saoki's review against another edition
4.0
On surface, The Eternal Sky series might feel like something you've read elsewhere. There's a reluctant prince searching for his beloved, there's a wizard from the mountains, there's a Cult of Evil brewing wars, there's much walking and riding through scenic vistas.
But the use of tropes doesn't makes a story automatically bad, just recognizable. And, in this story, I'm pretty sure the author was intent on setting the story up as a fable. Because making the story feel so much like a fable gives much more weight to the characters' struggle to accept the situations as part of their lives. They also see what is happening as stuff of fable, and reject that as any sane person would. It's their lives after all, they have to take it seriously.
There's so much to love in this book. The setting has a strong wuxia feel to it, seeming to have adopted the same epic sense of wonder and expanse as those old chinese serials, with similar high pace and high weirdness. The characters are vivid and interesting, even (or should I say specially?) the horses. And then there's the myths. I loved the myths and ancient history, just loved it, specifically I loved the way the stories are different across cultures. And any book with extra stories woven into it has a special place in my heart.
I'm already reading the sequel.
But the use of tropes doesn't makes a story automatically bad, just recognizable. And, in this story, I'm pretty sure the author was intent on setting the story up as a fable. Because making the story feel so much like a fable gives much more weight to the characters' struggle to accept the situations as part of their lives. They also see what is happening as stuff of fable, and reject that as any sane person would. It's their lives after all, they have to take it seriously.
There's so much to love in this book. The setting has a strong wuxia feel to it, seeming to have adopted the same epic sense of wonder and expanse as those old chinese serials, with similar high pace and high weirdness. The characters are vivid and interesting, even (or should I say specially?) the horses. And then there's the myths. I loved the myths and ancient history, just loved it, specifically I loved the way the stories are different across cultures. And any book with extra stories woven into it has a special place in my heart.
I'm already reading the sequel.
benehime's review against another edition
5.0
Glorious!!! I want to read them all!
Occasionally you find them, the fantasy authors who do new things. I love that the characters are adults. I love that more than half of them are women. I love the setting, the world building and the prose.
And I love Bansh!
Is she a magic horse? Is she just an exceptional horse? Is she a horse at all? I cannot wait to find out!
Occasionally you find them, the fantasy authors who do new things. I love that the characters are adults. I love that more than half of them are women. I love the setting, the world building and the prose.
And I love Bansh!
Is she a magic horse? Is she just an exceptional horse? Is she a horse at all? I cannot wait to find out!
antonism's review against another edition
3.0
3 / 5
Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear, a seasoned and known author of SF, is her fantasy debut novel set in an eastern setting. It has gathered rather glowing reviews and featured in many best-of lists when it came out. Is it that good as they say? Well let’s find out how much I liked it. As usual, I will avoid going into too much detail describing what this book is about, you can read the synopsis up there ^. Instead, I will go straight into my review.
Quick summary?: An optimistic attempt at something fresh and exotic in fantasy that ultimately fails flat due to stagnant characters, slow pace and rather simplistic plot.
Format:
Range of Ghosts is the first book in a scheduled trilogy and can not really be read on its own. In my e-book version, the book had 270 pages. It is divided into 18 chapters of rather medium length. There’s also a map at the start of the book. The narration is in 3rd person perspective, entirely in the past tense and, while it changes among various characters, it does not use a strict point of view.
Characters:
One could say that there are 2 main protagonists, 3 sidekicks, 1 antagonist and several passing secondary characters in the story. This is a rather simplistic classification but it fits rather well. Judging from the extremely slow pace and rather simple and not-so-deep plot (more below), I would have expected a lot of characterization and character development from such an experienced author. Sadly, this is not the case as only 1 protagonist gets any real and substantial character development. [very light spoiler] In short, even though the characters are diverse and potentially interesting, there’s no real connection to anybody, nothing to cheer about or get angry or even remotely care.
