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To Ride Hell's Chasm

by Janny Wurts (Goodreads Author)

3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 · rating details · 453 ratings · 61 reviews

When Princess Anja fails to appear at her betrothal banquet, the tiny, peaceful kingdom of Sessalie is plunged into intrigue. Two warriors are charged with recovering the distraught king's beloved daughter. Taskin, Commander of the Royal Guard, whose icy competence and impressive life-term as the Crown's right-hand man command the kingdom's deep-seated respect; and Mykkael...more

Paperback, 672 pages

Published March 1st 2005 by Meisha Merlin Publishing (first published 2002)

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Dec 05, 2012 mark monday rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantastickal

To Ride Hell's Chasm is a passionate and thoughtful high fantasy about a despised soldier and his assignment to track down a runaway princess on the eve of her nuptials. the novel is roughly split into two parts: the first describes Mykkael's attempts to gather information within the virulently xenophobic city he has made his home while dealing with the constantly shifting relationship with his stiff-necked commanding officer; the second portrays the detailed flight of Mykkael and the surprising...more To Ride Hell's Chasm is a passionate and thoughtful high fantasy about a despised soldier and his assignment to track down a runaway princess on the eve of her nuptials. the novel is roughly split into two parts: the first describes Mykkael's attempts to gather information within the virulently xenophobic city he has made his home while dealing with the constantly shifting relationship with his stiff-necked commanding officer; the second portrays the detailed flight of Mykkael and the surprisingly brave princess in question as they run the ferocious, terrifying natural gauntlet known as Hell's Chasm. the narrative takes place all during the course of one very intense week.

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD

Wurts writes adult fantasy. this is not to mean that the book is filled with sex and gore but rather that it is concerned with tackling serious topics in a serious way - one that does not pander to the reader. this is not a gee whiz adventure full of flights of fancy or bright & shiny bits of colorful fun. it is a serious novel and Wurts' intelligence as a writer is consistently displayed. overall i really appreciated the formality of the prose, the seriousness of the themes, the depth of Mykkael's characterization, and especially the empathy towards animals. her underlying anger is clear in the depiction of all the extremely unreasonable barriers put up by racist idiots that her hero is forced to surmount. watching Mykkael deal accordingly with such loathsome attitudes is one of the joys of the first half. the second half is genuinely thrilling. Wurts has a firm grasp on how threatening the uncharted wilderness can be, and the passage through Hell's Chasm is very well done. i felt like i was there - and it was a horrible experience! at times the latter parts of the novel were hard to put down because everything was conveyed so viscerally and in such grueling detail - the reader gets to feel each and every pang of fear, bout of anxiety, each bruise and cut and stab of pain, every stumble and every panicky rush forward. it was gratifying to realize that i was in the hands of a masterful writer during the trek through this nightmare terrain. and as far as the ending goes: satisfying and well-earned.

taking everything above into consideration, this would easily be a 4-star novel. unfortunately, To Ride Hell's Chasm has some substantial flaws. there are some breakdowns in logic (soldiers who sass back at their commanding officer like they are teenage girls in a reality tv show; a princess who constantly accuses her insanely brave rescuer of cowardice). there are some strange missed opportunities (a swordfight between two major characters in the middle of swirling & magic-laced mists, the flight of a king and his retinue through sewers while strapped to wine casks, a bloody fight between society matrons & soldiers & demonic shapeshifters... all described secondhand). but the most distancing problem is that this novel is often genuinely overwritten. it's perplexing - Wurts is a writer with real skills and when she reins herself in, she is capable of creating many stunning and beautiful moments with prose that sings off of the page. but the sheer repetitiousness of various phrases is a real turn-off ("hag-ridden" pops into mind - and my God if i never see the word "haze" again i will be delighted). even worse is the feeling that Wurts does not trust her readers to remember key details about her characters - almost as if they are children who have to be reminded again and again about various character traits and Important Issues. i had the same feeling when reading Cherryh's unfinishable Foreigner. what this translates to is (1) when a character is described as sharp and knife-like, we will see this description repeated over and over again, ad nauseum - sweet Jesus i got it the first time! my memory is fine! - and (2) the aggravating tendency to sum up the feelings or rationale for why a character said or did this or that. it may be too late to provide constructive critique because Wurts is a justifiably popular and prolific author, but i really wish in the future that she would put more faith in her adult reader's ability to remember things and to understand the logic behind certain words and deeds without being told, over-explicitly, what that logic may be.

okay enough with the critique, there's more positive things that i want to say about this worthy novel.

