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Books of the Shaper #1
Seven Princes
It is an Age of Legends.
Under the watchful eye of the Giants, the kingdoms of Men rose to power. Now, the Giant-King has slain the last of the Serpents and ushered in an era of untold peace and prosperity. Where a fire-blackened desert once stood, golden cities flourish in verdant fields.
It is an Age of Heroes.
But the realms of Man face a new threat-- an ancient sorcerer slaughters the rightful King of Yaskatha before the unbelieving eyes of his son, young Prince D'zan. With the Giant-King lost to a mysterious doom, it seems that no one has the power to stop the coming storm.
It is an Age of War.
The fugitive Prince seeks allies across the realms of Men and Giants to liberate his father's stolen kingdom. Six foreign Princes are tied to his fate. Only one thing is certain: War is coming.
SEVEN PRINCES.
Some will seek glory.
Some will seek vengeance.
All will be legends.
Under the watchful eye of the Giants, the kingdoms of Men rose to power. Now, the Giant-King has slain the last of the Serpents and ushered in an era of untold peace and prosperity. Where a fire-blackened desert once stood, golden cities flourish in verdant fields.
It is an Age of Heroes.
But the realms of Man face a new threat-- an ancient sorcerer slaughters the rightful King of Yaskatha before the unbelieving eyes of his son, young Prince D'zan. With the Giant-King lost to a mysterious doom, it seems that no one has the power to stop the coming storm.
It is an Age of War.
The fugitive Prince seeks allies across the realms of Men and Giants to liberate his father's stolen kingdom. Six foreign Princes are tied to his fate. Only one thing is certain: War is coming.
SEVEN PRINCES.
Some will seek glory.
Some will seek vengeance.
All will be legends.
526 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
44 people are currently reading
1029 people want to read
About the author
John R. Fultz
57 books70 followersJohn R. Fultz lives in the Bay Area, California, but is originally from Kentucky. His fiction has appeared in Weird Tales, Black Gate, and Space & Time, as well as the comic book anthologies Zombie Tales and Cthulhu Tales. His graphic novel of epic fantasy, Primordia, was published by Archaia Comics. John’s literary heroes include Tanith Lee, Thomas Ligotti, Clark Ashton Smith, Lord Dunsany, William Gibson, Robert Silverberg, and Darrell Schweitzer (not to mention Howard, Poe, and Shakespeare). When not writing stories, novels, or comics, John teaches English Literature at the middle/high school level and plays a mean guitar. In a previous life he made his living as a wandering storyteller on the lost continent of Atlantis.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
November 21, 2017
It started with a promise of a great book.
With beautiful and well-written prose, tremendously rich worldbuilding filled with ancient history and lore, and daring magic system that would put at shame even best at this genre - I honestly thought I was dealing with a peak of high fantasy.
Sadly, just after half of the book, cart went downhill.
With me in it and my tailbone feeling every bump on the road.
Somewhere, half way down there, I could swear I saw author himself. Casually strolling, letting my cart pass him by, simply giving up on his book.
Seven Princes is an epic tale of young Prince D’zan losing his father’s throne to an ancient sorcerer who after millenniums of roaming Outer Worlds came back to physical realm to reclaim his ancient seat of power. After witnessing his whole family murdered D’zan flees with vengeance on his mind and fear deep in his heart.
In desperate plea for help he goes on a mission of forging alliances with great Kingdoms of men and giants in hope they will help him restore his crown.
Six other Princes rally to his cause, those of men and giants. Even few sorceress with their mystical power.
But not every member of this company have the same goal as Prince D’zan.
Often enough I say how I don’t really need great characterization when author is focused on worldbuilding, magic system or overall message he tries to convey to us with his story. I don’t need to be swooned away with characters; they really don’t have to be relatable to me in any possible way.
And how could they? How could ancient bloodlust sorceress who transforms herself into white panther, and looks at humans and giants as a tiny ants in her eon-long lifespan, be even remotely relatable to me?
Even if I stripped her character to her basic driven desires, which is vengeance, I still couldn’t.
But, if I couldn’t relate to, I could at least understand revenge. I could understand all aspects that drive characters, without me bonding with them or developing an empathy.
But if you deny me that basic understanding why character A does something to character B or C, even to me, a guy who’s pretty laid back and easily amused, that will prevent me from enjoying everything else you exceled yourself in.
For a couple of hours I go into another world, I build this bubble around me as story progresses, stacking up all images and all senses I’m told in it - I’m basically making this world as believable as one can expect from a book - and when ‘anomaly’ such as this occurs, this basic problem of telling a story, it bursts that bubble.
While speaking of characters another thing this book lacks is a good villain.
It takes a good amount of effort to understand what villains are trying to achieve, beside world dominance and lust for revenge.
And let’s say you do understand their point of view and the way this ancient creatures, who played with giant and human lives for eons, perceive the world around them.
Even if you do understand that, what you are reading right now while gasping at amount of atrocities they commit, for them, those ancient creatures, this is just a tiny speck of their existence. In their minds this is how the world always worked. How it will always work.
But for you, as a reader, sadly, it will come out as lazy, comical and unconvincing plotpoint.
Which makes me even sadder, because this astonishing world, written with amazing prose, deserved equally fantastic set of characters.
In the end, would I recommend it? Yes. Definitely.
This world will grip you, and if you don’t find same problems I did, you will surely enjoy reading this book.
With beautiful and well-written prose, tremendously rich worldbuilding filled with ancient history and lore, and daring magic system that would put at shame even best at this genre - I honestly thought I was dealing with a peak of high fantasy.
Sadly, just after half of the book, cart went downhill.
With me in it and my tailbone feeling every bump on the road.
Somewhere, half way down there, I could swear I saw author himself. Casually strolling, letting my cart pass him by, simply giving up on his book.
Seven Princes is an epic tale of young Prince D’zan losing his father’s throne to an ancient sorcerer who after millenniums of roaming Outer Worlds came back to physical realm to reclaim his ancient seat of power. After witnessing his whole family murdered D’zan flees with vengeance on his mind and fear deep in his heart.
In desperate plea for help he goes on a mission of forging alliances with great Kingdoms of men and giants in hope they will help him restore his crown.
Six other Princes rally to his cause, those of men and giants. Even few sorceress with their mystical power.
But not every member of this company have the same goal as Prince D’zan.
Often enough I say how I don’t really need great characterization when author is focused on worldbuilding, magic system or overall message he tries to convey to us with his story. I don’t need to be swooned away with characters; they really don’t have to be relatable to me in any possible way.
And how could they? How could ancient bloodlust sorceress who transforms herself into white panther, and looks at humans and giants as a tiny ants in her eon-long lifespan, be even remotely relatable to me?
Even if I stripped her character to her basic driven desires, which is vengeance, I still couldn’t.