Plot & story:
Here’s the thing, the plot starts abruptly, like we’re in the middle of something and in fact we are in the middle of one main character’s war and in the middle of another’s life-changing test. That’s good and it’s a great way to start a book. But it doesn’t keep up as we’re bombarded with world-building info and the pace falls to a crawl soon after the start. A few chapters in and the reader is a bit lost among many minutiae and details about everything while still gasping to find a hook for the story. Eventually, the story starts to unfold in a slow but beautiful way but it’s then that it starts becoming apparent that seemingly this is a rather pedestrian plot, almost reminiscent of traditional fantasy of years past. Even then I kept feeling that there where several plot holes or things happening that didn’t make much sense or were not explained properly.
Maybe it’s too early to judge the plot of the trilogy just from the first book, but if that’s the case then there’s a failure there as well. There’s should be something to make the reader want to keep going, keep reading. Also, and for me that was a big letdown, the first book ends so abruptly that I was honestly surprised and worried that there was something wrong with my book, maybe a missing chapter or something! I understand this is a one story – 3 parts type of trilogy but ending the book without any resolution, any closure, even any cliff-hanger at all is not something I approve of.
Writing & Pacing:
Bear’s writing is nothing short of beautiful and impressive. She really creates an amazing atmosphere and feeling to everything. The dialogues are a bit toned down but the descriptions are always superb and remarkable. But here’s also where I’m completely mystified; I read in many other reviews that Bear’s writing is “economical” or “she writes with amazing economy and efficiency”. Well, when Bear gets into description-mode (and it’s more often than not!) then, oh my, be prepared for a lot of paragraph-skipping! And I almost never ever skip! I feel that I now know more about horses and their accessories, about nomad tents and mud-brick houses, about carpets and eastern furniture that I ever would have expected or even wanted. At one point Bear spends a whole page describing a person’s room then as soon as that person enters said room, she spends another page describing that person’s appearance and clothes!! Oh my Djinn!!!
And that is why I don’t need to say much more about the pacing as it swings from long static descriptions to crawling world-movement and slow plot development. I admit there are also scenes of tension and/or action, sometimes moving and intense but they are unfortunately not as many as I would have liked.
World building & Magic:
It is not all bad though, as Bear has created and describes an amazingly beautiful and diverse world! There’s a pantheon of gods that apparently rule only where their earthly rules do. Their areas of influence are very evident and easily observable at each regions sky; yes, the sky changes accordingly! In the world of the Eternal Sky series, all races and types of eastern cultures can be found and then plus some mythical and fantastical ones! The description of the world and its people is nothing short of encompassing and amazing and it’s obvious that Bear has spent a lot of thought, effort and time on properly forming the world her books are set in. Magic is rather vague and not described in detail but that actually enhances the mysticism and the feeling of occult exactly as magic should feel.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, this is a mixed bag with stark contrasts. On one hand we have amazing world-building and very rich and impressive writing and on the other we have rather under-developed characters, a shallow plot and very slow pace. Make what you will of that and depending of your tastes give it a try or not. I suppose fans of Guy Gavriel Kay, K.J. Parker and maybe some older fantasy authors may find a lot to like here while fans of Abercrombie, Sanderson, Salvatore and the likes should approach with caution. As for myself, I will probably wait until I read the reviews of the conclusion of the trilogy before deciding I will continue with the second book.
3 / 5
Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear, a seasoned and known author of SF, is her fantasy debut novel set in an eastern setting. It has gathered rather glowing reviews and featured in many best-of lists when it came out. Is it that good as they say? Well let’s find out how much I liked it. As usual, I will avoid going into too much detail describing what this book is about, you can read the synopsis up there ^. Instead, I will go straight into my review.
Quick summary?: An optimistic attempt at something fresh and exotic in fantasy that ultimately fails flat due to stagnant characters, slow pace and rather simplistic plot.
Format:
Range of Ghosts is the first book in a scheduled trilogy and can not really be read on its own. In my e-book version, the book had 270 pages. It is divided into 18 chapters of rather medium length. There’s also a map at the start of the book. The narration is in 3rd person perspective, entirely in the past tense and, while it changes among various characters, it does not use a strict point of view.
