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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
It's all about expectations I suppose. This is a sequel to Golden Withchbreed which I stumbled upon as part of an EBay bulk sci-fi book buy (which is a great way to get lots of cheap Good Reads, by the way). I was surprised at how good the prequel was since the cover was kind of sappy looking and I had never heard of the author before. I really enjoyed the prequel, and sought out Ancient Light hoping for more of the same. Instead I got less of the same. The world had changed too much, unnecessarily, and the plot became very tedious and repetitive. Had I not expected so much more, I may have liked it better.
Ancient Light is a hard book to take. I really enjoyed the first book in the series and, while unlike some I don't think this one takes anything away from my enjoyment of that book it is a huge letdown.
The promise of the book was in finding more about the Golden Witchbreed and their 'Ancient Light' weapon that nearly destroyed the world. Unfortunately, the book spends most of its time retreading old ground with familiar characters that seem somehow more shallow than in the previous book.
We do see flashbacks to the time of the Golden Witchbreed, and then the book is gripping, the imagery evocative and you remember why you fell in love with the world. Unfortunately, they are few and far between, and the current day story fails to live up to the intrigue of the past. While the book does pick up the pace and drama in the final third, the pay off is not worth the wait, and I fear many readers will have bowed out before the controversial ending.
A lot of people don't like the ending of the book, and I'm one of them, but for different reasons, it seems.
The promise of the book was in finding more about the Golden Witchbreed and their 'Ancient Light' weapon that nearly destroyed the world. Unfortunately, the book spends most of its time retreading old ground with familiar characters that seem somehow more shallow than in the previous book.
We do see flashbacks to the time of the Golden Witchbreed, and then the book is gripping, the imagery evocative and you remember why you fell in love with the world. Unfortunately, they are few and far between, and the current day story fails to live up to the intrigue of the past. While the book does pick up the pace and drama in the final third, the pay off is not worth the wait, and I fear many readers will have bowed out before the controversial ending.
A lot of people don't like the ending of the book, and I'm one of them, but for different reasons, it seems.
Spoiler
I don't mind it all ending in tragedy. I mind the fact it is all so vague and sudden. You never find out what the Ancient Light is, why it was created or how it works. There isn't really a good explanaition of why the antagonist unleashed it again either it all just doesn't make sense then ends.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My word, this was even harder going the second time around (because of course it was, I knew where it was going). Golden Witchbreed remains a book I have a huge fondness for; Ancient Light never was - but it's a brave answer to that first book, if an incredibly bleak one.
The second Orthe novel feels like a sequel which exists out of obligation, not passion. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2016/11/16/not-brilliant-but-not-orthe-ful/
Hmm, where to begin. The unstable narrator who is walking on a razor's edge. The annoying first person narrative. These comments may seem like nails in the coffin, but they're not. Its just that Golden Witchbreed gained traction far earlier than this book did.
Gentle is a more than competent writer. Especially in this book. My misgivings about the "I this" and "I that" tiresomeness aside. Just as in Golden Witchbreed, the author paints an engaging landscape and memorable characters (although alot of them are borrowed from Witchbreed). After the first 70 pages or so, it becomes worth reading. Lisle shifts from a tenuous protagonist to a more forward moving force.
During the last 50 pages it becomes obvious that things are not going to end well. Lisle's attempt to fill a void is doomed. I know that some people have found the ending to be unacceptable. I am not in this camp, but I feel that more time should have been spent on what the Artifacts of Orthe were. This might have made the last couple of pages seem less like a sudden sting.
This book is worth the time you will spend on it. I think that most people were expecting a clone of Golden Witchbreed. It is definitely is not that.
Gentle is a more than competent writer. Especially in this book. My misgivings about the "I this" and "I that" tiresomeness aside. Just as in Golden Witchbreed, the author paints an engaging landscape and memorable characters (although alot of them are borrowed from Witchbreed). After the first 70 pages or so, it becomes worth reading. Lisle shifts from a tenuous protagonist to a more forward moving force.
During the last 50 pages it becomes obvious that things are not going to end well. Lisle's attempt to fill a void is doomed. I know that some people have found the ending to be unacceptable. I am not in this camp, but I feel that more time should have been spent on what the Artifacts of Orthe were. This might have made the last couple of pages seem less like a sudden sting.
This book is worth the time you will spend on it. I think that most people were expecting a clone of Golden Witchbreed. It is definitely is not that.
Golden Witchbreed is so great. This book is...less so.
The first half is rather muddled and all over the place, and while the second half is much better it's also relentlessly grim. I admire the courage to destroy your creation as Gentle does here, but it's a tragic and unsatisfying end to all things Orthe.
The first half is rather muddled and all over the place, and while the second half is much better it's also relentlessly grim. I admire the courage to destroy your creation as Gentle does here, but it's a tragic and unsatisfying end to all things Orthe.
It just couldn't hold my attention and I kept being annoyed that I hadn't read the prequel first so I felt like I wasn't understanding quite what was going on.
Interesting read, but again, a difficult style to get through.