Wind is not just a book, it is a lovely piece of music. Consider the following passage, which is one of the most facinating introductions of a character:

“I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night in Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight than others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me.”

Still, being a debut work, it has its faults. There are parts where Rothfuss indulges upon more than he needed to, making the book somewhat overly long. There are also parts in the beginning where the story seems to start to take off and then suddenly come back down again jarring the readers out of their momentum. And some of the resolutions to issues early in the plot somehow seem forced. These would have taken away from the quality of the book if not for the beauty of Rothfuss’s writing and the enigmatic aura of his main character. The Name of the Wind is also written mostly on a first-person narrative; therefore, as expected, most supporting characters are not developed. For example, Kvothe describes two of his University companions as his closest and staunchest friends but that feeling never comes across to the reader because little time was spent with them.

And there are other issues, this being the initial book of a trilogy. First of all, Rothfuss approached his story differently in which he did not go right away to his main plotline but started literally at the very beginning, explaining the background of the story of the boy who will one day become Kvothe and dedicated the entire first book to that. No big plotlines were started therefore no plotlines are resolved, and by the time it ends, the reader is left with more questions. Consequently, the main character is hinted at being this legendary, enigmatic figure but yet the Kvothe that we see in the story is not yet the man he is to become. One can only read the introduction passage of the main character and ask, “When are we going to see that Kvothe?” The reader can also see many interesting glimpses of the world where Kvothe belongs, but isn’t given the whole picture of it as a whole and is left wondering “What more is out there?” But these really are not faults of the book or Rothfuss’s work but rather a testament to the compelling writing of the author that he was able to grab the reader’s interest and transport them inside the story and makes them ask for more.

In a way, Rothfuss has succeeded in putting the readers in the shoes of Chronicler as he listens to Kvothe, and like Chronicler, the readers find themselves waiting eagerly for when Kvothe tells the next installment of his story.

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Book 1 of A Song of Ice and Fire


Rating: 4.5 out of 5

When one thinks about fantasy novels, how many times can one point to a landmark event happening for the genre? There was a time back in the 80’s and early 90’s when lots of fantasy authors arrived on the scene but, as it turned out, put out the same stuff over and over again. It was almost as if people were taking a template and add a few variations, dress up characters in their own personal ways and, voila, you have your own fantasy novel. This is quite ironic when you realize that the name of the genre is fantasy. Where the only limitation is supposed to be one’s imagination, an opportunity of making modern myths and legends, where ideas can run wild.

Back then, you pick up one fantasy book and what would you see? You have this hero, usually young, usually an orphan. He finds himself unwillingly thrust into a problem that forces him to be “chosen” to fulfill a quest, along the way trying to overcome obstacles as a test of his skill, wisdom and character. He usually does this with a few companions. There is usually a wise old mage who acts as his mentor. There is also usually a cool-looking fighter who lends a hand when the going gets tough. And there is usually a bumbling idiotic sidekick for comedic purposes. Once the quest is completed, our hero usually obtains a powerful tool, whether a weapon or some other magical artifact. And with this tool, he uses it to defeat the Dark Lord who threatens to destroy the world as they know it. He would win, because it has been prophesized (a prophesy can’t be wrong).

When A Game of Thrones, the first book in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series came out, the fantasy world had no idea of what was hitting them. First of all, the story is more like the ones you see in a historical fiction shelf rather than fantasy. In fact, one of the inspirations of the book is The Wars of the Roses of 15th century England.

Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, the northernmost realm, is forced to move to the capital, where he puts his family at risk, in order to be the King’s Hand to his friend King Robert Baratheon. Robert and Eddard had previously led a successful revolt against the erstwhile ruling Targaryens which led to Robert being proclaimed King. But Robert’s queen, Cersei, supported by her family, the Lannisters, wants her son to be in the throne instead and does everything in her power to see to it that such a thing will come to pass. This subsequently leads to a struggle between the Starks and the Lannisters as both families prepare for a confrontation and possibly war.

However, two children of the Targaryens still live and they are not prepared to give up what they feel as rightfully theirs to the usurpers and killers of their family. They build up whatever forces they can muster in another continent and plan for the retaking of their former kingdom. And while all of this is happening, an ancient enemy is preparing itself in the North, waiting for the right time to descend upon the Seven Kingdoms.

