Robert V. S. RedickBesprekingen
Auteur van The Red Wolf Conspiracy
Besprekingen
The Red Wolf Conspiracy (Chathrand Voyage Book 1) door Robert V. S. Redick
Our main protagonist, Pazel Pathkendle, is a young boy whose family was lost in a war. He becomes a "tar boy" (basically a gopher) on merchant ships. Along his adventures we meet a host of characters, both good and evil and Pazel becomes wrapped in a conspiracy which will envelope the world in another war.
More Young Adult then High Fantasy as stated on the MPG. This was [a:Robert V.S. Redick|2845500|Robert V.S. Redick|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1302130643p2/2845500.jpg]'s first novel and I think he did well here. I will continue the series. This first book convinced me that Redick has the chops to grow and become better at his craft.
Redick has taken me on a fantasy adventure that I am loving. So many twists and turns, good VS. bad, mages, animals that are "woken" meaning they can speak to you, small humans (think the borrowers). Normally when an author stacks the deck like this, I get confused and angry with them for not knowing when to stop. This was the exception. And to top it all off Redick adds a sense of humor to the story like no other fantasy author I have read.
In a nut shell: I loved it! Anticipating the finale, but know I will be sad when it is over.
I enjoyed this series, but I struggled with the melting pot of fantasy standards. Miniature people, end of the world evil magic, evil sorcerers, steampunk type tech, the boy and girl fated to save the world, etc. It is well written and detailed and the characters are interesting, but while the totality feels a bit unique, there are just too many parts borrowed from other fantasy novels. My other problem is that while the heroes face off against multiple evil characters out to get them, those evil characters are for the most part completely faceless. They just do their evil thing because they are evil, apparently.
Master Assassins plot is very reminiscent of many young adult fantasy adventures that I have read, with young people on the run from an authoritarian state but it includes many elements (prostitution, rape, child predators, strong language) that are definitely not found in books aimed at a younger market. Kandri and Mekru will seem very familiar to readers as the quintessential bickering teenaged siblings, one serious and steady, the other spontaneous and reckless. The tension that builds between the two is almost as palpable as the tension between the brothers and the forces that are pursuing them across the desert.
Redick has done a great job of world-building and it is clear that there is a much larger world over the horizon that will be shown to us as the series progresses. So far it is a delightful tale, full of fearsome beasts and duplicitous people. I look forward to reading more of the series.
* The review was based on an advanced reading copy obtained at no cost from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. While this does take any ‘not worth what I paid for it’ statements out of my review, it otherwise has no impact on the content of my review.
FYI: On a 5-point scale I assign stars based on my assessment of what the book needs in the way of improvements:
*5 Stars – Nothing at all. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
*4 Stars – It could stand for a few tweaks here and there but it’s pretty good as it is.
*3 Stars – A solid C grade. Some serious rewriting would be needed in order for this book to be considered great or memorable.
*2 Stars – This book needs a lot of work. A good start would be to change the plot, the character development, the writing style and the ending.
*1 Star – The only thing that would improve this book is a good bonfire.
I have not been a fan of this series but I did want to know how things ended. However, at the 7% mark, Ott [a character who is a spy master and has helped set up the events for the whole series] takes down one of the few non-hateable characters, has his henchmen hold him down with a pillow over his face. Ott proceeds to slice up the other character with non-lethal but very painful cuts AND then proceeds to piss all over the guy, in front of the command structure [and everyone there] on the ship. I don't want that kind of filth in my entertainment. "
Title: The Ruling Sea
Series: The Chathrand Voyage
Author: Robert Redick
Rating: of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: 641
Format: Kindle
Synopsis: The Wolf group make the final sacrifice to stop the marriage and the false prophecy. Only to fail beyond belief. Now they must continue the battle, on the Chathrand. The Chathrand is on a voyage but their destination won't be quite what anybody planned. My Thoughts: This was sad and depressing and not in a good way. The Wolf group fall from one barely contained catastrophe into another. They don't have chance to get ahead, to plan, to figure out just what is going on. They are strictly reactive. This was like watching someone being pushed down a long staircase and then applauding because they didn't break their neck. I thought about stopping this book, this series. However, I am going to try the next book but will be ready to DNF it quick as a wink "
But, is everything what it appears to be? Or is the last mission of the Chathrand not meant to bring peace, but war instead?
