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33rd out of 321 books
—
245 voters
The Fifth Sorceress (The Chronicles of Blood and Stone #1)
Not since Terry Goodkind unsheathed the Sword of Truth has there been such an epic tale of heroism and magic that so captures the imagination as this monumental new work by a master storyteller. In The Fifth Sorceress, Robert Newcomb conjures a time and place wrought with exquisite detail, characters vividly drawn and deeply felt, and a history rich in glory and horror, sp...more
Paperback, 688 pages
Published
June 10th 2003
by Del Rey
(first published January 1st 2002)
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Where do I begin? Honestly, when I read through the first fifty pages of Fifth Sorceress, I thought 'Hey this book ain't so bad... What's with all the terrible reviews?' Then I arrived at the point where Tristan played catch with his horse and I thought, 'Oh.'
This isn't a fantasy story. This is a series of monologues crafted in a shoddy manner to describe a fantasy world that is rampant with cliches and inconsistencies. Every character in this book talks too much, often engaging in aggravating o...more
This isn't a fantasy story. This is a series of monologues crafted in a shoddy manner to describe a fantasy world that is rampant with cliches and inconsistencies. Every character in this book talks too much, often engaging in aggravating o...more
The Fifth Sorceress is a mildly entertaining book fantasy with a good amount of action. However, I do have some reservations about the book.
First, the characters are one-dimensional. It's hard to really care about these characters because they don't seem to have any depth.
Second, there are holes in the plot of the book. Some decisions made by the characters and some events that take place, are not clearly defined. You are left thinking, "Why didn't they do this?" or "How did that happen?" a few...more
First, the characters are one-dimensional. It's hard to really care about these characters because they don't seem to have any depth.
Second, there are holes in the plot of the book. Some decisions made by the characters and some events that take place, are not clearly defined. You are left thinking, "Why didn't they do this?" or "How did that happen?" a few...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Mar 09, 2012
Ylianna
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Biblioghiles of fiction
Shelves:
possiable-rereading
The Fifth Sorceress
Volume 1 of The Chronicals of Blood and Stone
Wonderful story of magic, sorccery, wizardry, and adventure (some...mature parts).
Prologue, 6 Parts, and an epiloge; 591 pages.
"True peace of mind comes only when my heart and actions are aligned with true principles and values. I shall forsake not, to the loss of all material thhings, my honor and integrity. I shall protect the Paragon above all else, but take no life except in urgent defense of self and other, or without fair warn...more
Volume 1 of The Chronicals of Blood and Stone
Wonderful story of magic, sorccery, wizardry, and adventure (some...mature parts).
Prologue, 6 Parts, and an epiloge; 591 pages.
"True peace of mind comes only when my heart and actions are aligned with true principles and values. I shall forsake not, to the loss of all material thhings, my honor and integrity. I shall protect the Paragon above all else, but take no life except in urgent defense of self and other, or without fair warn...more
The beginning of this book was a little slow for me and somewhat hard to get into but that only lasted the first fifty pages or so and then I was thoroughly hooked.
One of the reviews said that it was reminiscent of the Song of Ice and Fire and I would agree that there were times I thought of that. Both writers have a somewhat larger than normal propensity for killing off some characters beyond what you would typically experience in many fantasy books.
In some ways I was also reminded of the Whe...more
One of the reviews said that it was reminiscent of the Song of Ice and Fire and I would agree that there were times I thought of that. Both writers have a somewhat larger than normal propensity for killing off some characters beyond what you would typically experience in many fantasy books.
In some ways I was also reminded of the Whe...more
I must say at first I absolutely hated this book. I found the story somewhat intriguing but it seemed things would happen out of convince for the author as apposed to things feeling like they happened because they did. I hated the way he wrote it and he used the same sentances to describe things. ie "and Tristan saw something that he would never forget" about a million times. Whatever. But I wanted to give the book a chance for two reasons [1:] because this was the authors first novel and I was...more
Uneven fantasy debut with some great ideas and some murky writing. The world is pretty interesting-- a mist enshrouded kingdom isolated by magic from any neighboring countries and burdened with the memory of a horrific (300 years ago) civil war lead by a coven of evil sorceresses.
The main character Prince Tristan (the chosen one, based on an incredibly elastic and constantly referenced ancient book-length prophecy) is sort of a cardboard cutout of a pretty uninteresting late teens bored and irr...more
The main character Prince Tristan (the chosen one, based on an incredibly elastic and constantly referenced ancient book-length prophecy) is sort of a cardboard cutout of a pretty uninteresting late teens bored and irr...more
Not a book for anyone that cannot or does not want to be poorly assaulted by crude and explicit violence and sex. I don't think Robert understands a woman's psyche well enough to pull off the evil manipulation that he was trying to achieve. The story felt choppy at times and unfulfilled at others. Almost like he threw several short stories together without attempting to merge them. Really debating on going on to the next book. I'll sit on it and if it itches in a month I'll attempt the second.
Beware. My 10-year-old was reading this and stopped due to immoral scenes and attitudes. p72 "And although the poor fool had unsuspectingly done his best to give them children, she only tolerated his inadequate and unexciting lovemaking..."; p80 "A wink from a pretty girl at a party doesn't always result in climax but only a fool won't take the opportunity to find out." The main prince Tristan is "the father of Shailiha's unborn child."--too many immoral themes for my family's taste.
