Rating: 
Summary: Write faster, Mr. Farland
Review: If he finishes in 5 books, I will read 5. If he finishes the story in 500 books, I will read all 500. Hire a cook, hire a maid, hire a nanny, whatever you need- just please write faster, Mr. Farland.It's not the best book in the world, but it is the most compelling world created in a book since DeathGate. (Though- a summary would be helpful in the beginning since we have to wait 2 years between books.) Why are you reading this, Mr. Farland? Close this window and get back to writing!!! Thanks :)
Rating:
Summary: Better than you might think
Review: In reviewing "The Brotherhood of the Wolf" - a book I praised rather highly - I wondered whether "Wizardborn" (the third installment in Farland's "Runelord" series) really is as disappointing as some reviews contested. Having now read it, I'm happy to say that, to my mind at least, it isn't. Some have remarked on how "Wizardborn" is very different to its predecessors. It isn't. The events of this book are again condensed to just a few days; things still move at a breakneck speed. Yes, there is a greater focus on the character of the young girl, Averan. But it would be incorrect to say the story swivels away from its central plot to shed more light on her. The opposite is true: Averan becomes sucked into the maelstrom, accompanying Gaborn as he and his army pursue the reaver army fleeing from the battle at Carris. Yes, Raj Ahten is presented in a slightly more sympathetic light. But this is entirely consistent with the earlier volumes. Like the reavers, he flees the destruction at Carris, only to find his own kingdom is now besieged by reaver hordes. Suddenly, he's very much on the defensive. For once, he's trying to save, not destroy. Yes, Farland does focus less on the ethical dilemmas of the giving or taking of endowments. But there's no reason he should; the plot doesn't call for this. Instead (in the characters of not just Averan and Raj Ahten, but also Borenson and Myrrima) new questions are raised and answered. Although this might be a little presumptuous, I feel that some of the less complementary reviews aren't due to the issues raised by the reviewers but by something else. "Wizardborn" is clearly an interim novel. It's exciting, but it doesn't end with a great bang. It ends before the bang: before Gaborn enters into the reaver lairs to seek out "The One True Master"; before Raj Ahten's destinity is revealed; before Borenson comes closer in his quest to seek "The Sum of All Men". That makes it less satisfying than "The Brotherhood Of The Wolf" (and the first volume, "The Sum Of All Men", even though I felt that book to be plagued by uneven writing), but it doesn't make "Wizardborn" bad by any means. This isn't one of those books where the plot is left simmering on the backburner. Things are gearing up, and I for one would be very surprised if the next volume wasn't something of a scorcher. In short: if you liked both earlier volumes, I see no reason whatsoever why you shouldn't like this one.
Rating:
Summary: Barn Burner
Review: Loved it, this guy knows how to move. None of the boring lengthy descriptions of Jordan and none of the moralistic rantings of Goodkind. Just high speed fantasy, a nice breath of fresh air while waiting for the two aforementioned to get their next books to press. I find Farland's writing a little rough and lacking some explainations but since it moves along so quickly I can forgive that. Hopefully he'll get to some of that in future books.
Rating: 
Summary: Farland Explores a new direction in Fantasy
Review: Many people may argue that Farlands work is subpar because of various reasons. In truth these people simply don't like something different. Farland breaks the chains of "Classic" AD&D fantasy and explores a new frontier of the fantasy genre.
Rating:
Summary: Keep them coming!
Review: Much better than the previous installment of Brotherhood of the Wolf. I really enjoyed this book and I'm anxiously awaiting reading The Lair of Bones. The world building, monsters and fighting are outstanding. Keep them coming.
Rating:
Summary: Keep them coming!
Review: Much better than the previous installment of Brotherhood of the Wolf. I really enjoyed this book and I'm anxiously awaiting reading The Lair of Bones. The world building, monsters and fighting are outstanding. Keep them coming.
