Book review: "Legacy of Kings" by C. S. Friedman

It's been almost two weeks since I have read "Legacy of Kings", the last book in C. S. Friedman's "The Magister Trilogy", but I was away on a business trip so only now has time to write a review.

In last book, "Wings of Wrath", the secret that Souleaters are returning came out, with dark history of the Wrath, magical border that kept them in the North. Now, in "Legacy of Kings", Souleaters have a new Queen, magically joined with Witch-queen Sidarea, so humanity must join forces to repel them once again, or go through annihilation of their civilization. This time, they have Magisters and they don't know will this prove a blessing or a curse. Because, Magisters have a dark secret, hidden even from them, and known only by one Magister - Colivar.

"Legacy of Kings" interweaves several plots. We follow High King Salvator, who has to find a balance between his monkish past, his new responsibility as king, and legacy of his father and heritage. Curiously, Queen Gwynofar, one of central characters of last book, here is downgraded to a side-character. We follow also the enemies, Sidarea and her female Souleater; Nyuku, leader of male Souleater and their companion; and Nasaan, new character who is not aware who is he putting his chances with. Most interesting plot-line is that of Magister's, especially Colivar. Plot oscillates between being familiar and following fantasy tropes, to being unpredictable in small details.

After the setting was expanded in second book, I didn't really expect any new additions. Sure, we finally see some of the southern kingdoms, and desert definitely proves interesting new place, but it is all familiar from previous books. The big revelation is of course connected to Magisters and their connection to Souleaters. Much of it will be as you already guessed, but Friedman was very good with details.

There are almost no new characters in this book (except Nasaan, I think), but we find out some new things about our old friends. Kamala is finally in focus of events, which was not so in first two books. I especially liked her trick and transformation in the end. All Magister are interesting characters, especially Colivar, and during the course of book they change much. It is hard to reconcile complete lack of empathy (by definition of Magister) and still be able to write a likable character. But despite them being interesting, I can't say I really connected with any of the characters.

For summary of "Legacy of Kings", and the whole "The Magister Trilogy": these are solid books, with interesting plot and characters who grow, but without a spark that would make them a hit. They are written well, so even the old fantasy fans won't have problems with them, but all in all, this is not a series that deserves any special recommendation.

Book review: "Curse of Mistwraith" by Janny Wurts

I have noticed "Wars of Light and Shadows" series by Janny Wurts before (it was on a list I studied some years ago), but somehow I never resolved to read it. But few weeks ago I noticed it again on Tor.com series "Under the Radar" and decided to give it a try. There are several series that I have started, but I am waiting for next installment to be published ("Shadows of the Apt" by Adrian Tchaikovsky, "The Second Apocalypse" by R. Scott Bakker, "The Stormlight Archive" by Brandon Sanderson"), so I am able to start another one in between.

First book in the series, "Curse of Mistwraith" starts a story about the long war of two brothers. Lysaer and Arithon are born of same mother, but their fathers and their families have been mortal enemies for generations. Lysaer's father is King of rich country Amroth while Arithon's fathers commands a kingdom of pirates. After Arithon is captured and almost executed, intervention of Arithon's and Lysaer's grandfather, the High Mage, sees them both exiled of their world through gates into unknown world. Once there, they learn that their lines has been High Kings of this world Athera and that their destiny is to defeat the Mistwraith, magical enemy that has been suffocating all life for last five centuries. But before, they have to find peace between themselves...

I must admit that I didn't like "Curse of Mistwraith" in the beginning. It started all high and noble, with stereotype characters, simplistic motives and predictive plot. Also, Wurts' pretty hard style of writing, full of uncommon words (I didn't reach for thesaurus so much for a long time) didn't help getting into this book. But as the story progressed, the style also expanded, and story and characters got increasingly more complex and interesting. For example, at the beginning there is no politics, neither on high level, nor between characters - but this changes later, and politics plays a more important role (unfortunately, it doesn't get as realistic as in some books).

Wurts' writing is very detailed and lots of effort is put into details, which interestingly all come into place with others. As I said, the book started with very noble style, but later in the book there is humor, violence, and even sex and prostitutes. Too bad there is no direct cursing, only occasional mentioning of gods. But even so, there are some funny jewels, like "... Dakar spoke phrases that cast biological doubt upon Arithon's already illegitimate ancestry". Still, Wurts is a bit too noble on human nature: I don't think some clans would wait 500 years for their prince to come and then the clan-leader would eagerly give away his position.

Plot starts simple, but later gets decently complicated. There is a lot of twists, not all unpredictable. In general, after you pass first quarter of the book, things get nicely interesting. Same is true for characters. The cast is not enormous as you would expect for a first novel in ten-books series. Interestingly, the Big Bad is not revealed, nor the overall theme for the series. Of characters, I liked Elaira's part: she was witty and contrary from the beginning. As an epic fantasy, the book contains some typical elements, like the group of sorcerers, and of course, a grumpy silent wizard that leads our heroes.

There was one thing that was irritating throughout the book: Wurts' tendency to refer to Arithon as "the Master" (from "the Master of Shadow"). I hope she drops it later.

So, "Curse of Mistwraith" presents a nice introduction into a new series. It has somewhat misleading start, but later gets pretty interesting and fun to read. My final recommendation will depend on next few books - there is no point in reading a book if you will not complete the series.

Book review: "Wings of Wrath" by C. S. Friedman

Last week I finished reading "Wings of Wrath" by C. S. Friedman, a second book in her "The Magister Trilogy" series. First book, "Feast of Souls" I have read during summer vacation and found it all right.

"Wings of Wrath" continues the story set in the first book, but focuses on another set of characters. While all the characters from "Feast of Souls" are here, this time two old characters, Rhys and Sideria. We follow Rhys investigating a disturbance in Wrath, where he comes into knowing Kamala, a main character of the series. The two of them will find out how Souleaters were able to come back and learn the unexpected story behind the Wrath. Sideria, the Witch-Queen, now left to die alone by Magisters she considered friends, is full of anger and bitterns. So when a mysterious stranger offers her a new source of power and life, she is eager to accept it. We also follow are old characters, Colivar, Ramirus and Gwynofar, but also a new characters Salvator, second son of High King Danton.

I must say that "Wings of Wrath" has a very interesting beginning. I was surprised with partial distancing from the plot of previous book and focus on new characters. This leads to new developments, although Friedman nicely closes the book with a parallel to "Feast of Souls". I wasn't entirely satisfied with the ending because it felt much like "deus ex machina" solution, but globally it fits well. I liked the part with Kamala saving Rhys - it reminded be to a classical D&D story. There were few good surprises throughout the book, like with Petrana.

As expected, the middle book in series brings out the expansion of setting and a turnover. We learn more about the current setting, but also about what brought to it. And as is typical for the second books, we learn more about the other side and see them in different light. I wasn't very affected by Rhys' and Kamala's discovery inside Spears, but I presume that as religious fanatics they would be. As I said, the ending was a bit stingy with explanations, so I have a feeling that the last book will be rushed to be able to answer all the questions. Even though I like this game with Colivar and his "memories", will Friedman be able to pull it through?

