Brotherhood of the Wolf (The Runelords, Book Two)

Rating:
Summary: Empty calories ...
Review: I read this book pretty easily. It wasn't a page turner, but it was interesting enough that I finished it a couple of days after I started it. It's entertaining fluff, but I'd wait for paperback versions or copies from the library (which is where I got it). The characterization is probably somewhat above par as far as High Fantasy goes, but the magical elements are starting to lose their charm. Farland repeats several ideas in the book, mostly having to do with moral issues surrounding endowments. The plot was pretty stale standard stuff. A quest and a crescendo, nothing out of the ordinary. One thing that's strange is that all the action in the first 2 books happens in less than a month (I believe about 2 or 3 weeks! ). That doesn't bode well for the length of the series...

Rating:
Summary: Better by far
Review: In my review of "The Sum Of All Men", the first volume of the Runelords series, I pointed out that Farland's well thought-out concept of endowments made that book well worth while. But I also said that, to my mind, Farland struggles a bit with characterisation and that his sense of timing is sometimes awkward. It's a good debut, true to the current trend of (extremely violent) "militaristic" fantasies, but it's not top-notch.

Well, I just finished reading the second volume, "The Brotherhood Of The Wolf". And though that doesn't happen often, I have to admit I'm impressed. Very. "Brotherhood" is far superior to "Sum". The central characters (like Gaborn, Borensen and Myrrima) are portrayed much more fully. The story flows in a manner which makes "Sum" look positively stuttering, culminating in an ending which is nicely foreshadowed but still arresting and, even, grandiose. And perhaps best of all, Farland sticks to the endowment concept but wisely eschews flogging it to death: in this book it is simply a given, an important part of structure of the world he creates but not something the reader is requested to marvel at every turn.

In short, "Brotherhood" isn't just good. It's top-notch. Farland hasn't reached the level of George R.R. Martin or, indeed, Steve Erickson (and, to be frank, he may never do so). But this second instalment seems to make clear that he can write much better that, say, John Marco.

Now, I wonder what that third book ("Wizardborn") is like. A lot of people obviously thought that one a bit disappointing... Hmm, I'll be back.

Rating:
Summary: Pascifism makes for poor bedfellow
Review: I think in some respects this series is well written, but for the average sci-fi fantasy fan it is boring and frustrating. It really annoys me how often the somewhat ill-defined protaganist Gabborn wrestles with moral quandries meanwhile his people are being slaughtered. "Is it right to take an endowment from such and such"? "Only under so and so circumstances"...then that whole line of thinking is flushed by another wave of youthful naivete. The whole combat system is basically who has the most endowments wins....boring. The big bad monster of the book makes a quick cameo before it gets "offed" by a skirt with a bow and arrow (real imaginitive) and worst of all...the main charachters, first Binnesman and then Gaborn beg and plead with the "bad guy" to please stop killing them and listen to reason....I didn't want to pick up a fantasy book and read basically a history lesson of Neville Chamberlain and the way he negotiated with Hitler.

Anyways...having said all that I did like the chapter that introduced Averen and dealt with the skyriding...was entertaining and unique.

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended
Review: It took some time before the action picked up, but once it did the tension never let up. It was a great read. The pace of the story continues at breakneck speed. The events all take place over a little more than three days. The fast pace of the events lends a sense of urgency to the book.

The characterization has improved with each of the main characters becoming more fully fleshed out. Gaborn's stubborn insistence on torturing himself for his inability to protect all of his people can be tiresome however. One thing I noticed that is so often missing from other fantasy novels is the inclusion of minor characters that have real personalities and real motivations. So often these one scene characters are used just to push a plot line along or to give the main characters something to do. I found the elderly woman who refused to leave her home in Sylvarresta touching and fascinating, there are dozens of very minor characters that are more than just two dimensional they resonate as fully formed characters in their own right.

The system of magic is fully developed and internally consistent. The concept of using 'endowments' from donors to strengthen human attributes is both a plausible magic system and useful in defining the military actions undertaken by both Gaborn and Ahtan. Farland thrusts Gaborn and his other point-of-view characters from one dilemna to the next, never giving them or the reader the opportunity to pause or put the book down

I look forward to learning more about dedicants and what motivates people to cripple themselves for the sake of another. It would be very interesting to have a viewpoint character wrestling with the decision to provide an endowment and gain some understanding of what that means to that person and why they would do such a things.

One of the emerging strengths of this series seems to be the inhuman Reavers. Rather than simply making them mindless evil monsters Mr. Farland is providing them with a society, a history and a form of magic unique to them. Wile I doubt that these creatures could ever become sympatric it is good that we are given an insight into what their world is like and why they are invading the surface world at all.