Rating:
Summary: Well, it¿s officially not a trilogy
Review: Normally when I get the newest book in a series, I re-read the previous books just to refresh my memory and get in the proper mood. With Wizardborn, the third book of The Runelords, I skipped that step in my desire to read it. You see, I really, really enjoyed the first two volumes of this series, and I must admit that at first glance this one appeared somewhat disappointing. It looked a lot thinner than the previous volumes, and the cover was not great. But the slenderness of the book, it turned out, was due to thin paper and not low page count, and realizing this I set to on what fortunately turned out to be another great jaunt through Farland's world. Admittedly, this book does take a very different approach than the first two books. In Book 1, Raj Ahten was the threat to the world, and there was lots of cool action. In Book 2, it was revealed that the *real* threat was the Reavers, and Raj Ahten merely a superpowered inconvenience. Again, there was lots of action punctuated by great battles. In this third book of the series, however, the focus is more on character and plot development rather than moving forward substantially in the story. Taking place over the course of two days, Wizardborn lacks the urgency and immediacy of Runelords, and the scale of Brotherhood of the Wolf. Gaborn, with his army, is chasing the surviving Reavers from Carris, while Raj Ahten is headed south to save his people from another huge Reaver attack. Borenson, coping with his new status of eunuch, resumes his quest to find Daylan Hammer, the Sum of All Men, but is now joined by his wife Myrrima. Averan finds out that that she is an Earth Warden, and apprentices herself to Binnesman, but her ability to eat Reaver brains and learn from them turns out to be essential to Gaborn's quest to stop the beasts. As I have noted already, the focus of this novel is more on character than action. There is one major battle even bigger than any we have seen before, but it serves more as a conduit to explore Raj Ahten's character than as a battle scene. In addition, there are several skirmishes with the retreating Reavers, who are devising tactics for better killing humans. There are several revelations, or possible revelations, in this book about the nature of the Days, but those thoughts do not really go anywhere. However, there is a lot more humor than in previous volumes, especially concerning Borenson and his "walnuts." There is also a potentially extremely interesting new character, Baron Waggit, a halfwit who, after distinguishing himself in battle, is given an endowment of wit so that he is just like a normal man. On the down side, there is very little in this book about Foul Deliverer, Fair Destroyer (or Spring). As a previous reviewer noted, the Reavers are not just monsters anymore - they are now significant characters in their own rights, with motivations and feelings. The elemental of the Darkling Glory from the previous book is back, and we find out that it was a really big player in the netherworld, an elemental that has helped in the downfall of various other worlds. In this volume, to put it simply, the plot thickens, disparate elements start to connect, and the end begins. Moreover, by the end of the book, there was no doubt in my mind that Raj Ahten's final showdown would be against Myrrima, not Gaborn as I had thought through books one and two. Read and find out. According to Gaborn's predictions, and assuming the author keeps going at two days per novel, this series should not last more than 2-3 more books. This book, while not quite as intense as the previous volumes, is a very good addition adding lots of characters, situations, and original ideas to the mix. Definitely worth reading, despite the typical cover art.
Rating: 
Summary: No no no!
Review: Ok, look. If it's ok and does not deserve to be flung against the wall, that doesn't make it a masterpiece, ok? I thought this was a little better than the first two, which I have read while riding across the country with my boyfriend, who is a big D&D fan. Even he discovered that these are not books you should read aloud, which is what we were doing. The stupidity of some of the concepts and the bad writing become particularly obvious when read aloud. I gave Farland an extra star for attempting the character of Averan, because he does not do women or children very well. I still think she was not very well drawn, but at least he tried. On the whole, I suggest you skip this one or at least read it in paperback.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Series
Review: Overall, I would have to place this series at the top of anyone's fantasy collection. The books keep getting a little better, although I have not quite gotten use to the usage of dedicates. It is a difficult concept to grasp as this is a kin to slavery and I can't see how the people would want to become dedicates. The writing is good and he has no problems killing characters. David Farland has two more books to go in this series and I will eagerly await the fourth installment. RECOMEMDATIONS: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Rating:
Summary: Farland falls flat
Review: Perhaps part of the problem is that I've just read the first three books of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, forever raising the bar for fantasy epics in my eyes. But no, I think this novel really is missing much of what I liked so much in the first two entries of the Runelords saga. For some reason, Farland seems to have abandoned the fundamental premise of Runelords. The first two novels delved into the moral consequences of dedicates giving endowments to their lords; they also showcased the tremendous power that these endowments gave to lords who used them imaginatively. None of this exists in Wizardborn. The Runelords in this novel are generic supermen: faster, stronger, and tougher. They may as well be the stalwart heroes of any other fantasy epic. Farland also allows himself to forget the interesting ethical questions involved by simply having his good guys use dogs instead of human subjects as dedicates, without any apparent side effects. The originality and novelty in this series gives way instead to a much more conventional system of magic based on the four elements. Worse than being unoriginal, it is boring and simplistic. (Earth and water are good; fire and wind are evil.) Even aside from these considerations, the overall quality of writing seems to have decreased. The pacing of the previous novels lent them a sense of immediacy, but here the plot proceeds as a loosely tied-together sequence of events leading to book four. The extremely short chapters jump back and forth rapidly among the characters, leaving little time to grow more attached to them. After I read the first book, I thought I had at last found the epic that would rekindle my love for fantasy. Right now, I'm putting my money on George R.R. Martin; I'm not even sure I will read the next Runelords book.
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