The One Kingdom (The Swans' War, Book 1)

Rating:
Summary: A cut above
Review: While I have a weakness for fantasy, the truth is, most of its [junk]! chock full of cliched characters and settings hacking and slashing away at plots that are epic only in length. Everybody wants to be J.R.R. Tolkien, but nobody has quite grasped what Tolkien did. Those books that understand the importance of three-dimensional characters and good storytelling are few and far between, and may not pack the "visual punch" of your hack-and-slash fantasy fare. "The One Kingdom" is such a book. It only has a few passing references to bloodsoaked heroes on burning battlefields (and when it does, it evokes chills rather than groans), and doesn't mind letting the reader drift down the river with it (but neither did Tolkien's "Fellowship of the Ring"), but it is rewarding in the richness of the characters its protagonists encounter on their journey. The cast of the book is large but not confusing, because each character has a story of his or her own. Watching Russell weave these disparate stories into a climactic ending at the Westbrook Fair is half the fun. He's no Tolkien (thus the four stars), but he's no Robert Jordan either.