Tag Archives: quest

the great hunt

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The Great Hunt (Wheel of Time #2) by Robert Jordan

From Amazon:

Rand al’Thor and his companions set out to retrieve a powerful magical artifact from The Dark One’s Shadowspawn.

For centuries, gleemen have told the tales of The Great Hunt of the Horn. So many tales about each of the Hunters, and so many Hunters to tell of…

Now the Horn itself is found: the Horn of Valere long thought only legend, the Horn which will raise the dead heroes of the ages.

And it is stolen.

In pursuit of the thieves, Rand al’Thor is determined to keep the Horn out of the grasp of The Dark One. But he has also learned that he is The Dragon Reborn—the Champion of Light destined to stand against the Shadow time and again. It is a duty and a destiny that requires Rand to uncover and master magical capabilities he never imagined he possessed.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The second instalment is described as following on directly from the first but some time has obviously passed. The story starts with Rand and company reasonably settled in Fal Dara and Rand having enough instruction from Lan to become at least a competent swordsman. Overall with all the characters there is a feeling that they have all grown up a bit since the last time we saw them.

***SPOILERS AHEAD*** A lot happens in this book. The main focus is Rand coming to terms with his destiny, accepting that he can channel and that he is the Dragon Reborn. How he goes from denial and rejecting this to giving in to the forces of the Pattern and finally accepting his fate is really well done with a powerful ending that sets the scene for the next book.

Another important strand gives us our first insights into Aes Sedai society and politics both within Tar Valon and outside, how the different Ajahs work together while still striving to be in control. This is just a first glimpse of what is to come. We also get first impressions of the process whereby girls in training pass through the different stages and the trials this involves.

Finally we meet The Seanchan. They seem like the real wild card with nobody in the Westlands knowing anything about them or that they even existed. They come with strange customs, armour and beasts and with a determination to reclaim the world of Artur Hawkwing for the Seanchan Empire. Part of this strategy is to capture and enslave all women who can channel thereby threatening the entire social structure of the Westlands just as it appears The Last Battle is approaching.

Overall this book widens the scope of the story tremendously with many new strands introduced. When I first read this series the first book intrigued me but it was this one that really hooked me and returning to it now I can see why.

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wit’ch fire

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Wit’ch Fire (The Banned and The Banished #1) by James Clemens

From Goodreads:

From a brilliant new voice in fantasy comes a band of heroes, a world in peril, and an unforgettable heroine whose unexpected gift of magic awakens an ancient, slumbering evil.

On a fateful night five centuries ago, three made a desperate last stand, sacrificing everything to preserve the only hope of goodness in the beautiful, doomed land of Alasea. Now, on the anniversary of that ominous night, a girl-child ripens into the heritage of lost power. But before she can even comprehend her terrible new gift, the Dark Lord dispatches his winged monsters to capture her and bring him the embryonic magic she embodies.

Fleeing the minions of darkness, Elena is swept toward certain doom-and into the company of unexpected allies. Aided by a one-armed warrior and a strange seer, she forms a band of the hunted and the cursed, the outcasts and the outlaws, to battle the unstoppable forces of evil and rescue a once-glorious empire…

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Yet another series that I read a long time ago and have decided to revisit. I was a bit wary of doing so as although I remember the series and even the covers, I couldn’t remember anything about the story or characters. My misgivings were definitely misplaced and once I was a couple of chapters in it started to ring familiar bells and I was really enjoying it.

The quality of writing is really very good. The characters are diverse but very manageable and very well introduced. This first book is all about bringing the band of characters together, showing us their individual stories and setting them up for the main story which is also partly introduced.

This book kind of reminded me of the Dragonlance stories with its mixture of human and non-human characters and with magic at its core. However, while I found Dragonlance quite simplistic and dated this story is much more complex and definitely fits with modern fantasy writing.

