Sword of Fire and Sea (The Chaos Knight, #1) by Erin Hoffman

Oct 13, 2011 Rae rated it it was ok

Shelves: swords-and-sorcery, adventure, if-there-is-nothing-better

The summary here seems to be for the series as a whole as very little of what they tell you on the back here has much to do with three quarters of the book. Also, there is no imperial intrigue, everyone seems to know gryphons exist and the gryphons never left the world setting. But as the author probably doesn't have much control over what they put there, let's not hold that against them shall we? Just make a note of it.

While there are some interesting premises in this book, the story suffers fr The summary here seems to be for the series as a whole as very little of what they tell you on the back here has much to do with three quarters of the book. Also, there is no imperial intrigue, everyone seems to know gryphons exist and the gryphons never left the world setting. But as the author probably doesn't have much control over what they put there, let's not hold that against them shall we? Just make a note of it.

While there are some interesting premises in this book, the story suffers from some serious problems. The least of which is the world setting. There is little to no description of it. You never get a feel for the magic system, or what kinds of creatures exist in this fantasy realm. For most of the book the only supernatural creatures you run into are the gryphons and some strange smelly beasts that people ride and are never described. Then at the end of the book, surprise! The imperial army has flying horses. Why were only hearing about these now?! And why is the imperial army there anyway? They were barely mentioned until then they have nothing to do with what's been happening in the book.

The author is clearly so familiar with the world setting that she forgot to establish it for the rest of us. Even now I'm not sure what the baskets that the main characters rode about in the entire book look like, or how they're carried. They're apparently boat-like, but whether they're carried on the gryphon's back, or carried below the gryphon like a hand basket is still a mystery to me. They might be suspended between the gryphons... I'm guessing this because of a throwaway comment at the end of the book.

I'm rather disappointed that the editors didn't catch this.

Another of the major problems this book has is the characters. They have no depth.Most of them have no motive other than "the plot demands it." One character who was previously on their side turns out to be plotting against them but there's no rhyme or reason to them switching sides. In the beginning of the story, Vidarian tells the priestess to bind the emeralds to his life force, but there's no reason for him to do this, no inner thoughts to tell us why he would think this is a good idea. I actually went back and reread that paragraph to see if I had missed something. Unfortunately I hadn't. The romance in the story is flat because of the lack of character development. The characters just rush from one place to another with little inner growth. Although some of them gain new abilities, they remain static in all other respects.

At best, this book is inconsistent. Important plot elements, like the genetic problem mentioned on the back of the book aren't mentioned until one of the characters begins to suffer from said disorder. It was as if the author suddenly realized that she needed a reason for one of the other characters to decide on the earth shattering choice and could find no other way to make them do it other than to put one of the other members of the party in danger. If the genetic disorder had been mentioned earlier it could have been used to create suspense and worry for the characters, but instead it just popped out of the blue. This isn't the only incident where this sort of problem occurs. Because of the thin world building and lack of time establishing the characters, the story just runs about with things popping up out of nowhere to force the characters to go somewhere, meet someone, or to do something. In this sense the characters are all very passive. They wander aimlessly until forced to do things by outside elements. The only character who actually makes a decision is Vidarian, and that occurs maybe three times in 273 pages.

According to the author's notes, this book was based off a shared online text RP story, and I have to say it shows. The constant dashing about from one interesting thing to the next interesting thing is very characteristic of online RPs as well as new plot elements popping up out of nowhere. While this works well online in a shared universe and makes for an interesting game, it doesn't translate to prose very well. In prose, you have to ground your reader in the universe. You have to establish the rules of that universe and if you break them you have to justify it. You can't suddenly have something pop up that all the characters knew about beforehand and worried about but not tell the reader until after it happened. It's just poor storytelling.

That said, the world setting has the opportunity to be unique. The magic system form what little was shown was different and has the potential to be really interesting. If the characters develop more as the series progresses, it'll be interesting to see just how they react to the changes and situations they find them in. But this book isn't at that point yet. I have a feeling that this series may get better, but I think I'll wait and see if it gets better before buying the next book in this series. ...more

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Jun 04, 2011 Stacey O'Neale rated it really liked it

This review was completed by Michael Cummings, staff reviewer with the YA Fantasy Guide

As readers of epic fantasy, we are spoiled. We've come to expect that anything labeled epic must be epic in all regards. It must require epic feats of strength to carry it; it must be epic in length and effort to read it; it must have an epic length cast. Reading Erin Hoffman's debut novel, "Sword of Fire and Sea," will be a shock to the system for most epic fantasy readers who haven't experienced fantasy from This review was completed by Michael Cummings, staff reviewer with the YA Fantasy Guide

As readers of epic fantasy, we are spoiled. We've come to expect that anything labeled epic must be epic in all regards. It must require epic feats of strength to carry it; it must be epic in length and effort to read it; it must have an epic length cast. Reading Erin Hoffman's debut novel, "Sword of Fire and Sea," will be a shock to the system for most epic fantasy readers who haven't experienced fantasy from the recent batch of new to the scene fantasy authors. Hoffman employs an economy of words that is near terse - there are no wasted descriptions, no wasted scenes.

