The Not a Book Club Club discussion
This topic is about
Range of Ghosts
Eternal Sky
>
RoG: Part 3 - Chapters 11-End (Full Spoilers!)
date
newest »
newest »
Also also while I'm here, while I love Bansh I think Bear may have taken the 'magic horse' thing a little too far.
Mod
I don't think I'll be continuing on though.
All done, at least with this book. This one is of the single book in three parts kind of trilogy. As a part one, I though it did the trick. I can see where the trilogy is going and who the antagonists are, and the world is clear, at least in outline. I'm still not particularly invested in the characters, and I thought the Samarkar/Temur relationship was a bit out of left field and unearned by the narrative.A lot happens over the last section of the book. Looking back at my notes Temur, Samarkar and Hrahima are still in Tsarepheth at the start of Chapter 11 and the rest of the party still don't know Temur is a Khanzadeh. If this pace keeps up I imagine the next two books will be much better.
Notes:
- Temur and company flee Tsarepheth with the pregnant wife of Samarkar's brothers. She's pregnant with the wrong father's child, hence fleeing. They are ambushed by assassins on the road, cementing suspicions that Samarkar's older brother is in league with the Nameless. Temur comes clean about who he is.
- The party takes refuge in Temur's aunt's kingdom, where they get a dose of prophecy from a witch and swap the pregnant Payma with a warrior monk.
- Meanwhile Edene is being baited by al-Sepehr with a magical ring (which I bet has been stolen from tomb mentioned below). She ends up taking the ring and al-Sepehr is delighted.
- The party moves on towards the West and Temur's maternal grandfather. They cross the Great Salt Desert and are intercepted by the "Lizard Folk". While staying with them they are attacked by a Nameless war party backed up by the female rukh. Temur gets attacked individually and left in the kurgan (tomb - and Highlander becomes a little more clear :) ) of a noble with a curse on graverobbers and some nasty inhabitants. The team acquit themselves well, with Samarkar's wizardry driving off the rukh.
- Temur and his people arrive at his grandfather's palace in Asitaneh.
Looking forward to the next one.
Finally finished reading the book yesterday. I didn't like it much (it took me 3 weeks during which time I read 4 other books) mostly because I think it's a modern take on a different fantasy sub genre than most of the contemporary fantasy novels, reminiscent of i.e. Tanith Lee , Katherine Kurz Deryni novels Deryni Rising or Chronicles of Tornor by Elizabeth Lynn and others. The point is, it's not very realistic or epic and reminds me more of a fable. As such, I guess it's OK, I liked the style descriptions etcetera. As for the ending, I didn't like it much - I thought the 'kidnapping' of Temur and bringing him to kurgan didn't make much sense, why not kill him instead when they had the chance? Was it done by some dissatisfied lizard warriors (at least that's what I understood ?)
I liked Bansh but in the end I thought she was overdone, she is obviously some kind of eternal ghost spirit taking care over Temur and not a horse at all, which is a pity at least for me.
I'm in the camp of people who liked the book, and I will be going on with the next book because honestly, I just can't stand the thought of leaving poor Edene wandering out in the desert. I get the sense that once she gets through the desert she isn't exactly going to be the same person anymore. Lindsay, I'm kind of with you on the whole Samarkar/Temur relationship coming a bit out of left field. Also, I didn't really feel all that comfortable with that development given that Temur is supposed to be on a quest to rescue Edene (who he now knows is alive), you would think the least he could do is kind of wait things out for a bit. I'm glad you mentioned about the ring possibly coming from the tomb; I hadn't thought about that. Cursed items never do much good to the wearer over long periods, that's pretty well a given.
Well Temur is a potential Khagan. We know they get to have multiple wives.
... and poly/non-traditional relationships are a bit of a Bear signature.
Justine wrote: " I just can't stand the thought of leaving poor Edene wandering out in the desert. I get the sense that once she gets through the desert she isn't exactly going to be the same person anymore. "I think Edene is going to be Temur's opponent in the next volumes. She's changing into some creature, or a being that is not entirely human. He might be able to save his child though (all of this is just my speculation).
That's the impression I got too.
I'm finally finished and while I still mostly enjoyed it, I began to see the basis for some of the complaints I've been reading from the other readers in the group. Things like the rapid development of Samarkar's magical abilities didn't bother me in the middle chapters, but then toward the end all of a sudden she can control the wind? The plot started to get repetitive, with all the failed attempts to kill or capture Temur. I loved the horsey parts and Bansh in particular, but the author did take it too far for me in making Bansh magical.
Even though the narrative itself had some flaws, the writing was pretty solid throughout and kept me engaged. I figured the book to be in the 3 - 4 star range for me early on. A weak third act and ending dropped it down to a 3. It was a generally positive read for me, although I'm in no hurry to continue on with the rest of the series at this time.
Even though the narrative itself had some flaws, the writing was pretty solid throughout and kept me engaged. I figured the book to be in the 3 - 4 star range for me early on. A weak third act and ending dropped it down to a 3. It was a generally positive read for me, although I'm in no hurry to continue on with the rest of the series at this time.
The Not a Book Club Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Deryni Rising (other topics)The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia (other topics)
As I see it, Al-Shepr (spelling, ack) wants to destabilise the political systems of the land. At this point in the series, his ultimate motivations are still pretty mysterious to me. But his actions are clear: intervening in the Quesnyk (sp., ack) civil war hoping that the Khanate eats itself & collapses; undermining the Rasan empire, again hoping internal struggles open toe-holds for others; disrupting the trade routes and presumably also disrupting trade and politics in the border cities, like the one they find shelter in at the end. My guess is that he's clearing way for his religious sect* (and possibly the Uthman caliphate; I'm still fuzzy on their exact relationship) to move into the power vacuum and seize control. I think the changing sky has something big to do with it - wanting to spread the Uthman sun across the whole landmass? Some sort of monotheistic desire to rule? Also, I know the Carrion King (aka, the Scholar God, no?) has something to do with it all, but I feel that's a mystery still to come.
I cannot stop comparing this to the politics and history of Central Asia. Empires rose and fell on the steppes and their borders; and outsiders trying to play the game found it incredibly complex. (I'm put in mind of The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia, about a much later period of history but in the same region.)
*Are we supposed to compare the two sects of the Uthman religion to the Sunni and Shia division of Islam? I can't stop drawing real-world analogies, which I probably shouldn't do. Who are the Tatars in the book? Is Rasan India? etc, etc are the fantasy-ruining things I keep running through my head. I do know that I desperately need to go to Samarkand now. And I keep thinking of the photos from the end of the Russian Empire of Central Asia, samples here.