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185th out of 712 books
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387 voters
The Element of Fire
by
Martha Wells (Goodreads Author)
The Element of Fire was first published in the US by Tor Books in 1993, and has been published in six languages. This edition has been revised by the author. The kingdom of Ile-Rien is in peril, menaced by magical threats and court intrigue. As the weak King Roland, misled by treacherous companions, rules the country, only his ruthless mother, the Dowager Queen Ravenna, tr...more
Paperback, 324 pages
Published
November 1st 2006
by Martha Wells
(first published July 1993)
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I normally don't like fantasy novels that revolve around court intrigue because politics bores the crap out of me, but Martha Wells has a way of making political maneuverings seem just as exciting as the battle scenes, of which there are many in this book.
It gets off to something of a slow start with the author dropping the reader into a large body of characters, only to switch scenes and drop the reader into another large body of characters. Fortunately Wells is good at drawing connections betw...more
It gets off to something of a slow start with the author dropping the reader into a large body of characters, only to switch scenes and drop the reader into another large body of characters. Fortunately Wells is good at drawing connections betw...more
Yay for free ebooks on Stanza/iPhone! This had been recommended to me in passing, but I didn't follow-up on it until I found myself in this recent mood for fantasy of manners. And this was exactly what I hoped it would be: filled with adventure and court intrigue, with very complex character development, flashes of wit and humor, and a dash of romance. I especially appreciated the strong women characters (Kade!), but even the less likable characters were very interesting and felt real. And while...more
Apr 22, 2012
Estara
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of kingdom-level fantasy with strong females
Recommended to Estara by:
auto-buy author
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Swashbuckling good fun. The style is very The Three Musketeers, with lots of sword fights, banter and bravery. But the added touch is the fae, or fayre as they're called here. At first I was a bit disappointed that the fae of this other world were so much like those written about on our world, with Seelie and Unseelie courts, the Seelie monarchs named Tatiana and Oberon, etc. But then I decided that if they do exist, who's to say that they don't exist in more than one world at once? Those fairy...more
Won a copy on eBay. Now that I see the cover, I'm sure I've never read this one before, which means I had read Death of the Necromancer before.
The book starts slowly. Too many unimportant characters are named, with too little to distinguish them. However, once the important characters take over, the story does get going nicely. It turns out to be a fun adventure, with sympathetic (though not "nice") characters.
I'm psyched to read what Wells does with this world, now that she's a more experienced...more
The book starts slowly. Too many unimportant characters are named, with too little to distinguish them. However, once the important characters take over, the story does get going nicely. It turns out to be a fun adventure, with sympathetic (though not "nice") characters.
I'm psyched to read what Wells does with this world, now that she's a more experienced...more
Element of Fire is a bit on the breezy side as far as character development goes--it's more about a headlong plot, really, but it's pretty damn good at that. Any book that has wheel-locks and wards is ok by me.
And, actually, it's pretty effective at creating some pretty appealing (and appalling) characters. People used to the grotesquely bloated jordan/martin "epics" may find it too brief, but I found it to be quite an effective adventure story, and a very fun read.
I continue to hope there wil...more
And, actually, it's pretty effective at creating some pretty appealing (and appalling) characters. People used to the grotesquely bloated jordan/martin "epics" may find it too brief, but I found it to be quite an effective adventure story, and a very fun read.
I continue to hope there wil...more
Unseelie fairies, court politics, magick, manners, and mistaken identity are at heart of this book (the first of Wells' Ile-Rien novels). It was a really fun read, and I'm eager to read the rest of them.
There's a dash of romance, but not enough to make it off-putting for those of us who prefer adventure to swooning, and lots of terrifying threats without devolving into ultra-graphic descriptions. It's also written as a series, while at least the first two novels are discrete, stand-alone books...more
There's a dash of romance, but not enough to make it off-putting for those of us who prefer adventure to swooning, and lots of terrifying threats without devolving into ultra-graphic descriptions. It's also written as a series, while at least the first two novels are discrete, stand-alone books...more
Premise: Set in the same world as The Wizard Hunters and its sequels, but takes place centuries prior. In the kingdom of Ile-Rien, the Captain of the Queen’s Guard goes to rescue an academic sorcerer from a dangerous foreign wizard. It seems simple enough, but with power-hungry sycophants circling the young king, who himself seems disinclined to care about the kingdom, everything is part of someone’s plot and everyone will be drawn into the battle for the future of the country.