As for characters, I must say I am very impressed by Friedman's Kamala. She is really not a classical main character. We actually don't spend much time with her. And when we are, she is reserved with her thoughts to reader. She has flaws and she is far from a typical "good" main character. And she definitely doesn't have luck in picking boyfriends... As for other characters, they are a mix. Colivar is a great and mysterious character, Ramirus, Sideria and Salvator solid ones. Gwynofar, on the other side, was neglected and different from the first book. I also found all Northerners not interesting.

As I mentioned in my review of "Feast of Souls", I wasn't very impressed with Friedman's writing. Her editors weren't best also: I found adverb "heady" three times in few pages, which was sloppy.

But in summary, I am satisfied with "Wings of Wrath". It was a solid second book, with advantages in setting and refreshed characters. We will see how the series will end with "Legacy of Kings", but so far so good (but not excellent).

Book review: "The Belly of the Bow" by K. J. Parker

Yesterday when I finished with reading "The Belly of the Bow" by K. J. Parker, I was left very surprised, stunned almost... Let me tell you why.

When I've read "Colours in the Steel" two months ago on my vacation, I found the book very interesting: somewhat dark, eclectic, very well written, surprising in its lack of plot. Its sequel, "The Belly of the Bow", is similar in these points. Two years after the fall of Perimadeia, Baradas Loredan finds himself living on island of Scona, not by his choice, and earning his bread by making bows, a skill he learned as a kid on a farm. He shares island (among few thousand other people) with The Scona Bank, led by his sister Niessa and brother Gorgas, unwillingly. The Scona Bank is at war (their definition is more leaning to a commercial dispute) with neighboring island Shastel and its government, The Foundation, which is several times larger, richer and more populate - which doesn't means they have an advance in this kind of war. As conflict between these two organizations and islands grows, other familiar characters as ex-Patriarch Alexius, self-appointed Doctor Gannadius, Venart and Vetriz, etc., again come into play. And this time, it turns out that Principle (we'll not call it magic) has even more importance than before...

You will notice that in last paragraph I mentioned "the lack of plot". Even though the book itself has a plot - the war in large and small - there is no overall plot or theme to the series. Except in style and characters, and partially in setting, there is almost nothing (yeah, I know it sounds paradoxical) connecting these two books. This doesn't mean that it is a boring book. Parker paints a really detailed story, about war, society, magic... I need to say again, magic makes an important part here, and it becomes a bit more explicit (although not understandable). There is a great scene when the Clerk of Work (I think this was the right title) reveals all the knowledge he has.

Again, Parker's writing is interesting to read. Not for everybody, but I really like the abundance of technical descriptions and small details - you can see that he really got into this stuff he writes about. I admit though that sometimes he drags those descriptions too long. There is much down-to-earth common knowledge displayed as humor and contrasted to high and noble ideas - like the whole Foundation-Scona Bank situation. Also, there is lot of small daily-life scenes and common activities, and Parker usually succeeds in making them interesting or funny.

Even though "The Belly of the Bow" takes place in completely different location than "Colours in the Steel", you can't say that Parker was very generous with revealing the setting. Oh, you have a feeling he has a very defined and rich setting, but he is showing it only in minimal amounts. I've read know that all his books take place in the same setting, so I found this an interesting approach.

Contrary to last book, where it was evident who the main character is, this time situation is different. Oh, Baradas is nominally the main character, but this book is as much about Gorgas as is about him. And other characters get a lot of importance also, especially Alexius and Gannadius (although indirectly, I would say). And Parker really did a great work with Gorgas, who is at the same time a monster and an innocent. He goes into much detail with him, making him very reasonable and capable. I was impressed by his persistence and long-view approach to life, like with the sleep thing.

Unfortunately, there is a point that will sour this book for some people, and that is Baradas. His part is pretty bleak, full of self-pity, acting as a child, and being pretty much a spoil-fun. Things get pretty depressing around the middle of the book, when Scona and Foundation problem becomes larger, and when Baradas travels home (the last third gets more exciting, then). But the real shocker is at the end of the book - you will know when!!! I really didn't see that coming in the end and I am still not sure what to think about it. But this definitely candidates as a crossing of Moral Event Horizon! But in the end, I am really interested what will happen in the last book and how this trilogy will end...

So, even though "The Belly of the Bow" has similar style and quality as "Colours in the Steel", with great characters and depiction of society, it has one very dubious scene that will possibly ruin this book for some readers. Therefore, I cannot recommend it without reservations. Ultimately, my will depend on the last book in series, "The Proof House".

Book review: "Feast of Souls" by C. S. Friedman

I haven't read anything by C. S. Friedman before, but I had one or two of her series in my wish-list, since I encountered her name on several top-lists and reviews. I was choosing between "The Magister Trilogy" and "The Coldfire Trilogy", and finally picked the former, for no special reason, and bought "The Feast of Souls", the first part.

"The Feast of Souls" takes place in imaginary medieval world. Among regular people, there also exist witches and Magisters. Witches (both male and female) are able to do magic (witchery), but it costs them their life-force - the bigger the spell, the larger the price. Usually witches die in the middle years, except they are miserly with their power. On the other hand, Magisters, who are all males, have unlimited power, and they guard their secret hard. Magisters usually act as advisers to kings and rulers, but in truth they are the secret power behind thrones. In such world a young witch Kamala comes to a hermit-Magister Ethanus to teach her how to become the first female Magister... Several years later, Prince Andovan, one of sons of the most powerful King Danton Aurelius, become sick with the mysterious illness called Wasting. His search for the cause will set him on a course to Kamala, and both of them toward their destiny as ancient enemy of humanity begins to appear again - the soul-eaters!

As it is, such setting as in "The Feast of Souls" is a pretty much typical for fantasy. Medieval society, magic, Princes and Queens. I admit that the witches/Magisters thing is clever, but you are able to guess most of the details pretty soon and accurate. Even after first quarter of the book I was hoping for something to come and surprise me. I did get my satisfaction in second part of the book when Northlands and the Ancient Evil come into play. I must admit that the ikati come as nice villains and looking forward to learn more details. I also liked focus on Magister's society and rules in later stages, which are pretty detailed.

The plot is also typical, but it has its strong points. There are several players that are left unknown, so we have enough reveals to expect in second and third book. Again, the ikati storyline is the most interesting part of the plot. The big part of suspension is curiosity how Kamala and Andovan will be able to sort out their differences, because it is obvious from the start that they will be forced to do so. And we are not left disappointing - their (or better say, his) resolution is very surprising and interesting - and leaves her consistent.

