Rating: 
Summary: The plot unfolds...
Review: "Enchanter" is the second volume of the series begun in "Battleaxe", by Australian author Sara Douglass. The myriad of characters introduced in the first volume are joined by a host of new ones as the story grows ever more complex. Axis, brought up as the Battleaxe of the Seneschal, leader of the war against the perceived evil of the forest wilderness and the Forbidden races of Icarii and Avar, must begin now to confront his heritage. The mysteries of his past are linked to the inexorable changes now taking place in the land of Tencendor. And over all hangs the dark threat of Gorgrael, the Destroyer. The plot developments in "Enchanter" display a quicksilver unpredictability. Any assumptions laid down by the first volume of the series quickly go out the window as Douglass reshapes her characters' lives against the standard expectations one might have of them. This certainly turns the standard, sometimes cliched elements of "Battleaxe" on their heads. Perhaps herein also lies the flaw of the book: on first reading, I found myself unsympathetic to the changes taking place, some of which struck me as awkward or out of character when taken in the context of the first book's premises. However, having finished the series and re-read it, these events fall into their natural place in the big picture. Douglass' style suffers from occasional uncomfortable moments but is still pleasantly readable throughout. Add an intriguing story and characters with more than a passing spark of life, and this makes a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as book 1
Review: After escaping from Gorkenfort at the end of book 1, Borneheld went south and regrouped at Jervois Landing. At Jervois Landing he gathers men and supplies and gets ready for the long winter fight against Gorgrael. Likewise, Axis went east, to the abandoned Keep of Sigholt, where he starts building an army. Axis meets his heretofore-unknown relatives and learns about being an enchanter from his father. He pursues an affair with Azhure even as he professes to love Faraday. Borneheld and Axis agree to an uneasy truce during the cold months. They first need to withstand the winter campaign against Gorgrael before they can kill each other in spring. The problem I have with this series is a number of events are overly simplistic, contrived, or just plain ridicules. The afterlife in this series is absurd. When an Enchanter-Talon dies, the body is laid upon a stone block in one of the Barrows. When all the living people leave, the dead person hops off the stone block, casually walks down the stairs to the Start Gate, and jumps in (chapter 23, book 1). When the dead person goes through the Gate, a statue magically appears. If the dead person manages to come back through the Gate, the statue disappears (chapter 25, book 2). This is the most ridicules afterlife scenario I've ever heard of. Where the love affair between Azhure and Axis seems realistic, the love affair between Axis and Faraday is forced and contrived. Go back and re-read book 1. Axis wasn't really interested in Faraday until 70% of the way through the book when he discovered she was married to Borneheld. It's like throwing a switch. One second Axis doesn't care that much for Faraday and the next he is madly in love. It seems reasonable that an 18-year-old girl who is new to court life would be infatuated with good-looking Axis. It doesn't seem realistic for Axis who, by all accounts, has slept with numerous women is suddenly going to fall madly in love with Faraday. I wish all references to this contrived "love affair" would be edited out of the book. Faraday is close to the center of the action. She is married to Borneheld and she is Tree Friend. In the real world she would have maids or ladies in waiting around her that have heard the latest gossip. She also has powers in her own right. She should be in a very good position to know what's going on in the world. Sara Douglass expects me to believe that Faraday has no friends of any kind to tell her about the relationship between Axis and Azhure. It seems Faraday is the only person in the kingdom that doesn't know about it. Even the Horned Ones in the Sacred Grove know about it (chapter 35, book 2). Give me a break, talk about a contrived plot. Even if you assume the Faraday-Axis connection is a valid romance instead of something contrived by Sara Douglass, the end of the book is very unbelievable and unrealistic. The third verse of "The Prophecy of the Destroyer" says, "Let not your Lover's pain distract". I have to ask myself the question, "Who exactly is the Lover in question?" I assume this refers to Azhure and not Faraday. I'm going to be disappointed if Sara Douglass maintains in book 3 that Gorgrael is the head bad guy. He's just another pawn as far as I'm concerned. With all its problems and the extremely unrealistic and disappointing ending I really should have hated this book. It isn't as good a "The Wayfarer Redemption" but is was still readable (except for that poorly thought out, laughable speech Axis gives at the end of chapter 60). Do yourself a favor, rip out chapters 60-61 and burn them before you read Enchanter.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as book 1