Characters:
One could say that there are 2 main protagonists, 3 sidekicks, 1 antagonist and several passing secondary characters in the story. This is a rather simplistic classification but it fits rather well. Judging from the extremely slow pace and rather simple and not-so-deep plot (more below), I would have expected a lot of characterization and character development from such an experienced author. Sadly, this is not the case as only 1 protagonist gets any real and substantial character development. [very light spoiler]
Spoiler
Samarkar is adequately described and the reader gets to feel a connection with her as well as an understanding of who she is and how she reacts. The same can not be said for anybody else. Temur is incredibly underdeveloped for a protagonist as the only thing we learn by the end is his love and passion for bows and anything horse-related. Same about Bansh, Hrahima, Hsiung, Edene, Al-Sepehr and most of the others.Plot & story:
Here’s the thing, the plot starts abruptly, like we’re in the middle of something and in fact we are in the middle of one main character’s war and in the middle of another’s life-changing test. That’s good and it’s a great way to start a book. But it doesn’t keep up as we’re bombarded with world-building info and the pace falls to a crawl soon after the start. A few chapters in and the reader is a bit lost among many minutiae and details about everything while still gasping to find a hook for the story. Eventually, the story starts to unfold in a slow but beautiful way but it’s then that it starts becoming apparent that seemingly this is a rather pedestrian plot, almost reminiscent of traditional fantasy of years past. Even then I kept feeling that there where several plot holes or things happening that didn’t make much sense or were not explained properly.
Maybe it’s too early to judge the plot of the trilogy just from the first book, but if that’s the case then there’s a failure there as well. There’s should be something to make the reader want to keep going, keep reading. Also, and for me that was a big letdown, the first book ends so abruptly that I was honestly surprised and worried that there was something wrong with my book, maybe a missing chapter or something! I understand this is a one story – 3 parts type of trilogy but ending the book without any resolution, any closure, even any cliff-hanger at all is not something I approve of.
Writing & Pacing:
Bear’s writing is nothing short of beautiful and impressive. She really creates an amazing atmosphere and feeling to everything. The dialogues are a bit toned down but the descriptions are always superb and remarkable. But here’s also where I’m completely mystified; I read in many other reviews that Bear’s writing is “economical” or “she writes with amazing economy and efficiency”. Well, when Bear gets into description-mode (and it’s more often than not!) then, oh my, be prepared for a lot of paragraph-skipping! And I almost never ever skip! I feel that I now know more about horses and their accessories, about nomad tents and mud-brick houses, about carpets and eastern furniture that I ever would have expected or even wanted. At one point Bear spends a whole page describing a person’s room then as soon as that person enters said room, she spends another page describing that person’s appearance and clothes!! Oh my Djinn!!!
And that is why I don’t need to say much more about the pacing as it swings from long static descriptions to crawling world-movement and slow plot development. I admit there are also scenes of tension and/or action, sometimes moving and intense but they are unfortunately not as many as I would have liked.
World building & Magic:
It is not all bad though, as Bear has created and describes an amazingly beautiful and diverse world! There’s a pantheon of gods that apparently rule only where their earthly rules do. Their areas of influence are very evident and easily observable at each regions sky; yes, the sky changes accordingly! In the world of the Eternal Sky series, all races and types of eastern cultures can be found and then plus some mythical and fantastical ones! The description of the world and its people is nothing short of encompassing and amazing and it’s obvious that Bear has spent a lot of thought, effort and time on properly forming the world her books are set in. Magic is rather vague and not described in detail but that actually enhances the mysticism and the feeling of occult exactly as magic should feel.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, this is a mixed bag with stark contrasts. On one hand we have amazing world-building and very rich and impressive writing and on the other we have rather under-developed characters, a shallow plot and very slow pace. Make what you will of that and depending of your tastes give it a try or not. I suppose fans of Guy Gavriel Kay, K.J. Parker and maybe some older fantasy authors may find a lot to like here while fans of Abercrombie, Sanderson, Salvatore and the likes should approach with caution. As for myself, I will probably wait until I read the reviews of the conclusion of the trilogy before deciding I will continue with the second book.
