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The Steel Remains (A Land Fit for Heroes, #1)
by Richard K. Morgan
by Richard K. Morgan
Entertaining, hack-and-slash, pretty much nonstop action. The characters are interesting and compelling (in their own ways), the world seems well-realized, with some interesting quirks (the concept of the Kiriath race is pretty cool). The dialogue is good, snappy, and there is pretty much conflict on every page, which keeps things interesting. Lots of tension and all that.
BUT...a few buts....
I like the idea of a homosexual 'hero'. However, I do not like the gratuitous dwenda-sexing that goes on in the book for the same reason I disliked the near-sex scene in Sunshine. Cliche, pointless. Call me silly, but I get tired of books where the main character is captured and ends up having sex with the enemy. Seems to happen a lot, especially in vampire fiction. Maybe it's the books I read.
In addition, the homosexual female hero Archeth is layering it on a bit thick for me, especially because she is ensconced as a prime advisor to an empire that executes homosexuals for their aberrant behavior. Didn't quite jive. But oh well.
I also did not like the plotting. Some of it was quite good, and I liked the complex relationships of the characters. But I really, really, don't like the whole teleportation deux-ex movement of characters. It feels so contrived, like the author was sitting there (after experiencing his first in a series of missed deadlines) trying to figure out how to get character A to point B and he snaps his fingers and says "I got it! They'll be teleported by a mysterious being! Perfect!". Happens to both Ringil and Egar. I also didn't like the intervention by mysterious powers in Egar's case.
Last of all, I got really irritated when I figured out this was a series, especially when I got about 50 pages from the end and realized there was no way in hell that Morgan was going to be able to tie up all the loose strands in the book. There is a certain feeling of finality to the end of the book (and some things get wrapped up, which is nice) but it was definitely a disappointment for me.
Overall, the book was all right. I suppose I'll read the next one that comes out. Maybe.
BUT...a few buts....
I like the idea of a homosexual 'hero'. However, I do not like the gratuitous dwenda-sexing that goes on in the book for the same reason I disliked the near-sex scene in Sunshine. Cliche, pointless. Call me silly, but I get tired of books where the main character is captured and ends up having sex with the enemy. Seems to happen a lot, especially in vampire fiction. Maybe it's the books I read.
In addition, the homosexual female hero Archeth is layering it on a bit thick for me, especially because she is ensconced as a prime advisor to an empire that executes homosexuals for their aberrant behavior. Didn't quite jive. But oh well.
I also did not like the plotting. Some of it was quite good, and I liked the complex relationships of the characters. But I really, really, don't like the whole teleportation deux-ex movement of characters. It feels so contrived, like the author was sitting there (after experiencing his first in a series of missed deadlines) trying to figure out how to get character A to point B and he snaps his fingers and says "I got it! They'll be teleported by a mysterious being! Perfect!". Happens to both Ringil and Egar. I also didn't like the intervention by mysterious powers in Egar's case.
Last of all, I got really irritated when I figured out this was a series, especially when I got about 50 pages from the end and realized there was no way in hell that Morgan was going to be able to tie up all the loose strands in the book. There is a certain feeling of finality to the end of the book (and some things get wrapped up, which is nice) but it was definitely a disappointment for me.
Overall, the book was all right. I suppose I'll read the next one that comes out. Maybe.
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