But, if I couldn’t relate to, I could at least understand revenge. I could understand all aspects that drive characters, without me bonding with them or developing an empathy.
But if you deny me that basic understanding why character A does something to character B or C, even to me, a guy who’s pretty laid back and easily amused, that will prevent me from enjoying everything else you exceled yourself in.
For a couple of hours I go into another world, I build this bubble around me as story progresses, stacking up all images and all senses I’m told in it - I’m basically making this world as believable as one can expect from a book - and when ‘anomaly’ such as this occurs, this basic problem of telling a story, it bursts that bubble.
While speaking of characters another thing this book lacks is a good villain.
It takes a good amount of effort to understand what villains are trying to achieve, beside world dominance and lust for revenge.
And let’s say you do understand their point of view and the way this ancient creatures, who played with giant and human lives for eons, perceive the world around them.
Even if you do understand that, what you are reading right now while gasping at amount of atrocities they commit, for them, those ancient creatures, this is just a tiny speck of their existence. In their minds this is how the world always worked. How it will always work.
But for you, as a reader, sadly, it will come out as lazy, comical and unconvincing plotpoint.
Which makes me even sadder, because this astonishing world, written with amazing prose, deserved equally fantastic set of characters.
In the end, would I recommend it? Yes. Definitely.
This world will grip you, and if you don’t find same problems I did, you will surely enjoy reading this book.
January 11, 2012
The cover gives the promise of Heroic Fantasy, of which I’m quite a fan. On hearing a brief synopsis, Seven Princes to me sounded like a fresh take on the genre, so I was quite excited when I got a copy for review.
And having read it... well, it’s not.
The plot is basically The Magnificent Seven (or Battle Beyond the Stars, if you prefer), but using Princes instead of cowboys. Prince D’zan’s father, King Trimesqua, is slain by an army of the undead resurrected by Elhathym, a mysterious stranger who claims he has come back to reclaim the court of Yaskatha.
The only survivors of the massacre, D’zan and his bodyguard Olthalcus escape and try to enlist support and so reclaim the village/kingdom. He enlists six other cowboys/Princes to his cause. The duo travel to New Udurum to seek help from The Princes of Uurz – Tyro, the natural leader, and Lyrilan, the scholar - who pledge their support.
Travelling to seek help from the Giant King Vod, they find that the King has abdicated, leaving the Kingdom in charge of his Queen, Shaira, with the help of their sons Fangodrel, Tadarus and Vireon, and daughter Sharadza. Lastly, Andoses, heir to the throne of Shar Dni, makes up the seventh. Together they go, in order to defeat the evil sorcerer and get D’zan back to where he rightfully belongs. Sharadza goes off to learn sorcery and be a witch in order to help.
Meanwhile Elathym has made alliances of his own, with Empress Ianthe of Khyrei. Ianthe attempts to assassinate D’zan but ends up killing Olthacus. This is the beginning of a high body count. “It’s about blood”, the publicity declares, and of that there’s plenty, with lots of woundings, stabbings, limb removals and all manner of blood-spattering antics.
OK. With such an (admittedly short) summary, there’s nothing sounding wrong with that plot. Throw in some Giants, lethal mummies from the dead, heaps of betrayal, assassinations, dark magic, some fast fighting scenes, and it should be a cracking read.
But...
I really wanted to like this one. Sadly, in the end I was disappointed, but in my opinion it’s not as bad as some would have it. The pace is a little uneven, but it moves along at a fair clip. It’s solidly written, but, in the end, commits the sin of being quite interchangeable with other Fantasy books out there.
The characters were stereotypically heroic and all had motives for doing what they do, but, crucially, garnered no sympathy from me as a reader. Consequently, after a hundred or so pages, I was strangely unmoved by what was going on, despite it being clear that ‘things’ were being set up to happen. Whilst there’s enough here to keep the pages turning, there were times when I was just doing that without really wanting to keep reading.
Halfway through the book, I did find that I was struggling to maintain interest. I could see where it was going and that things were happening, but it became a book I was finding difficult to pick up. By the closing stages it was a case of finishing it because I was near the end rather than reading it to see what happens.
If you’re new to the genre you’ll probably like it, but for me it repeated old tropes without really bringing anything new to the table. It’s entertaining, but without being engaging, for me at least.
Whilst I hoped for something new to appear, to raise the game and make the book worth sticking with, in the end it just didn’t happen and I just felt I’d read it all before. A book to admire rather than love, and thus a missed opportunity.
And having read it... well, it’s not.
The plot is basically The Magnificent Seven (or Battle Beyond the Stars, if you prefer), but using Princes instead of cowboys. Prince D’zan’s father, King Trimesqua, is slain by an army of the undead resurrected by Elhathym, a mysterious stranger who claims he has come back to reclaim the court of Yaskatha.
The only survivors of the massacre, D’zan and his bodyguard Olthalcus escape and try to enlist support and so reclaim the village/kingdom. He enlists six other cowboys/Princes to his cause. The duo travel to New Udurum to seek help from The Princes of Uurz – Tyro, the natural leader, and Lyrilan, the scholar - who pledge their support.
Travelling to seek help from the Giant King Vod, they find that the King has abdicated, leaving the Kingdom in charge of his Queen, Shaira, with the help of their sons Fangodrel, Tadarus and Vireon, and daughter Sharadza. Lastly, Andoses, heir to the throne of Shar Dni, makes up the seventh. Together they go, in order to defeat the evil sorcerer and get D’zan back to where he rightfully belongs. Sharadza goes off to learn sorcery and be a witch in order to help.
Meanwhile Elathym has made alliances of his own, with Empress Ianthe of Khyrei. Ianthe attempts to assassinate D’zan but ends up killing Olthacus. This is the beginning of a high body count. “It’s about blood”, the publicity declares, and of that there’s plenty, with lots of woundings, stabbings, limb removals and all manner of blood-spattering antics.
OK. With such an (admittedly short) summary, there’s nothing sounding wrong with that plot. Throw in some Giants, lethal mummies from the dead, heaps of betrayal, assassinations, dark magic, some fast fighting scenes, and it should be a cracking read.
But...
I really wanted to like this one. Sadly, in the end I was disappointed, but in my opinion it’s not as bad as some would have it. The pace is a little uneven, but it moves along at a fair clip. It’s solidly written, but, in the end, commits the sin of being quite interchangeable with other Fantasy books out there.
The characters were stereotypically heroic and all had motives for doing what they do, but, crucially, garnered no sympathy from me as a reader. Consequently, after a hundred or so pages, I was strangely unmoved by what was going on, despite it being clear that ‘things’ were being set up to happen. Whilst there’s enough here to keep the pages turning, there were times when I was just doing that without really wanting to keep reading.
Halfway through the book, I did find that I was struggling to maintain interest. I could see where it was going and that things were happening, but it became a book I was finding difficult to pick up. By the closing stages it was a case of finishing it because I was near the end rather than reading it to see what happens.