3 / 5
peapod_boston's review against another edition
4.0
I've read one book by Bear before and, at the time, struggled a bit. I enjoyed parts of it as I was reading, but found my thoughts returning again and again in the months after I finished. Any author that has that impact deserves a second chance, as it usually means I just wasn't in the right mood.
So I picked up "Range of Ghosts." On some levels, it's a "conventional" fantasy. By the end, a mismatched group of varying skills and origins embarks on a quest across half a world. But Bear provides enough twists and variations to keep it interesting. Her characters are complex and nuanced, their motivations not always clear to themselves or the reader. Her setting--a fantastical version of Asia in the time of the great Khans--is different enough from the run of the mill Western Europe clones that it feels, well, fantastical. She uses enough real cultural and physical detail to feel grounded, but doesn't bury you in research, and her magic feels magical. It's not just a new kind of science but something that is broad and sweeping and mystical. The ever-changing sky is one of the most interesting conceits in recent fantasy, and provides a lovely signal that this is not just faux-history--this is Fantasy.
Finally, her prose is spot-on. Clean, elegant, but with some lovely polish and turns of phrase. She never lingers too long on anything, but is always evocative. I roared through this novel but was never tempted to skim, as I might miss an apt phrase or choice detail. She spends less time in her character's heads than many modern writers, and yet conveys great nuance about their characters through their thoughts and actions.
I've been keeping my eye out for fantasies that scratch that archetypal itch, that world-build without sacrificing magic to realism, and that give me a tale of adventure and daring, of quests and sacrifice and magic. I found it here. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel and taking another crack at some of her earlier books.
So I picked up "Range of Ghosts." On some levels, it's a "conventional" fantasy. By the end, a mismatched group of varying skills and origins embarks on a quest across half a world. But Bear provides enough twists and variations to keep it interesting. Her characters are complex and nuanced, their motivations not always clear to themselves or the reader. Her setting--a fantastical version of Asia in the time of the great Khans--is different enough from the run of the mill Western Europe clones that it feels, well, fantastical. She uses enough real cultural and physical detail to feel grounded, but doesn't bury you in research, and her magic feels magical. It's not just a new kind of science but something that is broad and sweeping and mystical. The ever-changing sky is one of the most interesting conceits in recent fantasy, and provides a lovely signal that this is not just faux-history--this is Fantasy.
Finally, her prose is spot-on. Clean, elegant, but with some lovely polish and turns of phrase. She never lingers too long on anything, but is always evocative. I roared through this novel but was never tempted to skim, as I might miss an apt phrase or choice detail. She spends less time in her character's heads than many modern writers, and yet conveys great nuance about their characters through their thoughts and actions.
I've been keeping my eye out for fantasies that scratch that archetypal itch, that world-build without sacrificing magic to realism, and that give me a tale of adventure and daring, of quests and sacrifice and magic. I found it here. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel and taking another crack at some of her earlier books.
tmikerx's review against another edition
4.0
This was an amazingly engrossing story that I almost totally enjoyed. Towards the end I felt it dragged a little bit and that's the only reason it wasn't a 5-star book, but the world with the different skies, the different cultures, and the way different characters viewed magic were all major pros for the book. I thoroughly recommend this book.
lanid's review
adventurous
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Confinement, Death, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Violence, and War
cakereads's review against another edition
2.0
After I finished the book:
Mostly because I had such high expectations for it. A fantasy inspired by Mongolia? Hell yeah, give it to me! The fate of an empire resting on the shoulders of a single man? Alright, I could roll with that. A warrior princess who is also a wizard? Yes yes yes! So yeah, high expectations for Range of Ghosts.
Then I read it.