the magic system was exceedingly well-done. i loved how the reader is forced to figure things out slowly and i loved just how smart the depiction of curses, cold & hot magic, lines of magic, shapeshifting, demonic intelligences, shamanism, etc turned out to be. kudos! Mykkael's fighting style ("barqui'ino") was intriguing and his troubled engagement with his own fighting style was layered and compelling. kudos! Mykkael himself is thoroughly memorable. the tragedy of his life is related in bits and pieces, all accumulating to create a flawed yet entirely heroic individual who will stay in my memory. and an uplifting character in that he defines all that humans should strive towards without ever coming across as corny or hand-wringing. kudos! the cover art and the interior illustrations are quite nice (and i think all done by the author). kudos! the novel's mythical beasts ("kerries") were phenomenal - fascinating, threatening, truly real monsters that felt alive. kudos! the horses' personalities were wonderfully differentiated; the death of Fouzette was wrenching and the return of Stormfront was amazing. kudos! the brilliant yet nauseating way that Mykkael decides to get the princess free of Hell's Chasm was like nothing i've read before. kudos! and i loved the ending. sometimes a sentimental and emotional ending is just what the doctor ordered - especially after so many trials and tribulations. kudos!(less)

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Nov 09, 2012 Seak (Bryce L.) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

In the land of the 10 volume monster-epics of fantasy, the stand-alone is a much rarer beast, so many preferring to take a concept and bludgeon it to death. Not that I'm complaining, it's just nice to have a book that you know will run its due course in one, single volume.

To Ride Hell's Chasm takes what seems to be a simple concept, but combines it with the Wurts-effect to become a much deeper and resonating piece than I ever imagined it could be.

The princess, Anja, of the remote kingdom of Sess...more

30 likes · like · see review

Mar 31, 2013 Jon added it Recommends it for: standalone fantasy lovers

Recommended to Jon by: Beyond Reality October 2009 Selection

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, read-in-my-40s, my-favorites, favorites, starset-kingrise-poem, loved-it, five-star-favorites

5 stars.

Due to the acquisition of GoodReads by Amazon on March 28, 2013 and my existing and continuing boycott of all things Amazon, the review I wrote after reading this book has been relocated to my blog and can be found in its entirety by following this link: http://bit.ly/YosQKW

I highly recommend this outstanding stand-alone fantasy novel by Janny Wurts.

Beyond Reality October 2009 Fantasy Selection (click here to peruse the discussion thread and feel free to post questions or comments).

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Mar 31, 2009 Kat Hooper rated it 5 of 5 stars

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

To Ride Hell's Chasm was my first Wurts novel. I actually have a copy of the first book of The Wars of Light and Shadow saga which I started (and liked so far), but I got a bit intimidated by the time commitment (and the fact that WoLaS is unfinished...), so I decided to try this stand-alone first to get a feel for Janny Wurts' style before I leapt into a mega-epic. Along that line, I was also interested to see how she would affect an actual ending, since...more ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

To Ride Hell's Chasm was my first Wurts novel. I actually have a copy of the first book of The Wars of Light and Shadow saga which I started (and liked so far), but I got a bit intimidated by the time commitment (and the fact that WoLaS is unfinished...), so I decided to try this stand-alone first to get a feel for Janny Wurts' style before I leapt into a mega-epic. Along that line, I was also interested to see how she would affect an actual ending, since WoLaS doesn't actually have one yet (at least not in print).

It took me a while to get used to Ms Wurts' style. I haven't had a lot of reading time lately, so the last several things I've chosen to read have purposely been a bit...light. Like chocolate mousse. Wurts is not light. The prose is, in fact, heavy:

"Only small details bespoke the grave trouble slipped in through the well-guarded gates. Taskin's patrols came and went, double-file rows of neat lancers threading through the carriage traffic in the broad avenues above Highgate. In the queen's formal gardens, amid lawns like set emeralds, two dozen tiny surcoated figures enacted the midday change of the guard.

The sun, angle shifting, sparkled off the polished glove of a flag spire. The slate and lead roofs of the palace precinct dropped in gabled steps downwards, in cool contrast to the terracotta tile of the merchants' mansions, crowded in rows like boxed gingerbread above the arched turrets of Middlegate. There, the tree-lined streets ran like seams in patchwork, jammed by the colors of private house guards helping to search for the princess. Their industry seethed past the courtyard gardens, scattered like squares of dropped silk, and stitched with rosettes where the flowering shrubs adorned the pillared gazebos.

Farthest down, hemmed by the jagged embrasures of stone battlements, the lower town hugged the slope like a rickle of frayed burlap, the roofs there a welter of weathered thatch, and craftsmen's sheds shingled with pine shakes. Mykkael's garrison troops kept their watch on the outermost walls, the men reduced as toys, bearing pins and needles for weaponry."