Another strong aspect is the character of Raj Ahtan. In my review of the first book "Runelordes," I complained that Raj Ahtan was a little too stereotypical in his hunger for power and glory; this has been corrected as we learn more about this man's history and his obsession with becoming the sum of all men.

It is a rare achievement when the quality of a series goes up with the publication of the second book.

Rating:
Summary: Quite an improvement on the pervious book.
Review: This book is much better than the last book, and it is developing into a true epic unlike some other series (*cough Goodkind cough*).

I have to say though, the whole concept of endowments and such grew tiresome halfway thorugh the first book. While it is a novel concept, Mr. Farland seems to be using it like a gimmic and I wish he would focus on it a bit less.

I have to congratulate the author for avoiding the trap of the caricature fantasy novel characters in his books. I like the fact that Geborn is an ordinary person, but he is a little hard to sympathize with, I found him a little two dimensional. Raj Ahten is much more interesting, hopefully the promising development of his character we saw in the second book will continue in the future installments.

Another thing I like about this series is the non traditional enemy, mainly in the form of Reavers, the battle between the reavers and humans is very interesting and adds to the already impressive depth of the series, hopefully Mr. Farland will provide more clarification on Duskin and Toth history in future books. Unfortunately, Mr. Farland has chosen to follow the unfortunate tradition established by Tolkien and Lewis of polarizing his world into the good being represented by the Northern (read caucasian) regions and evil being concentrated in the south (by the darker skinned races) this trend in fantasy of representing evil by the eastern and southern races is unfortunately ubiquitous, so I can hardly be upset with David Farland, but it is a little disappointing nonetheless, I'm not sure if anyone else has noticed this trend, but perhaps I'm a little more sensitive to this phenomenon being of an asian origin. However, Mr. Farland, if you are reading this, I would like to congratulate you on an excellent series so far and keep up the good work!

Rating:
Summary: A Good Sequel--But Not a Great One
Review: Some reviewers have said this book is far better than the first in this series, The Runelords. Others have derided David Farland's entire endeavor here as too slow-paced or lacking in sufficient detail.

As for me, I'm not really sure how I feel--but I suppose ambivalence is not what authors want readers to feel.

To his credit, Farland continues to elaborate on his cunningly devised system of magic and to emphasize the social aspects of that system (wherein an individual's traits, like strength, beauty and intelligence can be passed to another). The taking of such attributes from animals is a major point here, as well as the source of the book's title, and is handled well. I also appreciate that Farland sticks to his fairly straightforward set of rules and conventions regarding this magic system, rather than continuing to nuance and augment the system with previously undisclosed limitations or abilities.

For those who enjoyed the breakneck pacing of the first book, Farland moves from event to event quickly in Brotherhood of the Wolf as he did in The Runelords, but spreads his story over a larger number of characters, which slows the pace. This is the trend now in epic-fantast series, and while it helps flesh out the world in which the stories are set, I worry for Farland about the kind of character bloat seen recently from Robert Jordan.

As in the previous book, the characters, and especially Gaborn, the lead, spend a great deal of time in their own heads, debating and torturing themselves over their problems. Gaborn's centers on his inability to protect everyone. Iome and Myrrima worry about taking endowments from animals. Borenson worries first about atoning for the murder of Sylvarresta and then about how to be close to Raj Ahten's consort. This also slows the pace considerably. Raj Ahten's obsessions, however, seem to fit with his character, as Farland shows him to be increasingly mad and vain.

The inexorable reavers make an extended appearance here, and they live up to their billing in the previous volume as ferocious and terrible.

There are several wrenching, graphic details--especially one at the end--that turned my stomach. While this may upset some and seem to detract from the book as I initially thought it did, I think it adds an edge to the story that raises the stakes for all of the characters.

All in all, a solid read if you enjoyed The Runelords, though not nearly as compelling or as well executed.

Rating:
Summary: Hope in dark times
Review: Both Terry Goodkind and Robert Jordan seem to have abandonded the path of writing skillfull and good fantasy novel, and have entered the path of money making.
Too often the readers are the victim of the American policy of 'Writes get paid by the page...' (this in contrast to the English system where writers get paid by the book)

Fortunately there is Farland...
Enthralling and orignal story line, well developed characters, and the sinister truth behind the character's strength and beauty...thumbs up!

A good fantasy series so far, and well worth your time.

Let us hope that he can avoid the trap so many fantasy writers before him fell in. That he knows a way to keep things interesting and end the series somewhere before Part XX...

