Rating: 
Summary: disapointing and depressing
Review: "The Chosen" is set in a fantasy world with a small ruling class of racially "superior" stock, which is different enough to stand out notably. Everyone who isn't a master is a slave, and here we have the most rediculous aspect of "The Chosen" -- the slaves outnumber the masters several hundred (perhaps thousand) to one, and are treated SO poorly that the inevitable real-life result would be a slave revolt & blood bath, resulting in the "masters" being extinct.
This book follows a young & naive Master, who has lived in seclusion with a bunch of slaves and a distant father. He has grown up feeling affection for his slaves, and is horrified at the poor treatment his slaves receive from his father & the other masters. Our hero is unable to help his slaves in any way -- again, and again, and again, and again. Really, this got awfully borring and quite depressing.
Many authors can craft a plot filled with horrible events and produce a truly entertaining whole. I did not find this to be the case with "The Chosen".
Rating: 
Summary: A great read!
Review: A great and original read! I loved the careful and rich development of the cultural environment--nothing slow about it! When is the sequel coming? I've been checking every day for it!
Rating:
Summary: I thought it was great
Review: Everybody seems so hooked up on the fact that this book had a gay relationship, when that fact is becoming less and less rare in fantasy books. Look at Mercedes Lackey's books, Tanya Huff, Fiona Patton, or Melaine Rawn even.....
I loved the detail in this book, but many earlier reviewers were right by sayin it moved a little slow sometimes, but i was never bored with the book. Carnelian was an awesome character, and was a breath of fresh air to know to know that not all of the "The Chosen" were unfeeling monsters.
The only really thing that really irked me in the end was the HUGE cliffhanger....my god, it should be illegal to do that to your readers!! anyways, i luved it, and if u have an open mind i think you would to. So read and enjoy!!!
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely fascinating
Review: I am a voracious reader and it's been a LONG time since I've read anything in the sci-fi/fantasy genre that is truly unique. The writing is superb - the world created is totally different, ritualistic, and fascinating. The same-sex relationship in the book does not detract from the story - even for those of us that are not oriented that way. The writing and the story are gripping!
Rating: 
Summary: EXQUISITE WORLD BUILDING, BUT¿
Review: I am kinda scratching my head as I am writing this. Ever so often (or better: rarely), a truly unfettered, free-spirit writer comes along and creates an universe so novel and unique that it escapes all conventional patterns generally known and accepted in the genre. R. Pinto's "The Chosen" confronts us with such a universe. Definitely my respect for creating a land of strong, violent scenic contrasts (really, some very cool stuff here); and definitely my highest respect for being able to describe his world in a strangely feverish, sometimes barren, sometimes lush imagery - almost like a canvas from Hieronymus Bosch. Truly a tour de force that I have not seen in ages (well, strictly from a world-building perspective, not since Gene Wolfe). And still, I feel unable to grant it more than three stars. Why, where's the problem ? Well, it's the human component. The world-building IS exquisite, but - gee - what a dreary society that Pinto felt compelled to create here. How dreary ? Imagine Marquis de Sade being reborn as Friedrich Nietzsche and George Orwell in one, trying to recreate Raymond Feist's Daughter of the Empire series as a downbeat version of "1984". Yes, it actually is THAT dreary ! Believe it or not - Pinto has succeeded in creating a caste-like society so rigid and stratified in its social and moral patterns that the extreme cruelty that oozes from the book's pages simply becomes a faceless, amorphous, even institutionalized everyday circumstance. Gosh, this world should be purest evil - once seen through Westernized eyes. But this world is so incredible alien and unconventional in its in-human-ness (besides its inhumanity) that the normal classification of good and evil simply won't hold. I mean, c'mon - Pinto's "humans" consider this system normal - it's their world, after all, they do not know any other. So finally getting to the main character: What actually ARE the chances of getting anywhere in this world for a protagonist like Carnelian - a blooming, frail, humanist, naïve, desperate, awkward, passive, budding slip of human being in an extensive, frozen, barren and paralyzed emotional wasteland called The Three Lands ? Well, not many - and Pinto is between a rock and a hard place for the two volumes to follow: If he keeps matters as are, literally nothing can happen (except for the rather graphic death of the protagonist). If Pinto decides to transform Carnelian into a world-changer, he'll have quite a dance ahead to explain to the readers how our so incredibly fragile protagonist was able to do so in such an inmutable world. I must confess that I do not know whether I really want to find out. Reading this book ended up being a rather excruciating exercise, because of what I am calling "Pinto's Paradox": Creation of a tale that offers absolutely no hope of escape or release dedicated to a genre that is based firmly on escapism (in the good sense). Ultimately, no pleasure at all. Impressive nonetheless, but no pleasure at all. If it were for that, I could just stick to the newspapers - now couldn't I ?