When I first started reading, I felt like my dainty dish of chocolate mousse had suddenly been replaced by a 20 oz sirloin, and I had some initial trouble digesting it. It probably didn't help that I wasn't finding the time to sit down with the book before midnight. By the time I got to it, I was about as alert as if I actually had consumed that 20 oz sirloin. But, I liked the story and characters immediately, so I started reading earlier in the day, and by the time I was about 1/3 of the way through the book, my pace had picked up significantly. By the time I was 1/2 way through, the language was no longer a barrier and the story was so gripping that I actually could stay up past midnight and read. In fact, I stayed up reading until 2 am for the last two nights without any trouble at all. I actually had to force myself to go to bed. At first I thought that as the pace of the story got faster (it flies for the second half of the book), Ms Wurts writing had become more succinct. But, I went back and read some of the first half again to check my theory: No. It hadn't changed -- it was me. I just got used to the writing style and had learned to appreciate it. Ms Wurts is an artist (she does her own cover art and maps) and she uses words like she uses her paint. They put us in the scene; they show rather than tell.

This book is finely crafted in other respects, too. The plot is interesting, original, and tight. There are moments of horror, grief, and humor. There are no clichés, unbelievable romances, plot holes, stereotyped characters, or deux ex machina. The plot is unpredictable, too. In fact, there were a few times that I thought "how are they going to get out of this mess?" and I had no clue, and even if I'd had a clue, I would have been wrong. The ending, also, is unexpected, realistic (realistic for a fantasy novel, that is), and satisfying. And, importantly, Ms. Wurts writes knowledgeably about all those little details of ancient lifestyles that we love to read about in high fantasy -- sword fighting, horses, war strategies, servants, weird food, boiling laundry, dressing wounds -- at no time did I suspect that she was bluffing.

The system of magic that Janny Wurts creates is unique and fascinating. There's an explanation of it at the back of the book that I wish I had seen before I finished the novel. And, speaking of the actual physical book, it was well-crafted, too. There's a glossary and maps, nice cover and interior art, and I found NO spelling or other editorial errors in this edition. It's too bad the publisher -- Meisha Merlin -- has gone under. (And too bad I dropped this copy in a puddle when I jumped up to pull my 2 year old out of the pool.)

So, now that I've finished To Ride Hell's Chasm, I think I have a small idea of what I've been missing by not reading The Wars of Light and Shadow. A long epic by Janny Wurts sounds like a very good thing.

Read more Janny Wurts book reviews at Fantasy literature. (less)

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Mar 13, 2013 Jim rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Wow! Janny told me the story got really exciting during the last half. Wrong! It was really exciting all the way through. If there is any fault at all in the book, it is that the excitement NEVER slacks off & it's really hard to put down. That's not really fair when it is so long - yet seems not long enough. I'd love to read more about this world & its characters.

The plot is beautifully crafted, lovingly revealed & the resolution left me gasping (& a bit teary eyed). The characte...more

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Oct 21, 2012 Sandra aka Sleo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, favorites, ebook

I'm giving this one four stars instead of five only because I just completed Janny's Mistwraith series and was so enthralled by that story that this one wasn't quite as intense for me. Still, it is beautifully written with a truly unique hero whose character unfolds slowly as the story progresses. The horses in the book are characters unto themselves. Another story that made me cry and also made my heart pound as well as be glad in the end. A very satisfactory ending, a tightly wound plot, a wel...more

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Aug 19, 2009 Stefan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, www-fantasyliterature-com-review

At the start of To Ride Hell's Chasm, an outstanding standalone fantasy by Janny Wurts, Princess Anja of the tiny isolated kingdom of Sessalie has gone missing on the eve of the ceremony for her betrothal to the Crown Prince of Devall. Since Anja is beloved by her people, and the alliance with Devall represents potentially big trade increases, it doesn't take long for many people to be involved in the search, from Mykkael, a foreign-born former mercenary now in charge of the city's garrison, to...more At the start of To Ride Hell's Chasm, an outstanding standalone fantasy by Janny Wurts, Princess Anja of the tiny isolated kingdom of Sessalie has gone missing on the eve of the ceremony for her betrothal to the Crown Prince of Devall. Since Anja is beloved by her people, and the alliance with Devall represents potentially big trade increases, it doesn't take long for many people to be involved in the search, from Mykkael, a foreign-born former mercenary now in charge of the city's garrison, to Taskin, the military commander for the kingdom.

Over 650 pages covering about 5 days, Janny Wurts delivers a story filled with almost non-stop action that's at times impossible to put down. One of the odd and wonderful things about this novel is the contrast between the tight pacing and the lush language. Again, that's 650 pages cover just a handful of days - the first day alone takes about 200 pages, because every emotion, every visual detail, every nuance of meaning is hammered down in the most meticulous, rich prose you could hope find in the genre. As a result, one moment of realization can be dissected over several paragraphs, but amazingly, there's rarely an unnecessary word in those descriptions. It all works together to drive the full experience of the characters home in unmistakable clarity. To Ride Hell's Chasm never feels like a slow book - just a very intense one.

