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Wartorn: Resurrection | Rating | |
| B | |||
| Robert Asprin and Eric Del Carlo | |||
| Series | Related Books | ||
| Wartorn | Wartorn: Resurrection, Wartorn: Obliteration | ||
The master wizard, Matokin, has risen to power as the leader of the Felk. Now his armies and wizards are embarking on a war of conquest, taking city after city on the Isthmus. He has a secret hole card, as well: a master strategist and tactician raised from the dead and placed in a host body to lead his forces to victory. But the other city-states don't really feel like becoming a part of the new Felk empire, and resistance is slowly, painfully growing.
This book uses an interesting story style, cycling through the six primary characters in rote order. You can be sure, for instance, that Dardas' part of the tale is followed by a chapter starring Aquint, always. For most of the book this never really matters, but it was a little surprising as some of the plot threads began to merge. The authors never cut out of order to show events continuing from the new viewpoint; if it's not that character's turn, then you'll jut have to wait a few chapters. It implies they've planned events out to a fine degree, but sometimes it was strikingly odd having to wait.
The story revolves around its characters, not events. Things happen, to be sure, but character motivation and interaction and introspection drives it all. And they are quite interesting characters, as well. There is the musician and playwright on a personal quest to avenge his city, a student of magic being trained by the Felk, a mercenary woman helping organize a defense, a junior officer in the conquering army trying to turn the war to personal gain, an academic studying events from afar, and the general running the Felk forces - who has slightly different plans than does his master. It is a good mix of professions, motives, and genders - a good cross-section of the people of the Isthmus. They begin the story spread throughout the land, but most meet another somewhere along the way.
The one specific annoyance I found within then novel was that it is just too short. Six storylines taking just under three hundred pages means less than fifty pages devoted to each character. That's not really enough. Either they don't progress very far, or the tale seems to have skipped a bit more than I thought wise in order to speed it up so they do progress. There's simply not enough room for the happy medium.
Still, it is a good book, and a good start to a series. It ends on an adequate cliffhanger for several of the plot threads, several characters in rather serious danger and the war possibly about to become much more volitile. To say I can't wait for the sequel would perhaps be overstating matters, but I do look forward to its eventual release.
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