Rating: 
Summary: Epic Fantasy of the Year? According to WHO?
Review: DelRey has an inflated opinion of both itself and Robert Newcomb. I read a few pages of this in the bookstore, thought the premise sounded interesting and the writing was tolerable, but what happened? The prologue is the strongest piece of writing in the book. Newcomb needs a better editior--his writing is infuriatingly repetitious, cumbersome and stilted, often to the point of being laughable, and much of the dialogue is sadly lacking in spice or a sense of reality. Often, it's cliched and silly. Heck, this entire book is cliched and silly.I never came away with anything resembling attachment to ANY of the characters--not even Wigg, who seemed a decent chap in the prologue. Tristan is pathetic, a 30-year-old man with an adolescent mentality right from his introduction in the the tediously boring first info-dump... oh, I mean first chapter (should have taken that as a sign of things to come, but nooooooooo! I kept reading. Big mistake! Should have stopped then and saved myself from wallowing in the dirt of the rest of this thing). A chapter full of backhistory and little else as the FIRST chapter? Suicide, and WHAT was DelRey thinking? A few pages into chapter one and I was chanting "get on with it, get on with it!" I also found the sexist leanings of the book greatly disturbing, and I fear what is to come. Apparently Newcomb thinks the only thing women are good for is to be submissive to their men and to make babies, since to give them any power is to make them evil, and that's sad. Maybe this is not his overall intent, but right now this is how it looks, and frankly--this is more than sufficient to turn me off his writing permanently. As a woman, I definitely came away from this one feeling insulted and almost assaulted--at least in that the comparison to Goodkind is accurate. His first book left me feeling the same way, with its obsession with S&M and graphic child torture. No more Newcomb for me, at any rate. This overwritten, misogynic tripe was sufficient.
Rating: 
Summary: Open Your Mind
Review: Im just curious why people think books have to be so PC.
Maybe its just me but i always thought that writers weren't bound by any restrictions, that they were for all intents and purposes 'God' of the worlds they create and can do what they like.
There may or may not be sexist undercurrents and undertones in the book, but who cares. Why can't there be a world where most women are bad, it's usually the men that are the evil antagonists and no one cares then.
I like to keep an open mind about all the books i read and not get hung up on anything that would offend me because i see the worlds as alien and who are we to dictate the behaviour or culture of aliens.
I don't believe that people who read these books takes the writers ideas and philosophies as lessons to be learned, if they do they are ignorant, and i don't think impressionable youths would be interested in books like this, if they are then they would probably be a little more mature and probably less impressionable.
Oh yeah...its a good book.
Rating:
Summary: WAY overhyped
Review: It sounds like the author is writing his own reviews, a practice I have seen quite a lot lately. I would have rated this book higher if I wasn't so unbelievably offended by the hype it is getting, both from the publisher and whoever is writing these reviews, which sound remarkably like Mr. Newcomb's own style. This would have been passable if it had been billed for what it is--a debut novel from a new [and rough around the edges] amateur whose training involves owning a car dealership. It has the same style as Terry Goodkind, whose name is dropped every few minutes in the hope that it will gather Goodkind's audience, but Good Lord, Mr. Newcomb! If you ever took a writing class you might have heard the phrase SHOW, DON'T TELL! The reader is given the hero's thoughts, motivations and emotions [and those of every other character] in a predigested form, like baby bird spit. Bleah. In addition, to echo other's comments, there is something deeply sexist in the attitude behind this book. Is it balancing to show women in the role of the "bad guys" and men in the roles of the "good guys," as one *reviewer* suggests? Uh--no. Women have long been villified as the "bad guys." This is not new. In fact, there is nothing new here. Not the reluctant king [as if Newcomb made up the concept of the reluctant hero!] Not the wizard Wigg. Not any of it. I am happy to read new authors so that I can be surprised and delighted by their talents. But being told that one is the greatest, brightest, best, most amazing new epic fantasy of the year, when it is merely ok, or a little bit below it, is insulting to us, the readers. Let us make up our own minds, thank you. To my mind, this book is lousy.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT Terry Goodkind
Review: Inside the dust cover this book is compared to the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. While The Fifth Sorceress IS a book, thats where the comparison ends. The story line is weak. I never felt captured by the characters or the setting. I'll give the second book a chance to change my mind, but I'll get it from the library.
