Rating: 
Summary: A difficult read but worth it in the end
Review: As other reviewers have commented, this book was hard to get through. I read the first several chapters three times before I finally got my mind around all the characters and legendary figures. But when I considered giving up, I found that I couldn't do it! So I made a character list on a notecard, drew myself a map of the river, and flagged a couple of the more important foreshadowing scenes. This book should most definitely have come with a map inside the cover - the reader should not have been expected to memorize the land's geography based on Cynddl's 1-page description! Without the map that I drew for myself, I would not have been able to keep the events of the Valemen's journey straight in my mind, what with all the other simultaneous subplots. What kept me going through this novel was the characterization. I had to know what happened to the young Valemen! The observant and humble Tam Loell earned my trust as a reliable narrator from the beginning. (Later on he turned out to be quite an exceptional person as well, as events brought out the hidden talents of this seemingly simple country boy.) I was fascinated by enigmatic Cynndl and the profession of story-finding. I both admired and doubted idealistic Toren Renne' and keenly felt the crisis of character in his cousin Dease. I couldn't put the book down without knowing what became of brave/reckless Elise Wills, or her father, or Prince Michael... Perhaps this book has too many concurrent subplots. The vision weavers, for example, are fascinating - but they only appear a couple of times in the book. There must be a better way to organize the information the reader needs, and to keep the plot moving along. For example, Cynndl tells the Valemen several legends of the ancient past: some of these are merely interesting while others lay the symbolic framework of the story - and the reader doesn't know until a hundred pages later which are which, at which point you have to flip back to recall the details. Yes, there's a lot of foreshadowing, but it would maintain suspense better if you didn't have to wait 75 or more pages to swing back around to that subplot (by which point you've forgotten what you were so eagerly awaiting in the first place). And some information is presented in an incomplete fashion even when no foreshadowing is possible - you spend the entire book trying to piece together the story of the Knights of the Vow even though it's just historical background to the events at hand. In addition to the map, this book could have benefitted from a better "teaser" synopsis inside the coverleaf. This synopsis talks about the origins of the Renne' - Wills feud, which are mentioned nowhere in the actual text of the novel, and about a war which hasn't begun by the end of the book. The coverleaf missed a great opportunity to help readers understand the events of the book, particularly in the last paragraph, which is so vague that it only makes sense once you've finished the book. In summary, having invested so much in getting to know this imaginary world and its people, I certainly plan to read the other books in the series, and I do look forward to them.
Rating: 
Summary: loved this book!
Review: I don't understand how people had trouble reading this book or got confused or whatnot. If you can read Roberts or Tolkien, this is a breeze! Not to say that it isn't a good book or isn't complex, its just not that hard to get. This is the first Sean Russell book I've read and gotten into. World witout End was too scientific. The One Kingdom, however, with the more mystical element, seemed much easier to follow. I love the three cousins (esp, Fynnol, who is endlessly entertaining). It became a real page turner for me. The drawback to this book is the same with every one in a trilogy: you want more. Russell gets a lot of information out in the first book and he has to so that the story moves along in the second and third part. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an entertaining, well-plotted story with in-depth characters who seem to have lives outside of where the story first starts. But be careful: once you read this book, you'll be hooked on reading two more.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: I picked up this book on a whim while at the library one day. I recently finished reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy and decided that maybe other fantasy works would be to my liking (the LOTR was my first exposure to fantasy). I was in the R isle (looking for a james rollins book actually) and I noticed this one. So I picked it up and finally got to it.
I was pleasantly surprised! It was a little slow to start but I got sucked into it soon enough. It's much easier to get into and absorb than Tolkien's classic, that's for sure.
What I like about this book (this is my first Russell novel, by the way) is that even though it's a book of fantasy (or high fantasy and they're calling this type of book), the characters are beleivable. He doesn't get too much into goblins, orcs, trolls, giants and things of that nature...they're on the outter fringes of the book. The story remains very human, with little smatterings of magic, demons, sorcery and the like. Those things don't drive the story, but they certainly color it.
In all honesty, reading this book I saw shades of Ken Follett's books. As if I were reading one of his books set in a historical setting (Pillars of the Earth comes to mind, my favorite book E V E R).
Anyway, the ending leaves me wanting more and I plan on taking out the Isle of Battle as soon as I'm done two other books that I have borrowed from the library.