There are lots of characters and again, lots of to discover in further books. Kamala doesn't really become a character until the second half of the book. Friedman writes her well, giving her much and important doubts to dwell upon. Andovan is pretty much common characters, but that doesn't mean he is boring. I especially liked Colivar's characters - and hope to learn more of his history. Queen Gwynofar is a very interesting character. Although this is not the rule, female writers usually create very good female characters (or at least more complex) and so is the case with Friedman.

Again, I liked the second half of "The Feast of Souls" more that the first. I really have to admit the book had a good ending - surprising and clever. And opening space for the next book.

Of Friedman's writing I can't say much. She has interesting characters, and gives some exciting chapters, but doesn't insert many original and unique fantasy elements.

All in all, "The Feast of Souls" is a solid fantasy book - not the best I have read, but far from worst. I have enough interesting parts to justify continuing with the trilogy. I think readers who focus on characters more than on plot or setting will be more than satisfied with this book. Also the fans of Robin Hobb.

Book review: "Emperor of Thorns" by Mark Lawrence

I don't usually read sequelling books immediately one after another, but like to spread them over some time, maybe insert a reread now or then. But after reading "Prince of Thorns", I just couldn't resist reading "King of Thorns", as I also couldn't resist reading "Emperor of Thorns" immediately it was published last week. With this, I finished "The Broken Empire" trilogy by Mark Lawrence.

"Emperor of Thorns", similarly to KoT, has three plots-lines. The main one, the present, is happening two years after Jorg Ancrath's defeat of Prince of Arrow and becoming a King of seven nations, instead of just one. As the book starts, Jorg is just preparing for a journey to the Congression, a meeting of rulers that happens every four years and on which the Emperor can be chosen. Jorg is going there pretty sure he will be selected Emperor, because if he is not, he will pretty upset... Second plot continues immediately his adventures at Horse Coast, expanding them eventually to continent of Afrique. And while in KoT we had Katherine's story, here we have Chella's story, a POV by character opposite to Jorg from the first book.

If you have read first two books in "The Broken Empire" trilogy, you know what to expect: blood and violence. In my review of "King of Thorns", I said one or twice that Jorg felt softer than in "Prince of Thorns", not killing or maiming people randomly. This is also true here; as Jorg says, he has overgrown killing people on whim, but it doesn't mean that he will balk of anything necessary to protect those he cares about. And people, Jorg actually openly cares for somebody in this book. This makes him at the same time softer and harder than before. Softer, as I said, because he is not a loose cannon anymore; but harder, because he will not stop at anything defending what is his.

I really have to congratulate Mark Lawrence for making Jorg develop so much, but making it feel so natural. And also for successfully making such brutal and unique character, more evil than villains in some books, a protagonist and a person to root for. Because, it is quite impossible not to root for Jorg. And if you have any liking for anti-heroes, gray-morality or for gritty literature, you will just adore this book.

I see that I am not lonely in this sentiment, because my e-book edition had more highlights than last 10 books I read together. And consider that the book was out only few days when I have read it... This will be one of the top books of this year.

The plot is pretty interesting, especially the main one. As the book was coming to close, I kept wondering how Lawrence will be able to resolve all the started threads, but I have to admit that he did it magnificently. This book and trilogy has just a great ending - it leaves just enough questions unanswered, but gives a decent resolution of the story. Jorg keeps pulling rabbits out of his hat, but rarely it feels like something forced - Lawrence makes him pretty believable and consistent. The pace if constantly intense and there is not time for leisure. There are just so many powerful and memorable scenes in the book.

A small objection could be raised that the identity of the main villain is revealed pretty early in the book. Not openly revealed, but there are enough clues to guess it almost at the start. But this doesn't hurt the story much. Also, the plotline dealing with events in Afrique belittles the events in "King of Thorns" a bit, revealing Jorg knew about future more than enough to fix a score...

Setting was vastly expended in KoT, compared to PoT, and in "Emperor of Thorns" it gets filled decently. As I said, enough questions are with no answers to keep us waiting for more, but there are no inconsistencies. When I started reading this series, I would never be able to guess how perfect blend of SF and fantasy it would turn out to be in the end.

Again, I have to repeat my opinion that "Emperor of Thorns" will be one of the top books of this year: thrilling plot, superb main character, with unique and gritty way of presenting the story. A big recommendation for this book and the trilogy to anybody who likes dark stories!

Book review: "Colours in the Steel" by K. J. Parker

This is the first book I have read by K. J. Parker, and my reaction is: why haven't I found about him before? I can't say I was familiar with him prior to this book, but I noticed this name here and there, mostly good references and comparisons.

"Colours in the Steel" is the first book in "The Fencer Trilogy" by K. J. Parker. The story introduces as to the wondrous City of Perimadeia, a commercial and technological center of the world. Except these two things, another thing differentiates this city from the others: its unique legal systems, based on fencers (advocates) who duel to death to resolve the cases. Bardas Loredan is an advocate with quite a few years in the profession (over 10, which is very long for this kind of job), but not especially successful or known for it. A routine case of commercial law and fight with a newcomer will lead to unexpected turn of events: a deadly curse from newcomer's cousin, friendship with highest leader of magicians, and responsibility for defense of so-far-undefeated City against savage (at least until now) barbarian hordes led by young new chief Temrai...

First, I knew I was going to like Parker after reading first few pages. The writing was superb, full of light humor throughout all narration, subtle instead of forceful. I like this very much in books. It is a great fun to read "Colours in the Steel", even though the theme of it is not - imagine style of Erikson's short stories about Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, expanded to a real, serious book. As I said, there is nothing evidently extraordinary, but writing is actually superb and makes you expect more and more of this book. Another thing that reminded me on Erikson is how Parker uses the same trick of introducing a totally unimportant character, focusing on in for few pages and then discarding it. The book is not grimdark, but it isn't exactly shy of grittiness.

Setting is unique. I understand that all Parker's books are set in this same setting, only different parts of it. This book focuses exclusively on City of Perimadeia, with only few mentions of neighboring countries. But you get the feel that setting is competently imagined and consistent. It is based on classical medieval setting, but a lot of focus is put on commerce, technology and society. Actually, Parker even sometimes gets too technical with descriptions of technology. It's not boring, and you can see that he understands what he is talking about, but it can be tedious to read through. Setting is also humorous - like the Holy Pirates, and so on. I will enjoy discovering other part of the setting in next books.

There is no widespread use of magic in the setting, even though already-mentioned Order and its Patriarch Alexius play a great role. Instead of magic, you have (at least for now, we'll see in next books) only the Principle, which encompasses the nature and everything, and sometimes can be used to work wonders... Like the curse over Bardas.

Plot is good, but it is secondary to this book. It is used mostly as a mean to introduce the setting and the characters. And the characters are simply great. Bardas Loredan is perfect anti-hero: not young any more, prone to wine, lazy, not really honorable, cynic. It is really a pleasure to read about him and see the world through his eyes. Other POV characters, Alexius, Temrai, others... are all also great. Especially Temrai, who constantly wonders about his choices - which are sometimes morally questionable, so it is good that he wonders. The plot is pretty simple and predictable, but this didn't damage my joy in reading this book. If you are expecting a happy end and laugh after it, don't - this is not that kind of book. I appreciate how sometimes we skip weeks or months and characters have their own life in the meantime. Also, even though the book finishes the started plot, there is lot to discover behind it - and I wonder where this will take us to.