Rating:
Summary: "The Epic Fantasy of the Year" -- isn't
Review: As I was reading this book, a line from THE MUSIC MAN kept running through my mind: "But ya gotta know the territory!" Let me explain: This is Robert Newcomb's debut novel. No marks against him there; everyone's got to start someplace. But not only has he not written fantasy before; apparently, he has only *read* one fantasy novel in his life. How someone can presume to participate in a genre in which he's not well-versed, I don't know, but Newcomb's lack of background shows in that he falls into the cliché-trap at nearly every turn. You've got an ancient war with prophecies and repercussions into the present day. You've got a gruff, inscrutable wizard mentoring the young, reluctant prince -- who happens to have unimaginably vast magical potential. There is no all-powerful EEEVILLLLL Dark Lord, but what there is is worse: the enemies are Sorceresses, the female magic-wielding counterparts of Wizards. Unlike in Robert Jordan's books, in which case there is a plausible reason for the schism between male and female magic users, here for some reason the women are just kind of randomly, innately evil. The author pretty much comes out and says that women, granted power, will almost inevitably use it for evil, whereas men, granted the same power, manage to maintain self-control and use it only altruistically. The writing is effective but pedestrian; in fact, it could use quite a bit of work. Newcomb has some pretty good visuals, but he often rambles on for pages of details when mere paragraphs would have been sufficient; he uses five words where one would work. The book is full of awkwardly phrased sentences, typos, and annoyingly frequent repetition of phrases such as "impossible angles," or the use of "the old one" to describe the wizard. Additionally, the violence is brutally and graphically depicted without being at all kinetic or engaging, making even the battles a chore to read. In terms of the plot, the novel opens hundreds of years in the past, at the end of a war between the Sorceresses and the Wizards. The Wizards, having won, make an unbelievably, and unforgivably, stupid decision -- they free the evil and powerful leaders of the Sorceresses to live in exile, rather than executing them. Needless to say, this altruistic act comes back to haunt them, as the Sorceresses, like the Wizards, have employed their powers to make "time enchantments" that make them effectively immortal. The Sorceresses, presumed dead in their exile, create a big army and. . .you get the picture. As for the magic itself, which is an important thing in a fantasy novel, it's pretty much a rehash of the old "Light Side of the Force/Dark Side of the Force" dichotomy with a few twists that pretty much make no sense. Further, there's very little sense of any kind of *rules* to the magic system; a Wizard seems able to do just about anything with magic without tiring or draining himself unduly. To close, I'll say this: I've seen this book compared to George R. R. Martin's books several times. I'd just like to point out that Martin's novels are not popular because they're big, thick fantasy. They're popular because they're good. Despite their length, they don't waste words. Every scene is important. Every character is important. And the events are not standard, clichéd fantasy fare. Readers are smart. They are not fooled by the fact that a book is long, and they recognize quality when they see it. This book is not quality fantasy. It is overlong, overdetailed, boring, silly, and far too self-important. I, for one, will not be reading any further volumes of this series.
Rating:
Summary: FANTABULOUS!
Review: I loved almost everything about this book. Everything was so exiting, it kept me on the edge of my seat! I don't get how anyone could have been bored at any point. The scenery was lush, the characters were robust, and the story was a real page-turner! I started reading it yeasterday evening and didn't stop until I was done!
Rating: 
Summary: My Opinion and rating of this novel
Review: ...I myself have read quite a few fantasy novels and I found that I could not put this one down. I read it in practically one sitting. The Characters are unique and interesting, rather than 2 dimensional constructs. The world is vibrant and I wish to see where it is going from here. I like the Authors use of Magick and his rather unique flair for descriptions in this context. I am not saying this book is perfect or it is a read this or DIE!, type of book, But I am saying it is a good read and worth your time. Thanks
Rating:
Summary: Exceeded My Expectations
Review: I have enjoyed reading epic fantasies such as "Lord of the Rings", "Lord Foul's Bane", "Dune", and even "Harry Potter", just to mention the most enjoyable ones. I was reluctant at first to begin "The Fifth Sorceress" because I didn't think it could favorably compare with what I've read and enjoyed in the past. Well, the first ten pages removed any apprehension I may have had. This book caught my interest from the beginning and never let go. My 17 year old son who's currently enjoying "Lord of the Rings" read "The Fifth Sorceress" and felt exactly as I did. This book is well written and builds each character with a great deal of thought. In fact, my opinion of books that I have read greatly improves if I feel that the author has "painted" a picture with his use of language. This book was "painted" with extraordinary colors. If you like epic fantasy, this is a must read. You won't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: DEFINITELY the Epic Fantasy of the year!
Review: This is the author's first book? It certainly doesn't read like one. There is a certain harmony here between character, environment, and storyline that is simply not found in many first works. From the very beginning, the reader is sucked into a vortex of intrigue, adventure, and mystery. Expectations run amok from the very prelude as we watch the sorceresses unwillingly accept their banishment; knowing that they will return...with a vengeance. I could hardly wait. Excellent character development! Each and every character was a living, breathing entity. I found myself identifying with the prince, laughing at the gnome, and very nearly forgetting to breathe whenever there was a sorceress around. Moreover, this is a very different kind of read than what I have become accustomed to. What the whole world has been accustomed to. Over the years, we have had our Tolkiens, our Robert Jordans, and so forth. There is only so much one can do with a fantasy world - there will always be princes, dwarfs, wizards and sorceresses. And there are only so many ways a writer can portray them and their relationship to magic, right? Wrong. The author somehow managed to circumvent the rather tired standbys that most Fantasy writers get trapped in (i.e. the dreaded 'alternate dimension' in which magic somehow works with no explanations of how or why). He made a world that is actually believable. Nearly everything about this book smacked of innovation. The writer proved to me that regardless of what has been written before, fantasy can always be improved upon...and pushed even further into the realms of imagination. Sorceresses playing with whips and battling with wizards for world domination? Such things are nearly unheard of in the "traditional" sense in fantasy literature. Gone are the days of doddering old men and ancient women with moth-eaten black cats...these folks kick arse!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent debut novel !!
Review: All i have to say is that if u happen to like fantasy novels by George R R Martin and Robert Jordan then trust me you would not be disappointed by this book. Highly recommended with a very unpredictable plot.
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