Sean Russell weaves a great story in this one. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: a gem in the ocean of trash
Review: i think i was engrossed into this series.i like all the elements of asian entwined into the story even the setting is not. i am very fussy with fantasy these days well with books these days. gone were the days i think david eddings is god. i am very difficult to please. i was looking for something higher than david eddings or raymond e feist. hahaha... a lot of people will disagree with me but my opinion holds never the less. millions of people flock to see Titanic doesnt mean that it is good! i guess there will be things that will sell and appeal to the generall populace
Rating:
Summary: NOT Tolkien
Review: I'm not as widely read in the fantasy genre as many other people out there. I've read and loved Tolkien and I've also read stuff by Brooks, Kay, Donaldson, Martin and others, but I haven't yet gotten around to Hobb, Goodkind, Jordan or many other popular fantasy writers. Tolkien is my standard. THE ONE KINGDOM: Book One Of The Swans' War is the first thing I've read by Sean Russell. I liked it. It's intricately plotted and the characters are sympathetic and engaging. There's plenty of action and plenty of skullduggery. So, why four stars and not five? After thinking over that question for a while, I concluded that THE ONE KINGDOM fell a little short for me in a couple of ways. First, the mysterious business of slipping in and out of alternate physical realms is never really explained. At least, not to my satisfaction. Second, I don't yet know what some of the main characters are doing in this story. Tam and his friends are deeply enmeshed in what's going on, but it isn't clear why. In THE LORD OF THE RINGS (and other favorites) everyone's role is clearly defined, even though you don't know how they'll end up. Here, major characters just seem to have gotten caught up by accident, although there are hints at deeper connections. There's no clear motivation for risking necks outside of getting what's owed and getting home again. That doesn't seem quite adequate, somehow. THE ONE KINGDOM is fun. For me it was a page-turner. I enjoyed it and will definitely read the next book in the series. It's not, however, quite on a par with Tolkien or some other fantasy novels I've read. I recommend it, but there are others I would recommend ahead of it.
Rating:
Summary: A surprising gem amidst the crud
Review: I've been burnt by so many over-hyped, absolutely cr*ptacular fantasy books of late, I was sincerely afraid to dig into this (having bought it in a large order of other absolute crud like '5th Sorceress'). Immediately, I knew that this was going to be much higher in quality. A much more skilled narration develops the world and the characters, and sets forth a very ambitious and less-predictable plot. This was a fun read, and led me quickly to order the 2nd installment (equally good!).
Rating: 
Summary: Hints of Better Things
Review: This is a book that taxed my patience. Within 100 pages of the finish the plots and subplots remain vague and mysterious, really just offering glimpses of what might be an intrigueing story. Characters stumble upon a parallel world and mysterious beings, and begin to learn of a land's violent past, and their own ancestor's roles in cataclysmic wars of the past. Political powers are in turmoil and various forces are heading towards war. Lots of possibilities but it all comes off as promissary notes for an action-packed story to be delivered at a later date. As the plot inched forward at glacial speed I didn't find much to keep me entertained. Stewart is an excellent writer, the dialogue is realistic and the action clear. But the characters and events were lackluster. The kingdoms resemble your typical castles-n-jousting fantasy settings. Maybe diehard Stewart fans will be happier with this. Or perhaps this series will evolve into something grand and engaging. But I'm still waiting for him to write books as exciting as the Initiate Brother duology. Given how this first novel read I won't be seeking out the second. My recommendation is wait for paperback or better yet get it from your library.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, in
Review: This is a very decent book, with a very decent plot, with very decent characters who do very decent things. It's a NIIIICEEE Fantasy Novel (sorry, Romey). While nothing in it will make you jump up and throw out your Robin Hobb books, if you are stuck on an airplane or something and need a nice, decent book, this one will do. I bought the second novel and look forward to reading it. My only fault is that the book needs a better bad guy. I believe the evil sorceror/ghost/whatever he is will start to really rotten up in the second book, so that can only help. If you want a description of the novel, read the back cover, it sums it up nicely and I didn't want to waste words on that here. Again, while nothing about this is extremely original, it's a fun read and it doesn't look like it will get "Jordanesque" on us and last forever and ever and ever.....
