ISBN: 0-06-102036-2 Order from: Amazon.com
An overly long, D&D-style fantasy, with pedestrian magic system, better than average characters, and a refreshingly blunt narrative voice.
Reviewed by David on August 22, 1999
Genre: Fantasy (Sword and Sorcery, Quest)
Synopsis: Livak, a young woman specializing in weighted games of chance and an occasional theft, gets involved in affairs of wizards collecting ancient artifacts. The wizardly intrigues turn from merely dangerous to deadly when a mysterious race of yellow-haired assasins appear ready to torture and kill anyone in posession of these atrifacts.
Full Review: The Gamble joins vast ranks of conventional fantasy. Ominously, but not surpisingly, the thickish book is subtitled "The First Tale of Einarinn".
The character attributes, as well as the general magic system, are reasonably consistent, but seem rather conventional and would not be out of place in a role-playing game. The secrets of the new, "Aetherian" magic seem somewhat contradictory, and some of the adventures are more than a little familiar to the readers of sprawling quest fantasies.
On a positive note, while the attributes of the characters are conventional (one could almost assign labels: "half-elf thief", "burly warrior", "young wizard"), the interactions, and especially the dialogue, are quite good. The humor, fear, affection, lust and hatred come clearly and deftly as the protagonist, the blunt, decent but not entirely honest Livak, does her best to control her destiny.
The portrayal of sexual attraction has little sentimentality but much warmth, and the pain of torture, loss, and fear, is as solid and three-dimensional as one could wish.
The book suffers from too much length, a split viewpoint, and a great deal of confused and mostly powerless wondering. However, with tighter editing, one could enjoy the main character's adventures quite a bit, and its sequel, already published in the UK as The Swordman's Oath, will hopefully offer this opportunity.
Overall: 5.5; Plot: 4.5; Characters: 5.5; Style: 5; World-building: 5.5; Originality: 4;
Copyright date 1999, HarperCollins (HarperPrism), August 1999, Mass market paperback, 495 pages
ISBN: 0-06-102036-2 Order from: Amazon.com