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vagabond

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Vagabond (Grail Quest #2) by Bernard Cornwell

From Goodreads:

In 1347, a year of conflict and unrest, Thomas of Hookton returns to England to pursue the Holy Grail. Among the flames of the Hundred Years War, a sinister enemy awaits the fabled archer and mercenary soldier: a bloodthirsty Dominican Inquisitor who also seeks Christendom’s most holy relic. But neither the horrors of the battlefield nor sadistic torture at the Inquisitor’s hands can turn Thomas from his sworn mission. And his thirst for vengeance will never be quenched while the villainous black rider who destroyed everything he loved still lives.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I don’t really understand why I’m enjoying this series so much but I really am. It’s like nothing else I’ve ever read but maybe that is the reason why?

Overall I’d struggle to explain what happens in this book and how the story progresses. It’s jam packed full of characters, individual small stories and great characters and while there is plenty of action the overall story doesn’t really move forward much. At the end of the book not a lot has changed compared to the start. Maybe that’s it, maybe that’s the reason why?

One definite reason are the battle scenes. I’ve read series’ by the same author set in Viking and Celtic times where the battles revolve around individual swordsmen and their experiences. With the main character being an archer it’s a different perspective. You get his viewpoint but also that of others and the overall battle scene. This combination is fantastic to read. In many battle scenes I skim through as the detail can be repetitive and boring but not in this case, here I devoured every word.

I do like Thomas, the main character. He is flawed and imperfect, very much reluctant to take up the quest and therefore much more realistic and believable. I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens next with his story.

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harlequin

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Harlequin (Grail Quest #1) by Bernard Cornwell

From Goodreads:

From New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell, now available in paperback—the first book in the Grail Series–a spellbinding tale of a young man, a fearless archer, who sets out wanting to avenge his family’s honor and winds up on a quest for the Holy Grail.

At dawn on Easter morning 1343, a marauding band of French raiders arrives by boat to ambush the coastal English village of Hookton. To brave young Thomas, the only survivor, the horror of the attack is epitomized in the casual savagery of a particular black-clad knight, whose flag — three yellow hawks on a blue field — presides over the bloody affair. As the killers sail away, Thomas vows to avenge the murder of his townspeople and to recapture a holy treasure that the black knight stole from the church.

To do this, Thomas of Hookton must first make his way to France; So in 1343 he joins the army of King Edward III as it is about to invade the continent — the beginning of the Hundred Years War. A preternaturally gifted bowman, Thomas quickly becomes recognized as one of England’s most deadly archers in King Edward’s march across France. Yet he never stops scanning the horizon for his true enemy’s flag.

When Thomas saves a young Frenchwoman from a bloodthirsty crowd, her father — French nobleman Sir Guillaume d’Evecque — rewards his bravery by joining him in the hunt for the mysterious dark knight and the stolen holy relic. What begins as a search for vengeance will soon prove the beginning of an even higher purpose: the quest for the Holy Grail itself.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a superb book and I read it through in less than 2 days. It’s a completely original setting for me as I haven’t read anything from this time period. The quality is of the writing is among the very best I’ve read.

In all three things made this book for me. The first, as always, are the characters. There are a small number of main characters and a host of supporting minor characters but the author manages to make all of them stand out and be memorable. He gives just enough information to make them relatable without bogging the reader down with unnecessary detail. Thomas, despite the description above, is no knight on a quest and simply wants to fight and plunder while keeping himself and his friends alive. He’s the reluctant hero.

The second is the battle scenes. The setting is the start of the Hundred Years War with a mixture of seige fighting, knight cavalry charges and hand to hand fighting. This is definitely no romantic Arthurian chivalrous combat. It’s bloody, violent and very visceral. It’s about staying alive by killing as many of the enemy as possible and then taking what you can from the survivors. The author manages to find just the right balance between detail and not losing the reader in the complexity of the writing. I’ve seen him do that with some of the Last Kingdom battles but not here.

The third element for me is how he tells the story. We are dropped into the middle of the war and into Thomas’s life with no background or back story to work from. We gradually get to know him and his quest as the book progresses and keeping the mystery keeps the interest. He also blends the stories of Thomas, Sir Simon, Guillaume and Harlequin together in a very skilled way.

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