If you’re new to the genre you’ll probably like it, but for me it repeated old tropes without really bringing anything new to the table. It’s entertaining, but without being engaging, for me at least.
Whilst I hoped for something new to appear, to raise the game and make the book worth sticking with, in the end it just didn’t happen and I just felt I’d read it all before. A book to admire rather than love, and thus a missed opportunity.
May 9, 2024
Seven Princes starts off with a resurrecting wizard unleashing zombie flesh-eating hordes on the masses and from there the author drops all pretences of realism and just puts his foot on the gas and speeds off to Captain Conan-Country.
You've heard of grimdark fantasy? This is "the author licked the hypnotoad" fantasy. There's high fantasy and then there's the fantasy where you wonder if the author was high when they wrote it.
Just to give you a sample of the supreme zaniness going on here:
We got a utopia of giants and humans where a revered heroic giant king is going slowly crazy with visions from mermaids (or are they?)! We got a lusty, sexy jungle sorceress who is also a giant cat (the sexiest kind of sorceress, I'll have you know). And there's frolicking fox girls who are also elder gods (or aliens? Or both?) who are looking for love! And a valley of ice giants! And evil scheming brothers who get high on drugs and become vampires! And we got armies of darkness and blood-hungry ghosts! Giant marriages! And we got sword-training! And sea monsters! And chosen ones! And magic training arcs, multiple wars, political intrigue and duels between good and evil. And just when you think things can't get any crazier magicians become giant flying serpents and have an all-out Wizard Kaiju fight!
I have no idea what the heck I just read, but 7/10 and I'm ready for the next one.
It ain't freaking Shakespeare, but I ain't Harold Bloom. Hit me Fultzy, one more time.
You've heard of grimdark fantasy? This is "the author licked the hypnotoad" fantasy. There's high fantasy and then there's the fantasy where you wonder if the author was high when they wrote it.
Just to give you a sample of the supreme zaniness going on here:
We got a utopia of giants and humans where a revered heroic giant king is going slowly crazy with visions from mermaids (or are they?)! We got a lusty, sexy jungle sorceress who is also a giant cat (the sexiest kind of sorceress, I'll have you know). And there's frolicking fox girls who are also elder gods (or aliens? Or both?) who are looking for love! And a valley of ice giants! And evil scheming brothers who get high on drugs and become vampires! And we got armies of darkness and blood-hungry ghosts! Giant marriages! And we got sword-training! And sea monsters! And chosen ones! And magic training arcs, multiple wars, political intrigue and duels between good and evil. And just when you think things can't get any crazier magicians become giant flying serpents and have an all-out Wizard Kaiju fight!
I have no idea what the heck I just read, but 7/10 and I'm ready for the next one.
It ain't freaking Shakespeare, but I ain't Harold Bloom. Hit me Fultzy, one more time.
September 27, 2012
Epic fantasy filled with wonders and terrors and war and strange magics. Fultz lists as his influences Clark Ashton Smith, Tanith Lee, Darrell Schweitzer and Lord Dunsany, which means he couldn't have aimed this book more directly at me if he'd tried. Highly recommended.
October 21, 2015
Seven Princes by John R. Fultz is Epic, Digestible Dark Fantasy.
The Author Interview was a nice extra in which Fultz acknowledges the authors who inspired him, namely Clark Ashton Smith, Tanith Lee, and Darrell Schweitzer. I found Fultz’s writing to be more accessible than these authors, but less deep/intellectual (in this work); though poetic language is frequent. Seven Princes reads as a Young Adult version of dark fantasy and pays homage to Lovecraft and Howard in many ways. Most characters are archetypal “good” or “evil.” We learn about the land's history via ~7 princes and 1 princess who all come of age together in a tumultuous time. I found most princes to be indistinguishable (most are honorable warrior types). Gammir of Khyrei is not included in the core seven, but emerges the most developed character, and is arguably a prince too.
The scope is epic in time and geography, but it is not Tolkien like. Do not expect elves, dwarves, or orcs here. Just giants, and colossal serpents, and lots of magic. This is part of the series “Books of the Shaper” and Shaping is sorcery. There is “good” magic and “evil” magic, that involve “shaping” elements; only the “bad” magic is explained (it requires blood; let’s hear it for vampirism and necromancy!), but the good magic just requires thought apparently.
Despite not having a fully explained magic system, the “shaping” in the story was really how the land was shaped over time via cyclical good/evil struggles. The pacing did fluctuate as other reviewers have noted. The opening chapter is a worthy stand-alone short story and is an outstanding foundation for the rest of the book. The last 150pages would have been better if it was stretched out—lots of epic battles that deserved more pages! For a 500page novel, this read very fast. I am compelled to read the next two: Seven Sorcerers and Seven Kings. I recommend this to those sword and sorcery readers who normally read short fiction (avoiding series of thick books).
The seven princes:
1. Fangodrel of Udurum half-human scholar
2. Tadarus of Udurum half-giant warrior prince
3. Vireon of Udurum half-giant warrior prince
(Princess Sharadza of Udurum)... she’s a sorceress
4. Lyrilan of Uurz … a scholar
5. Tyro of Uurz … a human warrior prince
6. Andoses of Shar Dni … a human warrior prince
7. D’zan of Yaskatha … a young human warrior prince
The Author Interview was a nice extra in which Fultz acknowledges the authors who inspired him, namely Clark Ashton Smith, Tanith Lee, and Darrell Schweitzer. I found Fultz’s writing to be more accessible than these authors, but less deep/intellectual (in this work); though poetic language is frequent. Seven Princes reads as a Young Adult version of dark fantasy and pays homage to Lovecraft and Howard in many ways. Most characters are archetypal “good” or “evil.” We learn about the land's history via ~7 princes and 1 princess who all come of age together in a tumultuous time. I found most princes to be indistinguishable (most are honorable warrior types). Gammir of Khyrei is not included in the core seven, but emerges the most developed character, and is arguably a prince too.
The scope is epic in time and geography, but it is not Tolkien like. Do not expect elves, dwarves, or orcs here. Just giants, and colossal serpents, and lots of magic. This is part of the series “Books of the Shaper” and Shaping is sorcery. There is “good” magic and “evil” magic, that involve “shaping” elements; only the “bad” magic is explained (it requires blood; let’s hear it for vampirism and necromancy!), but the good magic just requires thought apparently.
Despite not having a fully explained magic system, the “shaping” in the story was really how the land was shaped over time via cyclical good/evil struggles. The pacing did fluctuate as other reviewers have noted. The opening chapter is a worthy stand-alone short story and is an outstanding foundation for the rest of the book. The last 150pages would have been better if it was stretched out—lots of epic battles that deserved more pages! For a 500page novel, this read very fast. I am compelled to read the next two: Seven Sorcerers and Seven Kings. I recommend this to those sword and sorcery readers who normally read short fiction (avoiding series of thick books).
