Rhapsody
"Oh look, a fantasy trilogy. Sure, why not? I'm always down for a decent fantasy novel, and these have been recommended."
"Whoa. Messing with the time stream already. To what end? Wait... WTF? So who is this now compared to who that was? Hrmm... well... okay, sure, time to settle in for the ride."
Rhapsody has been a fairly good read, but with some major differences from what I'm used to that leave me a bit muddled in my assessment of it.
The main characters are generally well-done, though Rhapsody herself has a bizarrely massive blind spot in her perceptions.
The story is enjoyable, covering a huge span of time and space - yet in many ways, it doesn't really go anywhere. The confrontation with the book's "big bad evil guy" has an interesting twist, but doesn't make much of a climax because of it. Overall, I think the story told feels like little more than setup for the rest of the series, which a good novel (even as part of a series) should supersede.
The lores, Naming, and immortality are all interesting, yet the start to feel so commonplace as to not be very special.
So good, I guess, but I feel like I must read the sequels before I can actually render any final verdict. And the books aren't small.
I suppose I should have paid more attention to the years mentioned. I did actually take note. I thought the time-crossing union of Emily and Gwydion could only be about breeding some sort of destined savior. The theory sort of made sense, but if Rhapsody were the result of that union, then she'd only have been seven or so when the main story picked up. It didn't make much sense, but I shelved that question only to get the answer I wasn't expecting by the end of the book. So now I can't really fathom why the two were introduced in the first place.
The idea of a journey along world tree roots through the world is neat. Sure, it'd be easy to lose track of time. Fourteen centuries, though? Even if you pick up immortality (whether you blame that on eating the mystical tree's roots or crossing some sort of ley line of time), that's a mind-breaking length of time. I imagine people not stepping out into the sun and saying "wow, that felt like forever," but actually failing to remember what it was like. And it's sort of disappointing how that gets glossed over. Rhapsody mourns the life and people left behind and lost, but there's really no addressing how she's been alive, aware, and traveling for fourteen hundred years.
I like the Name magic. It's a little disconcerting how lightly it's taken and underestimated it is. It becomes clear pretty early on that Rhapsody is capable of literally reinventing a person with it. Even on accident. That's some scary power that's really barely considered - Achmed has some worries about it, but no one else really seems to give it a second thought.
With the whole "prophecy of three," Jo feels rather tacked-on. I guess it gives someone to fill the role that might be slowly vacated by Rhapsody, and someone for her to protect in turn, but... eh... she just doesn't quite fit as part of the group. One might almost say she feels expendable. It reminds me a little of bringing characters into an existing roleplaying campaign.
And that could be said of Ashe, too. It's clear, though, that he's equally in the realm of FUPC (fucked-up plot character). The bit about the dragon within him is interesting at first (and reminds me a little bit of the bound dragon in Namaah's Kiss, which I believe came later), then it seems ignored pretty much. There's a ton of mystery about him at the end of the book, which may not be surprising considering how slowly the characters' backgrounds are explained (even the big three have revealed little about their past selves, though most of Rhapsody's old life is discernible to the reader). But Ashe's very presence is still a little mind boggling just in the realm of "why?" I sort of feel Rhapsody could have, and should have, found happiness without him being dropped in her lap, yet that feels like why he's there. At this rate, it'll probably be the end of the second 650+ page book before we see how he became who he is.
The showdown with Fire-Eye, as mentioned, was a bit of a let down. It was interesting to see such power tied rather incidentally to the lingering effects of something started waaay back in the beginning of the book, but that left a villain who wasn't threatening. There's still the lingering threat of Rakshas and whoever he's connected with, left for later I guess. And no one seems to have fully realized that the people who engage in the skirmishes across the land literally don't know what they're doing, which is a far creepier danger than anything else that's come up. It sort of implies a whole bunch of possessing F'dor, or some other evil capable of mass-possessions.
"Whoa. Messing with the time stream already. To what end? Wait... WTF? So who is this now compared to who that was? Hrmm... well... okay, sure, time to settle in for the ride."
Rhapsody has been a fairly good read, but with some major differences from what I'm used to that leave me a bit muddled in my assessment of it.
The main characters are generally well-done, though Rhapsody herself has a bizarrely massive blind spot in her perceptions.
The story is enjoyable, covering a huge span of time and space - yet in many ways, it doesn't really go anywhere. The confrontation with the book's "big bad evil guy" has an interesting twist, but doesn't make much of a climax because of it. Overall, I think the story told feels like little more than setup for the rest of the series, which a good novel (even as part of a series) should supersede.
The lores, Naming, and immortality are all interesting, yet the start to feel so commonplace as to not be very special.
So good, I guess, but I feel like I must read the sequels before I can actually render any final verdict. And the books aren't small.
I suppose I should have paid more attention to the years mentioned. I did actually take note. I thought the time-crossing union of Emily and Gwydion could only be about breeding some sort of destined savior. The theory sort of made sense, but if Rhapsody were the result of that union, then she'd only have been seven or so when the main story picked up. It didn't make much sense, but I shelved that question only to get the answer I wasn't expecting by the end of the book. So now I can't really fathom why the two were introduced in the first place.
The idea of a journey along world tree roots through the world is neat. Sure, it'd be easy to lose track of time. Fourteen centuries, though? Even if you pick up immortality (whether you blame that on eating the mystical tree's roots or crossing some sort of ley line of time), that's a mind-breaking length of time. I imagine people not stepping out into the sun and saying "wow, that felt like forever," but actually failing to remember what it was like. And it's sort of disappointing how that gets glossed over. Rhapsody mourns the life and people left behind and lost, but there's really no addressing how she's been alive, aware, and traveling for fourteen hundred years.
I like the Name magic. It's a little disconcerting how lightly it's taken and underestimated it is. It becomes clear pretty early on that Rhapsody is capable of literally reinventing a person with it. Even on accident. That's some scary power that's really barely considered - Achmed has some worries about it, but no one else really seems to give it a second thought.
With the whole "prophecy of three," Jo feels rather tacked-on. I guess it gives someone to fill the role that might be slowly vacated by Rhapsody, and someone for her to protect in turn, but... eh... she just doesn't quite fit as part of the group. One might almost say she feels expendable. It reminds me a little of bringing characters into an existing roleplaying campaign.
And that could be said of Ashe, too. It's clear, though, that he's equally in the realm of FUPC (fucked-up plot character). The bit about the dragon within him is interesting at first (and reminds me a little bit of the bound dragon in Namaah's Kiss, which I believe came later), then it seems ignored pretty much. There's a ton of mystery about him at the end of the book, which may not be surprising considering how slowly the characters' backgrounds are explained (even the big three have revealed little about their past selves, though most of Rhapsody's old life is discernible to the reader). But Ashe's very presence is still a little mind boggling just in the realm of "why?" I sort of feel Rhapsody could have, and should have, found happiness without him being dropped in her lap, yet that feels like why he's there. At this rate, it'll probably be the end of the second 650+ page book before we see how he became who he is.
The showdown with Fire-Eye, as mentioned, was a bit of a let down. It was interesting to see such power tied rather incidentally to the lingering effects of something started waaay back in the beginning of the book, but that left a villain who wasn't threatening. There's still the lingering threat of Rakshas and whoever he's connected with, left for later I guess. And no one seems to have fully realized that the people who engage in the skirmishes across the land literally don't know what they're doing, which is a far creepier danger than anything else that's come up. It sort of implies a whole bunch of possessing F'dor, or some other evil capable of mass-possessions.
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