As the blurb from Pyr goes, three generations ago Captain Vidarian Rulorat's great-grandfather gave up an imperial commission to marry a fire priestess. For love, he unwittingly obligated his descendants toan allegiance with the High Temple of Kara'zul, domain of the firepriestesses. Now Vidarian, the last surviving member of the Rulorat family, struggles to uphold his family's legacy. All of this, of course, is background, and this is about as much as is revealed in the novel itself. You can easily disregard the rest of the back flap's description of the book, because the book quickly changes course more than once as you weave through the story. Hoffman does a great job of keeping you turning those pages, though, so that it isn't until the novel is done and you glance at the back of the cover that you remember to ask yourself, whatever happened with that plot point?

For a time of the year when the northern hemisphere fantasy readers are looking for "beach books," preferably something shorter than the tomes the likes of Rothfuss and Sanderson are putting out (which aregreat, but ruin your tan by blocking out the sun as you struggle to hold a thousand page monstrosity up and turn the page), Hoffman's debut will be a fun delight.

My only complaint about the novel, and I'm phrasing this so it isn't a spoiler, is - really? "Correctamundo?" "See you later, alligator?" You've got a lot of explaining to do, Ms. Hoffman :) ...more

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Apr 01, 2011 Liviu rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read_2011, genre-fantasy, 2011_release_read

This is another fun page turner from Pyr that came unexpectedly two days ago and took over my reading; high magic adventure this time, but the same relentless action, exuberance and occasional over the top scenes that work well here.

Sword of Fire and Sea is also a book that flows well despite that it changes its balance and focus at least twice - so for example the blurb while accurate as it goes is a bit misleading - , the transitions are done so well you really do not notice until you think a ...more

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Jul 24, 2011 Greg rated it it was amazing

Erin Hoffman enters the epic fantasy
With a strong slim volume during a summer with much anticipated doorstop volumes that may eclipse this well worthy new author. Her world is one that will feel familiar, her story moves fast and characters decisions have effects that are felt now rather then later. The art on the cover implies a but of a Japanese RPG feeling and it does not go much wrong; there is a depth to the world and it's history that will make you hunger for the next volume to see what th ...more

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Aug 24, 2011 Shaun Duke rated it really liked it

Erin Hoffman's debut novel is a traditional high fantasy romp formed from the ashes of a collaborative project. It's origins are a bit unusual in a field of secondary world fantasies created by individuals with Tolkien on the mind, and the effort to move beyond the collaboration shows in the development of the world's magic system, mechanics and all. As a novel, Sword of Fire and Sea leaves something to be desired, but as a fantasy adventure, it hits all the right marks.

Vidarian, a reputable shi Erin Hoffman's debut novel is a traditional high fantasy romp formed from the ashes of a collaborative project. It's origins are a bit unusual in a field of secondary world fantasies created by individuals with Tolkien on the mind, and the effort to move beyond the collaboration shows in the development of the world's magic system, mechanics and all. As a novel, Sword of Fire and Sea leaves something to be desired, but as a fantasy adventure, it hits all the right marks.

Vidarian, a reputable ship captain, gets caught up in a complex web of magic-wielding priestesses when he reluctantly agrees to ferry fire priestess Ariadel to a safe haven. There, the priestesses hope, the Vkortha, their mortal enemies, will not be able to find Ariadel, whose abilities might threaten Vkorthan power. But the journey takes Vidarian and his crew through dangerous waters, where pirates and sorceresses await. Yet more shockingly, the journey reveals a destiny that Vidarian never knew he had, one which puts the fate of the world in his hands: in the end, he will
have to choose between one future and another, digging through centuries of myth and legends to find the right "choice."

One the interesting things about Hoffman's novel is its bipolar adherence to the traditional forms of fantasy. While at the heart of the narrative can be found a cliche "chosen one" story in the form of Vidarian, the narrative also takes away the security of knowing what is the "right choice" for the mythical figure. Vidarian not only must choose which future is the right one for his world, but he must also do so without knowing for sure which choice is the right one, all while fending off Imperial soldiers who want to prevent him from making any choice whatsoever and others who want him to choose one path or another. The novel never betrays its answers in this regard, which might help boost it above other high fantasy novels floating out there.

But beyond that, Sword of Fire and Sea is essentially an adventure fantasy akin to the adventure novels of the romantic period. There isn't anything wrong with this, but it is important to recognize. A great deal of the novel is occupied with action: ships in combat, the heroes fighting back enemies of various shapes and sizes, heavy uses of magic, searching for enormous mystical creatures and combating unknowns. Thankfully, the novel avoids the pitfalls of D&D dungeon crawlers. While the characters do have to "collect things" in order to succeed in their mission, Hoffman avoids making such collecting about fighting back nameless, faceless monsters in "secret places" (a.k.a. a dungeon or magical forest). The people involved in stopping Vidarian and Ariadel are the very people one wouldn't expect to turn their backs, which adds some depth to a novel which doesn't show itself as particularly "deep" (as most adventure novels don't, even when "depth" does exist).

In many respects, Hoffman's balance between adventure, manipulated cliche, and character make for a compelling novel that is a lot of fun to read. Personally, I am not an adventure fantasy fan, and I have a very short leash for the trappings of the fantasy genre. But Sword of Fire and Sea navigated those trappings in a way that allowed me to get lost in the excitement. If not for all of the characters being adults, you might expect this story to show up on your young adult shelves, enticing teenagers (and the adults like me who sometimes pretend to be teenagers) with its magic and wonder. There's something to be said about the way we read YA fantasy, as opposed to fantasy marketed for an adult audience (in which teenagers undoubtedly implant themselves, because they like Tolkien and GRRM too). But that's something to think about later.

