Rating: 
Summary: Intelligent F&SF for Grownups...
Review: In a genre that seems filled to overflowing with authors of some ability cranking out novel after novel that somehow generate no stronger emotion than a mild sense of deja vu, it was a profound pleasure to discover Blade of Tyshalle, a new work by an author who is only just beginning to make his mark, Matthew Stover. Whether you like it or not...and you WILL like it...you will be forced to admit that this book is like few others. Stover has the ability to imbue his characters with dimension and life...and to make them interesting and surprisingly realistic. While this alone seems to set this book apart, the narrative threads and shifts though a variety of perspectives and personalities in a way that is fascinating and intelligent. The well-painted setting is wonderfully dark and alive with countless minor characters, who contribute their individual personalities to the overall sense of realism. The story is amazingly full of twists and surprises as you travel the knarly skein of Stover's reality from the Earth of the near future to the magickal Overworld, where the necessary suspension of disbelief seems effortless and natural...to say more would steal pleasure from those lucky folk who have not yet had the pleasure of reading this excellent book. I haven't had this much fun reading a book in years. Thanks, Mr. Stover, and thanks also to those whose acknowledged influence can be seen in your work: Robert Heinlein, Fritz Lieber...and maybe even some Hannibal Lector?
Rating: 
Summary: Stover will never see truly wide popularity.
Review: In reading Blade of Tyshalle, it may be germane to recall the title of the previous volume in this developing series: "Heroes Die." Stover is not one to pull his punches. However, this is what attracted me to his work in the first place--there is never any sense that things will work out. In his dystopian worlds the only redemption one can hope to acheive is from embracing one's failures and weaknesses. Staunch, bracing stuff, but not necessarily the recipe for popular success. Nevertheless, I awaited "Tyshalle" eagerly, and have not been disappointed. True, there is some historical exposition which is intended to cast more light on protagonist Hari "Caine" Michaelson's motovations, as well as providing more cultural contex which in part undermines the sense of mystery about the central themes, but overall, it's a real page-turner. It strongly reminds me of John Steakley's work--a mysoginistic anti-hero, who although consumed by his inner demons (and some outer ones!), cannot sway from his appointed mission.
Rating:
Summary: A Dark Fantasy
Review: Make no mistake, this is a harsh, relentless book; it is a story full of sharp edges and barbed points that grab and cut and wont let you go. It is an excellent book. There is no point in trying to describe the plot: it is just too convoluted. It would be like trying to describe the Lord of the Rings as an adventure story. What can be said about it is that it is dark and grim and often gory. It depicts Man's most base instincts and also some of his most noble. It is an intelligent work, written by a man well aware of human nature as well as human aspirations. Stover doesn't pull punches. There is death in this book: lots of it. There is pain and sadistic brutality. But against this bleak backdrop are acts of heroism in the face of hopelessness. Buy this book if you like gritty fantasies. Buy it if you like wit and intelligence. Buy it if you don't mind hard language and gruesome, sometimes disgusting scenes. Finally, as others have noted, this book should be read after reading 'Heroes Die'. Only after reading the first book can this one be fully appreciated.
Rating:
Summary: TRUE STORIES END IN DEATH
Review: Probably the best book I have ever read. The best part of it for me was CAIN's philosophy which is a little like Nietche who states that "what does not kill you, makes you stronger" and "beware that when you fight monsters, you don't become one". Bascially, CAIN is an "anti-hero" who would destroy the world and almost does to save his true love "Pallas Rill". Cainism states that you must 1st decide what you want and then determine what you will do to achieve your goal. A good way to try to live your life, it does not hurt to be like Cain, ok maybe a little.
