Rating: 
Summary: A fresh take on a tired genre.
Review: A first glance and a quick skim through, Villains by Necessity, by Eve Forward, seems like your average, run-of-the-mill comic fantasy epic, involving a band of adventurers out to save the world against unlikely odds. However, take a look closer, and you'll find something familiar, yet strangely unique, and a great read along the way.What Forward does here is not introduce new types of fantasy worlds, but lampoon already existing ideas that have been beaten harder than any dead horse could hope for. "Villains by Necessity" takes place in a world called the Six Lands, a place Forward most likely intended to resemble Middle-Earth. The prolouge tells the tale of a great war long ago, where a Dark Evil King battled the forces of good. It took a small band to overcome their differences and defeat the Dark Lord (hmm, where have I heard THAT before?). Now, 150 years later, the banishment of evil threatens to destroy all in a blinding flash of goodness. Now, THAT's a bit different. Enter our anti-heroes. An assassin, a thief, a druid, a sorceress, a dark knight, and a centaur must band together to bring balance back to the world, ere it sublimates itself. Take what you're used to and flip it. The bad guys must save the world from itself. Interesting, no? Having the left-overs from forces of evil, defeated in the decisive Final Battle described in countless fantasy novels, set out to undo that Victory. Despite preconceived roles of pure nastiness that one would prescribe to this group, Forward instead develops these supposed irredeemable souls into a group one might actually find after the Absolute Victory. Some have complained that these characters are not "evil enough", but it makes sense, the way Forward weaves it; the most evil creatures in existence were snuffed out... people of merely "flexible morals" are what one would have left. If one was of an incredibly dark nature, the followers of light would have found and eliminated one without problem. So what would be left with is people who commit evil acts purely out of necessity (hence the title). Make sense now? Also, by having these characters obstain from being two-dimensionally evil, Forward challenges what it actually means to be good or evil. The "good" characters attempting to prevent evil from returning perform acts normally reserved by evil people. When good exists only for its own sake, and all right and wrong lost, "good" can become just as bad as evil, Forward suggests. What's being said is that sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken (i.e. claiming goodness and piety and actually exercising them are two very different things). The actual characters, both main and secondary, are likable and fleshed out nicely. We find ourselves sympathizing with Sam the assassin and his Cohorts and thinking "Wait, these guys are 'evil', and I feel for them?! You mean that villains just might be people too?! Whoa!!" Yes, these so-called villains are not paper-thin OR have laughs that consist of repeating "Mwah-hah-hah". Everything in this novel is designed to be a parody of the Tolkein and D&D world. Sam is a rouge, as is Arcie, who also has dwarf/hobbit features, Valerie the Nathauan is a take on Dark Elves, Kaylana is a Druid (well, duh), Blackmail is an anti-paladin, and Robin is a bard. Their nemesisi consist of a ranger (even described as a "Strider"), a elven wizard whom reminds me so much of Gandalf the Grey it startled me (though the differences between a wizard and a sorceror are very D&D). There's deep dwarven tunnels (a la Moria), barbarians (a class in D&D), dragons possessing "alignment", etc. etc. If you've ever played a game of D&D, and if you know the literary fantasy genre, you've seen a lot of the content of Villains by Necessity, which would be a detractor in any other novel. Not here, though. The familiarity actually helps Eve drive her points home better than a +2 Bow of True Strike... or something like that... All nerdy D&D references aside, and despite all the familiar ground covered, the most important part of the novel, the twisting of preconcieved notions of good and evil in the dogmatic epic fantasy genre, is the biggest and best reason to pick up VbN (gotta love run-on sentences). You'll also find good pacing, good plotting, a nice amount of humor, some unforeseen plot twists, and very likable characters. In short, while Villains by Necessity seems familiar, you're likely to be pleasently surprised.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: Everything you could want in a stand-alone fantasy novel! Great action, wonderful character developement, loveable characters, a genuinely unique tale, a lovely sense of humor, and a charming love story all combine to create one hell of an enjoyable read. I suggest getting your copy FAST. This gem isn't in large circulation and the prices are sure to rise as more and more readers discover it.
Rating:
Summary: Very Fun
Review: I enjoyed this book, a lot. I don't rate it 5 stars in comparison to the "high fantasy" of Martin or Jordan I usually read, but on its own merits as a stand-alone. It's got a pleasant twist on the idea, and for me the idea isn't so much that evil has a place -- but that evil isn't so evil. Okay, so Sam's an assassin. Almost anyone would call killing people for money an evil profession. Doesn't mean he's not noble and doesn't have standards.
By the same token, good isn't so good. Nobody's ever perfectly pure of motive and such. Chivalry? Big deal. Most of the knights were out to profit and for glory. Heck, good people can get right down to some nasty things. You don't have to be "evil" to do nasty things to people -- even the most normal, "neutral" man might someday kill someone, which is perceived as evil, because he's just been pushed to it by circumstances.