The novel is filled with several fascinating characters, but the most memorable one has to Mykkael, the "desert-bred" foreigner, reviled by many, always placing honor first, and simply unstoppable. One of the highest compliments I can give a fantasy character: he wouldn't look amiss in one of Guy Gavriel Kay's books. From the moment he is first introduced, through the heart-pounding conclusion of the adventure, to the emotionally gripping wrap-up, this is an unforgettable character.

It's hard for me to express accurately how much I enjoyed and admire To Ride Hell's Chasm. Standalone fantasies are already a rare beast in this time of endlessly meandering series. To read a story so meticulously crafted, contained in one cover, is a real pleasure. This novel is easily going on my all-time favorite list of fantasy novels.
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Jul 28, 2010 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Okay I finished this and I'll also be discussing it in the Chronicles Group. It was a pretty good story...I'm going 3 stars as a rating. I was very disenchanted with it early on as I really found it a little florid (wordy) for my taste, as I've experienced with other books some of course will disagree. But I think a little more editing might have been a good thing. When we were almost 200 pages in and I stopped to realize we were still in the palace discussing the "plot set up" and what the acti...more

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Feb 08, 2013 Smcleish rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Originally published on my blog here in November 2003.

The world of Wurts' standalone fantasy novel is a grim place, beset by immensely powerful demons and their minions, where only a few states have proved able to stand firm in human hands with the alternative being to become a larder for a hungry and sadistic demonic overlord. One country that has remained safe is the mountain stronghold of Sessalie - too remote, too inaccessible to be as great a prize as the plains kingdoms. When however Crown...more Originally published on my blog here in November 2003.

The world of Wurts' standalone fantasy novel is a grim place, beset by immensely powerful demons and their minions, where only a few states have proved able to stand firm in human hands with the alternative being to become a larder for a hungry and sadistic demonic overlord. One country that has remained safe is the mountain stronghold of Sessalie - too remote, too inaccessible to be as great a prize as the plains kingdoms. When however Crown Princess Anjar disappears on the eve of her wedding to a glamorous foreign prince, panic sets in and blame is put on the person who seems to the racist Sessalians to be the obvious culprit, the ex-mercenary guard captain Mykhael, in reality the only person with sufficient knowledge and experience of fighting demons' minions and warding against their attacks to be able to save the country. (It is possible that Wurts is making a plea against the hounding of Muslims which followed the 9/11 atrocities, but its hard to be sure of this.)

To Ride Hell's Chasm has many strong points as a fantasy novel. The undercurrents of racism and snobbery it deals with gives it something to say rather than just being an adventure story with magic. It also rings the changes on the fairy tale plot of the princess' disappearance on the eve of her wedding (I'm not sure there is one, but I could easily imagine a Hans Andersen story in which a fairy godmother, slighted by not being invited to the wedding, kidnaps the bride). Some of the characters are interesting, particularly Mykhael, even if he is too omni-competent to be believeable, and the aged King Isenden, though the rest aren't really sufficiently developed to be three dimensional.

There are other problems, too, which nearly made me give up on To Ride Hell's Chasm at several points. In a genre such as fantasy, where novels tend to be speedily written, where elegant prose is not usually an aim, and where editing often seems to be perfunctory, it is common as a reader to find one's smooth progress through a story rudely jarred by an encounter with some infelicitous phrasing, something which doesn't quite flow properly. Wurts suffers particularly badly from this, especially in the early pages of this novel, and it is particularly annoying when a little rephrasing could have helped the reader immensely.

More seriously, the thrills of the second half (describing the desperate flight of Mykhael with Anja to find allies) are severely compromised. Each individual chapter, taken by itself, would be exciting enough, but there is far too much repetition and the whole journey begins to seem endless as far too many winged predators explode out of the sky to attack the pair. It makes the reader begin to think about how believable it is that they manage to keep going, which is fatal; realising that they would obviously have collapsed from exhaustion after just a few days destroys the impact of the story completely.

Wurts is an established and experienced writer, and To Ride Hell's Chasm should really be better constructed than this. There has been a tendency in recent years for genre writers to churn out volume after volume, with little editing; this is something which could be ascribed to the increasing ease of writing which has followed from widespread use of word processors. (At least, though, this is not the first of a trilogy!) It is something of a paradox, since it is also easier to edit and update a word processor document. Even so, too many recent novels read as though they are first drafts, and this is one of them. (less)

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Dec 12, 2012 Snarktastic Sonja rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, fantasy

I am really struggling with this review. As I read, I didn't feel that I really loved it - but I never really hated it either. Yet, the overwhelming feel of the story continues to be on my mind.