As I said, I am somewhat disappointed in myself for not discovering Parker before. But if sequels of "Colours in the Steel" prove as half as good as this one, it means that I have a dozen good books to read in future. I recommend this book to all fans of darker and anti-heroic fantasy.

Anime review: "Hyouge Mono"

I don't really remember how or when it started, but I know that I have been eagerly waiting for this show to be subbed for months, maybe even more than a year. I always had a liking for historical-based items (be it books, movies or anime) and "Hyouge Mono" looked like one. On the other hand, I had some similar expectations from "Sengoku Basara" (which disappointed me very, very much) and even more so from "Souten Kouro" (which took a completely different direction than I expected). But "Hyouge Mono" fitted those expectations perfectly: a complex and deeply historical anime with a bunch of characters and realistic details.

"Hyouge Mono" is set on the eve of Sengoku period in Japan, starting somewhere in last years of rule of Oda Nobunaga. In the anime we follow the important events in Japan's history for next ten years, including the wars, politics and cultural life. This is seen primary from the eyes of Furuta Sasuke, who starts as a lowly vassal to Oda Nobunaga. What differentiates Furuta from bunch of other warriors and vassals is that he is actually more of an aesthete than a warrior. But to enjoy life of an aesthete, one needs to have money. Luckily for him, aesthetes, especially those interested in the way of tea, are on the rise in this time...

Sengoku period is a very turbulent time for Japan, a time of constant warring before final unification of Japan. Of course, such times gave rise to many popular warriors and leaders, like Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu (to name the most prominent). And as such, it is a ripe pool of ideas for anime.

There are several obvious and important aspects that make this anime different from your usual one. First one is that Furuta is in no way the main character - the show doesn't actually have one. Furuta is only the means through which we follow the events, plot and other characters. He is not even an important man, especially at the beginning of the show, and he has to bend toward the will of others. In the end, he is just a conveniently placed close to important people with small influence on the events. This is a somewhat common occurrence in books (let's only mention Guy Gavriel Kay, who use it all the time), but I don't remember seeing it in anime much (maybe in few josei anime). Actually, there is even less focus of Furuta in later parts of anime.

Secondly, it cannot be said that this anime has a plot in classical sense. We are suddenly immersed in an ongoing world full of events, we follow it for some time (10 years and 39 episodes) and then we leave it without the feel on conclusion you have when some show is finished. At one time, somewhere around 25th episode, I have made a note "totally don't know where the plot is going", because I expected first part to be the introduction and second the real revelation of the story, but I was wrong.

And third, the biggest difference is the level of historical accuracy and details. In my 200+ anime that I have watched, I don't remember ever watching such anime. I can't say that I am a student of Japanese history, since most that I know about it came from common knowledge, anime, Wikipedia and articles on Internet and magazines. There is even a warning at the start of every episode that this is a work of fiction. But on the other hand, every character, important event and even things and concepts can be found on Wikipedia or other online encyclopedia. Yes, a lots of events, or better said, reasons behind events are made more dramatic or romantic (not in sense of love), but nevertheless, the amount of accurate historical details is astounding. Interesting, characters even speak with slightly archaic speech, and subtitles that I had reflected that.

Of course, the theme of anime is strange also: the Japanese tea ceremony. I never encountered this before, and I thought it to be completely fabricated. I was very surprised when I went to Wikipedia and found out that it isn't. This gives the anime a somewhat slow and serious, but at the same time funny aspect. Furuta's tea-obsession looks ridiculous from our perspective, but I see it was a serious business at the time. There is a lot of details about tea ceremonies and talk about elegance and aesthetics. If there is a message that this anime wants to convey, then it is something like: "Always do your best in everything, but never fret about it - be elegant and relaxed". This is evident for Furuta's character that is, as I said, obsessed, pretentious and overeager to become famous as aesthete, even contrary to his sincere liking of the way of tea. Later he grows much and becomes more relaxed and enjoys the tea and beauty for itself.

This brings us to another topic: characters. There is really a bunch of them and it takes time to become familiar with them (especially since lot of them change - this is war, after all). It helps if you are familiar with the Sengoku period. They change appearance, clothes, hairstyles. But more important, they really change during the anime. Furuta, Rikyu, Hashiba - at the end, they are very different people from those who they were when we met them. I even like them more in the second part of the show, when they are more mature and relaxed...

Even though "Hyouge Mono" is a serious and historical anime, there is really a lot of humor. A lots of it steam from Furuta's obsession for art pieces, and the faces he makes (I was delightful to see that Troll-face in episode 16, during the shrimp-mongering dance). Also, it is funny when someone pricks his bubble of self-importance. But it is interesting that there is some humor that is not intended toward viewer (so that we laugh at characters), but it is more the humor between the characters so the viewer can laugh with them (like when Furuta steals the tea-jar lid). On the other hand, it is easily to forget that this funny little man is actually a warrior and veteran but we are reminded of that on few occasions.

The ending was really something. It was a slow rise during few episodes to a glorious culmination - a powerful and emotional ending. It was delighted to see that mange that anime is based upon is still ongoing - which means I can hope for eventual sequel.

I was a bit disappointed by Date Masamune's appearance and mannerism, who looks like he escaped from "Sengoku Basara". On the other hand, he was very funny, and in the end did fit with the rest of characters.

Animation and colors in nothing over the top, but it is very good. Design of characters and care for details (I mention clothes and hairstyles) are on the other hand superb. As is the voice-acting.

It's been a long time since I gave some anime 10 on AniDB (I gave them all around when I was younger), but "Hyouge Mono" definitely deserves it: complex and detailed, historically based with realistic characters, no good guys, no main character, almost a slice-of-life in turbulent times - this really an unique seinen anime. Unfortunately, I don't think it will be deservedly appreciated because it will be too hard for majority of viewers. But if you consider yourself a fan of seinen or historical anime, give this a try.

Movie review: "Anna Karenina"

Yesterday I went to movies with my girlfriend to watch "Anna Karenina". It was originally her idea, but I didn't have anything against it.

Even though I was a passionate reader since I was ten, for some reason I (successfully) avoided most of high-school proscribed reading, including "Anna Karenina". I was vaguely familiar with the story, as much as I remembered from a book with short analysis of plot and characters for high-school books, but in general, I didn't know anything about the movie.