The seven princes:
1. Fangodrel of Udurum half-human scholar
2. Tadarus of Udurum half-giant warrior prince
3. Vireon of Udurum half-giant warrior prince
(Princess Sharadza of Udurum)... she’s a sorceress
4. Lyrilan of Uurz … a scholar
5. Tyro of Uurz … a human warrior prince
6. Andoses of Shar Dni … a human warrior prince
7. D’zan of Yaskatha … a young human warrior prince
February 8, 2019
Seven Princes by John R. Fultz is a multi-pov story about revenge, lost kingdoms, ambition, quests and...well, seven princes.
Our main cast consists of D'Zan, a prince from a desert kingdom who loses his father and his kingdom right at the beginning to an evil sorceror, who conjures mummies.
He sets out to find allies to win back his kingdom accompanied by his bodyguard The Stone.
In Urdum, King Vod reigns over men and giants. Here, we're introduced to the eldest prince Fangodrel, his younger twin brothers Tadarus and Vireon as well as his story-loving sister Sharadza.
In the course of the story we're getting povs from other characters, but D'Zan and the four children of Vod make up the majority of the pov chapters.
Let's start with what John R. Fultz does really well in my opinion. Worldbuilding. The author shows us a lot of exotic and exciting places and avoids the typical pseudo-european setting most of the time. There's always a clever idea around the corner and the sense of wonder works well.
Sometime I had wished though, that he would linger a little bit more, because as manifold and often new ideas come up, they are are gone a page or a chapter later.
The plot is solid, not without it flaws, but accomplishes what Fultz wants to tell.
The most room for improvement from my pov would be in the character department. The characters are mostly there to play their roles in the plot, but none of them really stuck out or fascinated me. Fangodrel and Sharadza were definitely the most interesting to me as well as a certain foxy side-character.
I think the biggest issue I had with the book is the portrayal of female characters and tropes. It's pretty hard to discuss this without getting into spoiler territory, but I think readers of the book will know what I mean, especially how the whole issue with the curse regarding the giants was resolved. There would have been other roads to take in my opinion.
Apart from that most female characters fall into the typical tropes of maiden, mother and crone.
The pacing is okay for a 500+ page book. We need some time until it gets going and sometimes, as mentioned earlier, I wished for more depth, but when I was in the flow, it worked.
All in all this was a 2,5 star read for me, enjoyable, but nothing to talk about at the end of the year when all the Top 10 lists come out.
Our main cast consists of D'Zan, a prince from a desert kingdom who loses his father and his kingdom right at the beginning to an evil sorceror, who conjures mummies.
He sets out to find allies to win back his kingdom accompanied by his bodyguard The Stone.
In Urdum, King Vod reigns over men and giants. Here, we're introduced to the eldest prince Fangodrel, his younger twin brothers Tadarus and Vireon as well as his story-loving sister Sharadza.
In the course of the story we're getting povs from other characters, but D'Zan and the four children of Vod make up the majority of the pov chapters.
Let's start with what John R. Fultz does really well in my opinion. Worldbuilding. The author shows us a lot of exotic and exciting places and avoids the typical pseudo-european setting most of the time. There's always a clever idea around the corner and the sense of wonder works well.
Sometime I had wished though, that he would linger a little bit more, because as manifold and often new ideas come up, they are are gone a page or a chapter later.
The plot is solid, not without it flaws, but accomplishes what Fultz wants to tell.
The most room for improvement from my pov would be in the character department. The characters are mostly there to play their roles in the plot, but none of them really stuck out or fascinated me. Fangodrel and Sharadza were definitely the most interesting to me as well as a certain foxy side-character.
I think the biggest issue I had with the book is the portrayal of female characters and tropes. It's pretty hard to discuss this without getting into spoiler territory, but I think readers of the book will know what I mean, especially how the whole issue with the curse regarding the giants was resolved. There would have been other roads to take in my opinion.
Apart from that most female characters fall into the typical tropes of maiden, mother and crone.
The pacing is okay for a 500+ page book. We need some time until it gets going and sometimes, as mentioned earlier, I wished for more depth, but when I was in the flow, it worked.
All in all this was a 2,5 star read for me, enjoyable, but nothing to talk about at the end of the year when all the Top 10 lists come out.
May 27, 2012
Harks back to an earlier time, when magic didn't need to make any sort of sense, the age of legends could be within a generation, and women were either princesses or wenches. Or maybe evil sexy sorceresses. Or maybe shape-changing non-talking animal spirits who make perfect life companions. It doesn't get any better.
It's a valid literary choice, I suppose, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Or that I won't make disparaging remarks about those who make it.
I was going to read the whole thing as an exercise in a completely different style of fantasy - one that ignores all the advances the genre has made since Howard - but at page 186 I admitted I was having far too little fun to wade through the other two-thirds of it.
It's a valid literary choice, I suppose, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Or that I won't make disparaging remarks about those who make it.
I was going to read the whole thing as an exercise in a completely different style of fantasy - one that ignores all the advances the genre has made since Howard - but at page 186 I admitted I was having far too little fun to wade through the other two-thirds of it.
August 7, 2012
This novel was very uneven, but ultimately worth the read. Unlike other fantasy series which seem more like historical fiction with just a sprinkling of supernatural elements, Seven Princes is reminiscent of classic sword-and-sorcery yarns with an emphasis on the sorcery.
Ironically, this is both the book's greatest strength and weakness. For me, it was refreshing for the fantastical elements of a fantasy to take center stage. It's one of the main reasons I read the genre - pure escapism. While series like Game of Thrones excel at capturing human drama and intrigue, at times those novels seem too dry and academic.
Sometimes I want an epic fantasy that is the equivalent to a summer action movie.
This is what you get with this book. While the action and plotting move at a very fast clip, what does suffer is characterization. You get the standard genre tropes including: dastardly villains, mighty heroes, noble kings, a spunky princess, a mysterious sorcerer, etc. The characters are just a cut above being completely two-dimensional.
However, just when you think the plot is standard by-the-numbers fantasy, the author throws in some excellent twists you don't see coming. There are enough of those twists, and episodes of real human drama, that keep this novel from being considered completely pedestrian.
All in all, I recommend the book for light summer reading. If you need a break from fantasy novels heavy with byzantine plots shared among a sea of characters, Seven Princes will be a nice, if not substantial, diversion.
Ironically, this is both the book's greatest strength and weakness. For me, it was refreshing for the fantastical elements of a fantasy to take center stage. It's one of the main reasons I read the genre - pure escapism. While series like Game of Thrones excel at capturing human drama and intrigue, at times those novels seem too dry and academic.
Sometimes I want an epic fantasy that is the equivalent to a summer action movie.