Here, there is no young orphan going on a quest for a powerful weapon, but a huge cast of characters from whose points-of-view is the story told. Each of these characters is not entirely good, or entirely bad. You have supposedly heroes, who do bad things, and there are supposedly villains who are likable and understandable in their own ways (is there such a thing as a good villain?)

Martin also does not sanitize his story like authors have done in the past. As previous authors probably target audiences in the young to young adult category, Martin considers his audience as mature enough for him to tell his story as they are. This is a world not unlike our own medieval times, so there is violence at the tip of a sword. And sword-fights are supposed to be gory and bloody. There is also a lot of swearing and cursing. And furthermore there is sex (and incest), once a taboo in fantasy.

And as if all these things weren’t enough, George R.R. Martin does a good job in making the reader care about each different character... and then he kills them off. He breaks off from the tradition that protagonists never die and by doing so, the reader truly now does not know what to expect each time the page is turned. All bets are off, anything can happen because now. As Martin himself once said, when one of the characters is in danger, there is the real possibility that that character will die. And Martin created a world where magic is just low-key and subtle and not fantastical so that characters in deep trouble cannot use magic to take them out of logjams.

George R.R. Martin has beautifully written this work and places a lot of foreboding, symbolism and intricate plotlines that one of the fun things to do while reading this work is try to figure out what the future of the story would bring by reading into the small clues that Martin expertly placed along the plot. This fantasy novel can actually double as a mystery book. Be warned, though, this is the opening book of the series and a lot of answers can be found in other books of the series as the story develops and as of yet, it is still unknown how many books would comprise the whole story. In fact, A Game of Thrones leaves lots of plotlines unresolved which might frustrate a few readers who want at least a major plotline resolved by the end of the book. In fact, nothing has been resolved in this one as A Game of Thrones is a big setup to the whole story itself.

Epic in scope, but turning away from the whole “heroic fantasy” formula, and breaking the rules and traditions of the usual fantasy stuff, this book signals not only the beginning of "A Song of Ice and Fire” series, but also the beginning of a whole new direction for the fantasy genre, opening the floodgates to whole new possibilities. This might just be the most important event in fantasy since Frodo and his friends started on their journey to Mt. Doom. In A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin has given a sense of renewal to fantasy by, ironically, making it as real as it can be.

Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson

Book 1 of the Malazan Book of the Fallen

Rating: 4 out of 5

When an author decides he should write a fantasy epic (aren’t they all epics?), they immerse themselves in one necessary activity: world-building. The author creates a continent, maps out the location of the different kingdoms and cities and determines their culture (usually based on some historical culture, frequently Western European, but more exotic kingdoms may be based on Eastern European, Middle Eastern or North African cultures. A few rare ones are Far Eastern). Then the author determines where the other non-human (or “demi-human” for the RPG crowd) cultures are existing. This means the required Elves and Dwarves and some other race seen in the usual fantasy stuff. A brief synopsis of history is developed to give the created world its soul. And then the pantheon of gods is defined, which defines its personality, morality and ethics (in doing so, it classifies the world and its creatures in black and white. Either you’re good or you’re bad). Then its cast of main characters are placed, who usually may incorporate one or more of the prototypes usually found in fantasy epics. For sure, there will be a quest, a prophesy, a Dark Lord who must be defeated.... Well, you get the picture. In recent years, there has been a move from authors (like George R. R. Martin, for example) towards a departure from the usual fantasy story elements that has been so overused and gearing towards a less fantastical, more gritty, and more “realistic” world.

Now, here comes Steven Erikson. When he decided to build a world, he decided to really build his world. And he decided to define it in what is planned as 10 standalone but interconnected novels in which Gardens of the Moon, Erikson’s first novel, is the first of these books.

“Epic” doesn’t even begin to define his creation. A world whose story spans continents and epochs, a huge ensemble of characters, both seen and hidden, all contained in a complex and pleasantly convoluted storyline that one can’t even begin to attempt to summarize without losing one’s mind. Gone are the usual elements in fantasy writing. There are no elves, no dwarves or your usual non-human races, instead Erikson creates his own list of non-humans. There is no quest here, only a world at war with itself for many years. And Erikson drops the reader right in the middle of that war without so much as a warning. And there is no sanitized version of combat here. Erikson describes war in terms of violence and gore. It hurts like hell when a fireball is cast at you (imagine yourself being hit by napalm).

