Delightful and rich, this is a high fantasy tale in the best of Janny Wurts’ tradition, so definitely not easy to fit into genre conventions: the story is geared towards a wider audience but it’s not a classic coming-of-age tale or YA in outlook; there are powerful sorcerers and demons, but they are not all-knowing; there is a medieval-flavoured world full of lore and magic, but also intriguing sci-fi elements; the villains are both standard and surprising…the list could go on, anyway the innovation I liked the most (considering when this book was written) is that there is a classic fantasy structure along with a very modern focus on characters’ psychology and morality.While this book doesn’t have the complex upending of tropes or the deep challenge of the reader’s assumptions which I’ve come to love in her later works, Wurts weaves the story with impeccable rhythm, a skillful rising of tension, clear direction and, at the same time, little predictability of how the plotlines are going to unfold.As a fan of The Wars of Light and Shadow, I could see in Stormwarden some familiar elements, like sailing, prophecies, good vs evil without clear-cut lines, obsessive compulsion in a perfectly logical mind, empathy, a full-fledged magic system and several aspects of what defines well-rounded and multifaceted characters. Even though the similarities are loose, a long time reader won’t fail to appreciate both the little connections and how Wurts, unfailingly, never writes the same tale twice.In this first book of the Cycle of Fire trilogy I particularly liked the gripping premise and the protagonists, two boys and a girl, all flawed and not all able to make the right decisions at the right time. Their personalities are complex and the result of their strengths, weaknesses and childhood experiences; they have different ways to relate to their mistakes, inadequacies and self-doubts born of tragedy; facing similar challenges and ever-changing circumstances, they have their own personal reactions, from hatred to love, from will to carve a path to the future standing on their own merits to sheltering in self-deception. All, invariably, strive to make their choices count and pursue their own interests as they’re caught in the machinations of the ancient powers vying for supremacy in the world of Keithland.What if they play someone's else game?The themes are mature and the tones are not light, there is hope but also a sense of foreboding and impending doom throughout, and I liked the gravitas of the narration, which is probably the only concession to the ’80s fantasy fashion. As I expected this book doesn’t end with a cliffhanger, but the story is open and I’m really eager to read Keeper of the Keys and immerse again in the tale of Jaric, Emien, Taen and Anskiere.This is an epic story of future and past, of strength that could arise out of weakness, of cross-manipulation, denied dreams, burning ambitions, courage, cowardice, choices and destiny. The world is vividly depicted, no fans of sailing will be disappointed, there are several forms of magic and an engaging mix of action and mysteries. I cannot seem to get enough of Wurts’ characters, creativity, great world-building and design. Her storytelling makes her tales simply different, original, and each a unique voyage.
I am late to the Cycle of Fire series; my introduction to Janny Wurts started with The Curse of the Mistwraith and never deviated series-wise. I read Stormwarden out of curiosity while I, like other devoted readers, wait patiently for Destiny's Conflict. I was pleased to find that many of Wurts's same themes and plot structure are here, although written on a smaller scale--Stormwarden proved to be a nice supplement for my Wars of Light and Shadow jones.The Stormwarden Anskiere is bound by law by the King's men and the sorceress Tathagres for the crime of destroying a city and murdering its inhabitants with his powers of wind and water. The boy Emien and his sister Taen, from the local village where the Stormwarden has been staying, are literally caught up in the event: Taen sneaks onto the King's ship out of loyalty to Anskiere, Emien follows to retrieve her and both are taken permanently from their home as a result. Taen is resolute in her belief that Anskiere is innocent while Emien doubts him and falls further under the sway of Tathagres. A third child, the scribe-apprentice Jaric, is also tied to Anskiere and is compelled to go to the Stormwarden's aid when he calls for help in defeating demons that have been loosed by Tathagres's henchmen as part of her plan for mastery.The above description sounds like pure high fantasy but the book actually becomes a genre fusion very quickly & will appeal to those who like a little cosmic adventuring in their swords-and-sorcery. Since so many of the novel's plot elements were familiar to me, I couldn't put the book down as I tried to figure out what this different configuration might imply for Wurts's current series. This read was actually incredibly comforting and made me fall in love with Wurts's work all over again. Stormwarden is a great introduction to readers who've been meaning to read Wurts but can't bring themselves to commit to her larger series. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of Cycle of Fire and enjoying the unfolding series.
Do You like book Stormwarden (1995)?
I really enjoyed a lot of the concepts of this book and especially the mix of magic and "science and pitting brother against sister. The only down side I found was that nothing really seemed to happen. It took a long time to explain every thing and I got a little bored at times. Looking forward to the next book but hoping that the pace will pick up a little bit
—Matthew
Once again the curse of the YA book has struck. Granted, this is not "officially" classified as YA despite its three young protagonists, and to the extent that I listened (nearly 6 hours into a book of roughly 16 hours length) it was neither simplistic nor predictable in its plotline, as I often complain about with YA books.Nonetheless, the tone of the writing continually irked me. We spend very little time inside the heads of any of the characters. Many times I wanted to know more about what a character was thinking or feeling, but instead we only got surface descriptions of the action. And fairly frequently that action was unbelievable (to me) -- I didn't believe that the character would actually do what he or she was depicted as doing. The writers' job is to suck me in and make me believe everything that's going on, and that just didn't happen.And then, after I'd already listened to about 5 1/2 HOURS of this book, Wurtz suddenly drops (view spoiler)[a rocketship and AI (hide spoiler)]
—Contrarius
