Rating: 
Summary: It's good
Review: The first thing I said when I finished was "Wow". Wizardborn is that good. Farland surprised me with his first book. The magic and the issues it raised were all so new and interesting. The second book was good, not as good as the first, but it did delight me on many levels. I didn't know what to expect with Wizardborn, but I can honestly say that it is the best of the three. It's one of the top fantasy books I've read. I stayed up until 1:30 AM three nights in a row. I couldn't put it down. Wizardborn is not just a repeat of the cool fantasy adventure in the other two books. Farland keeps revealing more and more layers to the characters, plot, fascinating creatures, and the magic. The plot takes a wild turn in this book. The reavers have become more than a just some evil horde--they've become real and complex. It almost reminds me of what Orson Card did in his Speaker for the Dead for the piggies. Farland also added more humor in this one and more heft, mixing in powerful issues with all the adventure. Wizardborn was a wonderful read. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: It's good
Review: The first thing I said when I finished was "Wow". Wizardborn is that good. Farland surprised me with his first book. The magic and the issues it raised were all so new and interesting. The second book was good, not as good as the first, but it did delight me on many levels. I didn't know what to expect with Wizardborn, but I can honestly say that it is the best of the three. It's one of the top fantasy books I've read. I stayed up until 1:30 AM three nights in a row. I couldn't put it down. Wizardborn is not just a repeat of the cool fantasy adventure in the other two books. Farland keeps revealing more and more layers to the characters, plot, fascinating creatures, and the magic. The plot takes a wild turn in this book. The reavers have become more than a just some evil horde--they've become real and complex. It almost reminds me of what Orson Card did in his Speaker for the Dead for the piggies. Farland also added more humor in this one and more heft, mixing in powerful issues with all the adventure. Wizardborn was a wonderful read. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Choppy
Review: The latest book in this series was written in too many short chapters, making the action very choppy. In the first book, the chapters were longer, contained several scenarios, but the continuity was better. Farland seems to try to hold our attention by giving us shorter areas to focus on, but in my opinion, this "tv" approach doesn't work. The book was informative and enjoyable; I wonder when the next one will be ready to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh, what could have been....
Review: The Runelords series started out so promising, but has quickly gone down hill. The focus of the first novel was the endowment system where a person could give his or her best endowment to someone else. It is a cool idea and should have remained the focus of the series. There are so many cool plots the author could have come up with, but instead has decided to introduce a number of distracting elements to the story that really take away from the endowment system. The distractions come from a variety of boring storylines like Gaborn role as the Earth King (he is a big wimp and quickly squanders what he has), the Reavers(these creatures do not even belong in the story, boring lets stick to the man vs. man struggles), Averan and Binnesman(unnecessary storyline just like the Reavers), this alternate world that the glories come from, the shoting stars, and a whole lot more. I really feel like David Farland had about 5 completely different ideas for novels and instead of right 5 different books he just combined all the elements into one series. The story is all over the place and really needed to be tightened up. Wizardborn really had no chance to improve upon its predecessors after the remaining storylines left over from Brotherhood of the Wolf. After 428 pages the story has barely changed at all. Gaborn's army is still in about the same location, the Earth King storyline has essentially disappeared(no big deal), Borenson is just starting his search to find Dylan Hammer, Celinor and the Horsesister girl are taking their dear old time completing their quest, Averan is still barfing up Reaver brains, and the Days(another cool idea with the endowment system that has been squander)have done nothing. On top of all that, this Wylde that was summoned in book 1 by Binnesman has done absolutely after its first few kills in book 2. Binnesman says that the wild is suppose to fight for the Earth, not the Earth King and yet this wylde does nothing??? It doesn't need to sit on the sidelines because it is not fully trained, come on it destroys Reavers and cripples Raj Ahten and the does not fight in any of the insuing battles. Who wrote this garbage??? The only 2 characters that are remotely interesting are Myriamma and Raj Ahten. Both willing take endowments and are envolved in lots of fights. Farland's biggest assets is that he is really good at action sequence and it shows in any of the battles that these 2 characters are involved in. If Farland focused on the endowments of his other characters this series could have been incredible. In typical Farland fashion he ends up ruining even these characters towards the end of Wizardborn. The final book in the series, Lair of Bones, is almost out and I am glad that this series is wrapping up. I want to finish the series since I have come this far, but it cannot end soon enough. Wizardborn is a lackluster effort at best. There are way too many storylines going for Lair of Bones to wrap them up. I have a feeling Farland ended the series now so he could get the movie out.
Rating:
Summary: Oh, what could have been....