Rating:
Summary: www.SFReader.com Review
Review: Review by Lynn Nicole Louis I was about halfway through Blade of Tyshalle when SFReader.com posted a review of Heroes Die, the prequel. I read Heroes Die when it was released; it had generated some good press and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Blade of Tyshalle is a good read, not quite as good as the first (IMO), but still several cuts above the processed tapioca pap smeared all over the pages of the fantasy novels one finds on the shelves these days. Both books are compelling in a way that's hard to describe. It's as though you're on a hill with a good view of a train track, along which runs a loaded passenger train. You know it's out there and you know it's coming, but you don't know when. And you also know it's going to wreck. It's going to jump the rails and crack like an egg thrown against a brick wall, spraying bodies and blood and screaming wounded all over. So there you wait, trapped in a state of horrific anticipation of what's to come and helpless to do anything about it. Welcome to a Stover book. Be warned! This isn't a feel-good fable, a Tolkenesque story of noble, high cheek-boned heroes journeying through a land of magic and beauty in a war of Good vs. Evil. There's a lot of death and violence here, graphically and gorily described, and more profanity than you'd find in the locker room of a losing football team at halftime. It's written for adults, which can't be said about the majority of stuff out there today. If you like your fantasy gritty, bloody, and down in the dirt (or worse), you'll find a home here. Lynn Nicole Louis
Read the full review at www.SFReader.com
Rating:
Summary: You're Punishing Yourself By Not Reading It
Review: Stover's work has been lampooned as "over-the-top" and "shallow wish-fulfillment violence" by a few self-satisfied snobs who didn't bother to actually read what he was writing. However, *Blade of Tyshalle* contains more deep reflection on the consequences of violence, and on the nature and the extent of personal responsibility for one's actions, than any other novel I've read in the past ten years. I expected to be enthralled (Stover is a past master of narrative mechanics and effective tension-building), but I didn't expect to be quite so moved. *Blade of Tyshalle* is an emotional and intellectual brick to the head, and the heart of it all (as Bob Urell has pointed out elsewhere in this review section) is its skillfully-crafted multi-level duality. Caine is simultaneously a selfish, vicious, amoral mass-murderer and the freest, noblest, least dishonest character in the story. Stover never loses sight of either aspect of his gritty fantasy Batman; when it looks like Caine is getting a bit too much authorial glad-handing, Stover shows us what a ... he is. When it looks like he's being too much of a ..., some of the twisted nobility is allowed to creep back in. Caine is a construct that Stover alternately tortures, dissects, and celebrates-- only idiots would make the mistake of assuming that Caine is some sort of wishful authorial projection. Caine is Stover's demonstration of how simplistic dualities-- Good vs. Evil, Right vs. Wrong, Order vs. Chaos-- so easily break down when confronted with the complexity that even a single human being displays. Too many fantasies treat blood, sex, violence, and adventures as something distant from the reader, something so unlikely and improbable that they can be enjoyed abstractly. *Blade of Tyshalle* uses brutality and suffering to move the reader closer to the story, to draw a line between the reader's life and the lives of everyone in the novel. The true heart of "gritty" fantasy isn't blood and gore, it's the examination of genuine human characters rather than idealized ciphers. That's why *Blade of Tyshalle* hurts so much and excites so deeply.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad for a sequel, but not great either
Review: The sequel to the vast superior Heroes Die, Matthew Stover returns to the vast worlds and morally complex characters he so giftedly writes. Starting off with a long and entertaining flashback into the life of Hari Michelson, the actor also known as Caine on Overworld and to millions of fans, Stover reveals a relationship that plays later into the story. He then fast forwards to the present where he focuses on a broken, beaten Hari who, after having a magical sword driven through his spine in the previous novel, can't walk and has high anxiety over losing control of his bowels. He can't really count on his family, which consists of his wife Shanna, who is too preoccupied with her role of being a goddess, and his conspiracy-crazy father.
The one light in Hari's life is his "daughter", Faith. The plot kicks into gear when Faith's grandmother, a twisted businesswoman seeking revenge for her son's death, takes Hari's daughter away from her. This causes Hari to revert back to his anger consumed, violence driven role of Caine. Unfortunately, his behavior leads to his ultimate downfall.
Stover is a great writer. His characters are complex, as are the environments they dwell in. This applies to his minor characters as well as his main ones. The action, while not as abundant as in the last book, is fast paced and explosive.