I like the characters. Valerie's a great example of the ethical and moral crisis of the fantasy cliche. "Go out and kill the orcs because they're evil!" Well, what about the mothers who do nothing but raise and protect their children? What about the children? What about the farmers and scholars and holy men? I come to think of Blackmail the dark knight as one of my favorite characters by the end, by the quality of his character more than anything else. Sam and Arcie are just trying to get by in the roles they ended up in. Sam had as much control over it as he had over who his father was, in the end. Robin was just silly but a good example put in to show how someone can change and help realize the "rightness" or necessity of evil.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible fantasy book
Review: I read Villians by Necessity over my summer vacation. Not just once, or twice, but three times in the space of the two and a half weeks I had it. This book puts a twist on the cliched good v. evil storylines by completely reversing it. It explores some interesting themes of what good and evil really are-- for instance, without evil, how can good be defined? The characters are, in my opinion, fairly well-developed: the normal stereotypes of the Questing Hero, his One True Love, the Knight, the Wizard, ect are all skewed for the evil versions of such characters. It's a fairly long book, but fast paced enough that it hardly seems long at all. The wit and humor in the book is wonderful-- it can make fun of itself and the entire traditional fantasy genere without sounding trite or annoying. Villains by Necessity is a fantastic read. The only problem is finding a copy to purchase for yourself!
Rating:
Summary: Villains have to save the world: This book is awsome!
Review: I've actually bought this book from somewhere else and it was completely by accident that I came across it. I'm shocked that I hadn't even heard of it before then, because this is the best book I've ever read. It seriously is. The villains are forced to save the world by doing what they do best: unleashing chaos. The funny thing is the heros are trying to stop the villains so in essance the heros and villains find themself forced in opposite roles. You actually root for the villains. Confusing? Not really. The story is easy to read, is very hard to put down, and is hilarious to the extreme. In fact it'd make a great movie to if it was famous enough to be seen by a good director. Anyway, pick it up if you ever get the chance. Beleive me, it's worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Standard heroic fantasy quest novel with one twist.
Review: If you read much fantasy, you've read this one at least half a dozen times: the World Will End unless a grab-bag band of adventurers (a centaur, a sorceress, a knight, etc.) can carry out a heroic Quest. Naturally, the Quest requires them to travel around a fair bit, and each member of the band faces an individual challenge. Naturally, there are powerful forces opposing them... The (only) twist is, the "heroes" are villains, and their task is to bring Evil back into a world that has become unbalanced by too much Good.You might ask why bother if that's the only piece of novelty. Well... first-time novelist Eve Forward has done a workmanlike job with it. Sure, it's derivative; she acknowledges that (there's a scene where the thief is stuck in a tunnel under a mountain, telling riddles in the dark...). But she keeps the story bouncing along at a lively pace, the quest is tolerably well designed if somewhat predictable, and we even grow to like a couple of the characters. A tolerably amusing light read, this would make a good gift for a young adult fantasy reader, or someone who enjoys fantasy role-playing games. Let's see what this author does next.
Rating:
Summary: Only flaw is no sequel thus far
Review: Shakes head and cannot understand how anyone could give this book a negative review. This book is brilliant. It's an inversion of the heroes saving the world theme. It's a lampoon of fantasy cliches. It's also perhaps the only book I've read where you almost hear the dice roll on a table surrounded by d&d books, yet is enjoyable to read. It is in no way a final discussion of what is good or evil. It is a thoughtful comedic book; to say the characters aren't evil enough is ... a bit odd to me. Ms. Forward is a gifted writer with a great imagination. Her characters are wonderful, interesting, you are sad to see them go at the end of the book. I read it through without any pause; it seemed to lag a bit after about the midway point as someone mentioned previously. Curiously though, when reread in several sessions, it seemed to flow smoothly. I'd love to see a sequel to this book. "The Wheel of Endless, Interminable, Time" syndrome is nothing to be wished on any author or reader, regardless of sales, but this book absolutely screams for a sequel. This book was printed in 1995. Her other book "The Animist," which I also enjoyed greatly was published in 2001 or 2002. Unless she publishes under another name, her output doesn't seem to bode well for a sequel. Oh well. Ms. Forward if you happen to read this, please get a sequel out. I'd love to see our "heroes" and the White Tigers again. Fenwick must die a horrible, horrible death and be served up to Valerie with an apple in his mouth. Oh, and her new love Tesubar must be at her side. The dialogue in that romance must see print one day. But if it never happens, thanks for a great book anyway.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Ever
Review: This book is a classic, a must read for any fantasy fan with a well designed twist on the stereotypical fantasy/Dungons and Dragons line. Keep an eye open for it on ebay as you can get a good deal sometimes if you watch carefully.
Rating:
Summary: Great fun!
Review: This book takes itself lightly and has delightfully humorous references to other Fantasy standards as well as tossing in some contemporary references that will make you chuckle. A great yarn that will leave you smiling.
Rating:
Summary: What fun is Good anyway???
Review: This is an awsome book. For anyone who grew up rooting for the bad guys to win or who wondered what would happen if good lost this is the book for you. With a blonde assassin, a vertically challenged pick-pocket, a stick-swinging Druid, a mute Dark Knight, a sorceress eager to eat her companions, and a spying centaur who faints during a fight, this story is both funny and exciting. You'll laugh when the assassin gets hit with a stick. It's not very serious, but if you like fantasy and comedy, this is the book for you. Oh, and go bad guys!!!
|
