Banewreaker

September 22, 2005 | 9 Comments

Banewreaker is the first volume in a two part fantasy epic by Jacqueline Carey, whom I’d never read before. She’s been highly recommended to me, but this is the first one that sounded like something I’d like.

Fortunately it was. I enjoyed it very much.

Banewreaker borrows heavily from Tolkien and while that is probably it’s biggest fault, I really enjoyed the twists and her unique take on it. It doesn’t come from an “original” source, but what she does with it I found fairly original and engaging.

The story is told, in the main, from the point of view of Tanaros Blacksword, the lieutenant of the god Satoris. Satoris has been cast out by the other gods and most of the world views him as evil. He himself does not share that opinion, but things become much more complicated that that.

It seems the “good” races are out to get him, working to enact a prophesy that will bring about his end. With the help of his servants he must go against his nature and embrace the brutality he is vilified for to survive.

This creates an interesting perspective from which to view many of the themes that undoubtedly are borrowed from Tolkien. I’m sure this would put many off, but I found it interesting. But it’s not all philosophical ramblings about the nature of good vs. evil.

In the main it’s a well paced adventure story. The characters are well drawn and interesting and there is enough action to keep things flowing. The ties to Tolkien can be a bit distracting at times, but it’s different enough that it didn’t break things up too much.

It’s not the best fantasy I’ve read, but it’s better than many I come across, and at least it doesn’t seem to be set up for a 10 book, never-ending drama.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Filed under: Books
Keyword Tags: banewreaker tolkien fantasy

Comments

1. Nick said:

If you’re looking for a couple of good fantasy series that don’t borrow too heavily from Tolkein (as many are wont to do), check out these guys:

The Darkness That Comes Before - R. Scott Bakker

Gardens of the Moon - Steven Erikson

A Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin

There are several people who find these 3 authors a bit too bloody and maybe a touch too heavy on the warfare, but I got a little tired of the usual grind (Goodkind, Brooks, Jordan, Feist, et al.) and figured I’d check these out.. I was totally surprised, I enjoyed all three authors immensely and I’m waiting with baited breath for the next book in each series.

Posted on September 22, 2005 03:26 PM | #

2. Keith said:

Nick – I LOVE George R. R. Martin’s work.

I’ve read Garden’s of the Moon, but didn’t like it too much. I found it too convoluted. It was kind of interesting by way too much effort. Plus it didn’t seem to be going much of anywhere

I’ll check out Bakker. I’ve looked at his stuff and it looks pretty good.

Posted on September 22, 2005 03:47 PM | #

3. Nick said:

I’d actually say Erikson’s first book was probably the most convoluted of the series. The rest really got a lot better. Worth fighting your way through the first awkward 200-ish pages of GoTM, then Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice are 10x better books..

GRRM’s new book (split into 2 parts because it was way too long.. funny read about that here) should be out in November.. looking forward to it.

I’m in the middle of reading Bakker’s 2nd book right now, it’s pretty heavy stuff but I think the series is supposed to end at a trilogy, which should tie things up nicely. Definitely an interesting viewpoint in that series - the central character is a completely unlikeable Nietzschean “superman” (Kellhus), but the rest of the protagonists in the book that surround him (Cnaiur, Achamian, Proyas) are much more likeable and easier to relate to. Haven’t come across another fantasy series like it, and I’m totally hooked.

Posted on September 22, 2005 04:19 PM | #

4. Jennifer Grucza said:

Hey, I like those 10 book, never-ending dramas. :) I’m just glad Robert Jordan finally has the next book coming out soon…

Thanks for the tip on Jacqueline Carey - I’d never heard of her. The Amazon reviews for Banewreaker all seem quite negative, but I’ll probably give it a chance, given your positive review.

Posted on September 23, 2005 10:00 AM | #

5. Keith said:

Jennifer – Robert Jordan kills me. Seriously. I loved his first 4-5 books, but then I was never able to get into them. He drove that series straight into the ground, IMHO. Once their all out I’ll probably give it a shot again, but…

Posted on September 23, 2005 11:47 AM | #

6. Jennifer Grucza said:

Yeah, it has gotten pretty bad, I admit. There are so many concurrent threads (hmm, that turn of phrase reveals my occupation, doesn’t it?) that the progress of the plot has ground to a near-halt. But I still love the story and the characters too much to give up on it. I would be perfectly happy if each book were two or three thousand pages long (though maybe not physically feasible) just to get more stuff into each installment, but I guess then we’d have to wait even longer for the next one to come out.

Posted on September 23, 2005 01:23 PM | #

7. iflynn said:

Jaqueline Carey’s Kushiel series was the freshest storyline in fantasy series that I’ve seen in a long time. I had almost given up on the genre feeling like the well had gone dry with so many mediocre novels repeated storylines. Banewreaker is good too, but I found it a little hard to get into right after finishing Kushiel’s Avatar - guess I hadn’t finished processing it yet. I can also recommend American Gods by Neil Gaiman - not strictly fantasy but a very good read.

Posted on September 23, 2005 01:44 PM | #

8. Keith said:

iflynn – I really liked American Gods. There is a “sequel” out, Anansi Boys, that is next on my list. I’m a huge, huge fan of Neil Gaiman. At some point I’ll have to check the Kushiel series. It doesn’t seem like something I’d be into, but, I’ll never know until I give it a read.

Posted on September 23, 2005 02:11 PM | #

9. Jennifer Grucza said:

I just got three of Carey’s books this weekend at the library, and I’m about 2/3rds into Kushiel’s Dart. Definitely not something you’d want to put on a school reading list! Anyway, it does seem to go a little overboard with that certain subject area, but it’s still interesting enough that I don’t want to put it down.

Posted on September 26, 2005 10:47 AM | #