This is what you get with this book. While the action and plotting move at a very fast clip, what does suffer is characterization. You get the standard genre tropes including: dastardly villains, mighty heroes, noble kings, a spunky princess, a mysterious sorcerer, etc. The characters are just a cut above being completely two-dimensional.
However, just when you think the plot is standard by-the-numbers fantasy, the author throws in some excellent twists you don't see coming. There are enough of those twists, and episodes of real human drama, that keep this novel from being considered completely pedestrian.
All in all, I recommend the book for light summer reading. If you need a break from fantasy novels heavy with byzantine plots shared among a sea of characters, Seven Princes will be a nice, if not substantial, diversion.
March 9, 2012
One of the best epic fantasy books I've read in ages. The style is more akin to Moorcock or Howard than Martin or other modern fantasy authors. There were a few minor quibbles I had with character development & plot progression, but nothing to the point that I lost interest in the book. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending, and in the style of most epic fantasy or even pulp fantasy, there were more than enough plot threads left for the next book. I enjoyed this book immensely and am looking forward to Seven Kings, the next in the trilogy.
July 12, 2014
Seven Princes, vol 1 of Books of the Shaper, is fantasy so high that it is a danger to passing aircraft. The main characters are all Kings, Emperors, Princes or sorcerors or a combination thereof – there’s a princess but she is also a sorcerer. They live in enormous palaces with vast hordes of treasure, eat sumptuous feasts, ride magnificent stallions, wear gleaming breastplates, carry enchanted swords, cross desolate mountains, face dreadful dangers, and sometimes the description goes on a bit. The foes they face are ancient, powerful and unquestionably evil, without motive except to conquer and enslave all.
So you’ve got the idea of what to expect: plot by the bucketful, the fall of empires, the death of kings, the treachery of half-brothers, duelling of ancient wizards and zero characterisation. Well no; there is all the plot stuff and an attempt at characterisation. John Fultz spreads his point of view a bit too thin for my liking, but some destinies are questioned, doubts expressed; characters do grow. If he’d stuck to perhaps 3 POVs it would have been more successful.
This book is a throwback to the 80s, maybe even the 70s. If you love stuff from that era then check it out. If you prefer shades of grey characters trying to outsmart/kill each other in a grim medieval setting then I doubt you’ll get a lot out of this.
So you’ve got the idea of what to expect: plot by the bucketful, the fall of empires, the death of kings, the treachery of half-brothers, duelling of ancient wizards and zero characterisation. Well no; there is all the plot stuff and an attempt at characterisation. John Fultz spreads his point of view a bit too thin for my liking, but some destinies are questioned, doubts expressed; characters do grow. If he’d stuck to perhaps 3 POVs it would have been more successful.
This book is a throwback to the 80s, maybe even the 70s. If you love stuff from that era then check it out. If you prefer shades of grey characters trying to outsmart/kill each other in a grim medieval setting then I doubt you’ll get a lot out of this.
April 4, 2012
I had a hard time getting started with this book. At about 30% in though, it started to congeal and started to suck me into it.
I see a lot of reviews of people that had trouble finishing the book, or simply did not finish and I can understand. Like I said, it takes a bit for a flow to establish itself. Once it does, this turns into a solid epic fantasy with fun characters and some decent action and bloody scenes.
One thing of note here is "Seven Princes" stance in common fantasy tropes; It doesn't do a whole lot new in this sense. There's a grand destiny, a quest and and the threat of a great evil; all of the common themes we normally see. That doesn't mean this is a poor story however. While it's not necessarily new, it still makes good use of those themes to tell a solid story with some good world building.
In the end, I felt that some of the confrontations that we were building towards throughout the entirety of the story were wrapped up a bit easily. Not so much a disappointment, but more of a surprise as it did take us a long time to get to said confrontations. Still, things wrapped up decently.
As for characters, they are likable (and deplorable as needed), but they are a bit one dimensional. We only see two of our main characters undertake any real kind of growth through the story and the rest finish much as they started. For further books in this series, which I would say I do look forward to reading more of, it would be nice to see more growth in more of the central characters. These personalities were good and enjoyable; there was no mystery to where they were going to wind up by the time the story ended.
To wrap this up; this is a good fantasy yarn and well worth reading. Push through the slow start and I promise the story will pick up.
I see a lot of reviews of people that had trouble finishing the book, or simply did not finish and I can understand. Like I said, it takes a bit for a flow to establish itself. Once it does, this turns into a solid epic fantasy with fun characters and some decent action and bloody scenes.
One thing of note here is "Seven Princes" stance in common fantasy tropes; It doesn't do a whole lot new in this sense. There's a grand destiny, a quest and and the threat of a great evil; all of the common themes we normally see. That doesn't mean this is a poor story however. While it's not necessarily new, it still makes good use of those themes to tell a solid story with some good world building.
In the end, I felt that some of the confrontations that we were building towards throughout the entirety of the story were wrapped up a bit easily. Not so much a disappointment, but more of a surprise as it did take us a long time to get to said confrontations. Still, things wrapped up decently.
As for characters, they are likable (and deplorable as needed), but they are a bit one dimensional. We only see two of our main characters undertake any real kind of growth through the story and the rest finish much as they started. For further books in this series, which I would say I do look forward to reading more of, it would be nice to see more growth in more of the central characters. These personalities were good and enjoyable; there was no mystery to where they were going to wind up by the time the story ended.
To wrap this up; this is a good fantasy yarn and well worth reading. Push through the slow start and I promise the story will pick up.
December 11, 2013
Fultz writes crazily over-the-top fantasy. If you're a gamer of a certain age and remember Arduin that's the sort of world he's created. Good, good stuff
November 30, 2021
Vivid and poetic prose with epic level of magic.
July 18, 2012
Back when I was given an ARC of Seven Princes I was immediately taken in by the cover-art. The scene depicted, through what seemed a haze (post-battle, if you will) and a definite tenseness, seven figures standing, looking out at the reader or, more probably, facing what they’ve just overcome or preparing to stand against what’s coming. As with all good covers, there was an entire story in that cover, and thinking back there’ve been two other occasions when I had the same reaction – when I first saw Peter V Brett’s UK cover for The Painted Man and then again with the first UK cover for The Left Hand of God. I’m a sucker for a cover that tells a story, because it immediately gives me a sense of what I’m going to encounter in the novel. The cover of Seven Princes won me over straight away, that’s for sure. :-)
When I began the book I was immediately hooked – the story-opener (a Prince who witnesses the fall of his kingdom and the death of almost everyone he cares about) was brutal and tense and exciting, and managed to set up one of the novel’s most important central conflicts nicely. It also introduced one of the characters that would not only grow and mature through the book but also surprise the hell out of me later on – in terms of character-arcs, I never saw it coming. It’s one thing to surprise the reader - it’s something else entirely to pull that surprise off, which John did brilliantly.
