Rating: 
Summary: A book to get lost in.
Review: Russell does another great job of exploration in the world surrounding the Entide Sea. His work inspires the reader to enter the environment and minds of his characters. This is my fifth book by Russell. My only compliant is the "sameness" in the first couple hundred pages to World without End. The stage of this being a prequel was not set well. The imagary and complexity of the tale more than compensates the reader.
Rating: 
Summary: Sean Russell deserves more notice
Review: Sean Russell has got to be one of the great undiscovered (or at least not getting the amount of attention he deserves) fantasy talents. There are some surface parallels to the Magic Rise duology - a naturalist is again drawn into affairs over his head and questionably involved with one of the greatest beauties of the age - but the cliffhanger endings of each chapter in the first third of the book more than kept me interested, and the gradual unveiling of the various factions and their motives (especially the Tellarite society but also the Church and Eldritch) gives the Magic Rise world a deeper texture retroactively. And by the time the novel enters the labyrinth, it becomes genuinely creepy and suspenseful, almost Lovecraftian in its sense of frail human beings in the grip of unimaginable and overwhelming forces ultimately indifferent to their fate. I'd certainly recommend Lovecraft for anyone who enjoyed this book, and also Tim Powers excellent *The Anubis Gates* which takes place in a similar world (an England in the late 1700's where magic is dying out) and is also very original and distinctive.
Rating:
Summary: Detailed world, believable characters
Review: There are few things I like better than a book set in a detailed world that really manages to convey the emotions and feeling of being there. Match that with a plot that kept me up way past my bedtime, and you have a winner.
Rating:
Summary: A book of exceptional quality
Review: This is a book which truly lives up to Russell's talents. He paints his alternate 19th century world with an incredible clarity--more even than in the Moontide Magic Rising series, if such a thing is possible.The characters in this book (and the sequel, The Compass of the Soul) are impeccibly tailored. Not one is either black or white, but all have varying shades of good and evil within them. The 'villain' of the story is made sympathetic, if cold, and at many times throughout the books you are left wondering if the protagonist and his comrades are in fact acting on the side of good. A fair portion of this book takes place in the nether regions of the earth, as the title implies, and Russell's handling of this subteranean adventure is nothing short of remarkable. The claustrophoibic darkness and travails into the caverns, as well as the majestic and often remarkable beauty, come across without a hitch. I read this book, and its sequel, in under three days, and while saddened by running out of material at the end of the second book, I was left with a feeling of completion I was not sure I would find. I believe Russell is something of an original in the contemporary fantasy scene; I read a review somewhere comparing his world to the world of Sherlock Holmes. I think this a very apt comparison. Russell's Europe is a slightly dark and gothic Europe, with the pomp and manners of the court spread throughout society, yet also with mysteries beyond mortal ken springing up in the most unlikely of places, and strange ties binding everything together. I would recommend this book whole-heartedly to anyone who enjoys a good mystery, with twists and turns perpetrated by believable and passionate characters. There is something of a derth of action in these books, and the 'magic' is incredibly subtle, but to me this merely adds to the flavor of the world, in a wonderfully pleasing manner.
Rating:
Summary: A book of exceptional quality
Review: This is a book which truly lives up to Russell's talents. He paints his alternate 19th century world with an incredible clarity--more even than in the Moontide Magic Rising series, if such a thing is possible. The characters in this book (and the sequel, The Compass of the Soul) are impeccibly tailored. Not one is either black or white, but all have varying shades of good and evil within them. The 'villain' of the story is made sympathetic, if cold, and at many times throughout the books you are left wondering if the protagonist and his comrades are in fact acting on the side of good. A fair portion of this book takes place in the nether regions of the earth, as the title implies, and Russell's handling of this subteranean adventure is nothing short of remarkable. The claustrophoibic darkness and travails into the caverns, as well as the majestic and often remarkable beauty, come across without a hitch. I read this book, and its sequel, in under three days, and while saddened by running out of material at the end of the second book, I was left with a feeling of completion I was not sure I would find. I believe Russell is something of an original in the contemporary fantasy scene; I read a review somewhere comparing his world to the world of Sherlock Holmes. I think this a very apt comparison. Russell's Europe is a slightly dark and gothic Europe, with the pomp and manners of the court spread throughout society, yet also with mysteries beyond mortal ken springing up in the most unlikely of places, and strange ties binding everything together. I would recommend this book whole-heartedly to anyone who enjoys a good mystery, with twists and turns perpetrated by believable and passionate characters. There is something of a derth of action in these books, and the 'magic' is incredibly subtle, but to me this merely adds to the flavor of the world, in a wonderfully pleasing manner.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Find!