I finished this book. But it took me 2 months. Or, rather, the first 200 pages took me 2 months - the last almost 400 pages (which I dove into because I had another book that I wished to read) took me 2 days. (I really wanted to finish it because I really like the author and she was involved in a group re...more

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Jan 11, 2012 Mark rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

A stand-alone novel - written by Wurts while taking a break from the mammoth Wars of Light and Shadow series - this rollercoaster of intrigue and mystery is not a book you could call a light read. Set over the period of one week, so much happens in this novel that you question just how much you can fit into one day! The Kingdom of Sessalie is a land-locked mountain Kingdom that longs for an outlet to the sea. To this end, its King and Chancellor have arranged a marriage for Princess Anja with th...more A stand-alone novel - written by Wurts while taking a break from the mammoth Wars of Light and Shadow series - this rollercoaster of intrigue and mystery is not a book you could call a light read. Set over the period of one week, so much happens in this novel that you question just how much you can fit into one day! The Kingdom of Sessalie is a land-locked mountain Kingdom that longs for an outlet to the sea. To this end, its King and Chancellor have arranged a marriage for Princess Anja with the High Prince of Devall, which will give Sessalie access to Devall's seaport, as well as offer a Royal Alliance between the realms. As Devall's High Prince arrives for his upcoming nuptials, the city opens its arms in welcome and wild celebration. But when Princess Anja suddenly disappears before her betrothal banquet, King Isendon assigns the task of recovering his missing daughter to two men - and for them to determine if she has been kidnapped or has simply run off.

The warriors charged with recovering the kingdom's beloved daughter are Taskin, Commander of the Royal Guard, and Mykkael, Captain of the Garrison. As the Crown's right-hand man, Taskin's competence and lifelong record of service to the Kingdom has earned him the respect and support of the court. Mykkael, though, is a stranger. He is unproven and new to the post of Captain and to the Kingdom itself; though he is a veteran soldier with a legendary reputation in the field of combat, his foreign breeding is held in suspicion by court society. As the princess's trail vanishes outside the citadel's gates, anxiety and tension escalate. Wurts' masterful use of language, rhythm and pace grabs hold of the reader and doesn't let go! Mykkael's investigations lead him to a radical explanation for the mystery, but he finds himself under suspicion from the court factions. It remains to be seen whether Commander Taskin's famous fair-mindedness will be enough to unravel the truth behind the garrison captain's dramatic theory (that the resourceful, high-spirited princess was not taken by force, but rather fled the palace to escape a demonic evil?)

Wurts writing is always multi-layered. On the surface, you have the intriguing mystery and the engaging adventure, as well as vivid descriptions and superb characterisation that create a real world and believable characters. Every character you encounter has their own insight and vision. Limited or experienced, their passionate views and choices are woven seamlessly into the tale, with high-stakes action and more than survival set on the outcome. Below the surface of this high fantasy adventure, there is the opportunity for the reader to explore - in as little or as much depth as they wish - larger questions that are as pertinent to our own society today as they are in this medieval fantasy setting: Where does the right and true course of the warrior lie, when the man bearing both sword and responsible knowledge must tread a collision course between the ethics of human justice and law, when not all things are as they appear and the disappearance of a young princess catapults a small kingdom into a crisis beyond precedent? This book is a fantastic read. Each time I re-read it, I pick up more. It is also the perfect place for anyone new to Wurts writing to jump on board.

Enjoy the ride!(less)

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Jun 14, 2010 Charles rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Review: To Ride Hell's Chasm by Janny Wurts. Harper Collins, Great Britain, 2002. 671 pp. Incl. Appendices.
All readers are critics, some more than others, and so, writers often get stereotyped. Based on the reviews I have seen, Janny Wurts is often perceived as a writer of very long books in a very long series, The Wars of Light and Shadow. Her writing style and vocabulary are closer to high art than to slick pop and can prove daunting. Story lines are complex and multi-layered, and most charac...more

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Jun 30, 2012 K rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action-adventure, epic, political, serious, sword-and-sorcery

A mix between epic save-the-world hero quest and ASOIAF political maneuvering. Well thought out, gripping action, tiny bit of romance, etc. etc.

The story is 5 star material despite being fairly straight-up (old-school?) fantasy. The politics are believable, the mystery is intriguing, the action is gripping. The characterization is great. But there were two things in particular that niggled at me by the end and brought it down to 4.

Firstly, the dense prose. It felt like reading through molasses....more

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May 18, 2012 Bea rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-epic, favorite, z__eng, z__r

I've known and admire the artworks of Janny Wurts for a long time, but I never payd enough attention to her writing. I think it's going to change now.
This time I was looking for fantasy book for older readers, without romance (or only in backround); one book or shorter (I'm reading too much series) and not very exotic world. I mean a book, where plenty of pages aren't filled with descriptions and explanations of bizarre surroundings.
I got it all and I liked it.
The story is very good, reminded...more

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Dec 24, 2011 Ron rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Ron by: Jon Moss

Shelves: fantasy, maps

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 24, 2009 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horses-fiction, fantasy-high

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Before I start the review, I should point out that I won a free signed copy of this book in a raffle by a book group.