Rating:
Summary: This is one of the Best books I ever read
Review: This is one of the best books I ever read. The characters were very detailed and I couldn't put it down. It was good to have all the characters to come from different places to go to the Fair. Go, Sean Russell!!!
Rating:
Summary: A book about the stories of your life
Review: When it comes right down to it, life is a series of interlocking stories, one of your stories interacting with that of someone else, or maybe those of a few other people. Every one of them means something to you at the time, though if it's not a very interesting story, it may fade into the mists of time. If it's particularly interesting, and affects a lot of people, it may be recorded and become part of society's memory, which will allow it to live past the end of your life. The One Kingdom, by Sean Russell, is a book that is about, ultimately, stories. Neil Gaiman writes about stories and how they affect us, but Russell is writing about how we write stories with our very actions. He wraps this in a story of his own, an epic yet strangely personal story about a group of young men from a remote village, out for a little adventure, who find a lot more than they bargain for. Also included is a story about a young girl who is a pawn in an evil scheme, and a mysterious man who is trying desperately to avert a war. Russell does a marvelous job of tying all these disparate stories together into a tight narrative, engaging the reader's interest as we wonder just how they are all going to come together. Russell uses the ultimate story of two warring families to bring this unity. The Renné and the Wills have been divided for over a hundred years, with the land never having a true ruler. Instead, it's just been two factions in an unsteady peace that's been rife with conflict and tension. As the book begins, a murder is being plotted, as the cousins of Toren, head of the Renné family, try to avert what they feel is a fatal mistake. Toren is about to give back the legendary Isle of Battle to the Wills, who they took it from all those years ago. The cousins plan to kill Toren to prevent it. Meanwhile, plots abound on the Wills side, with the Prince of Innes allying himself with Sir Eremon, an evil knight with more to him than just an evil smirk. Eremon has a long hatred of the Renné and also lives for war, both of these coming together in the fact that his alliance with Innes will produce the armies he needs to make war on his bitter enemies. He also plans to bring the Wills over to his side by forcing Prince Michael, the son of the Prince of Innes, to marry Elise, daughter of the head of the Wills family. Russell uses these stories to illustrate the fact that we all have stories to tell or to live, or maybe just to hear. He uses one more story to do this, by using the time-honored tradition of a group of people going out in search of adventure and finding that adventure isn't always something you want to go looking for. Sometimes, you stumble into stories that you had no intention of writing, much less starring in. Tam and his friends, Baore and Fynnol, meet up with a group of Faél (a band of gypsy-like people) who ask them to accompany a "Story-finder" named Cynddl down the river, to record its stories from generations long-past. Ultimately, they stumble into all the intrigue and become pieces in a game that goes back hundreds of years. The river becomes the metaphor of choice for Russell, and he uses it well. The river represents all the stories that have happened along it, and the flow of the river represents the flowing of life as it goes by. Sometimes it's rough (as when Tam and the others have to survive some raging rapids), and sometimes it's the ultimate in calm. The small group journeys down the river as people come and go off of it, interacting with them along the way. Slowly, the story unfolds around them and they get swept up in events. The ending, set up by the mysterious man known as Alaan, is a blaze of action, mix-ups, misdirection, and interacting plots. Is Eremon one step ahead of our heroes? Perhaps that's how we get to the second book in the series. While there are a couple of slow bits and seemingly pointless characters in the book, Russell does an effective job of keeping the pace moving and the characters at least mildly interesting. Some of the characters (such as the man with his deaf and mute children that the group of heroes meets on a deserted island on the river) don't seem to have much purpose, though they are clearly set up for the rest of the series. Russell succeeds in making us care about them at least a little bit, so we don't mind what seems like a pointless side-trip. At times, he goes a little too far with the story metaphor, making it seem obvious and trite (he does go on about the river just a little bit too much), but overall I found the whole book fascinating. Elise, is a woman who has always been bored by life, but she gets caught up in these events and has to learn what it takes to not only write your own story, but to write the story you want to write. The reader really starts to care about this girl who started out seeming like a spoiled brat, even as Russell uses her to emphasize how we must wrest control of the stories we create, or the stories will write us instead. Sean Russell is not a new face in fantasy fiction, but he's a new one for me. I really enjoyed The One Kingdom, and am already deep into the second book. If you want a grand, yet intimate, fantasy story with interesting characters and fascinating themes, this is a book you should pick up. David Roy
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