Far Kingdoms

Rating:
Summary: An incredibly great adventure...
Review: My mother offered to me this book and my first impression when I read the back cover was not so good. Then I started reading it and it just grabbed me. It is a really interesting story. People who like fictional tales would enjoy this one. I practically fell in love with some of the characters especially Amalric. If you start reading it you cant stop till you reach the very end. Then you hate the writer for not making it a little bit longer. Well there is a siquel the story of Amalric`s sister but I havent read that one because when I finished the book I could not look at another one.. I couldn`t start a different story it felt as if I would be starting a new relationship all over again.
In my opinion you should defently read this one..it will take you far far away..

Rating:
Summary: Mostly just nonsense
Review: "The Far Kingdoms" is one of the most pretentious fantasy novels that I've ever read, by which I mean that the authors apparently think that they've written something that's deep and meaningful and will have a big effect on the lives of their readers. In reality, this novel is completely forgettable. The plot deals with Amalric Antero, a spoiled rich kid who becomes a spoiled rich adult and joins with a soldier, Janos Greycloak, in several voyages. They hope to find the legendary Far Kingdoms, a land of wealth and happiness that supposedly lies a long distance to the East. Antero is one of the least likeable characters that I've ever seen in a fantasy novel. His men die, and he has no emotional reaction at all. His wife and child die, and he only mourns for a couple hours before taking off on another trip. He seems to drift through the book without caring about what he's doing or what happens to other people. In the end, I found that I didn't care whether or not Antero and Janos ever reached The Far Kingdoms.

In addition, it seems that not much thought was put into the plotting and writing of this novel. The pace is very uneven. Sometimes the authors dwell for pages on minute details, while other times they skip over months of action in just a few sentences. The first fifty pages are totally irrelevant to the rest of the book; I think that they were written just to include some rather insipid sexual content. After that, the plot falls into and endlessly repeating pattern. The main characters travel somewhere, get into a desperate situation, get rescued miraculously, travel somewhere else, get into another desperate situation, get rescued again, etc... Many of the scenes border on the absurd, such as an encounter with apparently intelligent tigers and monkeys in the middle of the desert, and by the time that a thirty-foot-long ghost ferret showed up to eat the bad guys, I was ready to throw this book into the garbage can. In short, don't waste your time with this pile of nonsense. If you want a short fantasy novel that's both creative and well-written, try "The High House", by James Stoddard.

Rating:
Summary: A personal view of The Far Kingdoms
Review: "The Far Kingdoms" was the first book in the four-volume "Voyages Of The Anteros." The series has hit best seller lists from the U.S. to Russia. It's been declared the best fantasy series of the decade by German readers, and has won high praise every place it has appeared. But my favorite comments came from my editor, Shelly Shapiro, when "The Far Kingdoms" was about to make its debut. Here's what she had to say: "An open letter from a hard-bitten editor: I don't usually blather on about a book, at least not in public, but THE FAR KINGDOMS is too special for me to let slip by. This spectacular fantasy by Allan Cole and Chris Bunch is an epic for people who love sweeping adventure and grand mystery. THE FAR KINGDOMS is one of those rare books that touches everyone who reads it. But don't just take my word for it. LOCUS says: In THE FAR KINGDOMS, a non-traditional fantasy by Allan Cole and Chris Bunch, the authors celebrate the spirit of adventure, as the lure of a distant land draws their heroes across an expanse of miles and years." Stephen Pagel, the science fiction buyer at B. Dalton, says: "THE FAR KINGDOMS is a richly drawn epic fantasy novel about a voyage of discovery... If you ever wondered what lay beyond the edge of the map, you'll want to explore this unforgettable fantasy world." And Science Fiction Chronicle says: "An excellent fantasy adventure." I've had other, more personal, raves, too - so take it from me THE FAR KINGDOMS is one book you won't want to miss... if only to collect the incredibly beautiful cover by Gnemo, so gorgeous you might be tempted to take it off the book and frame it!" -Shelly Shapiro, Senior Editor, Del Rey Books THE FAR KINGDOMS... a place of bright sunlight surrounded by dark, deadly wilderness. A place where the princes and magicians were kind and wise beyond all imagination. A place where wine and song were always sweet, every purse was fat with gold, and every heart was at ease. Said to lie in the distant east, across the straits of the Narrow Sea, beyond the benighted Pepper Coast, in uncharted territory. THE FAR KINGDOMS... a place no one could reach even if it were real-which surely it wasn't. Young, pampered Amalric Antero cared only for real places and possible dreams. The time had come to Find His Tradewind, to make the traditional journey seeking out new lands, new riches, new customers as his merchant father had, and his father's father had done before him. He meant only to do as all young traders did: travel to the known lands in the west and return home having proved himself able to deal well with his father's customers. Nothing more was expected. But then he met Janos Greycloak, a dashing soldier who dabbled in forbidden magic and carried on him proof of riches and mysteries beyond imagination. And suddenly Amalric found himself setting out on the adventure of a lifetime, a daring and perilous quest through unknown lands peopled by nightmares, to seek the ultimate in fables... THE FAR KINGDOMS.

Rating:
Summary: Kept me coming back for more.
Review: Great book. I picked it up for 50 cents at a used book sale, and while I did put it down from time to time (school and all) overall it was excellent. Creative, well-written, and it has a good blend of humor that many fantasy novels seem to lack. It's a good book to just sit down and read, rather than ponder. My kudos to the authors.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I was an avid fantasy reader, focusing mostly on Dragonlance, when I recieved this book as a gift.

I put off reading it for a long time, and that was a mistake. This is one of the better Fantasy books I've ever read, and in fact I've read it 3 times.

I really can't explain the negative comments read here. This book was great. The culture, the characters, the world had enough depth to launch dozens of books. The characters are really the best part, they're very realistic and they're very multi-dimensional. Not a soul remains unchanged throughout the book.

On my list of Fantasy books I rank this up at the top along with Tolkein, Dave Duncan's Seventh Sword Trilogy, and Weis & Hickman's Dragonlance books.

Rating:
Summary: The far kingdoms is a little confusing at the very end
Review: The book gets quickly to the plot and sticks to it. A young man must go on a journey to discover a trade route so he picks to try to discover the far kingdoms. He has a few problems along the way and if he gets there (which you will have to find out for yourself)he might haave a disaster and a love to get him thruogh it.