Review: This is one of the best finds in my reading for 2002. A great introduction to Sean Russell's great stories and deep plots it has everything a great story needs. After reading this I couldn't help myself but get his other books and I am not dissapointed! If you like fantasy or science fiction then this book is a must. While the characters are slow to be introduced it is a problem every writer faces and is well made up for by there human-like qualities in a world completely believable. Great work Sean Russell!
Rating:
Summary: uniquely satisfying
Review: This was my first Sean Russell book and, like most of my favorite books, just came out of left field.
Rather than give details of the story, let me describe the reading experience.
Fantasy is so often placed in 'mud and thatch' medieval settings, which in reality leaves little to work with. Swords, fire, magic, horse-riding and running from the enemy are all one can play with. Ok, maybe elves and castles. Groveling beggars populate the masses.
Russell picks the perfect setting here. Elegance, style, pre-industrial but post-literate, old enough to have a shadowy history but young enough to be just awakening to the excitement of the 'renaissance'. I would place the culture as somewhere between 1700 and 1800, though there are obvious deviations.
As a sub-genre this might be called Alternate History Fantasy, as the environment is very 'real', almost contemporary, and magic is very, well, magical, and rare.
The energy of the characters following the 'magi' reminds me of contemporaries studying the Sphinx, though in fantasy something real can actually develop. This story is probably 80% academic mystery, and the depth of the plot and the mostly standout characters swirling around the unknown make for uncomparable fun.
The book diverges halfway through, and this is what really captures me.
I use to be a spelunker and Russell seems to have actually done some himself, because the second half of his book is so intense and real that he fully captures the sheer rigurousness and challenge of negotioting a real cave system. The combined sense of isolation, claustophobia and mystery that is unique to caving is captured perfectly, and really makes you feel like you've journeyed somewhere, rather than the few miles that in reality one has moved. (one does not journey lightly underground for long: bone-sucking chill, nowhere to go to the bathroom that somebody might not crawl through later, one must pack extremely light, you can't build a fire, its almost impossible to adequately respond to an medical emergency, etc)
Lots of good, intellectually-paced dialogue and very atmospheric.
All four are worth reading, but 'Vaulted' was my favorite. Hardly a cliche in the whole series.
Rating:
Summary: A good find.
Review: This was the first series by Sean Russell where the back page description and the cover artwork didn't discourage me from investing money in it. To my chagrin Sean Russell is an excellent character developer, I found myself relating with Erasmus many times during the reading. When they went underground, I was scared that it would be a weak imitation of Jules Verne. This is where Sean Russell began to really interest me. Because he created a very vivid image in my mind of a place shrouded in darkness, and I had no problem seeing the setting as his characters did. This is due to a rare occurance, the level of imagery/descriptive writing and the character development worked vey well together, and so through understanding of the character, I was able to see their surroundings through their eyes, and not solely through narrative description. I think that Sean Russell's ability to keep their situation from getting to monotonous from a readers perspective really stood out in this book. Read this if you like Guy Gavriel Kay.
Rating:
Summary: Entrancing prequel to Moontide & Magic Rise
Review: Though this is a prequel to Moontide and Magic Rise, I found it quite entrancing, even though the reader has some idea as to what is going to happen to some of the characters in the future (if you've read the previous books). Russell is a master of characterization and the art of weaving intriguing plots together, and this makes even a prequel entertaining. In fact, I found it more interesting than Book Two of Moontide & Magic Rise, and more concise.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Very well written and intricate tale. Great characters, excellent plot. Highly recommended. I'm annoyed I'll have to wait for the reasonably priced paperback, though -- on principle I don't buy the hardbacks. :)
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