The rest of the characters in the novel all resonate for different reasons – a group of siblings are as different to each other as day is to night, even though they grew up under the same roof with the same parents; the prince of another kingdom is the quintessential non-hero, more of a reader and historian than a scion of his house; I could go on but half of the fun in this novel is meeting, getting to know, and journeying with these characters. :-)
The other half has to split into world-building, magic-systems, and the plot.
John put plenty of effort into the world he created – there’s a veritable library-full of backstory that he touches on with legends and myths that mix fact and fancy, just as the legends and myths of our ‘real world’ cultures do; this made the world come alive and imparted a real sense of history and historical weight to the tale.
Magic-wise, Seven Princes has one of the most easily understandable and –to a certain degree- practical magic systems in Fantasy, and I’m sure that many, many readers will enjoy it. It’s grounded in our ‘real world’, but enough so that as the reader I was tempted to try out some of the things that certain characters in the novel do – at least until I turned the page. Then I just had to carry on reading! ;-)
The novel’s plot is intricate but not overwhelmingly so – there’s plenty going on all the time, stories playing out alongside the novel’s main thrust, but none of it detracted from the overall plot, none of it stole the spotlight or pulled away my attention. Sure, there’s plenty I’d love to know more about, especially concerning events that happened in this world’s past, but these alongside-events served to sweeten the pot for me, if you will. :-)
Finally, Seven Princes reminded me why I began reading Fantasy in the first place – the first Fantasy novels I ever read where David Eddings’ The Belgariad, and Seven Princes gave me that same sense of discovering something new and wonderful – it’s not Fantasy in the ‘tradition’ of The Malazan Book of the Fallen or even The Wheel of Time; it’s fun, fresh, entertaining, didn’t bog me down with detail, didn’t overwhelm me with intensity, even though there is plenty of detail in the novel and the journey through it (with the characters) is also an emotional journey. It’s the kind of novel that teens who have decided to leave the Young Adult section behind will love and the kind of novel that will probably remind many adults (of all ages) why they began reading Fantasy in the first place. I loved it and Book 2, Seven Kings, is definitely one of my highly-anticipated future reads. :-)
9 / 10
When I began the book I was immediately hooked – the story-opener (a Prince who witnesses the fall of his kingdom and the death of almost everyone he cares about) was brutal and tense and exciting, and managed to set up one of the novel’s most important central conflicts nicely. It also introduced one of the characters that would not only grow and mature through the book but also surprise the hell out of me later on – in terms of character-arcs, I never saw it coming. It’s one thing to surprise the reader - it’s something else entirely to pull that surprise off, which John did brilliantly.
The rest of the characters in the novel all resonate for different reasons – a group of siblings are as different to each other as day is to night, even though they grew up under the same roof with the same parents; the prince of another kingdom is the quintessential non-hero, more of a reader and historian than a scion of his house; I could go on but half of the fun in this novel is meeting, getting to know, and journeying with these characters. :-)
The other half has to split into world-building, magic-systems, and the plot.
John put plenty of effort into the world he created – there’s a veritable library-full of backstory that he touches on with legends and myths that mix fact and fancy, just as the legends and myths of our ‘real world’ cultures do; this made the world come alive and imparted a real sense of history and historical weight to the tale.
Magic-wise, Seven Princes has one of the most easily understandable and –to a certain degree- practical magic systems in Fantasy, and I’m sure that many, many readers will enjoy it. It’s grounded in our ‘real world’, but enough so that as the reader I was tempted to try out some of the things that certain characters in the novel do – at least until I turned the page. Then I just had to carry on reading! ;-)
The novel’s plot is intricate but not overwhelmingly so – there’s plenty going on all the time, stories playing out alongside the novel’s main thrust, but none of it detracted from the overall plot, none of it stole the spotlight or pulled away my attention. Sure, there’s plenty I’d love to know more about, especially concerning events that happened in this world’s past, but these alongside-events served to sweeten the pot for me, if you will. :-)
Finally, Seven Princes reminded me why I began reading Fantasy in the first place – the first Fantasy novels I ever read where David Eddings’ The Belgariad, and Seven Princes gave me that same sense of discovering something new and wonderful – it’s not Fantasy in the ‘tradition’ of The Malazan Book of the Fallen or even The Wheel of Time; it’s fun, fresh, entertaining, didn’t bog me down with detail, didn’t overwhelm me with intensity, even though there is plenty of detail in the novel and the journey through it (with the characters) is also an emotional journey. It’s the kind of novel that teens who have decided to leave the Young Adult section behind will love and the kind of novel that will probably remind many adults (of all ages) why they began reading Fantasy in the first place. I loved it and Book 2, Seven Kings, is definitely one of my highly-anticipated future reads. :-)
9 / 10
June 7, 2017
((Marked for spoilers, but they're very light spoilers))
Journey before destination is said a lot. It means that the ending isn't as important as everything before it. However, that doesn't mean the ending doesn't matter at all. The ending was too fast, it was so anticlimactic. There were two "final confrontation" scenes, both of which were incredibly fast. There was no real fight in either one and the heroes just won because they did. In fact, we don't even get to see one of the final fights. Instead, we listen to the princess hide and plan with her mentor while the villain is having his ultimate battle with the hero. The villain and the hero both suffered mortal wounds, it might have been nice to actually get to see that happen.
The magic system is so loosely defined that there are no rules to it. If you have magic, you can do things. That's about it. It wasn't very fun.
That being said, the journey was fun and the characters were good. I really enjoyed the twin princes in particular. All of the characters were very well written and had fantastic character arcs. Every location is as unique and very easy to imagine. The prose never went purple and never went stale. It was good and it was fun.
Ultimately, this was a book that was good for the first 90%, but the anti-climactic ending made it feel pointless. A lot of payoff for no reward. I don't regret reading it, but I wouldn't be surprised if I don't pick up the sequels.
Side note: If you get the audiobook, the narrator was fantastic and kinda sounds like Seth Macfarlane.
Journey before destination is said a lot. It means that the ending isn't as important as everything before it. However, that doesn't mean the ending doesn't matter at all. The ending was too fast, it was so anticlimactic. There were two "final confrontation" scenes, both of which were incredibly fast. There was no real fight in either one and the heroes just won because they did. In fact, we don't even get to see one of the final fights. Instead, we listen to the princess hide and plan with her mentor while the villain is having his ultimate battle with the hero. The villain and the hero both suffered mortal wounds, it might have been nice to actually get to see that happen.
The magic system is so loosely defined that there are no rules to it. If you have magic, you can do things. That's about it. It wasn't very fun.
That being said, the journey was fun and the characters were good. I really enjoyed the twin princes in particular. All of the characters were very well written and had fantastic character arcs. Every location is as unique and very easy to imagine. The prose never went purple and never went stale. It was good and it was fun.
