Rating: 
Summary: disapointing and depressing
Review: "The Chosen" is set in a fantasy world with a small ruling class of racially "superior" stock, which is different enough to stand out notably. Everyone who isn't a master is a slave, and here we have the most rediculous aspect of "The Chosen" -- the slaves outnumber the masters several hundred (perhaps thousand) to one, and are treated SO poorly that the inevitable real-life result would be a slave revolt & blood bath, resulting in the "masters" being extinct.
This book follows a young & naive Master, who has lived in seclusion with a bunch of slaves and a distant father. He has grown up feeling affection for his slaves, and is horrified at the poor treatment his slaves receive from his father & the other masters. Our hero is unable to help his slaves in any way -- again, and again, and again, and again. Really, this got awfully borring and quite depressing.
Many authors can craft a plot filled with horrible events and produce a truly entertaining whole. I did not find this to be the case with "The Chosen".
Rating: 
Summary: Very nice first novel
Review: I enjoyed this novel very much. It was, admittedly, a tad slow at first and I found myself alternately putting it down and picking it up again. It's an imaginative tale with rich descriptions and interesting characterizations. I very much liked the relationship between the protagonist and his male lover but wish they had gotten together earlier in the novel. There's no awkward gender bias and it's very lovely. I gave it a 4 out of 5 because the ending was very unnatural and abrupt; almost out of place. (I hope that Mr. Pinto decides to continue this loving relationship between the two characters, without introducing a female heroine, which seems to be the cop out these days. I'll have to check out the last page of the next novel. That will decide whether I shell out the big bucks for another hardcover that cops out and disappoints.)
Rating:
Summary: TOO CAUGHT UP
Review: I liked the book but he leaves nothing to imagination. I felt like I wanted to skip quite a few pages. And the plot was real slow in comming. But he did build a society and it's rules very well. I think he was to caught up in tell the reader all about this society. His plot was week.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent first; hope for better with second
Review: I've been debating how to go about writing a review for this novel. Although it has glaring problems, it also is very imaginative. Ricardo Pinto has succeeded in creating an entirely original world, completely devoid of the usual pitfalls so often the bane of other otherwise serious fantasy (i.e., cute, lovable creatures; unrealistic resolutions dependent on magical powers, etc.) Unfortunately, as his imagination unfolds the details of this cruel, heartless and extremely regimented world, it seemed to me (as I'm sure it would seem to most readers) that he has not decided just what he wants to do with the plot.Judging entirely from this book, I would say Mr. Pinto is an excellent writer but a poor novelist. In a nutshell, the story involves the young Carnelian, raised during his Father's exile on the outskirts of an empire. Because of his seclusion, Carnelian is unaware of the extremely cruel and regimented customs and racial distinctions separating him and his father from all the other classes in their society. Carnelian and his Father, Suth, are taken back to their ancestral home, Osrakum, where Suth is to preside over the election of the new God Emperor. There is no deus ex machina. Carnelian has no special gifts apart from his wits. Although he is the heir to seat of his household, and thus the heir to considerable power and wealth, he is often in the company of the heirs of other households and thus his birthright has little sway in influencing the outcomes of the situations that unfold around him. Carnelian is not a static character; Mr. Pinto uses character development amply, an extremely rare rhetorical device for this genre. Carnelian and the supporting characters change and grow through the course of the novel; their experiences influence how they react to future situations. Mr. Pinto's descriptions of Osrakum and its society is a delight. I can't remember the last time a writer planned a world in such detail--the class structure, the culture, the traditions, a complete breakdown of the political structure. As if this were not enough, we get some of the descriptions from more than one point of view. I'm not commenting on the settings, which are are imaginative and rewarding as the rest. Now the problem: Albeit, beautifully written and planned, I can't help feeling that that damned plot keeps getting in the way of Mr. Pinto's writing. The reader will be seriously disappointed by this novel. Huge sections of the book have little or nothing to do with the story, and the ending has an inexcusable flaw: a thoroughly unbelievable cliffhanger reminiscent of a bad 1930s matinee serial. Curiously, the cliffhanger appears so suddenly (and seems to be written in a style different from the rest of the novel,) that I'm want to believe Mr. Pinto either got fed-up with trying the find a way to end the first volume of his series, or his publisher got tired of his rambling plot and told him to just end the damned thing. On a final note, Carnelian has a gay affair in the novel, details of which I feel are unimportant to my review. A potential reader should not be influenced by its presence; the sex is implied rather than described. If it were a film, it would be rated "R". The violence, however, might give it a different rating. Would I recommend the book? Yes and no.
Rating:
Summary: Like Floating Veils of Painfully Burning Light..