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This book is fun, but I could see similar fantasy novels be written in a less standard fashion. He has an intricate world in which his characters live, fully realized it seems, in plot and setting, yet the devices he uses to narrate the story get stale after some time. I wanted to just read a fantasy book though, and this does the trick. It is an interesting plot and the characters are relatable. The gory and graphic descriptions could be cut down a bit too, but I guess it's fine.
The premise of this book sounded really great and I was excited to pick it up and read it. But, the way the author would switch between viewpoints in the middle of a page and back was hard to get used to. Additionally, the way certain aspects of the magic system and the people's actions were described turned me off to the book. I could not finish reading the book and I usually do not walk away from a book without finishing it but in this case I did.
I liked it. I've seen a lot of other reviewers on here give it a bad review but I saw something different. Of course it's not a perfect story, but I thought it was good. The characters were interesting and the story held my attention. I wanted to keep reading. Yes, Tristan seems dumb as a box of rocks at first but he needs time to grow and evolve as the story takes place. He's a typical spoiled royal. So just keep that in mind.
I just finished this book a few minutes ago.4/25/2012.
This is a fun story with alot of unexpected turns throughout the entire book. Great writing and well developed characters. The story line was new and inventive and definitely kept me interested in reading the entire book. NOW, that being said, I would have made this into two books instead of one. It took me four months to read and I nearly didn't finish it. I love reading but this book is thick and the story does have a few moments where the...more
This is a fun story with alot of unexpected turns throughout the entire book. Great writing and well developed characters. The story line was new and inventive and definitely kept me interested in reading the entire book. NOW, that being said, I would have made this into two books instead of one. It took me four months to read and I nearly didn't finish it. I love reading but this book is thick and the story does have a few moments where the...more
I half-heartedly read the first five chapters of The Fifth Sorceress by Robert Newcomb (2002), knowing it had received generally unfavorable reviews from fans of the epic fantasy genre. (It has an Amazon rating of like 2.25 stars, which is pretty bad for a book from a major publisher.) Five chapters might not sound like much, but the chapters in this book are miles long. Five chapters works out to 149 pages or 25% of the book.
You might think that within 149 pages, some sort of exciting plot woul...more
You might think that within 149 pages, some sort of exciting plot woul...more
I half-heartedly read the first five chapters of The Fifth Sorceress by Robert Newcomb (2002), knowing it had received generally unfavorable reviews from fans of the epic fantasy genre. (It has an Amazon rating of like 2.25 stars, which is pretty bad for a book from a major publisher.) Five chapters might not sound like much, but the chapters in this book are miles long. Five chapters works out to 149 pages or 25% of the book.
You might think that within 149 pages, some sort of exciting plot woul...more
You might think that within 149 pages, some sort of exciting plot woul...more
Okay, for me I did not like this book. I'm sorry, but the main character comes across as dumb as a rock. It seems like the characters spend all their time sitting around a table trying to figure out how to defeat the bad guys and...I don't know, it just didn't work for me.
I can't say anything good about this book except that it makes Goodkind, mentioned in lots of comparisons, look like a literary genius. There is so much bad that listing all the terrible things would take too long so I'll jut say that "everything" is awful. Ugh.
Not sure why so many people did not care for this book. I thought it was amazing! I was captivated the whole time and it was one of those books that really changed me in a way. My only complaint was that some parts were a little to graphic. Wonderfully written!
Apr 06, 2010
Nadia
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Nadia by:
Library
Shelves:
fantasy
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I good book, a bit chiche in places but something keeps you reading. Interesting storyline.
Truly terrible. This book embodies every horrid cliche of epic fantasy ever conceived.
I was very excited to start up an epic fantasy series from a new author when I picked up this book. The prologue was a great hook. And then for the rest of the book I kept feeling like I was waiting for it to really start. The magic is not explored in nearly enough detail. It consistently felt like everything interesting was either glossed over or left to be explained in later books. It also consistently flirted with trying to be risque or adult and then managed to chicken out every time. Combin...more
Quite possibly the worst book ever written. It fails in every category.
Readable but definitely not recommended, the series only gets worse.
yuck! Misogynistic in 1st chapt, couldn't go on
A decent story with some interesting twists. And the villains really were evil which I like. I just got frustrated with the 30 year Protag who seemed too naive at times.
So far, so good...sticks to the traditional fantasy genre plot lines (boy must grow up and face his responsibility as hero of mankind, as well as discover his secret magical powers). Pretty well written, never boring...would recommend although I don't know how many books are in this series or if I will regret committing to reading this (i.e. Wheel of Time- I can't make it past Crossroads of Twilight). Anyway, enjoy, fellow nerds!
Interesting concept; poor execution. The magic system is incomprehensible babble. Does everyone really have to narrow their eyes to perform magic?!?
Quite complex, fun.
A bit heavy for the fantasy class that usually gets read by those teenagers.
There is unfortunately an annoying part in which the editor didn't seem to notice quite a number of typos within the book.
But all in all, it's still worthwile.
A bit heavy for the fantasy class that usually gets read by those teenagers.
There is unfortunately an annoying part in which the editor didn't seem to notice quite a number of typos within the book.
But all in all, it's still worthwile.
Could've cut back on the gore and might have explored the concept of magic more, but all in all it was okay. It was oddly compelling in a way, but it's not something you read in a couple of hours.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What's The Name o...: Solved: Adult fantasy/scifi. Main character: a prince, throwing knives as a weapon. Includes a winged race of humans (not angels). /s [s] | 13 | 185 | Nov 02, 2012 01:43am |