Ultimately, this was a book that was good for the first 90%, but the anti-climactic ending made it feel pointless. A lot of payoff for no reward. I don't regret reading it, but I wouldn't be surprised if I don't pick up the sequels.
Side note: If you get the audiobook, the narrator was fantastic and kinda sounds like Seth Macfarlane.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 15, 2018
Holy smokes, what a terrible book.
Too many moving parts, one-dimensional characters, and a plot line that obviously exists for no reason than to set up storylines in later books. No congruent internal story arc or character arcs.
Too many moving parts, one-dimensional characters, and a plot line that obviously exists for no reason than to set up storylines in later books. No congruent internal story arc or character arcs.
December 13, 2025
I’ve read the trilogy, here is my quick review without spoilers…
The Seven Princes felt like it sets the stage with the world building, but didn’t really make me feel for any of the characters. I’d rate this book 3.6/5 stars
The Seven Kings builds off the events of the second book but made the story feel more grounded for me. There was more focus on characters development and there were characters I grew to root for and root against as events unfolded. This book also had a much darker tone than the first or third books in the trilogy which i personally liked. Id rate this book 4/5 stars
The Seven Sorcerers expands upon the world building, diving deeper in the history of sorcerers (obvious by the title). There were decisions made by some characters (from Seven Kings and Seven Sorcerers) which I wasn’t a fan of personally. Some information just felt regurgitated from the previous two books which I felt unnecessary personally but helpful if you needed a recap I guess. Overall I was satisfied with how the third book wrapped up the trilogy. I’ll just say I felt bad for my boy D’zan over the trilogy, did him dirty tbh. I’d rate this book 3.8/5 stars.
The Seven Princes felt like it sets the stage with the world building, but didn’t really make me feel for any of the characters. I’d rate this book 3.6/5 stars
The Seven Kings builds off the events of the second book but made the story feel more grounded for me. There was more focus on characters development and there were characters I grew to root for and root against as events unfolded. This book also had a much darker tone than the first or third books in the trilogy which i personally liked. Id rate this book 4/5 stars
The Seven Sorcerers expands upon the world building, diving deeper in the history of sorcerers (obvious by the title). There were decisions made by some characters (from Seven Kings and Seven Sorcerers) which I wasn’t a fan of personally. Some information just felt regurgitated from the previous two books which I felt unnecessary personally but helpful if you needed a recap I guess. Overall I was satisfied with how the third book wrapped up the trilogy. I’ll just say I felt bad for my boy D’zan over the trilogy, did him dirty tbh. I’d rate this book 3.8/5 stars.
August 3, 2018
More of a 2½ but I'm generous today. According to the author blurb here, the author cites Dunsany, C.A. Smith et al, as literary heroes. You can tell, as this story could easily have been penned by Smith, such is the occasionally florid and entertaining wordplay. That aside, this novel is an epic fantasy homage to films like Seven Samurai or the better known The Magnificent Seven. Despite some reviews here, this isn't a rewrite of said films, as the plots differ - nobody's hired the seven princes to defend anything. Instead, this is about alliances to get back an overthrown kingdom.
It's entertaining and the author's style certainly helps, but the net result is a mark or so above mere serviceable. There's some definite lulls among all the highlights, and I could argue the characterisations have taken a back seat to prosody and world-building. I'm not sure if I want to read the remainder of the series.
It's entertaining and the author's style certainly helps, but the net result is a mark or so above mere serviceable. There's some definite lulls among all the highlights, and I could argue the characterisations have taken a back seat to prosody and world-building. I'm not sure if I want to read the remainder of the series.
June 18, 2019
Just a few words for now, I’ll probably come back to this review and add more thoughts as they occur. First of all, this was a great fantasy novel. I’ll admit it took me too long to read it, but that was due mostly a stretch of busy “life” getting in the way of reading time, not because of any frustration with the story. I don’t read much modern fantasy, but this one had some old-school appeal in the form of colorful writing and grand, sweeping vistas for our characters to adventure in. I detected hints of Clark Ashton Smith, and Robert E Howard in John’s prose. It also had the feel of legend and myth, rather than grim and gritty ‘realism’ that seems to dominate fantasy today. But it’s still dark and bloody at times, and that’s a good thing. However, the overall feeling is not overpowering gloom or nihilistic grimness. I like my fantasy Fantastical and entertaining, filled with wonder and adventure. John nailed it, in my opinion. I will read more...
October 31, 2018
This book works as a standalone, and perhaps the kindest thing I can say about it is that it's okay. There's nothing to recommend about it - it's a traditional tale of good vs evil, with good triumphing. The writing is workmanlike and the ending well-telegraphed - you're not looking for many surprises here. The characters are the standard princes and princesses going to war against evil.
Perhaps the folly is that it tries to be too ambitious - yes, we meet seven princes, but each of them feels lightly drawn out. I finished the book just not caring about them.
2/5
Perhaps the folly is that it tries to be too ambitious - yes, we meet seven princes, but each of them feels lightly drawn out. I finished the book just not caring about them.
2/5
August 11, 2020
I first read a short story of John Fultz’s in Weirdbook #37 that was pretty awesome, and so I bought this novel. I’ve been reading it during the whole shutdown, and I’ve enjoyed every sentence and was pleased to discover such a well-developed, original, and fantastical creation that sort of reminds me of a blend of both the rich details of high fantasy and the action of sword and sorcery. Of course, I’ve already ordered Seven Kings and can’t wait for it to arrive! Thank you for writing these books, John R. Fultz!
August 11, 2017
It's a bad sign for a book when I'm more interested in correcting a book's grammar than I am in the story. The first page had a grammar issue big enough that I had to read a line multiple times to figure out what the author meant, and the same issue was repeated on the next page. The story seemed very stereotypical fantasy -- nothing original. Characters were "types" instead of people (typical evil sorcerer, etc). Abandoned.
July 18, 2023
Prince D'zan seeks revenge for the death of his father at the hands of a sorcerer. In doing so, he calls upon the help of the kingdoms of men and giants. Seven princes' fates are now tied together, for better or worse.
I really liked this book. I thought it was an interesting way to approach a revenge story. It took a different route than most fantasy revenge stories do and I really appreciated that!
I really liked this book. I thought it was an interesting way to approach a revenge story. It took a different route than most fantasy revenge stories do and I really appreciated that!
April 11, 2019
This book was a pain to read. The author presents a lot of promise of adventure, only to disappoint with asinine plot and shallow characters. It was actually infuriating to realize how horrible this book was; when I found I wasn’t going to enjoy it half way through I resolved to finish it to write a bad review on it, and even then it wasn’t worth it. Please make this man stop writing.
June 26, 2024
This is a prime example of all Tell and no Show. Some authors can pull it off, this one couldn't (IMO)--It was a slog! I even found myself bookmarking parts right in the middle of action scenes. This book was almost a DNF for me.
