Rating: 
Summary: Choose something else -- quick!
Review: I got this thinking it would be a depiction of an interesting, different world with some "taboo" elements (sadism, homosexuality). Well, it's a different world, alright. It starts out in one place, with a weird society, where Carnelian and his father are "Masters" and the other people are all "servants". Carnie's half-brother acts as his personal slave, dressing him, etc. Then we go on board ship, for a long, long, boring voyage, and find out that everybody but the "Master" race (hmmm... sound familiar?) is treated, not as servants, not even as slaves... more like Kleenex. Then we have a long, boring journey -- overland this time. That's where I gave up. I don't mind S & M or gay characters in books -- but you need to care about the people, and there has to be *some* sense of balance. I have never seen so many massacres & mutilations in my life. And I think it was a mistake to have the "hero" be of the ruling class (though, in this world, anybody else risks being squashed like a fly). I just didn't care about Carnie, though I did flip through to the end to find out whether his poor brother got to keep his eyes!
A complete waste of time. The one star refers to some imagination on the author's part -- otherwise I would give it NO stars.To clarify: The gay relationship in this book is not what I objected to. I didn't even read that far! (Many terrific sf/fantasy books happen to have gay characters.) The long, involved descriptions, plot that moved at the pace of an arthritic snail, and (most of all) the wallowing in cruelty and mutilations were what prevented me from finishing the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not your usual epic.
Review: I happen to really like this book. One, it's extremely original I think. Not your normal epic adventure. The world where this takes place is extremely strange indeed, full of creatures that are human like but not quite human(and it is never revealed exactly how they came about, etc. The reader knows as much as the poor, hapless main character.) The civilization itself is rather unique and more then a bit disturbing. Where one caste(the Chosen) are absolute rulers, almost gods. It goes so far that they must where masks in public, for if any of the 'lesser' people see them unmasked, they are condemned to die by the 'Law which must be obeyed'. There are many many other intricicy's in this book, especially involving the culture and civilization. Some people may be put off by the sheer complexity or the violence of it. But it's all part of the feel of the book. You ask yourself, 'could people really get like that? Could they be convinced to believe in what the characters in the book believe?' I am looking forward to learning more about this world. Many possiblities of it's past come to mind..and I'd really like to confirm some of them. Warning though, the way it ended might be a little frustrating. Jeez, there should be a law about leaving your characters in that kind of situation!! I will concede, some people may be repelled by the homoerotisim...I believe that's the term used in another review. But it's only near the end of the book, and isn't excessive. I've got to say, no one complains about when a guy and girl make love in various fantasy epics that I've read, it's almost a standard plot device. Also, I liked that the main character isn't completely clueless like most of his epic fantasy main character brethen are(Garion for example ^^;). So just read it, it doesn't suffer from cliche syndrome or the stalk character plague. Quite unlike half of the other fantasy epics out there.
Rating: 
Summary: Good descriptions, no action
Review: I have never been so disappointed in a book in my life as when I finished this one. I expected some sorcery, so perhaps I am prejudiced (there was basically none). The young protagonist takes a trip throughout the entire book to his homeland. Through his travels we find out how his people have complete disdain for all other human "races" and have a very complex sociopolitical structure that is pretty well fleshed out. The entire book seemed made up of descriptions and adjectives of this trip. He is a very good writer and the descriptions were engaging, but there is a limit to how much description I was willing to read. I would have liked a litttle more action, personally. I have to respond to other reviewers by saying that given that Carnelian was raised away from the ravages that his people normally inflict on others, it makes sense that he was horrified by it. You don't live a certain way for 15 years and then, within a few weeks, start enjoying the slaughter you are suddenly exposed to. That element was well done. The homoeroticism left me cold. I don't have anything against it, but it's not what I was expecting and really changed the mood of the book for me. It looks like the main character may develop well and perhaps will make some changes to his horrendously haughty and almost nazi-like race of people. I, however, will not be buying the subsequent books to find out.
Rating: 
Summary: Breathtaking, pure and simple...
Review: I have to admit, as I sit here pondering what to say in this my first review, that I wasn't sure I liked the book in the beginning... but, as the world unfolded and the characters began to emerge I found myself fascinated and entranced by the pictures Mr. Pinto painted. Although the story seemed to move slowly, I was never bored and found myself eagerly finding time during my day to sit down and read. Marvelous images and breathtaking vistas unfolded around Carnelian as he moved out of his small, remote home into a vast world of unfamiliar culture, politics and intrigue. The culture of The Chosen is a fascinating one, even if it is on the gruesome side. I eagerly await the next step in Carnelian's journey!