The story of "Anna Karenina" is a tragedy, revolving about three central characters in 19th century Russia. Karenin (played by Jude Law) is a high-positioned noble and politician, orthodox, strict but respected for his moral and ethical principles - but at the same time he is shown as cold and distanced, especially toward his family. Anna (Keira Knightley) is his wife, at the beginning of the movie displayed as happy with his marriage and especially their son, and loyal to her husband. She actually reprehends her cousin for being angry at her husband for cheating on her and manipulates her into forgiving him. But this changes after a chance encounter with young and dashing Count Vronsky - a pampered noble with eye for beauty, sweet tongue and flowery manners. An unexpected happens and these two unlikely people fall in love, and later to obsession, which damages their lives and especially Karenin family. There is also a secondary story, dealing with another young and shy noble Levin and his love toward Princess Kitty.

The story is good, but center of this movie is its characters, primary the central trio. As I expected from a renowned literary classic, characters are great and complex. The best notion for me is that no one is described as negative: all three are just people, with their personalities, caught in facts of life, love and passion. Though, I was surprised that at the end I was putting most blame on Anna - I don't know if this was intended by the movie-makers, or it was projected from my own beliefs and personality. I am even tempted to read the book to find out.

I liked the acting, even though I am not fan of Keira Knightley. But even more I liked the semi-breaking of the fifth wall: during the changes of scenes, characters are shown as traveling through theater sets; when important things are happening, supporting characters "freeze". I also liked the costumes and small details about Imperial Russia. The music was very good, even to me who usually don't notice such things.

All in all, I really enjoyed "Anna Karenina". If you don't like romances or dramas, avoid this movie. But for everybody else, the movie is never boring, has great and interesting characters and is very intense.

The Wheel of Time reread: "Towers of Midnight" by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

So, after more than four months of rereading, I am finally done with my "The Wheel of Time" reread. I don't usually write my post immediately after reading the book, and instead I wait for some free time, but this time I wanted to do it right, and do it cleanly. So, after this I can start "A Memory of Light" unencumbered with any unfinished business.

"Towers of Midnight" is a penultimate book of "The Wheel of Time" series, and as such is really preparing us for the final blast and Tarmon Gai'don. Rand has finally found balance with the Dragon Reborn, and now is fixing loose ends and past mistakes before he starts the Last Battle (which is exactly a day away at the end of the book). You could say that he is "cleaning the rubble". Perrin wasn't "lucky" as Rand, so he is still searching for his peace with the wolf and leader inside him - and at the same time he has to take care for tens of thousands of people, sue for peace with the Whitecloaks, and avoid traps set by Forsaken. Mat had his balance since beginning, but that doesn't mean that he is without problems: gholam is after him still, and now very close. And before he finds a solution for it (the invulnerable creature immune to the One Power), he cannon go on quest to find Moiraine and save her from snake and foxes. The White Tower is now joined behind Egwene, but she still has a problem with a hundred or so Black Sister and a Forsaken hiding in the Tower. Elayne has also consolidated her rule, but after Andor there are another two big bites for her: the rebellious Two Rivers and chaotic Cairhien.

Except the five of them, a bunch of other characters get their time in this book. There are much more changes between POVs (even more than in "The Gathering Storm"), even throughout chapters - which makes a faster pace. I would say that maybe there is a bit too much happening in this book. But I presume they (Jordan and Sanderson) had a lot to add in last two books. So clarify my statement, there are two pictures from a site Encyclopaedia WoT, which has a very detailed recaps of chapters from WoT. I use it sometimes when I am not sure about some details (like, how many chapters Mat had in a book). First picture shows the structure of chapters vs. character's POVs in "The Fires of Heaven", while the second one shows the same for "Towers of Midnight". You will notice how more complex ToM is...

tFoH threads

ToM threads

I really like the first POV by Lan - it is very honorable and epic, but also funny at the same time. I like even more the first chapter with the new Rand, especially when you compare him to Rand in TGS. And even more I like the second chapter with him, when he finally meets Egwene (after some seven or eight books) as Amrylin Seat. I was a bit unsympathetic toward her because of her opinion that Rand has to be "handled" and "contained", but Rand really blows her mind this time. And not just her...

This book is very much about meetings after a long time: Mat and Elayne, Perrin and Elayne, Mat and Perrin, Elayne and Galad, Galad and Morgase, Morgase and Elayne, Gawyn and Elayne, Gawyn and Morgase, Moiraine and Mat (and Thom), Rand and Egwene, Egwene and Nyneve and Elayne, Rand and Tam (for real), Aviendha and Three-Fold Land, Rand and Almen Bunt (after twelve books!!)... There are two really great scenes: Mat's letter to Elayne (I got a really good laugh there) and Perrin "easing the badger" that Mat caught (there is a tavern called "Easing the Badger" in "The Dragon Reborn" where Perrin wonders where the name comes from - things really go in circles in these books).

This is the first time that book takes different time-frames and that plotlines are displaced in time. We had a case or two when when book started at the time before ending of last one, but nothing like this one.

After the debacle with Mat in last book, Sanderson got him right this time, right to the point. There is only one thing that really bothered me: the "confession" between Thom and Moiraine. OK, it was announced in last books, but it nevertheless sounded forced and fake. Although the blame cannot be put wholly on Sanderson... The part with snakes and foxes was done great and it justified the hype about it.

There are several very intense action scenes with Perrin here. I think that Sanderson did better job with him than even Jordan had. You could say that Perrin is the most outstanding main character in this book. It is very funny when Perrin patronizes Egwene in World of Dreams (not that I have anything against her).

There are several great POVs with Rodel Ituralde. I dont' know why I like this guy so much, but I really do. But the crowning moment is when Rand saves them - this was really something.

I can say this without any reservations: "Towers of Midnight" is a really glorious book. So much more positive and funnier book (especially after "The Gathering Storm"), it is much focused on finishing the various (and numerous) plotlines. It contains so much good scenes that I could say it is one of my favorite books in series.

The Wheel of Time reread: "The Gathering Storm" by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

I've read "The Gathering Storm" in very short time, only few days. I am currently at half of "Towers of Midnight", hoping to start with "A Memory of Light" soon.

First I have to mention that this is first "The Wheel of Time" book written by Brandon Sanderson. Robert Jordan has passed away after writing "Knife of Dreams", so the fate of WoT was in question for a time. Jordan's widow Harriet McDougal picked Brandon Sanderson, at that time relatively unknown writer, to finish the WoT. Jordan's death didn't come sudden, so he was able to prepare lots of notes for what was supposed to be the last WoT book, and even write some parts. Thanks to that, Sanderson had a skeleton of story, and he "only" needed to flesh it.

In "The Gathering Storm", we have two major plot-lines. Rand, after losing his hand by Semirhage in "Knife of Dreams", is continuing his preparation for Tarmon Gai'don. But the stresses, wounds and betrayals he has survived has left a great toll on him. He becomes increasingly harder and darker - and not all Dark One's seduction is obvious. Egwene is still a captive in Tar Valon, but everything points that her efforts are paying off and she is winning the fight for Amyrlin Seat. But what will happen when she is forced to confront Elaida directly - is is better to bend like a willow, or finally make a stand? Nyneve is only major character with important part in this book - as the only Aes Sedai and advisor that doesn't send Rand into fits. Mat and Perrin present, but more with cameos than with real story, and Elayne is completely absent, thus making her the last main character to be absent from one of the books.