It began, as every disaster in his life began, with a calm. The harbor and the village slept. The wind that had roared all the night lay quelled by the headland. The Bosum grew too sleepy to shout.
Pazel, a tarboy on a ship known as the Eniel, has a secret nobody knows. More than five years ago, when all was well and his homeland was not destroyed by the Arquali, his mother bestowed a gift upon him. As a result he can now understand, and speak, every language spoken to him or about him, without having to learn it. However this gift can be a curse as well, because after some days of enjoying the gift, he will get a seizure. This seizure will ensure that nobody can understand him, and that he can't understand a single word spoken to him. When found out, it will mean certain death for Pazal. But somehow, fate brings him to the Chathrand.
While Pazel finds his way to the great ship, another person finds her fate changed.
Thasha, daughter of Admiral Isiq, wishes to leave the school she sees as a prison. She hates the women who teach her, hates everything around her, and most of all detests the woman who, in Thasha's opinion, is to blame for her situation. Her father's consort, Syrarys, has her father's hart in her hands but Thasha is sure that she is planning something.
When suddenly she is called back by her father, she thought of herself as the most lucky to escape her prison... Only to arrive at her elderly home to be informed that she is to marry a Mzitrini Prince.
Admiral Isiq, his consort and Thasha will not sail with an ordinary ship, but with the Chathrand.
While Thasha desperately wants to flee from her marriage, Pazel tries to stay alive, only to find out that everything is not the way it seems. Peace seems not to be the goal for this last voyage of the ship, but war again. For the ship bring with it a dangerous dark power, one that seeks the ultimate source to become the king of kings, the ruler of all the world.
And then it even looks like the dead, are not really as dead as everyone thought.
It all comes together, in The Red Wolf Conspiracy.
On that first occasion his gift lasted three days- and ended as it always would, in a mind-fit.
This was pure horror. Cold talons seized his head, the odor of custard apples filled his mouth and nostrils, and the purr rose to an ugly, hysterical sqauwking. Pazel shouted for his mother. But what came from his mouth was nonsense, a baby's blather, noise.
I liked this book.
There was a lot of detail in it and I liked the way Redick brought the whole life-on-a-ship-thing it was very well written and made it imaginable to even me. Also a plus is the way he created this world including history, animals, superstitions, religions and so on. He created this all included view of this world in which there is war between empires. There's even a thing called The imperial boys registry, when a boy not from Arqual origin goes there he can buy his citizenship.
Though at some points there are gaps in the time line, which are later filled when you'll hear it spoken off between characters, I didn't find this irritating.
What I didn't like so much was that in the last quarter of the book, everything seemed to go too fast. Let me explain:
Throughout the whole, everything builds up slowly. You'll get to know about Pazel and his story, Thasha and hers, the conspiracy... and then in the end everything is somewhat forced to go faster, or so it seemed to me. A lot suddenly fell together too quickly. And because of that I would have liked a different ending. Not that I don't want the read the sequel, I almost always want to read the sequel, but that was not because of a great cliffhanger or anything, that was more because of the little sneak peak in the back of my edition.
I really enjoyed this book, though. Excellent. Almost as good as my review.
Its a story we can all get behind... unlikely heroes being thrown together to not just save themselves but the world in which they live. Though political intrigue usually puts me off, Mr. Redick has the right amount mixed with adventure and a touch of magic as a cherry on top. I found myself not wanting to put it down because I wanted to see how young Pazel was going to save himself, find his family and fall in love with...of course... the princess.