The adventurous nature of Sword of Fire and Sea, however, is also where a some of Hoffman's flaws can be found. While enjoyable, the novel often moves too swiftly, jumping through significant moments of conflict to get the characters to the next "level." The result is a lack of tension for many important aspects of the novel. Yes, Vidarian often must fight against unusual things, sometimes at overwhelming odds, but his success in these ventures sometimes feels too easy; he rarely sheds blood, or Hoffman allows her characters to escape. One examples involves the fire priestesses, in which Vidarian and his companions learn and ugly truth and are trapped by the Vkortha. Without much in the way of physical conflict, they manage to escape, taking flight in a gryphon-pulled basket that conveniently lay in wait. There are other instances like this; each of them detracts from the worry we should have as readers that something might actually happen to Vidarian or his friends. Of course, things do happen to them, but I would have liked some of the physical conflicts to take part in those "happenings." Largely speaking, the physical conflicts in Sword of Fire and Sea serve to maintain the adventure narrative.

One other aspect of the novel which is given weak treatment is the growing romance between Vidarian and Ariadel. Their relationship develops far too swiftly, the result of which is a strain on our ability to suspend disbelief. Hoffman skips a lot of time early in the novel in order to avoid pages and pages of people walking on the deck of a ship, but more scenes between Vidarian and Ariadel might have helped show how they went from mere acquaintances to close friends to lovers. Without such scenes, the romance comes out of nowhere and Vidarian's motives for much of the last half of the book lack the power needed to justify his actions.

Despite this, however, the book is a load of fun, and it does leave a lot of interesting questions to be answered in future volumes. Unlike some traditional fantasy narratives, Vidarian's stint as a "chosen one" ends in the first book, hinting that what will occupy the next two in the series (yes, another trilogy) are the conflicts arising from his choices as a chosen one. I have a feeling that Hoffman is going to take us into very different territory from this point forward. I, for one, am looking forward to it. ...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Kerri rated it it was ok

I picked up this book on whim during one of my adventures to the book store. I was immediately lured in by the artwork on the cover, the title, and the book summary. I was so eager to start reading it that I did so amidst my friends. I really wanted to love it. There were so many interesting ideas put forward! With so much fantasy at work, how could it fail to appeal to my tastes?

Well, sometimes a lot can be too much, as I quite rapidly discovered. Nothing is developed. You have so many ideas an ...more

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Jun 01, 2011 Lexie rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-once-owned

I am, have always been, a big fan of fantasy. By far my favorite genre, it's also the only genre I am willing to take on the risk of reading a new author with a concept that sounds a little shaky without giving it too much thought. It's how I found some of my current favorites (Brandon Sanderson, Rachel Aaron, Juliet Marillier) and how I'll likely find future favorites. Erin Hoffman included.

Don't let the cover mislead you, this isn't a sweet toothed fantasy with gilded pretty ladies and handsom I am, have always been, a big fan of fantasy. By far my favorite genre, it's also the only genre I am willing to take on the risk of reading a new author with a concept that sounds a little shaky without giving it too much thought. It's how I found some of my current favorites (Brandon Sanderson, Rachel Aaron, Juliet Marillier) and how I'll likely find future favorites. Erin Hoffman included.

Don't let the cover mislead you, this isn't a sweet toothed fantasy with gilded pretty ladies and handsome men. Nor is this Asian inspired, despite the Asian fantasy cover art (which I adore, but feels a little out of place amongst the fantasy covers of Dan Dos Santos and Michael Whelan). Instead Hoffman draws on her gaming years to create a fully visualized world efficiently and without having the reader chug through chapters of backstory.

Despite its short length, under 300 pages, SWORD OF FIRE AND SEA uses its space wisely. It doesn't waste words or build in details that will have more significance later in the story. Hoffman focuses quite squarely on the here and now for Vidarian and Ariadel, giving us just enough to understand their situation(s) and motivations.

This is definitely more like the fantasy series of when I was younger and will likely appeal to anyone who enjoys RPGs (Role Playing Games) or MMO's games (Massive Multipleplayer Online). There is a definite 'quest' feel to each of their adventures as Hoffman tosses surprises at them and character relationships are built quickly and predicated on past association or some bonding element.

Surprisingly much of what is outlined in the blurb is not helpful until closer to the end of the book. Though much of it has ramifications (such as the rare genetic disease) the characters don't confront the issues until later on.

Though this is the start of a larger series, its self-contained enough that readers shouldn't feel stunted or unfulfilled. Truthfully speaking a reader could read this and be satisfied with the ending. For the moment I don't know what the second book is about, or who it features or what adventures they'll have, but the questions brought forth in this book were answered and fleshed out.which is enough for me any day of the week.
...more

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Apr 27, 2011 Michael Cummings rated it really liked it

As readers of epic fantasy, we are spoiled. We've come to expect that anything labeled epic must be epic in all regards. It must require epic feats of strength to carry it; it must be epic in length and effort to read it; it must have an epic length cast. Reading Erin Hoffman's debut novel, "Sword of Fire and Sea," will be a shock to the system for most epic fantasy readers who haven't experienced fantasy from the recent batch of new to the scene fantasy authors. Hoffman employs an economy of w As readers of epic fantasy, we are spoiled. We've come to expect that anything labeled epic must be epic in all regards. It must require epic feats of strength to carry it; it must be epic in length and effort to read it; it must have an epic length cast. Reading Erin Hoffman's debut novel, "Sword of Fire and Sea," will be a shock to the system for most epic fantasy readers who haven't experienced fantasy from the recent batch of new to the scene fantasy authors. Hoffman employs an economy of words that is near terse - there are no wasted descriptions, no wasted scenes.