I also wish I could give it 3.8 stars because it's not quite a 4 but more than a 3 or a 3.5.

To Ride Hell's Chasm is a good book. The last section of the book is really, truly one none stop ride. I almost missed my stop on the train because I was so engrossed. Luckily, my stop is the last stop.

The concept is an interesting one, and if you are worried that the Princess in question...more Before I start the review, I should point out that I won a free signed copy of this book in a raffle by a book group.

I also wish I could give it 3.8 stars because it's not quite a 4 but more than a 3 or a 3.5.

To Ride Hell's Chasm is a good book. The last section of the book is really, truly one none stop ride. I almost missed my stop on the train because I was so engrossed. Luckily, my stop is the last stop.

The concept is an interesting one, and if you are worried that the Princess in question is a helpless twit, don't worry; she's not. The first half of the book is a mystery (where's the princess) that centers on the interactions of two men, Taskin and Mykkael, as they try to figure out what happened. This first half deals with issues regarding class and race. At times it moves a bit slowly, and Wurts' style is different. It's not a bad style, but at times it almost seems like a medieval saga in terms of substance. For instance, one character is referred to as Taskin's daughter for pages before we are given her name.

The second half of the book is a flight or fight for life tale, gripping told. Some reviews for this book point out that the princess acts out of character at one point in this part. Yes and no. It is somewhat stupid what the princess does, but Wurts gives us a reason for why the princess does it. I'm on the fence about that part of the book.

There are some weak parts to the book. At times, some of the descriptions feel repetitive. Not so much that the book feels it could be half the size, just enough that you notice. To a degree, the ending felt a bit too pat. But for me the one major flaw is the horses. Well, not really the horses, but just bear with me. I love horses. Wurts does a really good job with the horses (since she is a horsewoman, this is not surprising). What I found slightly disturbing, and maybe it's just me, is the fact that the reader feels more sorrow when a horse dies than when Anja's closest friend dies, or to be more exact when we are told of her death. The two occur within twenty pages of each other, and more sense of loss is given to the death of the horse. It seems to me that they should be equal
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Mar 19, 2011 Ubalstecha rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-reads, fat-fanatsy-fiction, race-in-fantasy-fiction

Mykkael is an outsider in the kingdom of Sessalie. He won his position of Captain of the Garrison through a stunning victory in a tourney, but that doesn't mean he is trusted by the general populace. His skin colour points him out as different to everyone around him. His refusal to play politics only serves to grind his rise above his station into the faces of the minor nobility. Yet, he is supremely competent in his job and has earned the respect of his superior and the king.

Then Princess Anja...more

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Jan 09, 2011 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

While I thought the writing was sometimes a wee bit confusing, I really enjoyed the book overall. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting, but in a good way. The book had a lot of intrigue and very tense moments. Also, a lot of sorrow. I think it was all blended very well and Janny Wurts did a good job of keeping you on the edge of your seat for the whole tale.

I think probably my biggest complaint is that some of my favorite characters from the beginning of the book are sort of abandoned, later...more

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Aug 04, 2010 Mike Hedley rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I found this book rather difficult to read, with overblown, flowery language, and far too many adjectives and adverbs, many of which were inappropriate. How is a chess game "rapacious"? Much of the prose is "try hard" like Ms Wurts is writing a piece for a Creative Writing 101 course. Also annoying is the use of pseudo-mediaeval language interspersed with the occasional Amercanism/modernism like "tight security". About halfway through the book, I thought if I read "the desert-bred" one more time...more

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Feb 13, 2010 Simon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

My first read of this author and which I chose because I wanted a stand alone novel rather than a series.

The story begins on the eve of a royal wedding when the bride (the king's daughter) goes missing which sparks an all out search to find her. Soon it becomes evident that the machinations of a demon bound sorcerer are involved and Mykkael, captain of the garrison, becomes suspect because of his "desert bred" origins. The mystery deepens and intrigue develops as they fail to find the princess a...more

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Oct 20, 2009 Kerry rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, 6, library, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

3 likes · like · see review

May 03, 2012 Nenia Campbell rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: x-2002s, chubby-chunksters

i read this when i was just 14 so i don't really remember it that well. the plot revolves around a court intrigue following the disappearance of the princess anja when she is about to be married.

everyone wonders: is it the work of a rival nation? a vicious internal conspiracy? or did anja perhaps know something that caused her to flee?

the plot was good, even though it takes place in a rather stock medieval fantasy setting. i think it's a lot like game of thrones except with more class and a bett...more

