Goodreads says this is #2, but it was published first. Fantastic Fiction says aka The Book of Suns, btw.I thought I'd read this because it was on a glbt list, or a gender list.. but darned if I know why even after having read it. Brotherly love is a big part of it, but.. it doesn't even have a big slashy vibe to it for me.So at first I was rolling my eyes at it. It seemed like a bad fantasy. But then I started getting into it. And it is a typical sort of.. muster the troops and the support of various lords and peoples and take back the kingdom thing.The only.. and not even really a twist.. thing is the guy has the help of another lord's son along the way. And they're really close. Except I believe the narrator was third person omniscient, so while they might be close, we're not very close to them. And it takes place over a good deal of time, which also seems to have a distancing effect.Still, it was good.. somehow. I wouldn't mind reading the others in the series. I'd rather get my hands on Larque on the Wing though! It has been elusive.
Was this a good book? No, not technically, but I enjoyed it very much. Considering that it might be a bit on the dime novel side, it is quite well written. My biggest, and actually only, complaint is that it is Tolkien derived. Very Tolkien derived. It could almost be Fourth Age Middle-Earth fan fiction, except that it is written much better than the fan fic I've read. But, that is not entirely bad in this case. Unlike many Tolkien inspired books, this one does not seem like a role play campaign. There is no Fellowship copy and no magic ring or sword of importance. It borrows from Tolkien's mythology which actually is a nice change from the usual elf, dwarf, and man with a magic ring and/or sword going on a journey somewhere-type plot. Still, a more original back story would probably have made me rate this higher. Complaints aside, the characters were good and the story exciting and often emotional, and I'm looking forward to the next book.
Do You like book The Silver Sun (1980)?
This is a good fantasy book set in its own world. Obviously a lot of thought and work has gone into the world-building (it includes a map). There's good mix of magic, male-bonding, questing, love interest, history, religion, legend... The setting generally reminded me of the late medieval period we most often associate with Robin Hood. I think it's intended for a YA/teen audience, but is a good read for adults as well. The prose style maintained by Ms Springer in this book is slightly archaizing so it gives us that "old time" feeling, but she maintains high readability for the modern audience, unlike a lot of medieval-period books written in the 19th century. So if you're looking for that kind of fantasy book, this is a good one to go for. It's the middle book of a trilogy, but stands on its own just fine. (I haven't yet read the others, but I didn't feel like I was dropped into the deep end of the pool.) I read the new e-book edition.
—Richard