February 5, 2020
I both liked and disliked. It was enjoyable enough but not enough that I was excited to read more. I wont go on in this series despite a couple interesting characters.
October 4, 2021
I like a lot of the character concepts and the setting. There is a lot of potential but it somehow fails at being a coherent narrative. Will eventually try his next book and see how it holds up.
December 12, 2018
File this under 'wish I hadn't bothered'
February 8, 2012
Original Post: http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/02/...
I’ve been anticipating this début ever since I saw the awesome cover art on Orbit’s website sometime last year. However, if I’m being honest, I nearly didn’t pick up Seven Princes, after reading several negative reviews about it. But, in the end, the cover-art and the blurb won out, so I decided to give John R. Fultz a try, eager to see what a new author would bring to the epic fantasy. After all, novels such as the Riyria Revelations series by Michael J. Sullivan, The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie, and Wolfsangel by MD Lachlan have both proved that Epic Fantasy has still got some fight left in it, so I was wondering what new things would await me in Seven Princes.
And as it turned out, not much. Sure, there’s a variety of species that I’ve not seen much about explored in this novel, with everything from Giants to Sea-Serpents, but there’s nothing new to bring to epic fantasy, nothing that we haven’t seen before. As it turns out, Seven Princes shared several more things in common with my favourite Western movie, The Magnificent Seven, and perhaps, although I’ve not seen it, the sci-fi movie Battle Beyond the Stars as well. How does that work then? Well, let me show you:
In front of the disbelieving eyes of Prince D’zan, an ancient necromancer appears and slaughters his father and his court, driving the Prince from his kingdom with one goal in his mind, the desire to reclaim his throne. That’s very similar to The Magnificent Seven, except if you replace D’zan with farmers, and kingdom with village, and soon – I was beginning to wonder if I would stick with the novel at all. However, I was glad that I did, because what a novel Seven Princes turned out to be, and although it’s part of the Books of the Shaper series, Fultz could have probably taken out quite a few elements of this book and left the novel as a standalone.
Fultz here has created a novel with a fantastic prose that is well-written, and although the characters didn’t make you feel sorry for their plights, and although you didn’t really favour one more than the other, they were well created despite this flaw, as the author helps us see the world through their eyes, and through their means, even if they do seem somewhat simple.
Another thing that seemed to bug me about Seven Princes, although oddly not that much, was the fact that it’s pretty predictable. You know what’s going to happen at the end, and you know which side’s going to come out on top. However, the same can be said of the (mostly) fantastic, multi-author Horus Heresy series published by Black Library – those that are familiar with the worlds that it’s set in will know what happens, and it will be predictable all the way through, but that doesn’t stop readers enjoying the novel, and that is the what I found to be the case here, with Seven Princes. Predictable, but enjoyable.
The novel contained some epic battle scenes within its pages, ignoring the fact that they might have been a tad bit predictable – and I think there are some epic set-pieces that kept me reading, and got me really into the novel as a whole.
I mentioned earlier about the fact that the novel is predictable, but it’s not that predictable, if you get what I mean, for Fultz isn’t afraid to raze cities, knock off major characters, and destroy mighty vessels in order to do his best to keep the reader reading, and that is one of the things that I liked about this novel.
The pacing of Seven Princes is pretty uneven, and there are some parts where the action speeds through at a remarkable pace, whilst in others you will find yourself struggling to push through without skipping to the next scene, which I admit – is one of the disadvantages of reading a 500+ page novel, especially one by a début author – and one that’s epic fantasy.
However, all that said, I still think that this book kept me entertained enough to pick up the sequel upon its release. I’m going to say that you should give it a try, but don’t go in with high expectations.
Verdict: 3/5
I’ve been anticipating this début ever since I saw the awesome cover art on Orbit’s website sometime last year. However, if I’m being honest, I nearly didn’t pick up Seven Princes, after reading several negative reviews about it. But, in the end, the cover-art and the blurb won out, so I decided to give John R. Fultz a try, eager to see what a new author would bring to the epic fantasy. After all, novels such as the Riyria Revelations series by Michael J. Sullivan, The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie, and Wolfsangel by MD Lachlan have both proved that Epic Fantasy has still got some fight left in it, so I was wondering what new things would await me in Seven Princes.
And as it turned out, not much. Sure, there’s a variety of species that I’ve not seen much about explored in this novel, with everything from Giants to Sea-Serpents, but there’s nothing new to bring to epic fantasy, nothing that we haven’t seen before. As it turns out, Seven Princes shared several more things in common with my favourite Western movie, The Magnificent Seven, and perhaps, although I’ve not seen it, the sci-fi movie Battle Beyond the Stars as well. How does that work then? Well, let me show you:
In front of the disbelieving eyes of Prince D’zan, an ancient necromancer appears and slaughters his father and his court, driving the Prince from his kingdom with one goal in his mind, the desire to reclaim his throne. That’s very similar to The Magnificent Seven, except if you replace D’zan with farmers, and kingdom with village, and soon – I was beginning to wonder if I would stick with the novel at all. However, I was glad that I did, because what a novel Seven Princes turned out to be, and although it’s part of the Books of the Shaper series, Fultz could have probably taken out quite a few elements of this book and left the novel as a standalone.
Fultz here has created a novel with a fantastic prose that is well-written, and although the characters didn’t make you feel sorry for their plights, and although you didn’t really favour one more than the other, they were well created despite this flaw, as the author helps us see the world through their eyes, and through their means, even if they do seem somewhat simple.
Another thing that seemed to bug me about Seven Princes, although oddly not that much, was the fact that it’s pretty predictable. You know what’s going to happen at the end, and you know which side’s going to come out on top. However, the same can be said of the (mostly) fantastic, multi-author Horus Heresy series published by Black Library – those that are familiar with the worlds that it’s set in will know what happens, and it will be predictable all the way through, but that doesn’t stop readers enjoying the novel, and that is the what I found to be the case here, with Seven Princes. Predictable, but enjoyable.
The novel contained some epic battle scenes within its pages, ignoring the fact that they might have been a tad bit predictable – and I think there are some epic set-pieces that kept me reading, and got me really into the novel as a whole.
I mentioned earlier about the fact that the novel is predictable, but it’s not that predictable, if you get what I mean, for Fultz isn’t afraid to raze cities, knock off major characters, and destroy mighty vessels in order to do his best to keep the reader reading, and that is one of the things that I liked about this novel.
The pacing of Seven Princes is pretty uneven, and there are some parts where the action speeds through at a remarkable pace, whilst in others you will find yourself struggling to push through without skipping to the next scene, which I admit – is one of the disadvantages of reading a 500+ page novel, especially one by a début author – and one that’s epic fantasy.
However, all that said, I still think that this book kept me entertained enough to pick up the sequel upon its release. I’m going to say that you should give it a try, but don’t go in with high expectations.
Verdict: 3/5
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