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hawkwing_lb) wrote2011-08-20 08:31 pm
hawkwing_lb) wrote2011-08-20 08:31 pm
Entry tags:
Books 2011: There once was a time I was sure of the bond
Books 2011: 116-118
116-118, Chris Wooding, The Weavers of Saramyr, The Skein of Lament, and The Ascendancy Veil. Collected as The Braided Path.
I read The Braided Path in one sitting on Thursday afternoon and night. It's a trilogy that plays with reader expectations: you start off thinking epic fantasy - with rifles, and by the end of the first book your expectations have been subtly undermined. By the end of the second book, if you haven't figured out that this isn't your Triumphant Return of the Lost Heir fantasy, you haven't been paying enough attention.
The Weavers of Saramyr are twisted sons of bitches whose magical powers have given them real leverage with the noble families of Saramyr. For two centuries, they've worked to prejudice the people of Saramyr against anyone else who can do magic, calling them Aberrant. When it emerges that the Empress's daughter, her only heir, is Aberrant, the floodgates are loosed on a conflict that will tear the Empire of Saramyr apart.
The consequences of the Weavers' ascendancy play out over the course of the trilogy, an in-story time of roughly ten years. There are gods and spirits, war and politics and betrayal, interesting new cultures and magic both fascinating and dreadful. Through all this, we follow Keiku, whose family's death propels her on a course that will lead her into the very heart of the struggle. Keiku is an appealing character, whose development over the course of the books is eminently believable. Wooding's dab hand with characterisation is in play throughout, able to make deeply unpleasant people sympathetic. The Weavers are a tad one-dimensional in their puppy-kicking evil... but the reasons behind their madness are interesting enough to make that a minor quibble.
This isn't a wholly uplifting story. What triumph is achieved is won at great cost, and it is very far from being a triumph to wholly rejoice in. But it is, at least, a satisfying end to a compelling story, and one that I'm happy to have read.
116-118, Chris Wooding, The Weavers of Saramyr, The Skein of Lament, and The Ascendancy Veil. Collected as The Braided Path.
I read The Braided Path in one sitting on Thursday afternoon and night. It's a trilogy that plays with reader expectations: you start off thinking epic fantasy - with rifles, and by the end of the first book your expectations have been subtly undermined. By the end of the second book, if you haven't figured out that this isn't your Triumphant Return of the Lost Heir fantasy, you haven't been paying enough attention.
The Weavers of Saramyr are twisted sons of bitches whose magical powers have given them real leverage with the noble families of Saramyr. For two centuries, they've worked to prejudice the people of Saramyr against anyone else who can do magic, calling them Aberrant. When it emerges that the Empress's daughter, her only heir, is Aberrant, the floodgates are loosed on a conflict that will tear the Empire of Saramyr apart.
The consequences of the Weavers' ascendancy play out over the course of the trilogy, an in-story time of roughly ten years. There are gods and spirits, war and politics and betrayal, interesting new cultures and magic both fascinating and dreadful. Through all this, we follow Keiku, whose family's death propels her on a course that will lead her into the very heart of the struggle. Keiku is an appealing character, whose development over the course of the books is eminently believable. Wooding's dab hand with characterisation is in play throughout, able to make deeply unpleasant people sympathetic. The Weavers are a tad one-dimensional in their puppy-kicking evil... but the reasons behind their madness are interesting enough to make that a minor quibble.
This isn't a wholly uplifting story. What triumph is achieved is won at great cost, and it is very far from being a triumph to wholly rejoice in. But it is, at least, a satisfying end to a compelling story, and one that I'm happy to have read.