As the blurb from Pyr goes, three generations ago Captain Vidarian Rulorat's great-grandfather gave up an imperial commission to marry a
fire priestess. For love, he unwittingly obligated his descendants to an allegiance with the High Temple of Kara'zul, domain of the fire priestesses. Now Vidarian, the last surviving member of the Rulorat family, struggles to uphold his family's legacy. All of this, of course, is background, and this is about as much as is revealed in the novel itself. You can easily disregard the rest of the back flap's description of the book, because the book quickly changes course more than once as you weave through the story. Hoffman does a great job of keeping you turning those pages, though, so that it isn't until the novel is done and you glance at the back of the cover that you remember to ask yourself, whatever happened with that plot point?

For a time of the year when the northern hemisphere fantasy readers are looking for "beach books," preferably something shorter than the tomes the likes of Rothfuss and Sanderson are putting out (which are great, but ruin your tan by blocking out the sun as you struggle to hold a thousand page monstrosity up and turn the page), Hoffman's debut will be a fun delight.

My only complaint about the novel, and I'm phrasing this so it isn't a spoiler, is - really? "Correctamundo?" "See you later, alligator?" You've got a lot of explaining to do, Ms. Hoffman :) ...more

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Jul 06, 2011 Jon Sprunk rated it really liked it

Erin Hoffman's debut shows a remarkable deftness in storytelling and beautiful language. Some of her descriptions are so good they actually made me stop and read them again just to appreciate the lilt of the prose. This is an adventure story with heart. ...more

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Oct 24, 2011 Justin rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-2011, fantasy, 2011-debut, 2011-release, pyr

http://staffersmusings.blogspot.com/2...

I have a sneaking suspicion that Sword of Fire and Sea is going to be one of the more polarizing novels of 2011 as a perfect example of form over substance. Erin Hoffman's debut from Pyr has a beautiful voice, and a fully realized, textured world. It has gryphons, pegasus, and elemental magic all of which evoke whimsy and a general sense of romance. Ultimately though, the primary motive force of any novel is its story and there Hoffman falls flat, faili ...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Alan rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: book-disliked

First I'm gonna start by saying I could not finish this book. The writing wasn't really good enough to make me "feel" for the characters. The writing style was more of a story telling then dialogue driven, and for me that's the best way for an author to endear their characters to me, through good dialogue. On the other hand the author did a very good job discribing the settings and scenery, and I imagine that had I finished the book it would have shown good world building.

One aspect I didn't lik ...more

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May 03, 2012 Joseph rated it really liked it · review of another edition

High-seas adventure, elemental magic and world-changing events. And gryphons! Did I mention the gryphons?

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Nov 06, 2018 Kes rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2018, fiction

This book wasn't great. The plot was entirely predictable and bounced along, hitting major scenes without much buildup. I couldn't bring myself to care for the characters at all.

The book's summary does half of the introduction: Vidarian Rulorat's ancestor married a fire priestess; Vidarian is now hired to escort another fire priestess to the Water Temple. We only find out what the rare genetic disease is in the later chapters: in this universe, everyone carries an elemental affiliation (to air, ...more

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Jul 05, 2011 Sarah Gonzalez rated it really liked it

originally posted @ http://thatbookishgirl.blogspot.com/2...

Sword of Fire and Sea by Erin Hoffman was an incredibly exciting and compelling read. Hoffman covers a lot of ground in this debut and the direction changes quite a few times. Yet somehow she manages to keep the story flowing and the reader engaged. You don’t always know where the story is trying to go, but nonetheless, it is still enjoyable. Considering that Sword of Fire and Sea is a relatively short for a fantasy read, Hoffman manage originally posted @ http://thatbookishgirl.blogspot.com/2...

Sword of Fire and Sea by Erin Hoffman was an incredibly exciting and compelling read. Hoffman covers a lot of ground in this debut and the direction changes quite a few times. Yet somehow she manages to keep the story flowing and the reader engaged. You don’t always know where the story is trying to go, but nonetheless, it is still enjoyable. Considering that Sword of Fire and Sea is a relatively short for a fantasy read, Hoffman manages to cram a lot of plot into the 200+ pages. I felt like the book set a challenge and solved and moved on to something new a number of times. Does that make sense to you? The plotline just kept progressing and progressing; therefore the goals of the characters changed throughout the story as well.

That being said, I never once felt like things dragged. Although the writing is long-winded and descriptive (Hoffman is definitely a fan of complex sentences), she doesn’t go off on unnecessary tangents. A lot of times in fantasies I get overwhelmed by the writing, but that wasn’t a problem here. Yes, the author uses the eloquent, lush and lavish writing style that fantasy readers are used to, but she always stays focused on the topic. You won’t find a two page description of a tree or a rock here.

