Are We There Yet? (a sort of Eye of the World review)

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Two stars for effort, worldbuilding and potential, especially knowing that Brandon Sanderson takes over in the end, but, having finally gotten through Eye of the World (audiobook really helped), I understand why I put it back on the library shelves, along with The Sword of Shannara , when I was a teen.

Review done, let's move on to commentary about a problem I'm seeing a lot in epic fantasy: epicness for the sake of epicness. I think it's a disease some authors have. That is, writing these huge stories within these massive worlds with all sorts of characters. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. Eye of the World develops some pretty strong lore and (vaguely) interesting characters, but after a while, I started to wonder how much of the story was actually necessary.

Are we there yet? Perhaps we should stop at another tavern.

As far as epic fantasy goes, I've read and loved The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit before it, but don't ask me to read them again. I was quite happy with the movies and not at all troubled by what was edited out. Die hard fans might complain about the lack of Tom Bombadil, but I'm okay with that because he really wasn't that integral to plot and/or character development (No, he wasn't. Stop it.). When thinking about an Eye of the World movie saga, I can see alllll the scenes that could be excised with no real loss to the story -- because did we really need to visit yet another tavern??

Game of Thrones is another prime example of an author that has lost his way in his epic fantasy. I can't stop praising HBO for sifting through the detritus to bring only the meat, without ever losing the heart of GRRM's original story and I'm looking forward to how they end the TV show far more than I am looking forward to whatever GRRM eventually plans to do. Assuming he has greater plans than just fanboying over himself.

Back to Eye of the World for a moment. I said the book had some (vaguely) interesting characters. Actually, the only character I care about is Moiraine. I could do with a few less of the younger ones on this fellowship. Half the time, I can't even tell them apart. I suppose that's convenient if any of them were to die, but I can't really say the deadly and dangerous events in the story have filled me with enough dread to actually believe anyone was going to be hurt in any interesting way. I mentioned Brandon Sanderson above, and frankly, he's about the only thing that would encourage me to read on any time soon because I am fond of his characterization and know that he will do a good job of making the characters more likable and memorable than they currently are.

Oh you're just bitter, you might say, and you'd probably be right. But having recently read and loved what Ursula K. Le Guin could accomplish in under 200 words, my meh-ness grows over epic fantasy that is epic just because the author does not know how to trim the fat.

2 of 5 stars

Armageddon's Children by Terry Brooks

Armageddon's Children by Terry Brooks

Many years ago, I tried to read The Sword of Shannara but the story and characters failed to capture my attention and I set it aside. I grant that I didn’t get very far into the book, but I had read enough by that time to know when a book just isn’t working for me, even that early on. Fastforward to the present and my brother is on the phone raving about the new Genesis of Shannara series. I trust his judgement, so here I am!

The Genesis of Shannara is, as the series title suggests, the beginnings of the world created by Terry Brooks. Shannara fans are likely to recognize characters, events and artifacts, but someone new to the series like myself, is by no means alienated. This is a clean introduction to this realm, and an introduction to the characters whom we will, presumably, be following through the series. Armageddon’s Children takes place in a post-apocalyptic earth, destroyed by the follies of man. Violence and mutation have reduced the human population to mere thousands. Many of the surviving humans live in compounds, some hide in ruined cities, but all are hunted by the various demonic (formerly human) creatures led by the “Old Man” at the bidding of the Void. We meet Logan Tom first, as he and his family attempt to escape an attack by once men and demons. Logan is orphaned in the process.

Logan’s tragic story is similar to many of the characters that follow, most of them teens or pre-teens or adults who were forced to grow up far too soon. The overwhelming theme is that these characters are survivors of their horrible reality and must stay one step ahead of the evil closing in on them in order to remain alive. My original complaint with the lack of interesting characters in The Sword of Shannara does not apply here. While I feel that the characters fit into various established tropes as – well, children of an Armageddon, they are still unique enough in and of themselves to be appealing and I enjoyed the way their stories and connections are unravelled as the book progresses.

As I said, this is an introductory novel and it very much plays out as one. The story establishes that the humans are being hunted by the Old Man and his minions and, eventually we are introduced to the quest that will bring the main characters together and move them forward. For this book, there is little progression in regard to that journey. This book is about letting us meet the main characters and grow to love or hate them as needed. Every major player, including the Old Man, is allowed moments to reveal their inner thoughts and motivations, as well as the events and people that have made them who they are. Many secondary characters also have back stories, strengthening the reader’s sense of attachment and understanding of just how awful this world is.

The original Shannara series is firmly seated in the fantasy genre, complete with swords and sorcery. Logan and his fellow Knight of the Word Angel Perez carry staves that are definite sources of yet to be fully explained magic, but otherwise, there is very little magic in this world just yet. The idea is that that the future world of Shannara comes from the one we know now, following this cataclysm – a concept that really intrigued me. I really liked the idea of the magic slowly leaking (back) in. Fire from a staff here, telepathy there. And when the elves are introduced, having hidden themselves away from humanity for centuries – even they do not display a significant use of magic.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, in that it does a good job of making you comfortable in its world and with its characters, and provides just enough mystery to entice you to continue on with the series to find out where this is all leading. For those who already know where it is all leading, I imagine it is nice to finally get the full details. For people like me who are new to the world, let’s just say I find myself looking forward to learning more about the genesis of Shannara. if I like this series enough, I’d not be opposed to trying The Sword of Shannara again.

3 of 5 stars