In Gardens of the Moon, Erikson shows us his world through the eyes of a large cast who have their own storyline threads which only converge at the very end of the book. We follow a group of elite soldiers known as the Bridgeburners, as they jump from one suicidal mission to another in the service of the Malazan Empress, Laseen, who seems to be determined to kill all of them since they are associated with the previous Emperor, who she incidentally assassinated to get to the throne. We follow Ganoes Paran, a young Malazan captain as he takes over command of the Bridgeburners in their current mission in Darujistan, the last of the Free Cities coveted by the Malazan Empire. We follow the personages of Darujistan as they prepare themselves for the coming inevitable assault of the empire.

Gardens of the Moon is not for everyone though (and this is definitely not a fantasy for kids), it demand a lot of its readers. It will probably turn some readers away as there are so many events, so many personalities (including gods who involve themselves in affairs of mortals, and mortals who aspire to ascend to godhood just like it was the next step of existence only a few can attain), so many complicated threads that it is sometimes dizzying. Characterization suffers, too (the writer has little room to develop his characters as a result). The author has managed to blur the lines between black and white making everyone grey. No one really knows who the real good guys here are. Heck, unless you’re paying attention, no one is really sure who’s doing what to whom. And Erikson never takes the time to explain things. He leaves you questioning until you can figure out the answer a few chapters and one week later. This can be both good and bad as there are no dragging exposition parts but can leave the reader really lost. It probably would help if you try to read this not as a story of a character or a group of characters as they go through situation after situation trying to solve an issue, but as an on-going history of a world that is told through the eyes of each character in the book.

If you can hang on and push yourself past the daunting task of reading Gardens of the Moon, you will be rewarded in an amazing journey through a jaw-dropping, thoroughly amazing world that is so rich and unique, unlike any other world seen in fantasy before. And this is just the tip of the iceberg, just the first book. And if Gardens of the Moon is any indication, it’s going to be one hell of a long, bumpy and wonderful ride.

Dune by Frank Herbert

Rating: 5 out of 5


The first of a series of novels, few sci-fi books come as good as this one. Few sci-fi authors even come close to the imagination of Frank Herbert. No other world (sci-fi or otherwise) will ever imprint itself to the human mind the way does the novel's lonely, dry and harsh desert planet. The planet Dune will haunt you.

Set tens of thousands of years in the future, Dune is the story of the young Paul Atreides, heir apparent to the House Atreides. He finds himself caught up in the byzantine and deadly power struggle between his family’s house and that of House Harkkonen. Trouble begins to escalate as the House Atreides takes over the rule of the planet Arrakis (also known as Dune), where the family relocates therefore giving them control of the most important planet in the system. Arrakis is the only source of the all-important spice melange, which is practically the lifeblood of society as a whole. Melange, among other things, can give extended life and increased awareness and mental capacity to those who ingest it. It is also the most necessary component of space travel as melange is needed for pilots to guide their spacecraft through the “folds” of space.

Naturally, the Atreides relocation move is opposed by House Harkkonen, who with the help of the Emperor, launch a suprise attack on Dune that sends the boy Paul and his mother into the desert and into the hands of the enigmatic tribe of human warriors known as the Fremen. Among them, Paul, who may have the ability to “see” visions of the future, learns of a local prophesy about the coming of a Messianic figure, the Muad’dib who will one day transform Arrakis into a paradise. And to Paul’s horror, he and the Fremen come to realize that he might just be the Muad’dib himself. Paul desperately tries to avoid fulfilling the prophesy, since in his visions, the coming of Muad’dib would also unleash a holy war or jihad across the galaxy that will result in the mass slaughter of millions.

In Dune, Frank Herbert creates a world of terrible and deadly beauty filled with super-powerful sandstorms, brave smugglers, deadly warriors and majestic giant sandworms. Dune, as a planet is as much a character as any person in the story and probably the greatest character in the whole series of the Dune novels. The planet comes alive in the pages of the book. In it, Herbert brings to front the ecology which depicts man’s struggle against his environment and vice-versa. How do the surroundings affect the development of human society and his culture? How does man affect the environment in his struggle to survive? Dune, the novel, is said to be the first great ecological novel. Herbert also presents to his reader the question of man’s dependence on one product to support his way of life. The spice melange becomes an analogy of petroleum and present-day man’s dependence on it.

The author also creates a mesmerizing society which is heavily influenced by Arabic culture in terms of customs and language. But he also mixes some touches of Zen Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Zionism giving the novel a quasi-religious feel. One can suspect the possibility that Herbert may be examining the roles of ancient prophets and their part in the evolution of religion and their effects on human society and politics throughout our history.