The characters were all intriguing and unique in their own way. There is the main character, Vidarian, who fits well in the role of reluctant hero. Then we have the fire priestess Ariadel, who develops a rather defiant rebellious streak. Let’s not forget the gryphons – I instantly took a liking to them. You never really know what to expect from them and they certainly keep things interesting.

I will say that the relationship between Ariadel and Vidarian threw me a bit. Maybe I just gotten to used to paranormal romances, but I felt the story was really lacking build up. There are a few passages in which Vidarian expresses interest in the priestesses’ appearance, but nothing major. Then, suddenly they are a couple. I enjoyed the two of them together; I just wish their relationship had shown more progression. Although, the apparent jumpiness of their relationship could be attributed to lack of timeline. Honestly, Hoffman may have instituted a timeline, but I had a hard time keeping track. Like I said before, a lot happens within the book and I just completely lost track of time. I don’t know if the events of the book take place over days, week or months.

Another small issue I had with the book was that some of the dialogue felt out of place. I don’t want to dive too deeply into it, because I don’t want to spoil plot points, but at times the exchanges between characters felt rather odd. There are a few different cases when Hoffman uses modern expressions and slang and they just did not mesh well with tone and feeling of the book.

I am very curious to see where Hoffman takes the next book. I was incredibly shocked that she wrapped up the ending the way she did, there was quite a bit of resolution. There was a clear opening for the story line to progress, but the characters met the goal they set out to accomplish. How many times does that happen in the first book of a fantasy series? Honestly, I felt like I was getting away with something to get as much plot resolution as we did.

Long story short, I enjoyed Sword of Fire and Sea. It was full of rich, descriptive, yet focused writing - which is hard to come by. The characters and plotline were intriguing and I had a good time reading it. The plotline was fast paced and the characters accomplished a great deal throughout the story. Although it wasn’t perfect, I still say it was a tremendous effort from Hoffman. ...more

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Jul 08, 2011 Stefan rated it did not like it

Shelves: fantasy, did-not-finish

At the start of Erin Hoffman’s debut novel Sword of Fire and Sea, Captain Vidarian is tasked by the priestess Endera to transport Ariadel, a young fire priestess, to the safety of a water temple. The journey will be dangerous, because Ariadel is pursued by the telepathic Vkortha, so Vidarian is understandably reluctant to take on the assignment, but when Endera invokes an old pact between his family and the Temple of Kara’zul, he has no choice but to comply....

For many reasons, I rarely give up At the start of Erin Hoffman’s debut novel Sword of Fire and Sea, Captain Vidarian is tasked by the priestess Endera to transport Ariadel, a young fire priestess, to the safety of a water temple. The journey will be dangerous, because Ariadel is pursued by the telepathic Vkortha, so Vidarian is understandably reluctant to take on the assignment, but when Endera invokes an old pact between his family and the Temple of Kara’zul, he has no choice but to comply....

For many reasons, I rarely give up on fantasy debuts, especially ones by authors from my hometown San Diego, but Sword of Fire and Sea by Erin Hoffman just didn’t have what it takes to keep me reading past the midway point — and even making it that far was a struggle.

If anything, Sword of Fire and Sea feels like a choppy novelization of what could be a great role-playing game. There is a plot, set in a well-realized world and involving an intricate magic system, but everything is introduced so haphazardly that it’s hard to figure out the true import of the early events until things settle down later on. There’s also very little character development early on, so characters like Vidarian, Ariadel and Endera don’t acquire any depth and remain templates.

As a result, the hectic, sometimes over-dramatic events of the first section of the novel (sea battles! gryphons! magic! romance!) just don’t have much impact on the reader. You can’t care much for the characters because they’re barely more than stick figures, and the world’s history and structure aren’t sufficiently explained yet to make everything feel real. All the high drama just doesn’t work without a context to place it in. This context will supposedly come later in the novel, but after slogging through over 100 pages of scenes full of characters I didn’t care for in an exotic but insubstantial world, I decided to call it a day. The start of the novel’s second section suggests that there’s some depth and history to the fantasy universe Erin Hoffman has created, and I’m sure the characters will eventually make it out of the cardboard realm too, but Sword of Fire and Sea simply takes too long to grab the reader’s interest.

It also doesn’t help that the prose frequently takes on a vivid purple hue:

Where Endera had been a polished, silvery flame with alabaster skin and golden hair and eyes, this Priestess Windhammer was a dusky ember, dark gold her complexion and raven black the long braid whose tail brushed past her hips.

Erin Hoffman is a video game designer as well as an author, and it’s hard not to feel that this world and story would maybe have worked better as the template for an elaborate RPG. There are heroes and villains, lots of action, an interesting magic system and an intriguing fantasy universe. All this material obviously took a lot of thought and imagination, and it would be fun to explore it in an interactive format... but as a novel it unfortunately doesn’t work. I genuinely wanted to like this novel, so I kept going back to it to give it another try, but in the end Sword of Fire and Sea is one of the very few books I just couldn’t find the motivation to finish. ...more

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Dec 20, 2011 Alex rated it really liked it

This book is like the anti-Game of Thrones, and I mean that in the best way possible. It's a fast-paced and exciting adventure full of magic, a perfect summer read.