Review: The Runelords series started out so promising, but has quickly gone down hill. The focus of the first novel was the endowment system where a person could give his or her best endowment to someone else. It is a cool idea and should have remained the focus of the series. There are so many cool plots the author could have come up with, but instead has decided to introduce a number of distracting elements to the story that really take away from the endowment system. The distractions come from a variety of boring storylines like Gaborn role as the Earth King (he is a big wimp and quickly squanders what he has), the Reavers(these creatures do not even belong in the story, boring lets stick to the man vs. man struggles), Averan and Binnesman(unnecessary storyline just like the Reavers), this alternate world that the glories come from, the shoting stars, and a whole lot more. I really feel like David Farland had about 5 completely different ideas for novels and instead of right 5 different books he just combined all the elements into one series. The story is all over the place and really needed to be tightened up. Wizardborn really had no chance to improve upon its predecessors after the remaining storylines left over from Brotherhood of the Wolf. After 428 pages the story has barely changed at all. Gaborn's army is still in about the same location, the Earth King storyline has essentially disappeared(no big deal), Borenson is just starting his search to find Dylan Hammer, Celinor and the Horsesister girl are taking their dear old time completing their quest, Averan is still barfing up Reaver brains, and the Days(another cool idea with the endowment system that has been squander)have done nothing. On top of all that, this Wylde that was summoned in book 1 by Binnesman has done absolutely after its first few kills in book 2. Binnesman says that the wild is suppose to fight for the Earth, not the Earth King and yet this wylde does nothing??? It doesn't need to sit on the sidelines because it is not fully trained, come on it destroys Reavers and cripples Raj Ahten and the does not fight in any of the insuing battles. Who wrote this garbage??? The only 2 characters that are remotely interesting are Myriamma and Raj Ahten. Both willing take endowments and are envolved in lots of fights. Farland's biggest assets is that he is really good at action sequence and it shows in any of the battles that these 2 characters are involved in. If Farland focused on the endowments of his other characters this series could have been incredible. In typical Farland fashion he ends up ruining even these characters towards the end of Wizardborn. The final book in the series, Lair of Bones, is almost out and I am glad that this series is wrapping up. I want to finish the series since I have come this far, but it cannot end soon enough. Wizardborn is a lackluster effort at best. There are way too many storylines going for Lair of Bones to wrap them up. I have a feeling Farland ended the series now so he could get the movie out.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but sort or odd
Review: This book had the feel that it was off beat from the privious 2 books. I liked parts of it especally Gabon's strides to keep his army together and his interaction with the mentally disabled man that killed 9 reavers with a pick ax. I think the charecter of Baron Walt will come up agian in the fourth installment. I find it difficult to review this book simply because so much happens in it mostly good stuff. I think the serise has reached the crossroads stage. Usually after the 3rd book a serise gets better and stays better or heads south faster than an object dropped from the Empire State Building(can you say Wheel of Time?). This book is great for what it is i'm just holding off full judgment one way or another untill the 4th book comes ot in November. if you haven't started this serise go ahead and do so, you will not be disappionted.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but sort or odd
Review: This book had the feel that it was off beat from the privious 2 books. I liked parts of it especally Gabon's strides to keep his army together and his interaction with the mentally disabled man that killed 9 reavers with a pick ax. I think the charecter of Baron Walt will come up agian in the fourth installment. I find it difficult to review this book simply because so much happens in it mostly good stuff. I think the serise has reached the crossroads stage. Usually after the 3rd book a serise gets better and stays better or heads south faster than an object dropped from the Empire State Building(can you say Wheel of Time?). This book is great for what it is i'm just holding off full judgment one way or another untill the 4th book comes ot in November. if you haven't started this serise go ahead and do so, you will not be disappionted.
Rating:
Summary: A few days in the life of an Earth King
Review: This book has many things to recommend it. You learn more about reaver culture and even a little sympathy for them and especially for those who don't lead. Averan becomes a major character, as does Myrrima. Actually some of the best writing in the book is the few lines of text that start each chapter as proverbs usually. You can see how powerful this form of writing is. The fact that I am still reading these books is a recommendation in itself. The whole ideal of runelords is completely morally disgusting to me and I suppose to most readers. The book itself is not disgusting, no dwelling on blood or gore at all, and it is in fact quite philosophical. But the world is morally repellant to the nth degree, the ideal of runelords. In the first two books, Farland had the characters deal with the moral implications and justifications of the whole endowment process, he does that less here at least explicitly, leaving the reader to try and come to grips with what is going on themselves. It is not an easy thing to do, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.
Rating:
Summary: A GOOD READ...
Review: this book was a bit shorter than the 2 previous, and perhaps not quite the page turner, but certainly leaves the reader wanting more with the climax. I think the reavers and the dedicates make for an interesting take on the world of fantasy, and Raj Ahten is a cool bad guy despite his fall from grace in this book... im sure he will be back in the future, as i hope Mr. Farland is soon with the 4th book in this series... Buy this Book!
Rating:
Summary: Where is the fourth book?
Review: This is a decent contribution to a good series. I find it laughable that the negative reviews resort to name-calling and juvenile ridicule instead of addressing anything concrete. Sure, its not a perfect book and it kind of leaves you hanging. Also, the originality of the first two books has worn off by this third installment. However, Farland maintains the momentum of his previous works and keeps the reader emotionally involved along the way. By the end, I definitely wanted to read the next book in the series. I also don't mind the philosophical stuff. Anyone who has ever read the later installments of Frank Herbert's Dune series would laugh at the suggestion that Farland shoves his personal worldview down your throat. Besides, stories are only as good as they give us new insight into the human experience as seen through the eyes of the storyteller. Farland has a unique worldview that resonates with me. I like a little depth to what I read. Otherwise, it feels like I am eating cotton candy: a lot of pages but no substance. Finally, the complaint that Farland has elements in his stories that are borrowed from somewhere else is silly and moot. No new fantasy novel is going to be completely original--especially since the Lord of the Rings. What is original is this author's fresh perspective that is uniquely his own.
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