Rating:
Summary: TOO CAUGHT UP
Review: I liked the book but he leaves nothing to imagination. I felt like I wanted to skip quite a few pages. And the plot was real slow in comming. But he did build a society and it's rules very well. I think he was to caught up in tell the reader all about this society. His plot was week.
Rating:
Summary: a great book!
Review: I loved this novel. Some reviewer points out that it is one of the first fantasy novels to come from another tradition than Tolkien and that made sense to me; it's quite a different sort of world and character development. I'm not sure why other readers thought that it developed slowly... I thought it was amazing, fine writing from beginning to end. I liked it just about as much as Dune! And the cliff-hanger ending should indeed be against the law! I understand the U.S. version of the sequel has been put off for another year, but the U.K. version is available from amazon.uk.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read!
Review: I thought this book was outstanding in its depth and originality. Mr. Pinto's world is certainly memorable -- a welcome change from the repetitive junk that so often crops up in this genre. In fact, this book reminded me of the first time I read the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson and the Avaryan Rising series by Judith Tarr. After reading The Chosen, I found myself eagerly anticipating the next installment. I commend the author and strongly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Not chosen by me
Review: I was seduced by the cover art and blurb to start reading vol. I of this series. Having gotten two thirds through volume one I had to stop reading, overwhelmed by the images of bloodshed and torture. I have been reading science fiction and fantasy for over 40 years now and have often encountered the theme of the young man, naive and moral, who is thrust into a decadent society. Observing the often exotic customs of such a society is often as much fun as watching as the hero learns through suffering how to deal with and often overthrow this corrupt society. However, in this work the descriptions of wholesale killings, blindings and crucifixions in time overwhelm any interest that the plot might hold. One has the sense from these detailed descriptions that the author is overly fascinated by the sadistic elements of this tale to the detriment of the story he is attempting to tell.
Rating:
Summary: A nice surprise.
Review: I'm not a fan of the fantasy genre, but I found this book to be utterly beautiful. The author has a gift for word-smithing. I've been passing the book off to friends and colleagues.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent first; hope for better with second
Review: I've been debating how to go about writing a review for this novel. Although it has glaring problems, it also is very imaginative. Ricardo Pinto has succeeded in creating an entirely original world, completely devoid of the usual pitfalls so often the bane of other otherwise serious fantasy (i.e., cute, lovable creatures; unrealistic resolutions dependent on magical powers, etc.) Unfortunately, as his imagination unfolds the details of this cruel, heartless and extremely regimented world, it seemed to me (as I'm sure it would seem to most readers) that he has not decided just what he wants to do with the plot. Judging entirely from this book, I would say Mr. Pinto is an excellent writer but a poor novelist. In a nutshell, the story involves the young Carnelian, raised during his Father's exile on the outskirts of an empire. Because of his seclusion, Carnelian is unaware of the extremely cruel and regimented customs and racial distinctions separating him and his father from all the other classes in their society. Carnelian and his Father, Suth, are taken back to their ancestral home, Osrakum, where Suth is to preside over the election of the new God Emperor. There is no deus ex machina. Carnelian has no special gifts apart from his wits. Although he is the heir to seat of his household, and thus the heir to considerable power and wealth, he is often in the company of the heirs of other households and thus his birthright has little sway in influencing the outcomes of the situations that unfold around him. Carnelian is not a static character; Mr. Pinto uses character development amply, an extremely rare rhetorical device for this genre. Carnelian and the supporting characters change and grow through the course of the novel; their experiences influence how they react to future situations. Mr. Pinto's descriptions of Osrakum and its society is a delight. I can't remember the last time a writer planned a world in such detail--the class structure, the culture, the traditions, a complete breakdown of the political structure. As if this were not enough, we get some of the descriptions from more than one point of view. I'm not commenting on the settings, which are are imaginative and rewarding as the rest. Now the problem: Albeit, beautifully written and planned, I can't help feeling that that damned plot keeps getting in the way of Mr. Pinto's writing. The reader will be seriously disappointed by this novel. Huge sections of the book have little or nothing to do with the story, and the ending has an inexcusable flaw: a thoroughly unbelievable cliffhanger reminiscent of a bad 1930s matinee serial. Curiously, the cliffhanger appears so suddenly (and seems to be written in a style different from the rest of the novel,) that I'm want to believe Mr. Pinto either got fed-up with trying the find a way to end the first volume of his series, or his publisher got tired of his rambling plot and told him to just end the damned thing. On a final note, Carnelian has a gay affair in the novel, details of which I feel are unimportant to my review. A potential reader should not be influenced by its presence; the sex is implied rather than described. If it were a film, it would be rated "R". The violence, however, might give it a different rating. Would I recommend the book? Yes and no.
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