Rating: 
Summary: Mary Gentle's The Book of Ash - Part II
Review: This is the conclusion of my review of the whole work. Part I is found under volume 1, A Secret History.NO LAUGHING MATTER
We would assume there would be some comic relief in so long and depressing a novel, yet we search for it in vain. Ash's sordid world is generally unrelieved by any humor. But every so often we are told that some characters chuckled, guffawed, or burst into laughter. It is fortunate that we are told this, because we can then re-read the text to try to find out why. The wit and humor in this book are so feeble and simple-minded that one is forced to conclude that the characters are the type of people who would convulse in laughter if somebody merely broke wind. While reading this interminable work we are usually in the company of simpletons (i.e., the men of the Lion Azure passant guardant affronte look-I-swear-I'm-a-lion-and-not-a-leopard, really.) TWO HEARTS THAT BEAT AS ONE
Ash's love for Fernando del Guiz is even weirder that the alternate universe flapdoodle. She says she hates him (as well she should), he is a coward, a wimp, a swine....but Ash just loves him to pieces, because he's handsome. This must be a "woman thing." A man cannot understand it. It tends to destroy the whole feminist agenda of the book. It turns Ash into a giddy teen-age girl (instead of the homicidal, sociopathic teen-age girl we know and love.) But wait, wait--maybe this whole episode is the comic relief I thought wasn't there??? PATTON--WHAT A GOOD MOVIE!
"I don't want you guys to die for your flag--I want the Visigoths to die for theirs." [II,80] I was disappointed that Ash didn't add something like, "And when your kids ask you what you did in the great Visigoth war, you won't have to say you shoveled muck in Antwerp." But at any rate, I then understood the earlier slapping incident. Could Ash be George Patton? (Considering that Old Blood and Guts believed in reincarnation, we may have a hook for a whole new series here.) DEUS EX MACHINA
An earthquake is a pretty feeble plot device to get characters out of a tight place. EXPLETIVE NOT DELETED, NOT EVER
Question: How many times is a certain four-letter profanity used in the book?
Answer: 590
Question: How many times is it Ash who uses it?
Answer: 373
Question: Does this bother you?
Answer: Yes
Question: Did you actually count the times?
Answer: Yes
Question: Where is the editor when you need him?
No Answer The churls of Ash's world do not impress us by their mindless and repetitive profanity. Ash herself should have her mouth washed out with soap. (Too bad Leofric didn't think of that.) TO BATTLE! (WHAT'S HAPPENING?)
The fog of war never billows more thickly than when a battle occurs. From the first skirmish, which is so vaguely narrated as to seem surreal, to the Battle of Auxonne--a pitched battle if ever there was one, just begging for a map, an OB (order of battle, troop list), and clear prose, but which is instead described only from Ash's confused and incomplete viewpoint--we are usually unsure as to what is happening. We do not even get a map of Dijon, where we are stuck for two volumes. FINALLY
Anyone who has had the patience to read this whole review might well now ask why I read all four volumes when I found in them so much to dislike. I could take the easy way out and say it was because I had bought them and wanted a return for my money, but that is not the case. No, I finished them, and gave them 2 stars instead of 1, for several reasons. The main one is that, in spite of everything, I liked Ash--or at least I felt sorry for her. She never gives up, and is strong and brave. I kept hoping she would grow and show some recovery from her horrible past. I hoped she would give up on Fernando and turn to Floria. I wanted to see how it ended (as disappointing as that was to me.) I also have to admire an author who can write so long a story and get through the enormous task of seeing it into print. Ms. Gentle also never quits, and is strong and brave. But when all is said and done, I do feel that the limitations of this work far outweigh its virtues. Caveat lector (Let the reader beware.)
Rating: 
Summary: Engaging ideas behind the story.
Review: This is the second part of THE BOOK OF ASH (following A SECRET HISTORY), the story of a female mercenary captain in an alternate 15th century Europe. This main alternate history story is framed by the story of a historian in the early 21st century translating a manuscript of this history. He is trying to uncover why we have never heard any of this history as it is being told in the manuscript. This all makes for a very engaging read because, not only does it draw the reader into the mystery, but we also get an extremely well told and realistic tale of a mercenary band in war torn medieval Europe. As in the first book, the reader is again deeply immersed in this reality through the author's use of vivid description, brilliantly imagined characters, and engaging plot devices. I was tempted to give this book only three stars. The first fifty pages of the book, as well as the last hundred, were exciting and very engaging reading. Unfortunately, the middle two hundred or so pages did not do much to advance the story. The problem was that not much really happened. Sure, we learn some important backstory and a lot of the relevant politics, but it was severely bogged down with superfluous scenes and interior monologues that could easily have been cut without losing anything from the story. The main reason I didn't give it three stars was the fact that there were so many mysteries that were hinted at in the first book that were unearthed in this one that it made for some very interesting reading. We learn about Ash's past, what her voice really is, as well as more of the history of the world in which she lives. In addition, the final hundred pages were so full of action and military operations, that it was impossible to put the book down. This is the type of action that I had been expecting in a book about a mercenary captain that seemed so sorely lacking in the first book. The author also hits us with another revelation and an even bigger mystery in the last portion of the book. I couldn't wait to get to the next one in the series and see if we didn't find out what was truly going on. Despite the shortcomings of the storytelling in the middle of the book, I still felt that this was a better than average fantasy story and, thus, felt compelled to give it a four star rating. If you enjoyed the first book in the series (and you'd better read it before trying this one), this one should also grab your attention. This is a must read series for any fantasy fan, especially for those who enjoy stories with a military bent.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging ideas behind the story.
Review: This is the second part of THE BOOK OF ASH (following A SECRET HISTORY), the story of a female mercenary captain in an alternate 15th century Europe. This main alternate history story is framed by the story of a historian in the early 21st century translating a manuscript of this history. He is trying to uncover why we have never heard any of this history as it is being told in the manuscript. This all makes for a very engaging read because, not only does it draw the reader into the mystery, but we also get an extremely well told and realistic tale of a mercenary band in war torn medieval Europe. As in the first book, the reader is again deeply immersed in this reality through the author's use of vivid description, brilliantly imagined characters, and engaging plot devices. I was tempted to give this book only three stars. The first fifty pages of the book, as well as the last hundred, were exciting and very engaging reading. Unfortunately, the middle two hundred or so pages did not do much to advance the story. The problem was that not much really happened. Sure, we learn some important backstory and a lot of the relevant politics, but it was severely bogged down with superfluous scenes and interior monologues that could easily have been cut without losing anything from the story. The main reason I didn't give it three stars was the fact that there were so many mysteries that were hinted at in the first book that were unearthed in this one that it made for some very interesting reading. We learn about Ash's past, what her voice really is, as well as more of the history of the world in which she lives. In addition, the final hundred pages were so full of action and military operations, that it was impossible to put the book down. This is the type of action that I had been expecting in a book about a mercenary captain that seemed so sorely lacking in the first book. The author also hits us with another revelation and an even bigger mystery in the last portion of the book. I couldn't wait to get to the next one in the series and see if we didn't find out what was truly going on. Despite the shortcomings of the storytelling in the middle of the book, I still felt that this was a better than average fantasy story and, thus, felt compelled to give it a four star rating. If you enjoyed the first book in the series (and you'd better read it before trying this one), this one should also grab your attention. This is a must read series for any fantasy fan, especially for those who enjoy stories with a military bent.
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