I really enjoyed t...more
I really enjoyed t...more
Según mi personalísimo reto tenía que leerme este título que lo tengo desde hace pfffffffffff ni sé. Como reto que era ni me molesté en leerme la sinopsis confiando en que me sorprendería, aunque al hablar del libro en un foro no pude resistirlo.
"Duelos a estoque, conspiraciones cortesanas y ataques de criaturas mágicas.". WaoOo, parece que tiene de todo, y no le faltaba razón. El libro tiene todo eso, pero cuando la autora es incapaz de otorgar sentimientos a los personajes y no tiene arte para...more
"Duelos a estoque, conspiraciones cortesanas y ataques de criaturas mágicas.". WaoOo, parece que tiene de todo, y no le faltaba razón. El libro tiene todo eso, pero cuando la autora es incapaz de otorgar sentimientos a los personajes y no tiene arte para...more
If I could I would have given 3.5 stars. Also I am probably comparing this book to others this wonderful author has written. You can tell this is a book from early in her career. Elements of greatness but the plot is a bit slow at times. While I believe I am pretty good at following locations/directions the authors narrative of characters moving thru the castle seemed to be a bit of a mess. I did really enjoy how the relationship between the two main characters was allowed to simmer.
Free ebook was free, but now I want to read more books from this series/world/whathaveyou. It seemed to start out as your average man-and-sword-plus-magic fantasy story (so I had my doubts, because if there's anything I don't want to read again ever in my life, it's a manandswordandmagic write by numbers book), but then it quickly became much more awesome when our lead female took her half of the stage.
tl;dr: It ticked many boxes, I liked it and would read it again.
tl;dr: It ticked many boxes, I liked it and would read it again.
I picked up this book because it's set in the same world, Ile-Rien, as the very good Death of the Necromancer, a more recent novel by Wells. The book is has a 1700s-ish French-ish setting and balances magic with political intrigue, action, and romance, just as Necromancer does, but I didn't find this book as satisfying, and the larger role that the fae world plays in this book didn't work for me. Overall, it was fine but a little disappointing.
This is Wells first published novel. Very well written with an engaging Swordsman and half Fae bastard daughter of the dead king teaming up to save the kingdom from the evil sorcerer. Cliche plot but so well constructed you don't mind at all.
It's a free eBook also! Since it's out of print the author has released it through http://manybooks.net/ an excellent resouce for (legal) classic works and author's specials.
It's a free eBook also! Since it's out of print the author has released it through http://manybooks.net/ an excellent resouce for (legal) classic works and author's specials.
My third favourite Wells book. Good original forms of magic, some magnetic characters, esp. Thomas, Ravenna and Kade the younger female lead. Some of the often fey or off-hand humour that turns up in the Wells books higher up my scale. Again,a bit too much of the whole spent suffering grimly from cold and other nasties in endless underground passages, but otherwise, yep.
Kade Carrion for WIN! I love this book to bitty bitty bits. I don't know how Wells manages to get that much world building and character development into that much plot and still have it come out readable and briskly paced, but she does. I love all the characters, but especially the leads, who have great chemistry. I want more of them.
I picked this up because I thought I hadn't read it yet, but it turns out I have. It's definitely not her best book (The Wizard Hunters and its sequels are so much better!) but it's still worth reading.
The dowager queen's son is a coward with a bad advisor. She has Thomas, her trusted captain of the guards and one-time-lover, to help her keep the kingdom from falling into chaos. Now a part faye child of the late king comes into the picture. Her name is Kade and she has her own demons to deal with.
A bit slow to get started, I mean, it starts up right away, but I didn't get interested until a bit farther in. It took a while before I started to get attached to any of the characters. That might be because they were all jerks. The pacing of the book was a bit uneven, with absolutely nothing going on, and then smack dab in the middle of a war zone with almost no warning. There were a few good twists here and there, but for the most part it wasn't too hard to guess at what was really happening....more
Sword and sorcery, magic and the Fae, intrigue and mystery -- what else can a reader of alternate world stories want? The realm is well-drawn, there's a map of the keep (always a plus for me for a book to have a map), the characters are, all of them, complex. And, there's a new sequel just out.