Rating: 
Summary: It's Not Really Fantasy
Review: I began reading this book on a whim and by the time I was halfway through with it I was still wholly unsure whether or not I liked it. I couldn't have told you whether or not I was interested in the story or the characters, I couldn't have told you if I liked Mr. Pinto's writing style, and I certainly couldn't sum up the plot. Now that I'm done with it, pretty much the only one of those things that has changed is that I can sum the plot up. I still am unsure whether or not I liked _The Chosen_. I've never had this happen before, but I am going to assume that I did like it, because I will most likely read the next book in the series when it is published. I have seen some odd comments in some of the other reviews of this novel. One point I would like to make is that this book is not strictly fantasy. That is probably why it surprised and bothered people. Tor has published many other non-fantasy titles before (i.e. Card's "Homecoming" series) and this is another such case. Were this story a fantasy account, Pinto would have spent much less time describing the societal structure and the gruesome acts. More would have been focused on the main character, Carnelian, and his relations with the other characters. There is also a complete absence of anything remotely magical. I am inclined to believe that _The Chosen_ is either a sci-fi/fantasy mix, or wholly sci-fi. Science fiction novels spend a lot of time describing the universe around the characters, as Pinto has done in his first offering in this series. These universes are often complex and have interesting quirks, such as the Chosen society of Pinto's book. One of the good sides of this novel is that you don't necessarily have to like any of the characters to read it. In fact, I'm pretty certain you're *not* supposed to like any of them save Carnelian, and even he is a bit stupid and naïve at times. It's an interesting choice on Pinto's part. Another good side is that you really get a feel for the world that these people live in. I could picture the landscapes and scenes Pinto was describing. I could clearly see the gruesome reality of the relationship between the Chosen people and their servants. I am pretty sure that I understand how life in Osrakum must feel and what it must be like to live under the sort of oppressive rule the servants must endure. I found myself severely disliking some of the other Chosen people Carnelian was traveling with. The novel does suffer from excessive description, as others have said. Pinto will use a paragraph describing a single marble column and then dedicate another two to describing its origins and cultural significance. I guess if you enjoy that sort of thing you will be enrapt by this novel. I oftentimes had to force myself back a few pages to reread a description to make sure I had understood it. Another downside is that the events after the election feel almost forced and move much quicker than the rest of the book. It seems as though Pinto's editor decided to have him cut the story short abruptly. I feel many people will be totally upset by this. I admire Pinto's boldness, however. Many have commented on Carnelian's homosexual love affair towards the end of the book. This love affair pops up with no prior explanation of Chosen views on such matters. To me, that means that Chosen society looks upon any sexual relationship as proper, that love between any gender is acceptable. In the story's world, a homosexual relationship is as natural as if Carnelian had met an attractive Chosen female and made love to her. Furthermore, the sex itself is not described and should not be offensive to anyone. I am heterosexual, but I was able to feel the romance and sexual tension in the situation as though it weren't between two males. One thing, though, is that throughout the entire novel you never see Carnelian with a female his age. We cannot assume that he is totally gay based on his affair in this novel. Perhaps in subsequent stories he will become bonded to a woman and have children of his own. How are we to know? I applaud Pinto on this subterfuge, especially if he is not bi- or homo-sexual himself. All in all, Pinto has some things to learn about writing. What he does know, however, is more than enough to pass this off as a good read. It may not be superb or on the Tolkein scale, but it fends for itself and certainly has some interesting things going for it. I would definitely recommend it to sci-fi fans and fantasy fans alike, though keep in mind that it is very long and sometimes overdrawn. I guess I did like it, after all. =)
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic fantacy!