The twists and turns made sense and kept me on my toes. By the end of the book I was left wanting more and yet the first book ended where it should. It gave you just enough closure and left you wanting more.
Pazel is a great hero and Thasha is a great heroine. If you remember anything about growing up you should feel a connection to each and understand their situations. As more of the main characters are introduced, Mr. Redick gives you enough pieces of each to understand their motives and their actions.
You don't have to be a seafarer to understand this story. Simply love a good story of grand adventures.
But, as often happens to me when I like the first part in series so much, I delayed reading The Ruling Sea. Will it be as awesome? Maybe it was a fluke? Will Robert V.S. Redick disappoint me or earn a place in a hall of my all-time-favorites? Finally I have gathered enough courage to sail on further into the adventure.
From the beginning it's perfectly clear that Robert V.S. Redick listened to the readers input. The Ruling Sea has a much more concise start and jumps between characters are not so often. Also, the fact that most of the characters are familiar to us from The Red Wolf Conspiracy helps. Although my reading went much smoother, I could not but sadly notice that excitement and tension, because of this, were also tampered down in The Ruling Sea. I know, you can never please some people. o:)
I liked that The Ruling Sea gives us a better understanding of Mzithrini culture and that we get the better look at the so-called 'enemy' but I hoped that the plot will progress more. The Ruling Sea seemed more to deepen and clarify the characterisation and world building.
Maybe if The Red Wolf Conspiracy was not so full of adventure you would not hear me complaining me so much, it's not like nothing happens. Chathrand sails The Ruling Sea and some new strands in the web of the conspiracy are revealed. And with huge shock and discovery at the end, I am definitely left intrigued and ready to find out more.
In The End...
The Ruling Sea continues adding more intriguing depths to the characters and the world, that The Red Wolf Conspiracy introduced us to. Although maybe a little bit calmer in pacing, it's a solid sequel to the series. Chathrand Voyages still has my recommendation as a good fantasy adventure if you like ships, conspiracies and magic.
Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.
Reddick manages to bring his huge cast of characters and byzantine plot both to satisfying and just conclusions, that don't elide the complexity or sadness that true endings can bring.
Too many fantasy novels are content with a pat, "apocalypse averted, happily ever after" ending, and I was immeasurably pleased in the ways that Reddick avoided this, whilst still giving something satisfying, mature, human. I can't lie, I had a lump in my throat and was genuinely sad at the thought of leaving these characters and this world behind - there have been so, so few novels/worlds that have left me with this feeling. Maybe four or five others I can think of, that's genuinely the highest praise I can give.
The crew of the Chathrand continue their voyage to far-flung foreign shores, but conspiracy, fallibility and struggle remain a constant companion. As they venture through new worlds, can they keep their ultimate goal - the destruction of the sorcerer Arunis and safekeeping of the nilstone - in mind?
Please don't misunderstand - this was a fine enough book, and a solid entry as book 3 in a four book series. But the pace flags somewhat. Reddick is still introducing new settings, characters and twists, and the duel between Arunis and the Red Wolf conspirators starts to feel a little rote.
I suppose the book devolves a little (just a little) into a more standard, travel-quest-epic fantasy, and after the depth and nuance of the first two books, it left me a little unsure if Reddick would be able to pull together for a conclusion.
This is compounded by the climax of the book, which feels rushed, and curiously unsatisfying.
That all said, I still enjoyed it, just not as much.
The novel itself picks up shortly after the first one finishes. The passengers and crew of the Chathrand continue to struggle against an array of powerful interests, natural and supernatural both.
I really enjoyed this book on every level. The plotting was exciting and unpredictable, yet satisfying. The characters continued to evolve in depth, motivation and histories, and the prose and settings were lovely. The climax was excellent, and something I particularly enjoy with Reddick's writing is that he is not afraid of change or tragedy - something too many fantasy writers shy away from in any meaningful sense.
The Ruling Sea meets the promise of the first book in this series, and builds on it. Great stuff.
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