Rating:
Summary: In like a Lamb, Out like a Lion
Review: Those of you who were amazed by the first book, Runelords, with its fast paced storyline and the intricate Rune endowment system, may very well be disappointed by this book or atleast part of it. The plots that were left open from the Runelords quickly disappear in this book. I was excited to learn more about Dylan Hammer, the role that the Days play, and an epic confrontation between Raj Ahten and Gaborn. All of this is quickly dashed away as Farland struggles to create a coherent story about the Reavers, a wylde, and some boring background characters.

The Botherhood of the Wolf(BotW) fails to impress in other areas too. If Runelords lacked detail in the character development and the setting, BotW is completly void of it. Try to picture Gaborn, Iome, Borenson, Binnesman or any other of the main chareacters and I bet you will have a really difficult time. Raj Ahten is the only character that is fairly easy to conjure an image of since the author has gone to great lengths to describe the effects that so many endowments have had on him. Without proper character development it is hard to have an sympathy for their cause. In addition, Farland has gone to great lengths to desribe Raj Ahten and the people of Indhopal as Arabic, wearing arabic clothes, and living in the desert. It is a cheap ploy by Farland to try to create antipathy towards the antagonist of the story, by using typical American sentiments towards Arabics. Whether you agree or disagree with his sentiments, Farland should be ashamed to treat his readers in such a condescending way.

Before I get to the few good parts of the story I have one major question that Farland has failed to answer and even tries to dodge in BotW. Why doesn't Gaborn choose his Days. Gaborn can read peoples minds, past and present. Gaborn wants the Days help, the Days says, "Why don't you choose me?", Gaborn says he is thinking about, later on Gaborn needs information that the days can provide, but the Days says he cannot answer questions, here merely transcribes history. Why did Gaborn not read his mind? As I start to read Wizardborn, if in fact, Gaborn has an ahha! moment where the light suddenly turns on and he decides to read his Days's mind I will slam the book shut on this series.

Now on to the few good parts of the book. As incoherent and boring as the first 200+ pages of the book were the last 200 pages drew me in. Why? Farland started to do what he does best by bring all the storylines together towards an epic battle. While characters and locations often lack details, his battles are absolutely amazing, even if it does involve the completly unneccesary of addition of Reavers to the storyline. Farland has excellent one on one combat and large scale battles littered throughout the last part of the book and it really saved this book from being an utter disappointment.

I have high hopes that Wizardborn will forge ahead with the strong ending to BotW. Score 6.5 out of 10.

Finally for the nitwit that wrote this:
"The Runelords heralds the arrival of a serious contender for the Jordan crown." How can you say this, it really is like comparing apples and oranges. It is definetly a high compliment, but Jordan is the detail king of sci-fi, going to absurd lengths to describe the characters and setting, much like Tolkein, while Farland is a very fast paced read with strong points in action oriented storytelling, kind of like Anne McCaffrey. Both, Farland and Jordan are great authors but the series themselves are not in contention with one another.

Rating:
Summary: Good, not Great but held my interest.
Review: I really enjoyed the first book, Runelords: Sum of All Men, and I couldn't wait to read this book. I confess i struggled through some of the book, but about 250 pages from the end this book picks up tons of steam, the Reavers come out of the ground and all heck breaks loose. I thought the whole battle between the Reavers and Castle Carris was awesome, and the fight scenes reminded my a lot of Salvatore and his Forgotten Realms books. You won't be disappointed with this second book in the series. I'll definitely read Wizardborn (I've already bought it and it's sitting on my nightstand), but I'm going to read a couple other things first and then revisit the world of the Runelords and the Earth King.

Rating:
Summary: All Hail the Earth King
Review: Fleeing with the shattered remnants of his army and vowing to fight another day Garbon Val Oden moves north. The new earth king knows that his only chance lies in gathering more allies for his cause.

Raji Altman has not been idle during this time either and continues his war against the free peoples of the world in his quest to become "The Sum of All Men".

The book is wonderful but I do have two issues

1. I feel that this series shows promise if the author could just stop shifting between action and narration in such a haphazard way this book could have been great.

2. Does the author want to make Raj Altman a bad guy or a good guy? He can never seem to make up his mind. I personally like that about this character one minute he is doing something humane and decent the next he flies off the wall and slaughters an entire village. It is an aspect of the character that makes no sense and I just want a little clarity.

Overall-It was nice to see the main character learning to use his new abilites both to help his people and force Raj Aktman to unite agienste a common foe. Great book, get it if you enjoyed the first.