Free download from the author's website.
Not a bad book - I got a bit lost at the end (with all the double crosses) and felt (view spoiler) But it was definately fun and frentic political backstabbing galore :) The magic system with all the Fey courts usually doesn't appeal to me, but it was pulled off with style - possibly because of the balance with the human Sorcery and the general chaos that was going on. A fun read.
I've be...more
Not a bad book - I got a bit lost at the end (with all the double crosses) and felt (view spoiler) But it was definately fun and frentic political backstabbing galore :) The magic system with all the Fey courts usually doesn't appeal to me, but it was pulled off with style - possibly because of the balance with the human Sorcery and the general chaos that was going on. A fun read.
I've be...more
My fantasy shelf is getting full and so i have to get rid of the ones i did not absolutely love. This one just didn't do it for me. There were too many characters i didn't like. :P But again, this got its share of good reviews so perhaps it just needs to find the right owner. :)
Awesome, like all of Martha Wells' books. I'm always impressed that she doesn't write a series, and each book is a stand-alone complete story. It seems a lot harder than thinking, Oh, I can explain that in the next book. This way she puts all of her cards on the table.
The best fantasy I’ve read in at least a year. If you enjoy GRRM’s Song of Ice and Fire series, you should pick this book up as well. The old king is dead. In his place rules his only living son, the weak and ineffectual King Roland, who is utterly at the command of his treacherous childhood friend. It falls to the dowager queen Ravenna and her faithful, but aging, Captain of the Queen’s Guard to keep the country together. Into this already explosive situation comes Roland’s bastard sister Kaid,...more
I loved this!! What a fantastic, eloquently written book. Perfect example of classic fantasy. I loved the subplots, and I got especially excited about the blooming romance.
My only criticism was that the ending seemed a little too convenient. I was expecting some huge showdown. But other than that, I just couldn't put it down.
My only criticism was that the ending seemed a little too convenient. I was expecting some huge showdown. But other than that, I just couldn't put it down.
This was a rollicking good read. Wells did a superb job mixing magic, swashbuckling action, and political intrigue. I will definitely re-read this...hopefully, sooner rather than later!
I really enjoyed this book for the most part. A fantasy novel, but written with a lot of emphasis on political intrigue, rather than on magicky things, though there is some of that too. Overall, all of the elements were well balanced and not over done at all. A few times throughout the book, I found myself unconsciously skipping ahead on the page and I had to go back and reread it. Sometimes it was because the plot was a little confusing, or the writing wasn't clear, and sometimes because it dra...more
I enjoyed this fantasy story. It involves the seelie and unseelie courts, there are swordfights and an interesting heroine. A quick read (and free to download from manybooks).
Maybe more like a 3.5. I could see where this was going and thought it was kind of meh. Thought I will admit that some of the characters and circumstances were interesting.
Initially this book was slow with too many characters to get my head around. But slowly the pace built until I couldn't put it down and I was hooked. I enjoyed this read.
Fantasy; Britain and faeries. I read this a while ago but I recall I quite enjoyed it.
One of the things I like about this author is that she mostly avoids the "I will write one good book and then N increasingly awful sequels" trap. Roughly half of her books are standalone, most of them set in their own worlds.
This author's books follow sort of an interesting progression: her earlier books have fairly standard romance subplots, in that there's a male main character and a female main character and...more
One of the things I like about this author is that she mostly avoids the "I will write one good book and then N increasingly awful sequels" trap. Roughly half of her books are standalone, most of them set in their own worlds.
This author's books follow sort of an interesting progression: her earlier books have fairly standard romance subplots, in that there's a male main character and a female main character and...more
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Martha Wells is the author of fourteen SF/F novels, including Wheel of the Infinite, City of Bones, The Element of Fire, and the Nebula-nominated The Death of the Necromancer. She has a fantasy trilogy: The Wizard Hunters, The Ships of Air, and The Gate of Gods, currently out in paperback. Her most recent fantasy novels are The Cloud Roads (March 2011), The Serpent Sea (January 2012), and The Sire...more
More about Martha Wells...
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Feb 09, 2011 11:03pm