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May 18, 2010 E. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Whew! What a ride, literally and figuratively. A fantasy filled with intricately woven cultural clashes that both help and hinder the evil that is striking against the kingdom of Sessalie. A single heroine is accompanied by six exquisitely depicted equines as she flees the dangers that she has discovered. Her survival becomes dependent on the enigmatic outsider, Mykkael, who won the post of Captain of the Garrison yet is viewed suspiciously by the majority of the population. Mykkael's painfully...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Everest rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, fantasy

Not Janny Wurts' best work. It seems as though she tried to jam what probably should have been a trilogy into a standalone, and in doing so lost of a lot of the detail that makes her The Wars of Light and Shadows series so good. The book lacks detail where it's needed, and is unnecessarily bogged down with it in less essential sections. It's not bad, per se. It's just not of quite the same quality as some of her other work. I feel if it were less rushed, and there were more time to explore the c...more

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Mar 27, 2013 MrsJoseph marked it as cranky-book-fussies-dnf · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-read, 2012-reviewed, autographed-copies, fantasy, fantasy-aficionados-group-read, fantasy-epic, format-hardback

I've had to put this (and damn near every new book) down due to some personal health reasons - but I can say that Janny Wurts is a wonderful writer.

The author does a great job of transporting the reader into her world. I could feel the frustrations of the characters keenly and I could swear I almost tasted the dust and felt the sun beating down on them. The political machinations were so well done that I could almost see the verbal cuts being made. And its (dare I say it?) one of those endanger...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Emy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Emy by: Fantasy Aficionados

Shelves: 2012

I won a copy of this and got a lovely hand written note from the author in the post the followng Saturday morning, so I was feeling good towards the book before I even received it. I wasn't disappointed in the slightest! This review is a bit shorter than the one I originally wrote as I decided I didn't want to include anything spoilerish, even under a cut, as the twists and turns are part of the excitement of the story. I am left with saying that the characters were believable, and even when the...more

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Feb 02, 2013 ala rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

This was a very enjoyable fantasy. Though it takes place over just a few days, its world is well thought-out, the characters are compelling and there is plenty of action.

The story revolves around the princess, Anja, who has disappeared on the night of her betrothal and the captain of the city guard, Mykkael, who is charged with finding/protecting her. The guard captain has a few things going for him that both make his job more difficult and also makes him singularly qualified. On the one hand he...more This was a very enjoyable fantasy. Though it takes place over just a few days, its world is well thought-out, the characters are compelling and there is plenty of action.

The story revolves around the princess, Anja, who has disappeared on the night of her betrothal and the captain of the city guard, Mykkael, who is charged with finding/protecting her. The guard captain has a few things going for him that both make his job more difficult and also makes him singularly qualified. On the one hand he is of "desert heritage" and his dark skin evokes prejudice and distrust. On the other, he has trained with a school of assassins and is pretty much the best fighter ever.

I especially liked the first part of the book where Mykkael investigates the princess' disappearance and we learn some of his backstory. I often like it when prejudice is a theme of a fantasy novel, and it was pretty well-done here. There's something gut wrenching when a character is treated unfairly or mistrusted for stupid reasons, and there was plenty of that. However, I was kind of hoping to be shown something new about it, and I'm not sure I was.

The second half of the book is a wild ride through Hell's Chasm, which, though action pact, I liked slightly less. I almost felt it became video-game like. How many monsters can Mykkael kill? Can he make it through the level before the time is up? How many hits can he take before he loses a life/dies?

Also, there was something about the ending... I know that Wurts was going for a kind of nebulous , happy-ish ending and I think she got it. But I felt just slightly dissatisfied... Maybe it's not that the ending should have been different, but (view spoiler) it would have felt a little less abrupt.

Anyway, this was still a good book. The magic system is unusual -- magic is only wielded by sorcerers who enslave themselves to demons and is pretty much always a force of evil. And I was definitely entertained!(less)

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Jun 09, 2012 Billy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I might be a bit biased here since I am a huge fan of Janny Wurts' other books, but you know what? I really enjoyed this one.

Janny Wurts has a highly descriptive writing style that somehow manages to convey multiple points of views, combining them into smooth flowing narratives that are beautifully coherent and a joy to read.

The books starts off with a princess going missing in the middle of the night, and the focuses on the effort of a lowly garrison guard caption to find her.

To be honest I fou...more

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Jun 01, 2010 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own-it

I really enjoyed this book. It is more of a 4.5 star book but I couldn't make myself give it a five. Mykaael's character was well fleshed out; not to mention he was quite the badass.