Review: I've just finished the book and have found myself alternately fascinated, horrified, and intrigued. Pinto has only begun to tell this story--which I assume will cover at least 2 more books--and thus things were somewhat slow to start. Saying this, however, the events which thrust the story ahead are not slow. I found the images painted by Pinto in this book both repellant, beautiful, horrific, yet transcendant. Yes, I'm into adjectives today I guess. His Chosen and their Hidden Land are creul as ice and just about as uncaring. The society he has commenced showing us is still a mystery in many respects as are the motivations and connections between characters. As a fan of more intricate scifi and fantasy this aspect of his writing didn't bother me. Actually I initially picked it up because of the main character's name, Carnelian, and because several reviewers apparently disliked it because the main character was gay. What drivel. I've read many many fantasy novels and scifi novels and only ONE other had truly "gay" characters. Thank god I could suffer through all those other straight characters I couldn't identify with huh? That's not the point. One relates to Carnelian because of his horror at the events around him. One relates to him because of his fear and loneliness. One relates to him because of his delight in another 'human' to share his terrifying life. Whatever. I am looking forward to seeing what Pinto comes up with in the next books. I would recommend George R.R. Martin, Robert Holdstock, Storm Constantine and Guy Gavriel Kay to you if you liked this book, or other intricate, beautiful fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: lush, intriguing, Dune-like
Review: Many readers who have reviewed this book have complained that it is boring, but I did not find this to be the case. Instead, I found myself continually drawn to the book, snatching time to read it on the bus, during my break at work, even in line at the bank. The Chosen is a novel for those who don't require constant action, who are just as interested in the surroundings and culture of a fictional world as they are in the story. Other reviewers have complained about the density and complexity of detail, but to truly understand the plight of the protagonist and those around him, one must understand the structure of the world he is living in. In this way, the novel is much like Frank Herbert's Dune or the works of Samuel R. Delany, in particular Stars In My Pocket Like Grains of Sand and Dhalgren. So, this novel is not for those who like their fantasy novels with lots of swords, sorcery, and battles. But if you enjoy a novel with imagery that will continually tug at you, then check this out.
Rating:
Summary: Well-written, fascinating... but not for me.
Review: Pinto does an amazing job of describing this alien and bazaar world. He takes you to an alien place, full of dangerous beauty and court intrigue and describes it in painstaking detail. You will experience a land of strict social castes; you will taste the horror of the lesser born as they realize they are dealing with the Chosen. What you will not experience is anything close to a compelling story! Beautifully depicted, almost Tolkien like, the Chosen is lacking in a real plot, believable character development and any action. In an attempt to stretch out a simple case of court intrigue this book is light on movement and long on prose. Although I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Carnelian and his father, the other characters were flat and predictable. Carnie's brother and personal slave, Tain, could have been used much more effectively. The cliff hanger ending was unexpected, but also forced. I got the impression that the author did not know how to end this story and simply stopped. I have no desire to find out what happens to our "hero" as he simply got what he deserved in the end. I awarded two stars only because of the thought and detail that Pinto put into the Three Lands, otherwise a clear single star.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting but... Boring.
Review: There is nothing that I can add about the book that wasn't already written here, except that the book is boring. The author just likes to keep describing and describing and describing with no story advancement. But what is worse is that he just exagerates! It's really annoying! Too many short sentences in a row. Too many descriptions. And even the way he describes is not very appealing... Because it's too much! I really wanted to love this book, but for the first time in my life, i was very tempted to skip pages or even not finish the book. If you like something like this: a man is walking toward his home, which is 20 meters away. The author would describes his clothes, the way he walks, how the sky is beatiful and how beatiful is the sky. Then he would describe his house from afar, its garden and even a small snail in a plant, a described plant, off course. Then the man would take a step. Wow. Let's describe all again! Yep... That's it.
Rating:
Summary: Fictional Anthropology
Review: This book is a rare treat to read. There is some many layers to the societies in this book that anyone, who even remotely likes Anthropology, will love to sink their teeth into this meaty trilogy. Although slowly moving at some parts, the author needs to do this in order to fully realize the landscape and atmosphere of the world, the book is amazing. I hate comparing writers to other writers, and in this case I don't really have to because very few writer's have ever created such a fully realized, intricate world. This trilogy is also not safe reading; you get the sense that there might not be a happy ending to the story, but that seems not to be the point; instead, it is what happens along the way that is important. This is hi-caliber, adult Fantasy, at its best!
Rating: 
Summary: Strangely compelling.
Review: This is a beautifully written allegorical tale about a race of beings so rigidly governed by a set of laws and moral codes so as to rendered them emotional monsters. The Chosen is a people of great physical beauty who at the same time are capable of monstrous acts of cruelty. Theirs is a strange and alien world, a stark dichotomy of great wonders and unfathomable atrocities, where children of 'impure blood' are forbidden to even look upon their father's face. A world where incest and filicide are not only common-place but mandated by law, where betrayals, real or imagined, are swiftly met with gruesome reprisals. Mr. Pinto's prose is fluid and lyrical, conjuring in vivid details a simultaneously gorgeous but frightening world. Some readers my find the minutiae description excessly tedious. Nevertheless, I was captivated by the fascinating characters and imaginative landscape. The love between Carnelian and Obsidian is heartbreakingly poignant against a cruel and hostile background. One can only hope that the boys survive unscathed with their love in tact, given the nail biting grand-daddy of a cliff hanger ending. An agonizing and frustrating scenario that I hope will be satisfactorily resolved in the second book, Standing Dead.(...)
|
