[Asandir]

Excellent saga. Still not finished but about seven books out.
Curse of the Mistwraith - First book
I'd recommend it to n e one
Great plots
Loaded with conspiracies and deceit, treachery and betrayal.
one mans struggle against a crown he does not want and practically a whole population who want him dead.

go to www.paravia.com for more info

n e comments r more than welcome

[Tsundoku]

I'm continuing the whole series purely out of inertia. It's a great STORY, to be sure. I just wish we wouldn't get all the emotional melodramatic dialogue all the time. And the ITALICS! Don't get me started ... it's like a soap opera.

A little emotion = good. Too much = *blech*

Don't let my attitude taint your fun though.

Cheers,

La Sombra, keeps all his emotions in one tightly wound ball in the base of his stomach, ready to burst forth at that most inappropriate moment when I am in a post office, holding an automatic rifle ...

[Werthead]

Picked up the first book a few years back but didn't like it very much and never carried on with the series. It seems exceptionally long (and as I understand it, still incomplete?) without a story to match and didn't have the worldbuilding skill of even early Jordan, let alone the likes of Martin and Erikson. Disappointing, as I enjoyed Wurts' collaborations with Feist and The Master of Whitestorm was a good book.

[ObsoleteResolve]

I read the first two, tried to read the third, and it got a great big "meh."

The fact that she seems to have to rely on all sorts of compulsions and counter-compulsions and obsessions and such to drive her characters this and that way... bleh.

[Sir Thursday]

This is one of my favourite series: I think the twist on the cliched light vs. dark is very effective, and I like the magic system she develops. The theme of propaganda and the tragic manner in which Arithon is misunderstood is something I haven't really seen that much of in fantasy literature, and I think Ms. Wurts does an excellent job of covering both sides of the story. I got used to her verbose style fairly quickly (in terms of sophistication I would say her writing style is at least as complex as Erikson's, and in a similar manner to SE she has her favourite words - actinic seems to pop up frequently).

As far as pacing goes, I must admit that the story is rather sluggish, but I don't mind the slow pace because I find the characters she has created make up for it. The tragedy that is Arithon and Lysaer is given more weight by the strength of their personalities (although they do seem to make some slightly stupid decisions sometimes). There are very few intrinsically evil characters in this story - all of them are shades of grey, which requires some well written characterisation. Dakar and Lirenda are good examples of this.

One of the negatives was that Wurts does not put any humour into her writing. One of the principle reasons I enjoy Erikson's writing so much is the way he slips humourous asides into his writing, especially in later books, but this is sadly lacking.

I should point out that when I read the series I mistakenly picked up the fourth book first (according to the cover it was "Book 1 of the Alliance of Light", what was I supposed to think?) I think that helped my overall appreciation of the series. The allusions in the third story arc (ie. books 4-7) to earlier in the timeline sparked my curiousity, and when I went back I found I really enjoyed them. I await Book 8 (Stormed Fortress) with interest.

Vox

[Asandir]

Well put even though i might disagree with you refering to the aspects of humour in the series. She is not quiet as good when it comes to humour as Erikson and Jordan but when it comes s'Brydion family theres always a laugh or if ur into dark humour Davien would be ur man. Each author to their own style. If they were all the same we'd have repetitve reading syndrome( very rare disease ).

[Sir Thursday]

You are right that it would be terrible if all the authors were the same...the point I was trying to make was that the reason I prefer Erikson's style to Wurts' is the humour he sprinkles in throughout.

The s'Brydion clan, it must be said, do not rank very highly on my list of favourite characters...they are a bit too belligerent for me. I am intrigued by Davien, who as you say has some dark humour, but given that he doesn't really play any part in the story until Book 6, there is a void up until that point.

Janny Wurts does very well writing about the amazing tragedy she has created...I just occasionally feel the need for some light relief. Perhaps I should read a Discworld novel in between books.

Vox