Fantasy

It’s the penultimate Wheel of Time book what makes this book number 13, or the second written by Sanderson after Jordan’s death.

Maybe it is the nearing end or the change in authors, the pace definitely took up. In all the different story lines quite a few things are happening. It’s not just moving around any more. This makes reading this series fun (again).

On the other hand, and here I blame the current substitute author, current stereotypes are unnecessarily bleeding through into this fantasy world. There is no reason for any male protagonist to feel like pink should be the last color for a man to wear. This is something current western (adolescent) culture may contain, and it’s a rather recent thing. It was however not something that was introduced in the earlier books, it was not part of the various Wheel of Time cultures. As small as this little detail is, I found it annoying.

There is never too much of a good thing. And so authors tend to write sequels to their successful works. Better yet, they announce multi-volume sequels, series rather. After all, what is an effective means for generating profits in the film industry should also work in print.

Canavan consequently is writing on her second Black Magician trilogy. The first volume is already in paperback: The Ambassador’s Mission. Now, it is some two decades of the war (Don’t mention the war.) the original cast of the Black Magician trilogy has assumed new roles; still you recognize them very well. Unfortunately this may already hint at a weakness this novel has: You have to recognize the characters, you have to know their history, you have to know a lot about the world, the setting this novel uses. Unless you know all this several things will leave you dumbfounded. For instance, though it is made very clear that a Black Magician is something special, you are not really told why and what all this higher magic is. Central as it is for the story, you have to know this in advance.

Luckily, I did read all the sequels. Thus, I was able to enjoy the novel that while being tied in with the earlier story plots of the previous novels brings a new perspective (oh, the perspectives change quite often) and a plot of its own, several of them actually. Hence, I am waiting for volume two… (the hardcover is already out, I am waiting for the paperback.)

Another lengthy trip means another Terry Pratchett novel to pass the time (at the gate and on the plane) reading. And Pratchett’s comic fantasies are exactly what the doctor recommends… to get into the right, good mood for a vacation.

Guards! Guards! is the first full length feature of the Discworld’s City Watch. It is the first detailed description of the inner workings of Ankh-Morpork and its political arrangement. And, accidentally, it was the first Pratchett novel that I actually bought myself, back then when I still read my books in the German translation.

Already the way the City is run makes the novel well worth reading it. The Patrician is just such a brilliant character.

Incidentally, there is again an annotation available. Some of the finer details may be easily missed otherwise.

Terry Pratchett’s novels are all just hilariously funny (at least the ones I have read so far). That is why I like to read them; especially on long trips or on the train to the office. They brighten my mood and sometimes they may even be instructive in one way or another. Pyramids definitely has instructive elements. It is a blend of physics, philosophy, politics, and ancient history. There are references to ancient Egypt (obviously), Greek, and Rome sprinkled with references to modern culture.

The references are so plentiful that – I have to admit – I most certainly did not “get” everything. Luckily, others already (ok, the book is some twenty old) provide some annotations…

Farmer’s second World of Tiers novel, The gates of Creation, is a bit of a disappointment. Its brevity and, admittedly, its innovative ideas for a number of artificial universes / planets that do not adhere to the common understanding of what planets are or should be speak in its favor. The novel’s characters are, however, underdeveloped, without personality and easily exchangeable. Without the first World of Tiers novel this novel’s protagonist would remain a total enigma.

This is quite a pity. There are a some good ideas that could be hammered out in more detail. However, whenever there is an opportunity for adventure and character development Farmer skips ahead advancing the rather weak plot. The few twist and turns do not help to make this whole sad and sorry little book more interesting. Instead, they feel like a last effort in showing some story telling skills. Famer’s Riverworld series is definitely his better work.

After the imaginative Riverworld series it was only a matter of time for me picking up another Farmer novel. The World of Tiers series seems to be rather closely related as, again, there is an artificial world, some alien überlords playing gods and a bunch of underlings gifted (?) with relative immortality. They can get killed, though they will not die of old age or illness.

Considering when Maker of Universes was written, Farmer sure shows some imagination and original ideas – at least others who came later (like Stargate) seem to have borrowed from him. Compared to more modern works Maker of Universes is short. Too short actually, part of the story advances so fast that you wonder what happened in between, when the protagonist learned something that he should not yet know, that the reader did not know so far. Despite this discrepancy between length of the novel and progress of the story this first novel in the World of tiers series will certainly not be the last one that I read.