More themes are explored in the book like substance addiction, human potential, evolution and breeding, free will and destiny, aspects of leadership, and much more. It was the themes that made the novel fascinating. But these would amount to little if it is not as beautifully written as it is by Frank Herbert. One can only compare the effort made by his son, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson when they tried to continue Frank’s story after his death, and see the huge difference in quality in the way their works were written (and it is strongly suggested to think it over before deciding to read the Dune "expanded universe" books of BH and KJA, which, while readable and probably entertaining to some, might be a hugely disappointing excercise.) Frank Herbert gives his readers profound ideas and ingenious settings, makes them think and imprints lasting images on their minds. And he presents them in such a lyrical way that his science fiction almost reads like fantasy.

Dune and the succeeding books make one of the best sci-fi stories of all time. It won the Nebula Award in 1965 and shared the Hugo Award in 1966. For many, it is the greatest sci-fi novel ever. Often compared to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, no sci-fi universe can ever compare to it (with sincere apologies to George Lucas). Herbert has written the book that still stands the test of time in terms of the story, literary style and speculative concepts. He concentrated on a setting and perceived future which focused on the humanity aspects instead of technological advancement, where he was deliberatly vague on the subject - except that thinking machines (computers) were banned in his universe. This stroke of genius has prevented the novel from becoming, unlike earlier works of science fiction, outdated or too over-the-top and is one of the factors that has made his story forever enduring. Dune will always be considered one of the world’s classics of literature. And rightfully so.

Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Rating: 4 out of 5


3 Volumes:
Dragons of Autumn Twilight
Dragons of Winter Night
Dragons of Spring Dawning


It’s not literature. The books will probably never be considered to be even close to a fantasy classic. It suffers from being a book created to market an RPG gaming product. Its characters are the usual types. It borrows most of its concepts and plot elements from The Lord of the Rings. Its dialogue is simple and even anachronistic at times. The story was probably aimed at teenaged RPG gamers back in the late 80s. It’s world-building, its characters and plot, though extensive and detailed, were not created solely by the authors but helped along by a whole team of RPG game designers. But having said that, when it came out back in 1984-1985, the story quickly became the favorite of many readers and its popularity just grew (it’s still being read today, although “serious” fantasy readers still avoid them). Its success has even spawned a sub-genre of fantasy, gaming-related novels and series.

The plot was typical Tolkienesque. A group of friends, composed of every prototypical character and race in fantasy, find themselves unwillingly involved in a fight against strange creatures that invade their homes. Soon, they find themselves running and along the way meet a beautiful woman bearing a strange and powerful treasure that might just be connected to their plight. This sends them on a quest where they discover that evil is awakening throughout their world and the gods have come down to prepare their forces for a war. Needless to say, the companions find out that they have been chosen to champion the cause of good and they must find other long-lost artefacts in order to combat the power that is trying to destroy everything they love. Sort of like, LOTR for High School...

Despite its pitfalls, what made Dragonlance Chronicles loved by many (including this reviewer)? Well, in the simple way the authors tell their story, they made the characters seem “real”. Most other characters from other stories up to this point seemed larger-than-life with very profound problems. The Companions (as they are to be called) are down-to-earth, have “real-life” problems like every other normal person. They quarrel with each other, joke around with each other, and love each other as friends. They have differences, but try to find a way around them. The characters grew because of each other. For that reason, the authors make it easier to relate to the characters and make people actually care for them. For the readers, the world being conquered by evil didn’t matter as much as what would happened to each individual character. (“Who cares what the Queen of Darkness does, I wanna know what happens to Raistlin!”) You laugh with them, you cry with them. You feel their wonder and horror. You live with them. You even die with them. (The story contains probably the most heart-wrenching and poignant death scene I have ever read in any novel in my life.)

It is through the characters that we are transported to the continent of Ansalon and see it through their eyes. And there lies the magic of Dragonlance Chronicles, a clichéd and flawed story but with wonderful and timeless characters that will live forever inside those of us who have been fortunate enough to get to know them.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Rating: 5 out of 5

3 Volumes:
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King

To the serious reader, it's hard to imagine what popular adventure fiction would be like without the influence of J.R.R. Tolkien and his masterpiece. For one, it created a demand of books in the Fantasy genre influencing a great number of authors that would come after, and along with C.S. Lewis and Ursula K. Le Guin would cement the fantasy genre into modern mainstream literature. Tolkien's epic style would define modern heroic fantasy fiction for the next 50 years.