First POV in prologue is a great introduction to the book. Until now, we have had a direct insight into fight between light and dark, but always from the highs. But now, this struggle has reached even the common little man. Prologue in general is very good.

This is definitely Rand's book, as it not had been since "Lord of Chaos". He has been under an unimaginable stress for years now, and the time to release it had finally come. I must confess that I never expected Jordan (because I presume that it was his original intention) to make Rand so dark, even evil.  There is a curious part of chapter with Rand and Moridin - it is strangely pity for Rand that he can feel comfort near his greatest enemy, who is actually his antithesis. His parts are disturbing, but they are very well written. "I have been forced to revise this particular inclination" - I think this quote gives goosebumps to every fan of WoT. Even though it is not good, I must it is funny to see Cadsuane finally cowed. Book has a very strong ending.

Egwene is only slightly behind Rand in importance in this book. Her parts have been very good for several books now, so there is no need to praise them anymore. She has one of the best action scenes in series, comparable to battle in tFoH or earlier battles (Rand against various Forsaken). Elaida is on pinnacle of disgust here.

As I mention, there is lot of Nyneve, who is left as one of last person with some influence on Rand. She didn't have this much attention since Ebou Dar, if ever. There is also lot of Min, who sometimes look unobtrusive, but she is an important characters. We also have few POVs from Aviendha, which are rare.

Both Mat's and Perrin's parts are not really important in this book - they are "saved" for next one, ToM, and they are here only not to be absent. I don't mind this as such. Perrin's part is actually pretty good, except the small spoiler for next book (meeting between him and Galad). But what I do mind is Mat's POVs. Sanderson blundered with Mat. It is not written badly, but Mat and his humor are very off, and the story is unnecessary and irrelevant. Thankfully, he accepted the criticisms and did much better in ToM.

All in all, Sanderson did a very good job with continuing "The Wheel of Time". There are no major differences in writing, although there are some words and phrases that Jordan didn't use. There is one apparent change: shorter chapters to fasten the pace, with lots if jumps between POVs. My version of the book (Orbit hardcover) has a mistake - Sulin is mentioned as with Rand, except with Perrin. I hope this will be corrected in newer editions.

In general, "The Gathering Storm" is a great book, itself and as part of "The Wheel of Time". Much darker that any before, it really presents struggle, in various forms. And it finally puts in focus the Tarmon Gai'don, the Last Battle.

The Wheel of Time reread: "Knife of Dreams" by Robert Jordan

Few days ago I finished with reading "Knife of Dreams" - only two more books and I need to hurry. My copy of "A Memory of Light" has come earlier than I expected, so I don't need to hold back. Now, if I only had more time for reading...

It is easy to shortly introduce "Knife of Dreams" because it mostly continues plot-lines that were started before. Rand is still mostly in hiding after cleaning the Saidin, jumping all around the world and preparing for the Last Battle. His biggest concern now are the Seanchan - he can't fight them at the same time as he fights Tarmon Gai'don, so he has to find some solution for them. Perrin has finally forged a plan for rescuing Faile, and with the help of Seanchan army, he will put it in action. Mat is slowly running away from the Seanchan while struggling to start to understand Tuon, his wife-to-be. When he finds out there is a plot to kill her, he must find a way to protect her without letting himself be captured. Egwene, who has been captured by White Tower at the end of last book, slowly realizes that this is not the end of her fight against Elaida - this is actually her biggest chance. But she has a peculiar battle to fight. Elayne is not enviable position - surrounded by her competitor's army, she discovers there is enemy in her lines, also. Also, her pregnancy is not helping her mood.

Well, the biggest difference between "Knife of Dreams" and last four books is that it finished plot-lines instead starting them. In first six books of "The Wheel of Time", we had a normal sequence of starting and ending a plot-line in single books. But next five books feel more like a part of one (very) big book, and KoD is its ending. I enjoyed previous books very much, but I would lie if I said that I didn't like to see these endings. Also, this book feels much more packed - there is much happening, especially with our five main characters (minus Nyneve).

Again, we have a humongous prologue - 90 pages. Again, it features Rodel Ituralde, which I like very much. There is one line that I remembered especially well: "He always looked ahead, and always planned for every eventuality he could imagine, short of the Dragon Reborn himself suddenly appearing in front of him." - this will be very funny when we come to "The Gathering Storm".

Last few times I read this book, I used to check how more I had till Mat's POV. This time I enjoyed almost everything. Elayne's part was a bit dragging again, though. I always forgot whether Sareitha or Careane is a Black Sister - even though I read it only few days ago I forgot again. And for some reason, I always disliked two chapters with Elayne's fight against Black Sisters.

I don't have any big impressions about Rand's, Perrin's and Egwene's parts, except that I enjoyed reading them. Loial's POV is interesting - and the Trolloc attack in that chapter. But part with Nyneve and Lan, and especially what Nyneve does, is one of my favorite parts in whole series!

Again, Mat's POVs are slightly above the rest, but only slightly. Luca Valan is a great character, especially when he turns around performer's minds. And I like chapters with Furyk Karede, especially the one when he catches up with Mat.

So, "Knife of Dreams" presents a welcome change to "The Wheel of Time", clearing out some rubble and preparing for the ending of the whole series. At the time it was written, that was supposed to be the penultimate book, but more about it in post about the next book in reread.

The Wheel of Time reread: "Crossroads of Twilight" by Robert Jordan

I am getting closer: I finished "Crossroads of Twilight", and now I am reading "Knife of Dreams". Only few more weeks, and I will finish the complete "The Wheel of Time" series. I hope that it will have a deserving ending.

Also, I now have to be careful to avoid anything mentioning "A Memory of Light", to avoid possible spoilers. Even Wikipedia could be dangerous now.

After two shorter books, "Crossroads of Twilight" is back to a normal length for novel of such caliber: 800 pages. Somehow, in my mind, I always considered it as Mat's book; at the contrary, he has only 5 chapters, (6 if count Furyk Karede's) as Elayne and Egwene, while Perrin has 6 (7 if we count Faile's). But let's go by the order. After cleaning Saidin in last book, Rand is in hiding and resting - therefore he (actually, his plot-line) only gets two short chapters. Curiously, I realized that this time Nyneve is absent, except by mention in his part. After three books, he finally comes to good terms with Cadsuane, meaning that this is the first time (and last for some time), that she is not irritating. Perrin is still caught up with trying to save Faile, although now he is forced to accept that it will not be done in matter of days, and that he has other responsibilities. Mat has successfully left Ebou Dar; unfortunately  he is not away from Seanchan, or from Daughter of the Nine Moons. Elayne, now pregnant and without Nyneve, is trying to win the throne of Andor, even though her prospects doesn't look very good. Egwene is now accepted as real (rebel) Amyrlin Seat, but that doesn't mean that she is without problems - even her Aes Sedai still find ways to make troubles for her. And currently, the times are even tougher, since they are besieging Tar Valon.