While the book is entertaining, it tends to drag in certain parts, particularly those concerning the different governmental and magical aspects of Overworld. This is unfortunate because they are necessary for the story. His descriptions can be complicated and confusing. I still don't understand what happened during Shanna's rebirth. There are also certain plotlines which felt unfinished, such as Kollberg's control of the Board of Governers, which was never fully explained.
After reading Heroes Die, which had a much stronger story and better action, Blade of Tyshalle somewhat dissapoints. But at least Stover leaves it open for another installment, which I anxiously await.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad for a sequel, but not great either
Review: The sequel to the vast superior Heroes Die, Matthew Stover returns to the vast worlds and morally complex characters he so giftedly writes. Starting off with a long and entertaining flashback into the life of Hari Michelson, the actor also known as Caine on Overworld and to millions of fans, Stover reveals a relationship that plays later into the story. He then fast forwards to the present where he focuses on a broken, beaten Hari who, after having a magical sword driven through his spine in the previous novel, can't walk and has high anxiety over losing control of his bowels. He can't really count on his family, which consists of his wife Shanna, who is too preoccupied with her role of being a goddess, and his conspiracy-crazy father.
The one light in Hari's life is his "daughter", Faith. The plot kicks into gear when Faith's grandmother, a twisted businesswoman seeking revenge for her son's death, takes Hari's daughter away from her. This causes Hari to revert back to his anger consumed, violence driven role of Caine. Unfortunately, his behavior leads to his ultimate downfall.
Stover is a great writer. His characters are complex, as are the environments they dwell in. This applies to his minor characters as well as his main ones. The action, while not as abundant as in the last book, is fast paced and explosive.
While the book is entertaining, it tends to drag in certain parts, particularly those concerning the different governmental and magical aspects of Overworld. This is unfortunate because they are necessary for the story. His descriptions can be complicated and confusing. I still don't understand what happened during Shanna's rebirth. There are also certain plotlines which felt unfinished, such as Kollberg's control of the Board of Governers, which was never fully explained.
After reading Heroes Die, which had a much stronger story and better action, Blade of Tyshalle somewhat dissapoints. But at least Stover leaves it open for another installment, which I anxiously await.
Rating:
Summary: A strong, somewhat flawed sequel
Review: This book has a very strong parallel in today's cinema: the Mummy Returns. Both are good, action-packed and a lot of fun. Still, both are overly-complex, with too many secondary characters and just a little too much packed into the experience. This book is much more grim than Heroes Die, and suffers from trying to tell too many characters' stories at the same time. Where Heroes Die was tightly focused on Hari/Caine, through too much of this book the title character (Caine is the "Blade of Tyshalle") is relegated to the sidelines. Stover also has the sometimes annoying habit of opening a section of the book with the conclusion of the section, and then working backwards. This is fine once, but it becomes distracting, and is combined with both chapter previews that tell the essential happenings of the upcoming section and some omniscient pronouncements of doom (along the lines of "He didn't know how wrong he was.") I eagerly awaited this book, and will snap up anything he writes. After reading his other series and re-reading Heroes Die, though, I can't help but think this book could have used some serious editing; it gets us where we want to go, and it's pretty fun getting there... it's just not qutie as fun and definately not as elegant as his other work. I read bits of an interview with the author, where he said that the other three books spent a long time in writing, rewriting and editing; the extra time spent on those books really paid off. One last thought: don't read this book if you aren't familiar with the first one (Heroes Die).
Rating:
Summary: One of the best, seriously.
Review: This book kept me up every night for four nights until I finished it. I literally just put the book down and my eyes are bleary and dry. But if there was a sequel on my nightstand I wouldn't be writing this, I'd be still reading. Stover weaves the Sci-Fi and Fantasies genres together and creates a world full of tragic characters who experience everything imaginable in two dangerous worlds. The roller-coaster ride of constant action and anguish left me exhausted, but wanting more and more. This book takes you by the arm and drags you across every human emotion without saying 'you better close your eyes for this one'. Mix in social commentary & phylosophical observation with the action, emotion and larger-than-life characters and you have one ... fine book. Read and re-read.
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