The Runelords
Series
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The Runelords
Series
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The Runelords: The Sum of All Men
by
David Farland
Another doorstopper fantasy series is launched, this one with a boiler-plate medieval-style backdrop and a well-developed system of magic. The ruling aristocratic Runelords accept ``endowments''--magical enhancements of voice, brawn, wit, grace, etc.--from contributors called Dedicates, who thereupon become helpless (a Dedicate who donates his wit, for example, becomes feeble-minded) and must be cared for by the Runelord. Endowments are made via ``forcibles,'' these resembling magical branding irons that absorb the endowment and then burn it into the Runelord's flesh. Prince Gaborn of Mystarria is visiting Sylvarresta in order to ask for the hand of Princess Iome when news arrives of an invasion by the Wolf Lord Raj Ahten. The latter, having taken hundreds of endowments, has grown so powerful that he captures Castle Sylvarresta without a fight. King Sylvarresta is deprived of his wits, while Iome must yield up her glamour. And by forcing the defeated Sylvarrestans to yield hundreds more endowments, Raj Ahten draws closer to being transformed into the godlike immortal Sum of All Men. Gaborn, assisted by the powerful Earth wizard Binnesman, evades capture while studying a book that may contain the secret of how to defeat Raj Ahten; and he swears a terrible oath to protect Iome, then another to serve the living Earth. Gaborn's father, Orden, gathers an army at Castle Longmot to defy Raj Ahten's frowth giants, flameweavers, and nomen, but after a terrible struggle Raj Ahten defeats Orden in single combat and razes Longmot by the power of his Voice alone. So Gaborn, the new Earth King, must find a way to defeat or dissuade Raj Ahren. A bloody, violent, grim saga, with thoughtfully devised magics, and, despite rather anonymous characters, a well-turned plot: overall, satisfying and involving. |
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Brotherhood of the Wolf
by
David Farland
The sequel to The Runelords is as strong in characterization, setting, and action, including bloody battles and gruesome deaths. Newly crowned as the earth king, young Gaborn Val Orden labors to understand his new powers in order to face threats on two fronts. First, the defeated Raj Ahten is back, possessing even more personality and physical endowments than before, taken from perhaps 20,000 people, and wanting to destroy the earth king. The other threat is even greater: the emergence from the bowels of the earth of a multitude of reavers--huge, lethal monsters that slaughter indiscriminately and follow a scorched-earth policy. Led by a reaver mage, the horde means to build a new home, a process that will destroy the land, soil and all, and every human artifact. Only if Gaborn can convince Raj Ahten to join forces with him is there any hope of prevailing against the reavers. Out of this arises the Brotherhood of the Wolf, which, armed with the endowments of dogs, swears fealty to humanity and the earth. |
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Wizardborn
by
David Farland
Farland's massive and compelling saga, which began with The Runelords, continues at breakneck pace. The earth king Gaborn, who lost most of his powers in Brotherhood of the Wolf, faces the monstrous Reavers, who are laying waste to the land. The great warlord Raj Ahten, however, now poses a lesser threat, since his intended war of conquest is now thwarted not only by Gaborn but also by the Reavers. Averan, a young wizardborn girl, has gained much knowledge of the Reavers by eating the brain of a dead one, and she plays a major role as Gaborn seeks a way to the Place of Bones to kill the Reavers' One True Master. Meanwhile, mad King Anders, possessed by an evil power, is making his own baleful plans. As in the earlier books, the danger and violence are larger than life, and many die. But any grimness is leavened by the strong theme of love and respect for the earth and its denizens. |