One thing I especially appreciated was the number of female characters both major and minor. It took me about halfway through the book to notice, but the "default=male" rule is not in effect here. If anything, it's the opposite. From evil priestesses to the officers on Vidarian's ship, women play roles large and small, and the story i ...more

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May 02, 2012 Marty rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

So far I am enjoying this adventure tale. It has some originality in concept and frankly I like the characters. The story began to drag somewhat, but I am interested in reading the next book in the series.

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Jan 08, 2012 Natasha Superville rated it it was amazing

This was an absolutely amazing book. Was not quite sure when I picked it up, but I'm glad I did. Fantastical, magical, emotional, adventuresome. Loved, loved, loved it. ...more

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Dec 22, 2010 Melissa Hayden rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy

Vidarian is summoned to meet with the priestess of air, Endera. Endera feels his family history and his ship make him perfect for her task at hand. When Vidarian refuses the job of taking a fire priestess on his wooden ship in the ocean through dangerous waters Endera invokes the commitment made by his grandfather 50 years ago binding Vidarian to the journey. Endera being of good graces will still pay him handsomely though. The fire priestess is being transported because she is being sought afte Vidarian is summoned to meet with the priestess of air, Endera. Endera feels his family history and his ship make him perfect for her task at hand. When Vidarian refuses the job of taking a fire priestess on his wooden ship in the ocean through dangerous waters Endera invokes the commitment made by his grandfather 50 years ago binding Vidarian to the journey. Endera being of good graces will still pay him handsomely though. The fire priestess is being transported because she is being sought after by Vkortha, dangerous telepaths who live on their own island where no one knows except the fire priestess Ariadel. Vidarian will learn more of fire magic, water magic, and himself than he ever thought possible as a lone sailor. Will the fire goddess go beyond normal doings to help the priestess Araidel and Vidarian? Or is there more at stake here? Even the griffins are willing to help Vidarian believing he is the one to close the gate.

This is one full fantasy read with a journey and world all created new here. This world created is one full of the four elements, and the space between them. The space being chaos and/or connection of the elements. For each of the four elements there are priestesses. But the magic has been dieing out over the years. Even with the crossing of the elements in bloodlines it's created a disease that could kill the children and young adults if more than one flares to life inside them. Even the griffins are of different elements. And this world aspect I really enjoyed. Even the mythology in setting up the gate, and chaos. But what lies behind the gates might be able to help the world or flip it completely upside down from what they know it as.

The characters where interesting in the way they handle the occurrences they go through. Their where a few things about the characters I didn't understand though. One was Vidarian wanting to be bond the emeralds he is paid from Endera to his life. I think I missed something here as the emeralds will die out when he passes on. I would think he would want them to spend not to look at, but I'm not him. And the love between Vidarian and Ariadel seemed to happen awfully fast for me. Unless there was something with the bonding to the emeralds that connected them (which I'm thinking happened) it seemed they fell in 'love' to quickly for me. But as a couple I like them together.

This book seems to be the start of a bigger series. To me the first half of the book was set up of the characters and arranging the world for us. I felt from time to time there where things said by the characters or happenings that posed huge questions in my mind that instantly made me feel lost. The answers did come through shortly after, but when I read them at first I felt there was not set up for it to me and had me lost. The second half of the book read easier for me and the action picked up. We also got more of the back story answers here for the world and creatures and characters.

I think I read the synopsis of the book and was trying to relate some of that to what I was reading and had a hard time. As the information about Vidarian's grandfather marrying a fire priestess doesn't come out until the very end of the book. Along with other details of the world and the different magics not living peacefully blended together in bloodlines. I like this idea, but kind of wish it was presented earlier in the book.

I'm very curious to see where the next book in the series goes. I think this could be a good series, but a shaky start for me. But these are my thoughts and could have just been my timing in reading it wasn't right. Please if you like the sounds of the book, go give it a try you just might like it. I really wanted to loooove this book, as I only liked it. I would like to give book two a chance to see where this great world goes. ...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Jason rated it it was ok

Erin Hoffman has written some influential essays about the game industry, and has always seemed like the voice of reason in IGDA forum posts, but fiction just doesn't seem like her thing.

The recurring theme for me while reading Sword of Fire and Sea was confusion. I was constantly confused about who characters were, how they fit into the story, what their motivations were, and why I was supposed to care about them.

There was virtually no development of characters, which meant there was nothing bu ...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Shannon rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy

My first impression was that the prose was very descriptive (i.e. "...The wind that swept ever outward from its alabaster monuments came chill as a lifetime of penance."), and indeed this was true for the entire book. (Although sometimes it does get to be a little excessive and overly fancy.)
The characters did not particularly grab at me at first but I thought it was because it was just the beginning of the book, and decided to give it some time to develop. Develop it did, but after nearly half ...more

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Oct 31, 2013 Daniel Palmer rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this book and the world Ms. Hoffman has created. I've already read book 2 and am moving on to book 3 this week.

And kudos for saying what she wanted to say in a reasonable amount of pages. When it is all said and done all three of the books in this series combined will be about the length of a single book in the interminably long Wheel of Time series or the ongoing Game of Thrones series. Nice job getting to the point! ...more

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Sep 08, 2014 Jessica Lewenda rated it did not like it

Shelves: adult, what-the-hell-happened, oy-vey, 1-star, fantasy, library, didn-t-finish, pirates, magic, high-fantasy

It doesn't deliver anything that I haven't already read a million times in fantasy. Some guy goes on a quest, bones a hot chick, and discovers that he's super special and has awesome powers, and that makes him the chosen one, and he must fulfil the prophecy before evil comes and does its evil things.