*Minor spoilers*
The things that caused me not to give it a five star rating was the flight through Hell's Chasm. It seemed like it went on for way too long. They barely escape the demons or kerries just to be assaulted by them the next morning/day/night. Over and over again. The book also seemed to conclude very abr...more

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Nov 02, 2009 Mike rated it 3 of 5 stars

The author's vocabulary is not as large as she thinks it is - she keeps using words that don't quite mean what she thinks they mean, like the Sicilian in the Princess Bride. (Particularly 'hazed', whatever she thinks that means - she overuses it to an annoying degree.) And her style is very florid and overwritten. The main characters are also tough and determined to the point of occasional unbelievability. I wasn't sure I'd finish the book, but I did - it's a fairly good story underneath all the...more

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Fantasy Aficionados: October 2012--Author Invitational--Janny Wurts	118	140	Jan 01, 2013 11:13am
Fantasy Aficionados: October 2012--To Ride Hell's Chasm--author-free zone	14	68	Dec 05, 2012 07:41pm
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About Janny Wurts

Janny Wurts is the author of War of Light and Shadow series, and To Ride Hell's Chasm. Her eighteen published titles include a trilogy in audio, a short story collection, as well as the internationally best selling Empire trilogy, co authored with Raymond E. Feist, with works translated into fifteen languages worldwide. Her latest title in the Wars of Light and Shadow series, Initiate's Trial, cul...more Janny Wurts is the author of War of Light and Shadow series, and To Ride Hell's Chasm. Her eighteen published titles include a trilogy in audio, a short story collection, as well as the internationally best selling Empire trilogy, co authored with Raymond E. Feist, with works translated into fifteen languages worldwide. Her latest title in the Wars of Light and Shadow series, Initiate's Trial, culminates more than thirty years of carefully evolved ideas. The cover images on the books, both in the US and abroad, are her own paintings, depicting her vision of characters and setting.

Through her combined talents as a writer/illustrator, Janny has immersed herself in a lifelong ambition: to create a seamless interface between words and pictures that will lead reader and viewer into the imagination. Her lavish use of language invites the mind into a crafted realm of experience, with characters and events woven into a complex tapestry, and drawn with an intensity to inspire active fuel for thought. Her research includes a range of direct experience, lending her fantasy a gritty realism, and her scenes involving magic crafted with intricate continuity. A self-taught painter, she draws directly from the imagination, creating scenes in a representational style that blurs the edges between dream and reality. She makes few preliminary sketches, but envisions her characters and the scenes that contain them, then executes the final directly from the initial pencil drawing.

The seed idea for the Wars of Light and Shadow series occurred, when, in the course of researching tactic and weapons, she viewed a documentary film on the Battle of Culloden Moor. This was the first time she had encountered that historical context of that brutal event, with the embroidery of romance stripped from it. The experience gave rise to an awakening, which became anger, that so often, our education, literature and entertainment slant history in a manner that equates winners and losers with moral right and wrong, and the prevalent attitude, that killing wars can be seen as justifiable solutions when only one side of the picture is presented.

Her series takes the stance that there are two sides to every question, and follows two characters who are half brothers. One a bard trained as a master of magecraft, and the other a born ruler with a charismatic passion for justice, have become cursed to lifelong enmity. As one sibling raises a devoted mass following, the other tries desperately to stave off defeat through solitary discipline and cleverness. The conflict sweeps across an imaginary world, dividing land and people through an intricate play of politics and the inborn prejudices of polarized factions already set at odds. Readers are led on a journey that embraces both viewpoints. The story explores the ironies of morality which often confound our own human condition - that what appears right and just, by one side, becomes reprehensible when seen from the opposite angle. What is apparently good for the many, too often causes devastating suffering to the nonconformist minority. Through the interactions between the characters themselves, the reader is left to their own discretion to interpret the moral impact of events.

Says Janny of her work, "I chose to frame this story against a backdrop of fantasy because I could handle even the most sensitive issues with the gloves off - explore the myriad angles of our troubled times with the least risk of offending anyone's personal sensibilities. The result, I can hope, is an expanding journey of the spirit that explores the grand depths, and rises to the challenge of mapping the ethereal potential of an evolving planetary consciousness... explore free thought and compassionate understanding."

Beyond writing, Janny's award winning paintings have been showcased in exhibitions of imaginative artwork, among them a commemorative exhibition for NASA's 25th Anniversary; the Art of the Cosmos at Hayden Planet(less)

More about Janny Wurts...

Books by Janny Wurts

The Curse of the Mistwraith (Wars of Light & Shadow, #1; Arc 1, #1)

Warhost of Vastmark (Wars of Light & Shadow, #3; Arc 2 - The Ships of Merior, #2)

The Ships of Merior (Wars of Light & Shadow, #2; Arc 2 - The Ships of Merrior, #1)

Fugitive Prince (Wars of Light & Shadow #4; Arc 3 - Alliance of Light, #1)

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