ISBN: 0-312-86742-5 Order from: Amazon.com
This continuation of a fantasy epic with a rather unusual magic system, an annoying and meandering plot, multiple views, is reminiscent of many other recent series.
Reviewed by David on June 20, 1999 (rev. 1)
Genre: Fantasy (Evil Invasion, Sword and Sorcery, War)
Synopsis: In a world where virtues can be transferred from one man to another, an ambitious king is bent on building a world empire by forcing thousands of people to surrender their strengths to him and his warriors.
The newly proclaimed Earth King Gaboren struggles to learn the ways of power, while surviving against the ruthless and supremely successful Raj Ahten. Meanwhile, the escalating war is barely masking the signs that far more dangerous enemies of mankind are gathering forces.
Full Review: The book is a continuation of a series taking place in a world with an unusual magical system. Through a relatively common rune-based ritual, a virtue can be transferred from a Dedicate to a Runelord. Thus, a soldier may have the strength of three, or a merchant can acquire the wit of two others to enhance his memory and clarity of thought. A vain lady may have the unearthly beauty and grace of three women.
The donors, who must be volunteers, lose the virtue—becoming drooling idiots if they sell wit, ugly sisters after they give their comeliness to one poor girl hoping to make a good match and provide for the whole family. Some become feeble hypochondriacs after giving their stamina to their lord to allow him to survive wounds in battles.
The Dedicates are cared for and guarded, for should they die, their virtues will disappear and leave the Runelord, weak, forgetful, slow or unattractive, usually at the least convenient moment.
An interesting quirk is that some such gifts carry a heavy price: a man with triple-speed metabolism may be able to outfight any normal soldier, but he will age and die three times faster. An unscrupulous Runelord may acquire a metabolism of say, forty men for a battle, and then kill his Dedicates afterwards to return to normal aging.
The world, which contains a number of creatures—including ghosts, Frowth Giants, elemental adepts, the insectoid and intelligent Reavers, is suffering from the overweening ambition of Raj Ahten, a king who blackmailed, forced or seduced thousands to become his Dedicates.
In this sequel to The Rune Lords, almost unstoppable, the ambitious and ruthless Raj Ahten has become a dangerous force by himself. At the head of his armies, he is overwhelming. Gaborn, the young Earth King is overwhelmed by his responsibilities. While his nominal allies plot, and Raj slaughters his countrymen, the terrifying ancient force—the Reavers—have emerged from the ground to prey on humans once again. Even the Earth is in peril when the elements themselves seem to array against human life.
The magic structure is original and well developed. There are a number of implications of the concentration of virtues which have been explored in the book. However, the approach, like that of Dave Duncan's A Man of His World, is a bit too mechanistic. The rules make this system too much like a role-playing game.
While several interesting characters are introduced, their interactions are unsatisfyingly brief, due to the numerous points of view. The plot is rather disappointing, and the unneccessary complications seem to exist only to embellish the epic. The ending, in particular, is highly frustrarating, and seems to exist to create future problems.
This series, while utilizing an unusual magical system, seems to have joined the ranks of generic epic fantasies.
Overall: 5; Plot: 4.5; Characters: 5; Style: 5.5; World-building: 6; Originality: 6;
Copyright date 1999, Tom Doherty Associates (Tor), May 1999, Cloth, 480 pages
ISBN: 0-312-86742-5 Order from: Amazon.com