And, as many followers of fantasy are also into Science Fiction, both genres influencing one another, it wasn't long before elements of Tolkien's stories could be found in the works of Sci-Fi authors and filmmakers. One can only look at Star Wars and see the similarities between the characters.

The book also strongly made its mark in the role-playing game industry which achieved poplularity since the 1970's in what is now called the pencil-and-paper version and has now evolved into the computer-gaming world of the 90's and the virtual cyberworlds since 2000. From them, one can say that Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings has played a major part the formation of late 20th century and early 21st century popular world culture.

Basically look at fantasy adventure stories of today and it may, to a lesser or greater degree, be described as "Tolkienesque" - basically a group of adventurers going on a quest to save the world from the armies of an Evil Dark Lord. Furthermore, one would be hard-pressed to find any fantasy story before the turn of the century that's a standalone book. Most are trilogies. At least! Some even stretch their stories to 4, 5, 6 even 10 books even though it was initially promised as a trilogy to cash out on the success of their initial books. (The funny thing is that Tolkien meant this to be one book, but his publishers decided to release them in three parts due to the high cost of paper at the time.)

Why is it so popular? It practically became the second-most read book of the 20th century after the Bible. Plus, the success of the Peter Jackson films has reintroduced the books to the public and has propelled its popularity to new heights. This, in spite of the fact that even die-hard Tolkien fans regard the books as not an easy read, as Tolkien approached his writing in a linguistic point-of-view and disregarded most of the rules of literary writing.

Tolkien introduces the reader to a world never seen before at the time of its publication - Middle-Earth. A magical world of hobbits, wizards, rangers, elves and dwarves. Of giant spiders, goblins, orcs, trolls, wraiths, giant eagles, talking and walking trees and other magical creatures. In it, a young Hobbit (and to anyone who still doesn't know what this little creatures are, what hole have you been hiding in for the past 50 years?) named Frodo Baggins inherits a ring from his guardian Bilbo Baggins. To Frodo's horror, he learns that the said ring is the actual long-lost Ring of Power which belongs to the Dark Lord Sauron, who now is looking for it in order to launch his next assault on the world of Men. (For the story on how Bilbo actually got the ring, see Tolkien's other great book, The Hobbit.) With help of the Gandalf the Wizard, three other Hobbits, Sam, Merry and Pippin, the Ranger Aragorn, and later the elf Legolas, the dwarf Gimli, and Boromir of the Kingdom of Gondor, Frodo begins a journey that will lead him towards the fires of Mt. Doom, the only place where the Ring can be destroyed. Along the way, he will be aided or hindered by different wonderful creatures that inhabit Middle-Earth such as Wraiths, Trolls, Orcs, Ents, Eagles, Wargs, Mearas and much, much more. And through Frodo's journey, one gets to learn of Middle-Earth, a world painstakingly created by Tolkien complete with its very own detailed history, culture, geography, language, and literature.

If the plot is a wee bit familiar, it's because this is THE plot. This is the plot from which most other heroic fantasy story's plots come from. It was as if for 50 years, fantasy authors thought that (1) anything other than Tolkien's plotline would be inferior, and (2) they loved the story so much, that they want to repeat it over and over again while putting little personal touches to differentiate it and make it their own (like put some dark shadowy terrifying creatures like Wraiths but calling them by another name.)

Yet, this is a book whose story is timeless as it talks about themes that touch everyone's soul. It talks about despair and hoplessness, and finding hope where there is none. It talks about courage, not as fearlessness, but as confronting your darkest fears and terrors, and accepting the consequences of your actions and decisions even if it means the very worst. It talks about the nature of evil and how it influences us all. It talks about the dangers of modernization and its effect on the environment. (As early as his time, Tolkien did see the coming dangers of the modern world and the price it obtains from nature.) And most of all, it talks about undying friendship and loyalty even, and especially, on the face of death. It asks one question of us all: "If you were to discover a thing so powerful that it can do almost anything, would you use it for the betterment of mankind or would you destroy it to keep it from falling into the wrong hands, and that includes yourself?"

So maybe, it's not really a fantasy story after all, but a story that needs a fantasy setting to say all the things it needs to say. And that is why, like all great works, it is a story that transcends it genre, and is a classic.