Such a shame, because the cover is so pretty, if you ignore the lady who looks like a fantasy cheerleader. ...more

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Oct 02, 2011 Travis rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, fantasy, s-and-s-fantasy

See my full review of high adventure this magic riddled romp takes you on at Writing Ex Libris ...more

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Oct 22, 2011 Justin Howe rated it really liked it

An enjoyable summertime read that reminded me a lot of the enjoyable summertime reads of my youth.

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Apr 10, 2013 Gwennie rated it it was amazing

liked it - will buy the next two books in the trilogy

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Nov 07, 2013 Yvette rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-series

Love, love, LOVE this trilogy. I'm going to read the last installment soon. ...more

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Oct 03, 2018 RekOfExile rated it liked it

Potential Spoilers ahead. You have been warned.

So this book came out in, like, 2011. How the bloody hell am I only finding it now? Anyway...First thing's first, I love the world of Andovar. Hoffman is a game designer, and it shows in the world building. It's so thick with fantasy-elemental magic, gryphons, prophecy, goddesses, otherworlds, element stones, so much awesomeness. Now, that being said...

I can't be the only person who stumbled on occasion while reading this book. The prose was rich, a Potential Spoilers ahead. You have been warned.

So this book came out in, like, 2011. How the bloody hell am I only finding it now? Anyway...First thing's first, I love the world of Andovar. Hoffman is a game designer, and it shows in the world building. It's so thick with fantasy-elemental magic, gryphons, prophecy, goddesses, otherworlds, element stones, so much awesomeness. Now, that being said...

I can't be the only person who stumbled on occasion while reading this book. The prose was rich, and yet it feels like Hoffman threw a spontaneous "fancy" word in to make it sound more professional. Certain adjectives were beyond my immediate understanding, and I was in no mood to stop reading and google them. Now the characters, as the driving force of any story, were enjoyable. Ariadel came across as charming, and through her interactions with the little kitten, tenderhearted. Thalnarra was a favorite, she served as a point of wisdom and guidance, yet had some sass when the situation called for it. Ruby was everything you'd want in a fiery redhead, especially for a Sea Queen. The characters were generally entertaining...except the protagonist, for some reason. If Vidarian was meant to be a blank slate for the reader to project themselves onto, that makes sense. But he was just so bland that I despised the scenes where he was alone. No quips or satire, no sharp tongue or spice, he was simply a protagonist. I'm okay with limited backstory and development, but at least make him fun to be around.

The story really picked up in the second half of the book. Though I had some issues with the all-around plot. I've heard other reviews mention the romance between Vidarian and Ariadel, claiming it to be thin and uninspired, and I'd have to agree. I understand that they'd spent considerable weeks in the same company before finally sealing the kiss, but we barely get to see any of that. I've finished the book, and I still don't have a clue why he loves her, and vice versa. They're just together because...reasons?

The Vkortha (I hope I'm spelling that right) are labeled the antagonists from the start, and are rumored to have strange, telepathic magic. But halfway through the story, after the third encounter, they just drop out of the picture. Nothing. I can't help but think that I missed something somewhere along the way, also. It may have to do with the prose, but they were defined in such a convoluted way that I don't really know who they're supposed to be. Or what their motivations are.

Anyone avoiding spoilers should probably skip this paragraph, cuz I'm gonna go a little nuts. The overall plot of this book was, for the most part, understandable. But tidbits throughout caused me to stop reading because I couldn't wrap my head around how or why they actually happened. Why did Endera call upon Vidarian to transport Ariadel to a temple that she was already going to? Why didn't the Vkortha make more headway with Ariadel, despite the obnoxious amount of time between her kidnap and rescue? Why would Endera ally with the Vkortha on a whim? Why did she ally with them at all? Seriously, it's never explained. When exactly did Vidarian become the Tesseract? Because for the life of me I can't pin it down. How can a fire goddess grant someone water powers? Why are Vidarian and Ariadel suddenly able to read each other's thoughts? Vidarian clearly viewed Thalnarra as a wise and guiding figure throughout the story, so why didn't he entrust her with the knowledge that the Starhunter was floating around inside his head? And finally, quotes from the Starhunter herself: "Correctamundo." and "See you later, Alligator." Just...WHY?

Okay, rant over *heavy breathing* all done. Now, I've read the blurbs for the next book, which is actually what led me to this one, and it sounds like a great expansion of this story's world. I look forward to reading it and seeing where the plot goes. This book was enough to get me that far, at least. I liked the world and--for the most part--the characters. The plot was...okay, and I loved spending most of the time alongside telepathic gryphons. This was a decent starter novel into a larger world. As long as the rest of the trilogy makes a bit more sense, I won't complain. ...more

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Feb 18, 2019 Lin Sten rated it really liked it

8/31/12
Reviewer: Lin Sten
Review: a novel, The Sword of Fire and Sea, by Erin Hoffman

To my memory, I have not read a fantasy novel subsequent to the trilogy and prequel of Lord of the Rings (decades ago) and had no preconceived idea of what one should be prior to reading Erin Hoffman’s The Sword of Fire and Sea. Indeed, I would have to say that the fantasy genre was anathematic to me even though in looking back over some of my earliest short stories I find that I dabbled briefly in the genre dec 8/31/12
Reviewer: Lin Sten
Review: a novel, The Sword of Fire and Sea, by Erin Hoffman

To my memory, I have not read a fantasy novel subsequent to the trilogy and prequel of Lord of the Rings (decades ago) and had no preconceived idea of what one should be prior to reading Erin Hoffman’s The Sword of Fire and Sea. Indeed, I would have to say that the fantasy genre was anathematic to me even though in looking back over some of my earliest short stories I find that I dabbled briefly in the genre decades ago; on the other hand, I have seen an occasional fantasy film.