Review: After escaping from Gorkenfort at the end of book 1, Borneheld went south and regrouped at Jervois Landing. At Jervois Landing he gathers men and supplies and gets ready for the long winter fight against Gorgrael. Likewise, Axis went east, to the abandoned Keep of Sigholt, where he starts building an army. Axis meets his heretofore-unknown relatives and learns about being an enchanter from his father. He pursues an affair with Azhure even as he professes to love Faraday. Borneheld and Axis agree to an uneasy truce during the cold months. They first need to withstand the winter campaign against Gorgrael before they can kill each other in spring. The problem I have with this series is a number of events are overly simplistic, contrived, or just plain ridicules. The afterlife in this series is absurd. When an Enchanter-Talon dies, the body is laid upon a stone block in one of the Barrows. When all the living people leave, the dead person hops off the stone block, casually walks down the stairs to the Start Gate, and jumps in (chapter 23, book 1). When the dead person goes through the Gate, a statue magically appears. If the dead person manages to come back through the Gate, the statue disappears (chapter 25, book 2). This is the most ridicules afterlife scenario I've ever heard of. Where the love affair between Azhure and Axis seems realistic, the love affair between Axis and Faraday is forced and contrived. Go back and re-read book 1. Axis wasn't really interested in Faraday until 70% of the way through the book when he discovered she was married to Borneheld. It's like throwing a switch. One second Axis doesn't care that much for Faraday and the next he is madly in love. It seems reasonable that an 18-year-old girl who is new to court life would be infatuated with good-looking Axis. It doesn't seem realistic for Axis who, by all accounts, has slept with numerous women is suddenly going to fall madly in love with Faraday. I wish all references to this contrived "love affair" would be edited out of the book. Faraday is close to the center of the action. She is married to Borneheld and she is Tree Friend. In the real world she would have maids or ladies in waiting around her that have heard the latest gossip. She also has powers in her own right. She should be in a very good position to know what's going on in the world. Sara Douglass expects me to believe that Faraday has no friends of any kind to tell her about the relationship between Axis and Azhure. It seems Faraday is the only person in the kingdom that doesn't know about it. Even the Horned Ones in the Sacred Grove know about it (chapter 35, book 2). Give me a break, talk about a contrived plot. Even if you assume the Faraday-Axis connection is a valid romance instead of something contrived by Sara Douglass, the end of the book is very unbelievable and unrealistic. The third verse of "The Prophecy of the Destroyer" says, "Let not your Lover's pain distract". I have to ask myself the question, "Who exactly is the Lover in question?" I assume this refers to Azhure and not Faraday. I'm going to be disappointed if Sara Douglass maintains in book 3 that Gorgrael is the head bad guy. He's just another pawn as far as I'm concerned. With all its problems and the extremely unrealistic and disappointing ending I really should have hated this book. It isn't as good a "The Wayfarer Redemption" but is was still readable (except for that poorly thought out, laughable speech Axis gives at the end of chapter 60). Do yourself a favor, rip out chapters 60-61 and burn them before you read Enchanter.
Rating: 
Summary: It's really 4 1/2 stars but ...
Review: After reading book 1, I WANTED to read Enchanter. The action, quality and depth of characters, and quality of writing increases in this book. I agree with another author that a few plots are little too easy to foresee because of heavy hints, but overall I couldn't stop reading this book (just ask my wife!) I do like some of the small and very effective twists that occur and would like to see more.
This book does a good job of making Axis more turmoil ridden. I find this aspect in characters to really add to my experience as it brings a bit of life like quality. I would like to see this continue as well as it does with the other lead characters. In some ways I feel as thought Borneheld should have been around longer, but the storyline wouldn't allow it. He was an easy character to pity.
I can't wait to read Starman.
Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: All i can say is wow i just finished reading this book and i would have to say that, that was the best ending to a book i have ever read. I liked the book from the start but after i started getting through it, it became more and more interesting. I LUVED IT!
Rating:
Summary: 10 Times better than the first!
Review: Alright, "Wayfarer Redemption" was good, but this is the real winner between the two. This book actually tries to make you think, it's almost unpredictable. I definitely recommend this book for anyone who wants to read good fantasy, but you should read the Wayfarer Redemption first so you don't get too confused. This one actually lets you feel for the characters a little bit more than WR. I was almost in tears towards the end of this one and I haven't had a book do that to me for a while. This is a great book! I can't wait until the rest of the series gets released in the US.