Elizabeth Bear does the world-building beautifully. Just take a look at this:
Skilful world-building there. In this one para, we gathered that there is more than one moon in Temur's world (Why? I want to read on to find out more!) and perhaps sexuality is a fluid concept for his people, hence the gender-bending deity (very interesting concept).
Bear has a knack for descriptions; she weaves words together like a poet, and she clearly loves the world she has built to choose her words so carefully in painting it in the heads of readers. But. But I think that's part of the problem I have with this highly disappointing book.
She paid so much attention to the descriptions and world-building that she neglected other elements that make a good story - character and plot.
Firstly, character. There are multiple POVs in this book, but I never got the sense that they were different. The story is written in third-person, but even so, character traits and personality can be deftly introduced and used to mark each POV differently in the reader's head. I didn't get that in Range of Ghosts. All the characters sound the same. I compare it to Scott Lynch's [b:The Lies of Locke Lamora|127455|The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard #1)|Scott Lynch|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386924569s/127455.jpg|2116675]. Written in third-person, replete with descriptions as well, but the characters are well-delineated and developed. I know their voice and I hear it. It was really too bad Range of Ghosts didn't have it because I was so ready to love Samarkar.
Secondly, plot. Is it because it's the first book of a trilogy? Is it because Bear just writes so much description? The plot is so ... flat. I just finished the book, and I feel like nothing happened. There was no climax, no action to drag the reader along. It is strange that the book is so bereft of action when there could have been so many exciting moments and fights. You know how when you're reading a great action scene and your eyes just fly across the page, eagerly devouring the words so you can see what happens in the next breath-taking moment? Nope, not in the Range of Ghosts. There's really no excuse for this nothing-plot.
I think the main reason why the plot is so flat is because Bear does a lot of telling, instead of showing, which befuddles me. Yes, I know that "show, don't tell" isn't a hard and fast rule in writing, but it's a pretty basic one. For example, this line
... Okay ... What interesting things? Why tell me they are interesting if you're not even going to bother telling me how they are interesting? "Interesting" is such a meaningless abstract adjective.
And then there's this
Why the sub-clause? Brief sharp crack - that's all I need to understand. Stop slowing down the action with needless descriptions!
Like I mentioned above, descriptions and world-building are Bear's forte. And she describes excessively. I feel that there are some locations that didn't need to be described in such detail because these locations aren't revisited or else significant to the plot, and the descriptions only bog down the action.
Look how promising the first line was
Why wasn't this kept up throughout the book?
I have already bought the other two books so I will have to plug my way through it. I mean, the book isn't bad. It's okay. I certainly hope the other two will be more exciting. Life is too short for bad books.
Mostly because I had such high expectations for it. A fantasy inspired by Mongolia? Hell yeah, give it to me! The fate of an empire resting on the shoulders of a single man? Alright, I could roll with that. A warrior princess who is also a wizard? Yes yes yes! So yeah, high expectations for Range of Ghosts.
Then I read it.
Elizabeth Bear does the world-building beautifully. Just take a look at this:
He tried not to count the moons as they rose but could not help themselves. No bigger than Temur's smallest fingernail, each floated up the night like a reflection on dark water. One, two. A dozen. Fifteen. Thirty. Thirty-one. A scatter of hammered sequins in the veil the Eternal Sky drew across himself to become Mother Night.
Skilful world-building there. In this one para, we gathered that there is more than one moon in Temur's world (Why? I want to read on to find out more!) and perhaps sexuality is a fluid concept for his people, hence the gender-bending deity (very interesting concept).
Bear has a knack for descriptions; she weaves words together like a poet, and she clearly loves the world she has built to choose her words so carefully in painting it in the heads of readers. But. But I think that's part of the problem I have with this highly disappointing book.
She paid so much attention to the descriptions and world-building that she neglected other elements that make a good story - character and plot.
