[polishgenius]

This one seems to have got some pushing by the publisher, and releasing a debut book as a hardback certainly implies confidence by the publisher, but has curiously little internet presence- I'm not sure why. Dunno if it's out in the US yet, if it's not that could explain it.

Anyway, it's about a legendary assassin taking on an apprentice against the backdrop of a city struggling against an invading empire marked by cruelty and nihilism. Obviously, to those who have read Brent Weeks Night Angel books, that'll sound familiar, but it's a different beast. There's little magic, for starters, the whole tone of the story is more serious, and he has a 'no-one is safe' attitude that would make GRRM proud. There's also a difference in that the assassins aren't politically or personally motivated- basically, they're a sort of hands-off protection by having clients wear a seal that tells the world that if they die, the order will pursue vendetta against them, whatever the cost, until they die.

It's got an interesting way of pacing. He's got the main plot of the book, and that's quite a narrow focus, but he also takes time to set out wider implications for the series he's building. This means that the pacing feels deliberate, especially for a book that's quite slim by genre standards at 400 pages long, but never slow. I should note that the blurb (front flap, not back cover) covers nearly half the book, and while it's quite a reasonable one- it'd be difficult to entice the reader while saying less, and it didn't impact the enjoyment for me, although the results of certain events are obvious in advance because of it- I know that might bother some people, so don't read it if it could.


Anyway, Buchanan is a dab hand with an action scene- this is the sword and dagger type of assassination, and he's very good at it- knows how to build tension, and has built an interesting world- he manages, in a mostly magic-less world, to make guns and swords and airships in the same setting feel eminently plausible, and there's a detail to the worldbuilding that gives it life - his real strength, I think, is in character. He doesn't have to spend long with a person for us to get to know them, and he manages to give even what could have been a histerically cartoonish villain a bit of depth.




Long story short; assassins, vendetta, airships, fighting, twists, brutality, characters, swordfighting... fun. It's the third debut I've read this year (NK Jemisin and Paul Hoffman being the other two) and it's the best one by a fair bit. Highly recommended.

This post has been edited by polishgenius: 06 March 2010 - 10:31 AM

[murf99]

Been waiting for this one. Not out in Canada yet. Looking forward to it though. Have heard a lot of good reviews.

[Abyss]

Just read FARLANDER along with the sequel STANDS A SHADOW.

Posted this elsethread...

Quote

Read FARLANDER and the sequel STANDS A SHADOW, and just like that Col Buchanan moved onto my pre-order list. What's amazing is that there's nothing particularly innately original about the books... evil religious empire, fanatic political priests, secretive order of assassins, jaded old veteran, naive apprentice, last stand for freedom, scared mid-level soldier, guns n swords, skyships etc etc.... we've seen it all before and many times before... but Buchanan does it SO well, and writes such great great characters and some brilliant action scenes that despite that lack the series drew me in and grabbed me and didn't let me go until i finished the second book and immediately went looking for a street date for bk 3 (which, sadly, isn't out yet).

Worth your time and money.


below here, SPOILERS

SPOILERS

SPOILERS

SPOILERS FOR FARLANDER

AND STANDS A SHADOW YES

SPOILERS
EVIL HAUNTING SPOILERS THAT WILL CREEP
OUT
IN THE NIGHT AND ASSASSINATE YOU WITH THEIR SPOILERY
SPOILERBLADES OF SPOILEROUSITY
YES THAT IS A WORD PUNK YOU
WANNA MAKE SOMETHING OF IT
SPOILERS

Spoiler

Ash may be my favourite new fantasy character in ages. The way he seems old and beaten one moment and then proceeds to kill and kill and kill the next is just incredibly well written.

I like the whole idea of the Roshum and the seals and the way they exist as an incentive against harm by the threat of vendetta.

I totally enjoyed Nico's storyline. Buchanan manages to repeatedly not quite go in the direction you think he's going. That final scene at the arena was brutal and glorious and stunning and sad all at once.

