Share for friends:

The Forge In The Forest (1989)

The Forge in the Forest (1989)

Book Info

Genre
Rating
4.04 of 5 Votes: 5
Your rating
ISBN
0380705486 (ISBN13: 9780380705481)
Language
English
Publisher
avon books

About book The Forge In The Forest (1989)

Michael Scott Rohan's second Winter of the World book picks up where the first book left off, but progresses in a very different fashion. Where the first book was a more self contained coming of age sort of novel that showed our protagonist Elof rising, falling from grace, and rising again in triumph, this book is very different in kind. The notion of Apprentice/Journeyman/Master is a sort of theme for the trilogy of books, and this novel does represent the journeying years for the main hero. It's a tale of an adventure, of a single journey, representing a period for Elof that is both dark, but also one in which he does show good personal growth.I found myself somewhat dissatisfied with the way the journey was concocted. The beginning of the book felt rushed, and ill-planed. The characters acting in bizarre ways for the simple purpose of getting the rest of the novel underway. It was a little too deus ex machina for my liking, to tell the truth.The middle of the book is where we hit the title, as the book tells the tale of the epic quest through the great forest. A land where no one has entered and returned, and yet it's where the heroes must adventure. It's here that the novel both bogs down and where Rohan starts in on some of his best writing in the book. I felt like the description of the forest was quite strong, and it really seemed to come alive in the book. Unfortunately, the pacing just wasn't there for me, and I felt like much of it dragged on a little too long.The last section of the book is fraught with peril, foreshadowing (aka Elof being obtuse), and interesting sequences of action and adventure to interesting locales. There's some great segments here for which people who enjoyed the first book will be glad they stuck around.While the pace does drag a bit compared to the previous novel, the description is still top notch, the magic system remains interesting and fulfilling in its simplicity, and the characters are still endearing and interesting. The Forge in the Forest is a worthy followup to The Anvil of Ice, even if it can't quite capture the same feeling of something totally out of the ordinary.Overall: 4 giant towering trees out of 5, go get it!

Rohan manages to keep impressing me with his ideas and writing style, his magic system that is largely woven (literally sometimes) with smithy work becomes more elaborate and believable in the context of the fantasy. In Forge in the Forest he starts to bring out a feeling that is more akin to the horror genre... and I found it quite good. I also like how he is one of the few writers of paleofiction/prehistoric fiction of the fantasy variant, that features Neanderthals as an intelligent race, unlike most fantasy works that feature them as merely orcs with a different name. The Winter of the World does a great job in further elaborating on the fantastical interpretation of the threatened Ice Age, and Rohan's character development is top-notch... though his spear-carriers are obviously see-through. Not that his spear characters aren't plausible, but you kinda know when one of them is only there as a "cameo". The world Rohan paints for us many thousands of years ago is quite intriguing, and its I found myself wishing he'd made a longer appendix - not because I needed it for referencing, but because I found it that interesting. *Disclaimer - I do like prehistoric fantasy works, so my opinion is a little bias.

Do You like book The Forge In The Forest (1989)?

The Forge in the Forest is the sequel to The Anvil of Ice. Moody and atmospheric, The Winter of the World holds up well for a series written in the eighties. Michael Scott Rohan introduces some horror elements in this fantasy and the feel of the novels are generally rather dark The ‘world’ of Winter of the World appears to be an amalgamation of the Ice Age, Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age and, you guessed it, J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth. This novel also evoked a very real sense of vast distance and remoteness, which I really enjoyed. The plot itself contains some rather grandiose and dramatic elements, as well as melodramatic coincidences aplenty, as befits a high fantasy tale.There are one or two so-called tropes here, such as the Duergar (and the dragons of The Anvil of Ice), but these are not prominent elements. The magic element in this series is handled way differently than was the norm at the time. Make no mistake, I LOVE the old-school fantasy stuff. I have no qualms with dragons, elves, and the like, even if I am in the minority. Bring them on, says I. However, it is refreshing to take a break now and then, and read a fantasy that, well, does it somewhat differently. So, as far as that is concerned, Michael Scott Rohan seems to have been slightly ahead of his time. This series is definitely somewhat different.The smithing and metalwork elements that lie at the heart of these novels are what truly make them unique. Add a few very cool characters and one or two genuinely creepy scenes to the mix, as well as some truly barbaric villains, and you have another seriously underrated gem of a series. There are also some philosophical arguments touched upon, concerning the nature of life and immortality, which I found interesting.The novel is written exceptionally well, even wistful. Good pacing and atmosphere, as showcased here, can make a good novel a brilliant novel. So, if high fantasy, or heroic fantasy is your thing, you really, really owe it to yourself to read this series. You will, unfortunately be somewhat lost if you start here. Read The Anvil of Ice first.
—Dirk Grobbelaar

Consistently good story-telling. I, for one, enjoy the stylized manner of speech most of his characters share. It's just . . . well, slap-dashing good. I enjoy the treasure he has delved from Tolkein's Lord of the Rings just as much as in the first book, perhaps even more. Rohan's forever summer forest has at its center the slightly off humming of Tolkien's Old Man Willow, that creature on the Withywindle with his black heart. And, the quest of our doughty seekers had a big surprise for me when they arrived at their goal . . . the evil that lurks just beyond the shores!
—Loraine

I thoroughly enjoyed my reread of The Forge in the Forest. It's been years since I last picked up this series, and whilst I remembered them as being good, they are actually much better than I remembered.The feeling of mythology that MSR brings to all of the Winter of the World novels is amazing. You really feel that this could have been something that happened during the previous ice-age, that there could have been a prior civilisation, now only remembered as echoes in the deepest corners of our psyches.The depth of the storytelling is wonderful, and the mental pictures created are beautiful. This is helped I think by the cover art on the UK editions.I picked up a lot of story that perhaps I hadn't got before, especially the interactions between Ils and Kermorvan, and more of the history of the Duergar race - described by the author in the Appendix as Neanderthals.The Appendices are as interesting as the story. MSR goes into huge detail, fitting the flora and fauna, peoples and smithcraft into the natural history of the earth. I was just hugely impressed by this story, it's not dated one bit and is really well thought out mythology based fantasy. It should be better read and appreciated!
—Kate

download or read online

Read Online

Write Review

(Review will shown on site after approval)

Other books by author Michael Scott Rohan

Other books in series the winter of the world

Other books in category Fiction