Of course, except our main character, we have several POV from minor characters. And also, we have a long prologue. Jordan must have been full of ideas, with no place to put them, except in such long prologues. I especially like Ituralde's POV - here and in next books. There is a great but somewhat disturbing chapter with Alviarin, Mesaana and Shaidar Haran. And I hope there will be a clear explanation what kind of vile events were happening after Aiel War that so much of Red sisters were forced in exile.

I am having some troubles reviewing this book, because nothing really happens. Oh sure, there are lots of stuff going on, but all these plot-lines have started in prior books, and not one of them is finished here. More so, first half of the book actually happens at the same time as events in "Winter's Heart". This doesn't mean that I don't like the book, at the contrary. But only that I have tough time finding momentous impressions from it to write about.

Elayne's part here was a bit too long. Not bad (I liked the part when she meats the High Seats), but it could have been shorter. Also, did Jordan put such focus on clothes and details before? There was good Eenia's POV - you can really feel how she is always angry. Even though she is obviously intelligent, this anger thwarts her in reaching further. Jordan did great job capturing that.

Egwene's part is great here, too. I especially like the chapter when they decide to approach Asha'man.

Perrin's POVs are split in two groups. I didn't overly enjoy first ones, at the beginning of the book (probably because I was impatient for Mat's part to start), but the second one were good. I don't know why, but I always like the So Habor part.

I know that it is probably tiring hearing me saying how great Mat's part is, but it really is so. I really like his interactions with Tuon, but also his impression of everybody else. He is just perfectly comical without becoming so.

So, even though "Crossroad of Twilight" is a book without momentous events and somewhat slower plot, I had a very good time with it.

The Wheel of Time reread: "Winter's Heart" by Robert Jordan

Well, I was able to figure out what happened with my "Lord of Chaos" post: I opened the post on my mobile-phone before it synchronized, and so saved the older version over the new, full one. I am still deciding is this a bug or a feature.... Anyway, I'll be more careful in future.

So, I am slowly getting toward the end of "The Wheel of Time" series. With "Winter's Heart" I finished 9th book out of 14. Four more books before "Memory of Light" - with luck, I will finished them just in time to receive MoL.

"Winter's Heart" is slightly larger that was "The Path of Daggers", somewhat below 700 pages. There are four main plot-lines here. Faile was in last book captures by Shaido, and now is trying to figure out what to do, while Perrin is trying to rescue her, while at the same time balancing Masema, Ghealdanin, Aes Sedai and Wise-Ones, and Berelain. Elayne has arrived in Camelyn and started her campaign to win the Throne of Andor, but she also has her hands full: open and hidden opponents, enmity between Aes Sedai, Kinswomen and Atha'an Miere, a massive army of Borderlanders with unknown intention. Rand is, on the other side, focused on a single goal: executing rebel Asha'man. That is, before he can turn his attention to a much larger goal: cleaning the Saidin. And at South, in Ebou Dar, recently conquered by Seanchan, we have Mat Cauthon, who is trying to escape his fate, not knowing that Daughter of Nine Moons is coming closer.

Only now I realized that Egwene is absent from this book, as were Rand, Perrin and Mat before. She only appears in short cameo with Elayne. I have read these books at least three or four times before, but I haven't realized it before: it is because they are not encompassed and defined as were the early ones. Also, does this mean that Jordan considered Egwene as fourth main characters? As most reviewers, I always considered Rand, Perrin and Mat the three protagonists.

I have only words of praise for this book. I still like Perrin's and Faile's part, and I don't see myself changing my opinion. Perrin is being a bit too emotional, but that is who he is. And he is surrounded with such different characters that his observations (especially when he smells them) are very interesting.

Elayne's part is maybe too long in whole, but here is not; I always liked reading about politics. I especially liked the chapter when she is meeting with the Borderlanders. And the chapter with Elayne, Min and Aviendha finally making some deal with Rand makes me happy, as much for them as for Rand.

This is the first time that Nyneve is having her own adventures, without Elayne. She was in her company without break from "The Great Hunt": eight books! They sure had a lot adventures together. Anyway, Nyneve is great together with Elayne, or by herself. In last book I didn't like Nyneve with Atha'an Miere and Kinswoman, but this time all that is very funny.

As for Rand, I think this book proves my claim that things are going down for the Light. Even though they succeed with a major success, Rand's mental condition is again getting worse. I really liked the great chapter when Rand meets Elayne, Aviendha and Min: it is always funny to see their misunderstandings revealed. Also, Far Madding chapters are very interesting.

And of course, there is my favorite part of the book. Mat's part is simply great and very funny.

All in all, "Winter's Heart" is probably my favorite book of this section, from "A Crown of Swords" till "Crossroads of Twilight", maybe even "Knife of Dreams" (I will have to decide after I read them). It is very fun, full of action and full of enjoyment.

The Wheel of Time reread: "The Path of Daggers" by Robert Jordan

Since I have had few days of vacation this week, I was able to finish "The Path of Daggers" sooner that I planned. Looks like I will be finish with the whole "The Wheel of Time" series just in time for "Memory of Light". That book is coming out at the beginning of January, but it will arrive at my place around month later.

With less than 650 pages, "The Path of Daggers" is the shortest book in series. "The Shadow Rising", "The Fires of Heaven" and "Lord of Chaos" were all around 1000 pages, so this is quite shorter. "A Crown of Swords" is somewhere in between. PoD, as CoS, also takes short time in book-time, around a month. There are four major plot-lines. After killing Sammael and conquering Illian, Rand believes himself on a roll, so when he finds out that Seanchan has again arrived, he decides to personally deal with them, leading the first Asha'man army. Connected to Seanchan: after finally being able to find the Bowl of Winds, Elayne and Nyneve travel from Ebou Dar, accompanied by Atha'an Miere and Kinswomen, with plans to use it and stop Dark One's meddling with the climate. Egwene is still slowly traveling with rebel Aes Sedai toward Tar Valon. But her biggest problem is not Elaid or myriad other difficulties lurking in world, but the fact that no one considers her the real Amyrlin Seat. Lastly, we have Perrin and his large retinue (including both Faile and Berelain) are slowly traveling Gheldan, trying to reach Queen Alliandre, and to the Prophet of Dragon Masema before he is able to do even more harm. Crisscrossing the book are several other, shorter POVs: Elaida, other Aes Sedai, Forsaken, even Seanchan.

As you can see, there is not Mat in this book. I guess this is fair, since Perrin was missing from "The Fires of Heaven" and Rand (almost) from "The Dragon Reborn". But that doesn't mean that I am happy for it. But there is nothing to do except to read until the middle of next book, "Winter's Hearts".

This is the darkest Rand's section, at least until "The Gathering Storm". This is why I said that Light is slowly losing from Dark after SR, FoH and LoC - whatever their successes are, Rand is getting madder and darker. This book has most quiet ending till now, and also the saddest, at least Rand's part. I always liked Moridin's POVs, especially the one in PoD's prologue.