I enjoyed how there is literaly no 'magic' in the story and what little there is is explicable as science or nature more than actual magic.

I enjoyed how the skyships are rare and expensive and a big deal. Buchanan wrote the flight scenes really well and the one chase and battle in FARLANDER was rivetting. The skyships were mostly background in STANDS but the description of them fighting and occasionally 'sploding in the background during the seige battle really added interesting color to the scenes. A seriously well done 'less is more' approach.

I liked Che. I didn't expect to, but i did. When he meets Ash in STANDS they really played well off each other.

I expected to get tired of Bahn's whining but Buchanan keeps him moving through great scenery and events that offset his oh-so-human failings.

Curl was a great surprise as a character and her segments in STANDS were some of the most engrossing.

I liked the Mann priest politicking quite a bit. Too often authors either go 'full evil' with their evil empires, or try too hard to humanize them. Here the evil is clear but the human element doesn't so much contrast with it and explain it better. Very nicely done and some of the more original notes in the story.

[polishgenius]

It seems the third one should be out this year in the UK, according to Tor - though it has no title yet.


What I thought made this series stand out from others is that, although as you say it's not that original in overall content,

Spoiler

it's got a very close focus on events. Like, Stands a Shadow is something like what would happen if Martin or Abercrombie had written a whole book about the preamble to the Battle of Blackwater or the Siege of Dagoska. It's something different and it's really well done. Mind you, when we finally get to the siege of Bar-Khos it's gonna have to be bloody good...

Ash really is a fantastic character. I do wonder how his ongoing journey will live up to the promise. The Isles of Sky should be interesting.

[D'rek]

Guns, airships and swordfighting... so what sort of setting is this in? Steampunky at all?

[polishgenius]

No, not really. Can't really go into detail without a few spoilers, but the tech levels are mostly fairly medieval with just a few more advanced elements (which sounds nonsensical but works in the context).

[Macros]

The premise sounded too like Weeks for my liking, but after reading this thread I think I'll try it

[Stalker]

I thought the book was pretty good, definitely a cool idea. I've been meaning to get to the sequel but my TRP has been a bit long recently. Anyway, for all the US folks, you can pick up the hardcover of Farlander for $2.28 here, it's been really cheap since I got the book in August.

[Abyss]

Macros, on 05 March 2013 - 11:42 AM, said:

The premise sounded too like Weeks for my liking, but after reading this thread I think I'll try it

I had that thought initially too Macros, but Buchanan goes in a very different direction in all respects.
Trust me, Nico is not Kylar, Ash could not be more different from Durzo, and the Roshum are nothing like the Wetboys.

[Abyss]

Just discovered bk3 THE BLACK DREAM is out (tnx PG).

...in the UK only, apparently.

[Abyss]

polishgenius, on 23 May 2017 - 07:45 PM, said:

what you think of the Fierce Gods sequel hook? I don't think the ending so far quite lived up to the excellent opening two books but I'd really wanna read more in this world, especially if he explores the hinted-at elements.

SPOILERS
SPOILERS

SPOILERS FOR ENTIRE SERIES
SPOILERS
I really enjoyed FIERCE. It was a much tighter read than BLACK DREAM... in a sense it was the payoff to that book because all the disconnected storylines... the siege, the Diplomat, the Roshum, the quest to bring back Niko, the dreamers.... all tied together very nicely. My biggest issue with BLACK was the disconnect and this book showed Buchanan knew what he was doing.
I almost agree that books 1 and 2 were 'better' stories, but 3 and 4 really gave us a more interesting world and wider cast to solid payoff. I was very curious whether Ash would stay dead and how the book would flow without him, but between the various povs I didn't miss him beyond the loss of a great character. Niko nicely allowed Ash to remain an influence tho, which was a nice touch.
The larger hints... yeah, I would like to know where that was going. The Fallen working with Coye and the Few, and now Niko, to save the mess of a post war world, would be something I would like to read.