The Sword of Fire and Sea was handed to me by a widely-read sci-fi and fantasy person after I gave my specifications: a fantasy novel, leaning toward a heroine (or at least giving women equal measure), not overwhelmed with violence or sex, and no more than 300 pages—which is the limit of my attention span. I had determined to read a fantasy novel to expand my knowledge of modern novel writing, of which I found this one to be a fine example. Given that I was determined to read it no matter what, but not predisposed to enjoy it, I was pleasantly surprised by it.

I found myself transported to this other, and different, world, and the perceptions and motivations of these different beings—humans, priestesses, gryphons, vkortha, sky knights, etc.--with intelligence being more broadly shared among the various beings there than here on Earth, whose viewpoints and motivations were infused by cultures different from our own. Various characters—Vidarian, Ariadel, Endera, Ruby, Thalnarra—were introduced and became real, and it is not unimportant that I liked their names. They were consistently and interestingly drawn, and the plots and personalities were interwoven in an entertaining way. Though I never felt that I could not wait to find what would come next, I always found myself ready for the next chapter on the next night.

It is unfortunate, though probably a fault only of my lack of excitement about fantasy literature, that I never came to care very deeply about any of the characters; however, I definitely took an interest in all of them. Obviously, no matter that Erin Hoffman is such a talented novelist, the choice of genre will necessarily move some of us only slightly even as high acclaim is forthcoming elsewhere.

Given my unusual motivation for reading this fine novel, I can only say that my rating of four stars should be taken with a grain of salt; the next reader will possibly be enraptured.

P.S. My favorite chapters were Chapter 6 “A Life Flame” (in which the affair between the hero and heroine almost catches fire), Chapter 16 “Call Me Ruby” (in which the West Sea Queen is introduced), and Chapter 21 “The Battle for the Quest” (the risk of a ship’s destruction is sure to arouse anyone’s emotions); however, there were not many others that I enjoyed nearly as much as these.
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May 21, 2019 Justin rated it really liked it

Shelves: trilogy, fantasy, read-in-2019, physical-bookshelf

"How can you do what you must if you are balked by a mere word?"
"And what must I do?"
"Change the world, of course."

Sword of Fire and Sea is the first novel in The Chaos Knight series, by Erin Hoffman. It follows 2 protagonist Sea Captain of the Empress Quest Vidarian Rulorat and Fire Priestess Ariadel Windhammer. The story focuses on Vidarian's perspective, and starts off when he is roped into an errand to see our other protagonist safety to her destination. What follows is a series of event "How can you do what you must if you are balked by a mere word?"
"And what must I do?"
"Change the world, of course."

Sword of Fire and Sea is the first novel in The Chaos Knight series, by Erin Hoffman. It follows 2 protagonist Sea Captain of the Empress Quest Vidarian Rulorat and Fire Priestess Ariadel Windhammer. The story focuses on Vidarian's perspective, and starts off when he is roped into an errand to see our other protagonist safety to her destination. What follows is a series of events from kidnapping to skyflying with Gryphons. I thought the book itself and the concept was very good, there were things I would definitely change if I had the choice but overall I enjoyed my time.

First off with the characters, the 2 mains were good and well written. While I believe they had depth and were well written, my big complaint with them is that I feel they weren't given enough space to develop. For example while the romance between them occurs maybe a month or two after they met, but because we get minimal interaction between them it felt like they hardly knew each other. I believe there could have been meaningful interaction that is shared with the reader over that time which would have given us not only more development with the characters, but also giving an insight to the relationship so it didn't feel so sudden. This is not the only case of this throughout the book, it felt like parts and the journey were skimmed over and it seemed like a wasted opportunity. I understand the need to prevent the book from feeling slow but I feel it could have been balanced better to open itself up for development.

Because of the above critique, there was really no side characters that shined for me. Outside of Ruby and the Gryphons that they traveled with, I can't say for certain I really was interested in (or frankly, in some cases, can name) the side characters. The world felt immersive, I just wished it opened up more for real life interactions.

The Magic system was intriguing if a bit vague and confusing.It seems like another magic system where you are not really meant to ask questions about just enjoy. There are the 4 cardinal elements, Air, Water (Sea), Fire, and Earth. We get glimpses of Fire and Sea the most but Air does make an appearance every once in a while.

Overall like I said, I enjoyed the story and plot, but it could have been sooooo much better. I can't imagine how good it would have been if we could have experienced a little more development and character interactions, they certainly deserved it.

"It means, 'be resolved; victory will find you.' It is the traditional parting phrase for a company of gryphons departing for war."
Vidarian thought this over for a long moment, then nodded. "That's what we're doing, isn't it?"
Thalnarra did not answer, but her feathers, mantling up behind her neck as she sat down and gazed into the impenetrably dark forest to the west, spoke for her."
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