Here ends one large Nyneve's and Elayne' part. Elayne will get another long plot-line (Andor's Succession), but Nyneve will not have a definite plot-line (even though she will have important parts). I must say that humor when they are escaping Ebou Dar feels a bit forced, especially with Alise and Nyneve.

Egwene has a great part; she really outmaneuvers them all. It is a good section to read, whether you know the outcome or not. Her part in next few books will be the same.

Also, this is a real start of Perrin's POV. There are fans who don't like this part, the Shaido. It is not my favorite either, but I don't really dislike it. Especially this time, at least until now.

I've said it already, but Aes Sedai are really sure that they know everything - so I enjoy when they are turned over their heads. But most of their POVs are very interesting.

Well, a short review for short book. "The Path of Daggers" is a darker book than its predecessors (maybe its successor also), but I enjoyed reading it. If only Mat was in it...

The Wheel of Time reread: "A Crown of Swords" by Robert Jordan

I finished "A Crown of Swords" only few days ago, so I hope this post will be fresher than previous, "Lord of Chaos". I still can't believe that I have lost a finished (and good) post so abruptly. But, I should focus more on the book.

"A Crown of Swords" is the first book in series that takes the same time as another book ("Lord of Chaos" in this case). It is also much shorter book that its prequels (less than 750 pages) - but neither of its sequels is longer by much, if not shorter. Another interesting fact, this book takes very short time in plot-time: some nine or ten days, I think. Which doesn't mean that there isn't lot of going on here, only that it is thicker. There are several plots. Rand is trying to deal with problems that arose from his capturing in "Lord of Chaos", and with his trauma from it. After several books of waiting, he finally enters a romantic relationship with Min. Perrin has a lot of coverage, in the first part of the book, but more as a narrator than as active characters - I almost forgot that he even was in this book. Egwene also has few chapters, but they are clustered so that I thought it was only one or two. Both Perrin's and Egwene's plots really take place in further books. There are also some chapters from isolated characters (Elaid, Alvarian, Forsaken...), but almost a central plot-line of this book is in Ebou Dar, including both Mat and Elayne and Nyneve.

This book has one of longer prologues, but not ridiculously long as they will be in some other books (e.g. "Winter's Heart"). Here we are introduced to Alvarian as major bad player - one of few POVs from the evil side. Also, Alvarian is one of only three successful and capable bad characters (other two are Moridin and Shaidar Haran, maybe Padan Fain). On the other hand, we have Elaida's POV- for a supposedly good characters, she does more evil that all other Forsaken together. This series is full of people with lots of misunderstanding of the world about themselves, but Elaida is somewhere at the top of them.


We have a very complex and interesting beginning: Asha'man vs. Wise Ones vs. Aes Sedai. We follow Perrin for some time as the beginning, but as I said, more as narrator. He provides few funny moments; well, him and Faile and Loial.

Egwene's part is starting to get interesting with all that maneuvering and politicking - but it is very short in this book, only few chapters. This will be rectified in future books, so we can look at this like just a treat before the main course.

We get first POV from Aviendha (I think), but more important, we are introduced to Cadsuane. Even in her first appearance, she is absolutely irritating. I don't think I felt sympathy to her once in whole series. Another who makes first appearance here is Moridin - long time no see.

Of course, the best part of the book is Ebou Dar, and mostly because of Mat. Mat's and Elayne's/Nyneve's mutual misunderstandings are hilarious. Elayne's and Nyneve's chapter when they finally overcome their problems is also very good. When you look about it, nobody is really fair to Mat (Nyneve, Elayne, Tylin,...).

Another great chapter is the one with Rand, Padan Fain and rebels, even though it contains Cadsuane.

In conclusion, even though "A Crown is Swords" is a different book from previous three (shorter, several unfinished plot-lines), I really enjoyed rereading it, especially the Mat's parts.

The Wheel of Time reread: "Lord of Chaos" by Robert Jordan

Wow, I just realized that I completely forgot about this post. I was already preparing the one for the next book, "A Crown of Swords", and accidentally saw this unfinished post. I read "Lord of Chaos" more than two weeks ago (I am currently reading "The Path of Daggers"), but I had very busy two weeks and trip to Budapest for the weekend in between (pleasure, not business; and the trip was great).

In "The Fires of Heaven", we have seen Rand take hold of both Cairhien and Camelyn, and in "Lord of Chaos", he will try to solidify his take. We are introduced to two very important, but non-POV characters: Marshal-General Davram Bashere, from Saldea, and Mazrim Taim, an ex-false-Dragon, also from Saldea. These are probably the first two willing followers of Rand, but while Bashere's loyalty is pretty much undoubtable, Taim will become one of most mysterious characters in the series. We will also see Rand's official first interactions with Aes Sedai, both official White Tower and rebel Salidar Aes Sedai - and it won't end well. Egwene, who has become almost Aiel while apprenticing to the Wise Ones, will be in big shock after she is commanded by Salidar Aes Sedai to join them immediately. Elayne and Nyneve are still in Salidar, but not feeling relieved for it: they possess too much secrets, including the one about Moghadien. Perrin will again become a part of series, and Mat will assert himself more, both as farmers-become-leaders.

I always liked the beginning of this book: Rand's sword-training, Bashere's humor, first meeting with Taim... As I said, Taim becomes a very mysterious figure - only in "The Towers of Midnight" we will see some clear clues about what is going on with him in Black Tower. Rand is feeling much on the rise in this book, even though he is in for some smaller shock, and one big. Love the chapter when Alanna bonds Rand and the Two Rivers' girls are scarred of him, even though it is hard on him. Even more so can be said about the final chapters about Rand - they are great, but are really traumatic for him. Nevertheless, these are some of the most powerful chapters in series. They will make problems for him and more in next five books. We also get the first mention of cleaning of saidin.

Nyneve and Elayne few chapters here, but they are not really really important, more like a preparation for next stages. Except when Nyneve does the impossible. Egwene on the other hand has a transformation as big as Rand's. I was very surprised the first time when I read it. She benefits much from her time among Aiel. I wasn't much thrilled with her parts with Gawyn, though.

Mat in this book is great again, pure and simple. This is where he becomes my favorite character in series. Not that really much happens with him, but Jordan wrote some great jokes with him. Especially the part when he arrives to Salidar. As I said, Perrin appears again in series, but his part start really at the end.

There are some good jokes about humor and jokes, especially about differences between normal and Aiel humor.

While writing this post, I realized that I have written it once already! And I wrote it better last time, while it was fresh. It looks like Blogger reverted my post to earlier draft version - either that or I had best déjà vu ever! So I am sorry if I don't sound coherent in places - this lost post has mixed up much, especially since it has passed two-three weeks from it. So don't let my bad post spoil "Lord of Chaos" for you, because it is one great book.