Rating:
Summary: better than the first
Review: and thank God for that. after reading the first book in this series, i was left with a sour taste in my mouth. the characters acted like 5 years olds on holiday and the plot was a typical cookie-cutter fantasy. i wasnt going to read the second, but hay; i was bored. the writting in itself wasnt all that bad, just everything else was. luckily, i acctualy enjoyed this book. although some characters i still dispised, one gave me hope that not all of them were complete idiots. the plot, while not escaping the 'hero-saves-the-world' deal, did get a little more interesting, if only slightly. the thing that kept me most interested in this book however was the constant mysterious presance of wolfstar. i was guessing constantly about his true identity, and about what he wanted. u hear him laughing in the backround every now and then, but u dont know why. if u hated the first book, try this one. if u still hate the series, by all means stop, but if u enjoy it u might as well try the rest. i liked this book, but that doesnt mean that everyone will. good-reading, and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Magic
Review: Can Book Two of the Wayfarer Redemption be as good as Book One? Yes. In fact, what made the debut of Wayfarer Redemption so likeable is enhanced in the pages of Enchanter. Sara Douglass has a magical skill with weaving a highly intricate plot. Sure, some things can be guessed, but her surprises and plot twists make the Redemption series highly addictive. Proceeding at even a more frenzied pace than its predecessor, Enchanter enters the realm of brotherly conflict, magic, suspense, and a bit of a roller coaster ride. Mystery quickly surrounds the character of Azhure and her place in the all important prophecy. The lead character quickly finds himself torn between Azhure and Faraday with a completely new take on the classic love triangle. Resolved is Timozel's oath to Faraday, the absence of the Fifth Sentinel, and a few other questions given in Book One. On the other hand, for every question answered, Douglass raises the specter of numerous additional conundrums. The Wayfarer Redemption Saga, for those who have not read any of the series, concerns The Prophecy of the Destroyer. Every bit as vague as Nostradamus's quatrains, the prophecy unwinds as Axis-the story's protagonist-faces several antagonists, chief of them a pair of brothers named Borneheld and Gorgrael. Both seem manipulated by a mysterious Dark Man, who weaves through the plot like a macabre, skeletal surfer. The world created as the backdrop for Wayfarer Redemption is tantalizing, its denuded forests caused by a religion based on the plow and the ax. The Avar, a race of people with close ties to the forest, are so alienated by the destruction of their forest that they have retreated from the world and become something of a vague memory as one of the Forbidden, races that have retreated from the destructive ways of the plow and ax. Axis's job is to pull the Avar, the Icarii, and the dominant Acharites together in order to meet the menace coming from the North. So much resentment and bitterness between the three races will make that an interesting accomplishment. With four more books remaining in the series, there seems plenty left over for those truly addicted to what may be one of the best fantasy series since Robert Jordan began spinning his Wheel. Those who cannot take addiction in measured doses may well wish to wait for Tor to release all six books in the series. As of this writing, only three of the books are available to Douglass's American audience.
Rating:
Summary: If Douglass is Australia's "shining jewel"...
Review: Don't expect the Aussies to take the literary world by storm any time soon. I got these books as a gift. They seem to be right up my alley. And truthfully, the story is interesting and engaging. Thus, the 3 stars. BUT, Douglass could have done with a session or two with a creative writing coach before she published. The crux of the problem lies in the point of view she uses to tell the story. She uses omniscience as a crutch. Douglass always tells the reader what characters are thinking rather than showing us through their actions. We jump from one character's thought to another in the same scene. The result is choppy and distracting, pulling the reader, at least this reader, out of what would otherwise be an absorbing story. We don't really see characters develop so much as we are told that they develop. I will probably read the next book when I get access to it, for as I said, I want to finish the story. But I won't buy the remaining books, and I certainly hope the writing improves as they continue.
Rating:
Summary: A Cut Above
Review: Douglass' Enchanter is definately a stronger effort than her first book, Wayfarer's Redemption. I found this book on the whole more satisfying as well. The writing and plot and character development showed more maturity - maybe because all of the setup had been taken care of and we're can finally get down to business. Enchanter clips along at a good pace and keeps the usual "cast of thousands" of fantasy epic to a manageable number, although if you haven't just finished WFR it might take you a couple of chapters to reconnect with all the characters. I liked that the expectations Douglass developed in the first book were often turned on their head, yet at the same time some of the changes of direction seemed forced. The Icarii names she uses continue to grate as juvenile and lazy. And a particular example of this tendency became my pet peeve. Here you have this exotic race of magical creatures and she calls their bathing pool, "The Chamber of Steaming Waters"? Please, don't even bother if that is the best you can do. But I digress...
Overall a cut above some of the fantasy out there, and I especially liked the storyline involving WolfStar, a powerful enchanter from the past who may just have turned up disguised as an intimate of Axis' camp and not necessarily there to help...I am especially looking forward to seeing how his role plays out. Although Faraday seemed to be the heroine based on WFR, it is definately the mysterious Azhure who is coming into her own and the majority of the book really revolves around her. The ending will reveal some of Azhure's mystery but there is plenty of story left to make the conclusion of the trilogy something to look forward to.
| 
