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Title: Wild Magic (Fool's Gold, Book 2) by Jude Fisher ISBN: 0-7564-0145-3 Publisher: DAW Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (6 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Fatally slow first half
Comment: Wild magic walks the world again after centuries of rest. The Rose of the World cannot remember everything but her powers are returning. The cat/beast is still held in captivity, but it is increasingly able to serve its own interests. And the old man has begun to awaken. But before the three are completely empowered, mortal men have much to do. Saro must suffer his family's abuse while the death-stone he carries makes him share their worst memories, Aran Aranson must make his doomed voyage into the ice flows in search of mythical gold. His daughter, Katla Arensen adventures in search of a ship designer, then finds herself forced to do woman's work. Virelai, once apprentice to the great wizzard needs to discover his true calling and escapte the bondage of those who use him. And the great female mercenary, Mam seeks work for her troop.
Author Jude Fisher writes a frustrating combination of fabulous world-building with one-dimensional characters. Katla is a brat-tomboy. Her brother is a crazy coward. Her father is obsessed. Saro is a whiny baby. His brother is a cowardly bully. Growth comes slowly to these characters, especially as few of them are pursuing any particular goal (this makes for fine realism but disappointing reading). Of the major characters, only Aran Aranson seems to have a goal. On the other hand, Fisher's world is fascinating with its different cultures, religions, and the strange trinity that created it and still plays an active force within it.
The first half of the novel is slow sledding. Characters wander around without much purpose, fighting and dying without achieving anything. Once Aran completes his ship, however, Fisher seems to get her second wind and the pace of the story and my interest as a reader picked up as well. Relatively little of the first half is really necessary for the story (the kidnapping of the ship builder could have been handled in the preface) but readers must still labor through it.
WILD MAGIC is a definite step up from the first novel in this series, SORCERY RISING and gives me hope that Fisher will pull things together in the third volume.
Rating: 5
Summary: Best fantasy book I've read in a long time
Comment: Sorcery Rising, the first book in the series, was an impressive book and a good read, but Wild Magic is a hundred times better! I was amazed by the extent the author's skills developed between the two books, bringing her into line, as the reviewer, Racheal, said with two of the recent greats of fantasy writing, George R R Martin and Robin Hobb.
Like these two authors, Wild Magic is full of interesting and complex characters and sub-plots. A couple of characters border on stereotypes, though with enough individuality to make them memorable, but the vast majority are highly original characters who you really care what happens to them. My favourites are the empathic, pacifist Saro, the mixed-up but dangerous magician, Virelai, and the mysterious cat. There may possibly be a few too many characters, as the Publishers Weekly review claims, but it is not hard to determine which ones you should invest your mental energy in.
My favourite element of the book has to be the intrigue, mystery and suspense that is prevalent throughout the book. The author achieves a perfect balance of revelation and mystery. Even by the end of two books, the reader is still totally unsure of what the ultimate events in the series will be, but has been given enough clues that you are constantly thinking of all the possibilities, and are dying to find out the ending!
My only gripes would be that two of the cultures are a bit black-and-white - I get a bit tired of the Nomads being the source of all wisdom, and the Southeners being evil - and that the book is a bit slow on action in the early-middle stages.
But if you consider all the politics, humour, family infighting, a great writing style, and the lack of fantasy formula, I still definitely rate it 5 stars.
Rating: 5
Summary: Just as good as Robin Hobb and George RR Martin
Comment: Reviewer: Rachael from London
I read SORCERY RISING last year when it came out and thought it was terrific, though it was largely set up for a much bigger story. But the characters stayed with me because they're some of the strongest I've ever read. But even though I'd loved the first book, WILD MAGIC, the second -- which I read overnight, and just couldn't put down -- took my breath away. So many surprises and revelations! The characters I'd remembered developed and grew and revealed themselves to be far more than I'd expected. I particularly love the Rosa Eldi, who was already intriguing in SORCERY RISING, but now is so much more than the rather glorious sexual temptress she was in that part of the story. The way her self knowledge develops is just brilliant. And Tanto - ugh! he's VILE. As for Fent Aranson, what a madman! I love Tam Fox, a perfect counterpart to the wonderful, feisty, crazy, tomboyish Katla Aransen. But I had no idea what was going to happen to either of them. That's the thing, the book is never predictable and absolutely gripping. I SO want to read the final one and find out what happens next.
And Virelai too, he's such a mysterious character. More than a trickster -- is he truly human? I can't wait to find out. This is such a page-turning read, it took me far, far away from all the chaos of my life at the moment, it was the perfect antidote. I just don't know how I can wait a year for the next book. Jude Fisher is absolutely brilliant, as good as Robin Hobb, I'd say and I love her work too.
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Title: Sorcery Rising (Fool's Gold, Book 1) by Jude Fisher ISBN: 0756401100 Publisher: DAW Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: First Rider's Call (Green Rider, Book 2) by Kristen Britain ISBN: 0756402093 Publisher: DAW Books Pub. Date: 05 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: A Fortress of Grey Ice (Sword of Shadows, Book 2) by J. V. Jones ISBN: 0765306336 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: Green Rider (Daw Book Collectors, No. 1102) by Kristen Britain ISBN: 0886778581 Publisher: DAW Books Pub. Date: 10 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Gates of Dawn (The Chronicles of Blood and Stone, Book 2) by Robert Newcomb ISBN: 0345448944 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 10 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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