Review: I can only agree with my fellow reader from Australia: absolutely fascinating reading! When will book 2 be published?
Rating:
Summary: Very nice first novel
Review: I enjoyed this novel very much. It was, admittedly, a tad slow at first and I found myself alternately putting it down and picking it up again. It's an imaginative tale with rich descriptions and interesting characterizations. I very much liked the relationship between the protagonist and his male lover but wish they had gotten together earlier in the novel. There's no awkward gender bias and it's very lovely. I gave it a 4 out of 5 because the ending was very unnatural and abrupt; almost out of place. (I hope that Mr. Pinto decides to continue this loving relationship between the two characters, without introducing a female heroine, which seems to be the cop out these days. I'll have to check out the last page of the next novel. That will decide whether I shell out the big bucks for another hardcover that cops out and disappoints.)
Rating:
Summary: A world of latter day Melniboneans?
Review: I finished reading The Chosen over the weekend and immediately looked to pick up the second novel. While this is not a "perfect" book, it is overall well written and plotted. It is a bit long in spots - the best sections of the book are the ones focusing on the intrigues of this extraordinary world. The author has a tendency to draw out the travel/quest portions of the book, at times applying new and (possibly) unnessary descriptive passages. While I found it took a while, I did enjoy the characters and found them to be individuals not mere characterizations. The protagonist is possibly a little naive, but that is what suspension of disbelief is all about. I find it actually refreshing to have an author focus on the pain and violence endemic to the society he is writing about. Too often fantasy novels are all too sweet and precious, where evil is represented in a symbolic embodiment only i.e. the big bad wizard/demon/dark lord etc. In this case the author provides us an alternative where "evil" is simply part of the societal structure. I am not even sure that it is evil per se, it is merely a different view of the world. Our own world has seen a number of societies that view their survival as being paramount to the lives of others. I most frequently thought of Melnibone or Gran Bretan when reading the Chosen and believe that the author is continuing a tradition started by M. Moorcock. In this case, I enjoyed the more direct, day to day view of the beautiful but dangerous and decadent culture being written about. I would highly recommend this book and hope that Mr. Pinto continues to write, honing his skills and producing a five star novel the next go round.
Rating:
Summary: A world of latter day Melniboneans?
Review: I finished reading The Chosen over the weekend and immediately looked to pick up the second novel. While this is not a "perfect" book, it is overall well written and plotted. It is a bit long in spots - the best sections of the book are the ones focusing on the intrigues of this extraordinary world. The author has a tendency to draw out the travel/quest portions of the book, at times applying new and (possibly) unnessary descriptive passages. While I found it took a while, I did enjoy the characters and found them to be individuals not mere characterizations. The protagonist is possibly a little naive, but that is what suspension of disbelief is all about. I find it actually refreshing to have an author focus on the pain and violence endemic to the society he is writing about. Too often fantasy novels are all too sweet and precious, where evil is represented in a symbolic embodiment only i.e. the big bad wizard/demon/dark lord etc. In this case the author provides us an alternative where "evil" is simply part of the societal structure. I am not even sure that it is evil per se, it is merely a different view of the world. Our own world has seen a number of societies that view their survival as being paramount to the lives of others. I most frequently thought of Melnibone or Gran Bretan when reading the Chosen and believe that the author is continuing a tradition started by M. Moorcock. In this case, I enjoyed the more direct, day to day view of the beautiful but dangerous and decadent culture being written about. I would highly recommend this book and hope that Mr. Pinto continues to write, honing his skills and producing a five star novel the next go round.
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