Firstly, character. There are multiple POVs in this book, but I never got the sense that they were different. The story is written in third-person, but even so, character traits and personality can be deftly introduced and used to mark each POV differently in the reader's head. I didn't get that in Range of Ghosts. All the characters sound the same. I compare it to Scott Lynch's [b:The Lies of Locke Lamora|127455|The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard #1)|Scott Lynch|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386924569s/127455.jpg|2116675]. Written in third-person, replete with descriptions as well, but the characters are well-delineated and developed. I know their voice and I hear it. It was really too bad Range of Ghosts didn't have it because I was so ready to love Samarkar.
Secondly, plot. Is it because it's the first book of a trilogy? Is it because Bear just writes so much description? The plot is so ... flat. I just finished the book, and I feel like nothing happened. There was no climax, no action to drag the reader along. It is strange that the book is so bereft of action when there could have been so many exciting moments and fights. You know how when you're reading a great action scene and your eyes just fly across the page, eagerly devouring the words so you can see what happens in the next breath-taking moment? Nope, not in the Range of Ghosts. There's really no excuse for this nothing-plot.
I think the main reason why the plot is so flat is because Bear does a lot of telling, instead of showing, which befuddles me. Yes, I know that "show, don't tell" isn't a hard and fast rule in writing, but it's a pretty basic one. For example, this line
Temur's face did a number of interesting things before he thought to press it against the gelding's neck.
... Okay ... What interesting things? Why tell me they are interesting if you're not even going to bother telling me how they are interesting? "Interesting" is such a meaningless abstract adjective.
And then there's this
A brief sharp crack, thunder's little brother, followed.
Why the sub-clause? Brief sharp crack - that's all I need to understand. Stop slowing down the action with needless descriptions!
Like I mentioned above, descriptions and world-building are Bear's forte. And she describes excessively. I feel that there are some locations that didn't need to be described in such detail
Spoiler
such as Hong-la's room in the CitadelLook how promising the first line was
Ragged vultures spiraled up a cherry sky.
Why wasn't this kept up throughout the book?
I have already bought the other two books so I will have to plug my way through it. I mean, the book isn't bad. It's okay. I certainly hope the other two will be more exciting. Life is too short for bad books.
heavywater's review against another edition
2.0
Decent world building, but the actual story kinda fell flat. Not terrible by a long shot, but I'm not really interested in the series anymore.
mihnea_cateanu's review against another edition
2.0
Original worldbuilding, impressively done.
Other than that, a complete mess. The prose is pretentious, and the plot is very slow, dull, forgettable and full of cliches. The evil wizard is evil! And he has a giant bird! And the dispossesed heir of a kingdom in civil turmoil is on the run! And prophetic dreams! And he`s. At least the evil wizard doesn`t cackle maniacally (not in this volume at least). Oh and our hero absolutely has to save his damsel in distress, which he met a few weeks ago (or months, it`s not entirely clear). But he`s madly in love because she was his first, because there had to be something to embark him on his (mandatory) epic quest.
Also, the author`s obsession with horses gets tiresome after about one fifth of the book and never lets down. If horsepunk as a genre didn`t exist before, it sure does now.
And there`s a powerful ring that makes its wearer invisible....and no, this is not a parody of epic fantasy.
Maybe 20 or 30 years ago this book would have been pretty good, but now? It`s pointless, derivative and entirely forgettable. Except for the great worldbuilding...otherwise it would have been 1-star.
Other than that, a complete mess. The prose is pretentious, and the plot is very slow, dull, forgettable and full of cliches. The evil wizard is evil! And he has a giant bird! And the dispossesed heir of a kingdom in civil turmoil is on the run! And prophetic dreams! And he`s
Spoiler
attacked about 300 times by assassins sent by the evil wizardAlso, the author`s obsession with horses gets tiresome after about one fifth of the book and never lets down. If horsepunk as a genre didn`t exist before, it sure does now.
And there`s a powerful ring that makes its wearer invisible....and no, this is not a parody of epic fantasy.
Maybe 20 or 30 years ago this book would have been pretty good, but now? It`s pointless, derivative and entirely forgettable. Except for the great worldbuilding...otherwise it would have been 1-star.
sequence19's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75