City of Bones

Rating:
Summary: Not bad at all
Review: "City of Bones" easily ranks as an above-average fantasy novel. Author Martha Wells does an excellent job of weaving together multiple plot lines. The story is set is harsh fantasy landscape, where civilization has mostly collapsed. There are only a few cities remaining, while the surrounding "waste" is inhabited by a variety of monsters and a type of mutant called "Krismen". The main character is a Kris named Khat who is hired by a patrician from the city of Charisat to lead an expedition to a relic, a gigantic structure built for an unknown reason by the now-vanished Ancients. However, this seemingly simple task soon turns deadly, and the characters are soon caught up in a dangerous race to find two more ancient objects that the Master Warder (the leader of a type of police force with magical powers in Charisat) is convinced will unlock the secrets of the ancients. The plot line remains intriguing to the very end, and Wells is constantly springing new surprises on us. While many fantasy novels tend to be entirely predictable, this one does an excellent job of not giving information away too soon, and I didn't have any luck at guessing what was about to happen. The book's climax is a decent effort, although I've read better.

While the plot aspect of the book is strong, I felt that there were some missed opportunities. The main male and female characters aren't particularly interesting, they're basically just copies of the stoic heroes that we've seen countless times before. Some of the minor characters, particularly a mysterious former warder named Constans, are a little bit more intriguing, but the author doesn't really seem to care much about the characterization aspect of writing. Another weakness is in setting. While the city of Charisat and the surrounding arid wastelands are a welcome break from the quasi-Europe in the Middle Ages setting that we find in most genre fantasy, Wells doesn't really give us any feel for what life in the city is like. It comes across as a rather bland place, in part because we meet only a very small subset of the population. While these flaws don't ruin the novel, they make it less memorable than it could have been.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad at all
Review: "City of Bones" easily ranks as an above-average fantasy novel. Author Martha Wells does an excellent job of weaving together multiple plot lines. The story is set is harsh fantasy landscape, where civilization has mostly collapsed. There are only a few cities remaining, while the surrounding "waste" is inhabited by a variety of monsters and a type of mutant called "Krismen". The main character is a Kris named Khat who is hired by a patrician from the city of Charisat to lead an expedition to a relic, a gigantic structure built for an unknown reason by the now-vanished Ancients. However, this seemingly simple task soon turns deadly, and the characters are soon caught up in a dangerous race to find two more ancient objects that the Master Warder (the leader of a type of police force with magical powers in Charisat) is convinced will unlock the secrets of the ancients. The plot line remains intriguing to the very end, and Wells is constantly springing new surprises on us. While many fantasy novels tend to be entirely predictable, this one does an excellent job of not giving information away too soon, and I didn't have any luck at guessing what was about to happen. The book's climax is a decent effort, although I've read better.

While the plot aspect of the book is strong, I felt that there were some missed opportunities. The main male and female characters aren't particularly interesting, they're basically just copies of the stoic heroes that we've seen countless times before. Some of the minor characters, particularly a mysterious former warder named Constans, are a little bit more intriguing, but the author doesn't really seem to care much about the characterization aspect of writing. Another weakness is in setting. While the city of Charisat and the surrounding arid wastelands are a welcome break from the quasi-Europe in the Middle Ages setting that we find in most genre fantasy, Wells doesn't really give us any feel for what life in the city is like. It comes across as a rather bland place, in part because we meet only a very small subset of the population. While these flaws don't ruin the novel, they make it less memorable than it could have been.

Rating:
Summary: Maybe I am the only one that found this book not stunning...
Review: ...and a little bit of a waste of time. I DID manage to pull through it, though, and Wells' idea about a city made on different "levels" ( ; was actually a good one. Now if the plot could have done justice to the idea... Another problem is that there are too many capitalized words! A real maelstrom of pointless dialogue. I do not understand how the characters ended up saving the world. There was not a lot about Kit's (is that his name? I have read this book a while ago) "species." All-in-all, it could have been better, but with all the unecessary gloom and annoying magic...well, it wasn't as good as I expected. I can usually stand a lot of gloom but the setting made the mood seem a tad bit absurd. Still, if you have read all the books in the world besides this one and are bored to death, I suppose you ought to read it. And don't let me stop you from trying it and getting your own opinion about it--just don't buy the book. Borrow it from the library. It would be a waste of money--money that you could have used to buy one of George R. R. Martin's books, Patricia McKillip's, Frank Herbert's, Tad Williams', etc, etc.

Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful Adventure Story set in a unique segmented society
Review: A thoroughly enjoyable, page turner, with a unique atmosphere that somehow reminded me of the excitement I felt when as a youngster I first discovered the Arabian Nights. The book is unique, quite unlike any other sf book with a detailed development of a striated society with its concomitant problems and injustices. Far more focus on characters and their interrelationships than most sf books. I could not put this book down once I started it. I look forward to more really original imaginative works from this talented author.

Rating:
Summary: A fine book, well worth reading.
Review: An interesting premise, substantial character
development, and a high level of action combine
to raise this book well above the average

Rating:
Summary: Golf Clap! A decent, but unremarkable, first effort
Review: By-the-numbers, but there's enough flashes of unpolished originality to keep things intriguing. Wells has a nice hand for original settings that aren't all over the current sf/fantasy offerings, but the characterization and plotting just make it to 'ok.' Worth reading if you're out of new stuff, and she's showing definite artistic growth (see Death of the Necromancer). Get it cheap if you can, but get it.

Rating:
Summary: Rich entertainment with a high standard of writing
Review: Charisat is a tiered city in a post-apocalyptic world where the highest have private marble walkways lined with trees and the lowest struggle for water and life. One of the central activities of the city is the trade in relics from a better time, and one of the most knowledgeable trader in relics is the Kris runaway, Khat. When a young patrician hires him as a guide to one of the ancient places outside the city, he doesn't realize that his journey is about to disrupt his settled life and the lives of everyone around him. Some relics, apparently, are better left buried.

This is my second Martha Wells, and she doesn't disappoint. The writing is detailed and unpretentious, the world is believable and draws the reader in, and the characters are fully fleshed out enough to feel real. Recommend.

Rating:
Summary: A bit amatuerish
Review: I don't really like stories where the heroes save the entire world. The writing wasn't bad though the characterization was a bit sparse. A lot of action and an interesting world, but it just didn't grab me. There are too many really great books out there to suggest something mediocre.

Rating:
Summary: A bit amatuerish
Review: I don't really like stories where the heroes save the entire world. The writing wasn't bad though the characterization was a bit sparse. A lot of action and an interesting world, but it just didn't grab me. There are too many really great books out there to suggest something mediocre.

Rating:
Summary: A nice world to enter.
Review: I don't understand some of the reviews that this book has gotten in relation to Martha Well's other books. Granted that the Death of the Necromancer was incredible ,well, absolutly incredible. But those who say that City of Bones does not come close and that it is a waste of money...well I simply don't understand. City of Bones is a far more beautiful world. When you read it you aren't aware that it is a science fiction book because the world is so real. That's Martha Wells magic. The setting for Death of the Necromancer was also top rate. The only thing that I do believe that it bests City of Bones on is characterization. Elen is awesome but Madeline...shall we say steals the show? I guess what all this is suppose to say is that for those who love D.O.T.N the simple beauty of City of Bones should be so evident. And in its own way takes the reader's imagination out for a spin. I recommend this book above all other Martha Wells books. And then after this I would recommend all other Martha Wells book with the exception of Wheel of the Infinite. Get it from the Library first.