kirstens_corner's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
gavreads's review
There are novels that are hyped a long time before they come out. Now this is a dangerous practice because it raises the expectation that said author is going to be the best thing since sliced bread, only for the reader to find out they are just the same as any other sliced bread on the shelves, or worse they taste not better than a value or basic loaf. Now being as tasty as other products on the shelves isn’t a bad thing and being thought of a quality product is no bad thing either. The only trouble about being told that something is tasty is that you can only be sure after you’ve tried it. So now that I’ve had a bite or two of Nights of Villjamur how does Mark Charan Newton taste?
You’ll be happy to hear that Newton has created a quality product and it all comes down to the mix of ingredients he’s chosen to use. Ok, I’ll stop with the metaphor but it make sense when you know that Nights is a mix of fantasy, science fiction, dying earth, mystery, crime, politics, coming of age, and genocide to name a few things he’s brought together in a book that’s under 500 pages.
Being the first part of something is always a hard job. You have to have a tale that lasts for a number books for a start, you also have to create characters that people want to succeed or at least are willing to follow and who have the potential for development. Then you have to give the reader a reason to read the next one. So why should you read Nights of Villjamur?
An ice age is coming to the group islands that has the fortress city of Villjamur at its heart. It’s a place where that’s seen as a sanctuary to the thousands that are camped outsides it gates. It’s a place where cultists use forgotten technology for their own gain and factions have been formed over it’s use or should that be misuse? It’s a place where politics is everything.
When the Emperor commits suicide, his eldest daughter, Rika is brought home to lead the Jamur Empire but if she doesn’t die from an ambush on the road back, the Chancellor and head of the Council has plans to get rid of her and take the throne for himself.
At the same time there is someone is murdering members of the council leading to a senior investigator looking too closely into the Council, a new member of the Court is showing the Emperor’s daughter the darker-side of Villjamur, a cultist who thought he was immortal is starting to show more than one sign of imminent morality, the head of the Army keeps getting ambushed…
As with most stories it’s the twists and turns that make you want to keep reading and the fact the Newton uses more than one character to tell his story makes things vibrant as he moves in modern-movie-style segments from one scene to the next never labouring the point too long.
Only once or twice does he seem to hit a strange note in a scene. He’s made the characters seem so at home with the world around them and their interactions with each other that the reader gets a strong sense of how they think and feel and a couple of times it’s not so smooth as I’d have liked but that’s a minor criticism. It’s a fine balance.
So can’t say it’s perfect and I wouldn’t want to. He’s only two novels into his career (this is his debut with a mainstream publisher) and you can tell that Newton is going to stand out. He’s mindful that he needs to create texture and colour to his characters and give them a reason for moving on the page. He’s also put thought into the environment they inhabit. And he knows the journey he needs to take his characters. All qualities that can only grow with experience and further novels.
It become clear towards the end that, like Newton , the story has more to give. He’s held his cards close to his chest as the game and the challenges have only just begun.
A wonderfully thoughtful read from a strong writer who has the potential to become an even stronger voice in the future. I’m left excited by the doorways that Newton has placed and I’m only sad that it’s going to take so long before I can step through the next one.
You’ll be happy to hear that Newton has created a quality product and it all comes down to the mix of ingredients he’s chosen to use. Ok, I’ll stop with the metaphor but it make sense when you know that Nights is a mix of fantasy, science fiction, dying earth, mystery, crime, politics, coming of age, and genocide to name a few things he’s brought together in a book that’s under 500 pages.
Being the first part of something is always a hard job. You have to have a tale that lasts for a number books for a start, you also have to create characters that people want to succeed or at least are willing to follow and who have the potential for development. Then you have to give the reader a reason to read the next one. So why should you read Nights of Villjamur?
An ice age is coming to the group islands that has the fortress city of Villjamur at its heart. It’s a place where that’s seen as a sanctuary to the thousands that are camped outsides it gates. It’s a place where cultists use forgotten technology for their own gain and factions have been formed over it’s use or should that be misuse? It’s a place where politics is everything.
When the Emperor commits suicide, his eldest daughter, Rika is brought home to lead the Jamur Empire but if she doesn’t die from an ambush on the road back, the Chancellor and head of the Council has plans to get rid of her and take the throne for himself.
At the same time there is someone is murdering members of the council leading to a senior investigator looking too closely into the Council, a new member of the Court is showing the Emperor’s daughter the darker-side of Villjamur, a cultist who thought he was immortal is starting to show more than one sign of imminent morality, the head of the Army keeps getting ambushed…
As with most stories it’s the twists and turns that make you want to keep reading and the fact the Newton uses more than one character to tell his story makes things vibrant as he moves in modern-movie-style segments from one scene to the next never labouring the point too long.
Only once or twice does he seem to hit a strange note in a scene. He’s made the characters seem so at home with the world around them and their interactions with each other that the reader gets a strong sense of how they think and feel and a couple of times it’s not so smooth as I’d have liked but that’s a minor criticism. It’s a fine balance.
So can’t say it’s perfect and I wouldn’t want to. He’s only two novels into his career (this is his debut with a mainstream publisher) and you can tell that Newton is going to stand out. He’s mindful that he needs to create texture and colour to his characters and give them a reason for moving on the page. He’s also put thought into the environment they inhabit. And he knows the journey he needs to take his characters. All qualities that can only grow with experience and further novels.
It become clear towards the end that, like Newton , the story has more to give. He’s held his cards close to his chest as the game and the challenges have only just begun.
A wonderfully thoughtful read from a strong writer who has the potential to become an even stronger voice in the future. I’m left excited by the doorways that Newton has placed and I’m only sad that it’s going to take so long before I can step through the next one.
majkia's review
4.0
Very intriguing start to a new series. Although I found the writing odd and quirky, I was quickly entangled into the plot. Good story and excellent creation of atmosphere and complex alien world. I especially liked that his world was created not just using visual images, but included sound and smell and at times I felt I could touch the cold stones and frightening snow.
I found some of the characters to be problematic at first, but I was relieved to see they all grew and matured and deepened as the tale progressed.
I'll definitely read the next book in the series to follow the adventures of the rebels of Villjamur.
I found some of the characters to be problematic at first, but I was relieved to see they all grew and matured and deepened as the tale progressed.
I'll definitely read the next book in the series to follow the adventures of the rebels of Villjamur.
mrtrousers's review
1.0
I had to give up a quarter of the way through. There might be a good story buried under all the turgid prose, but it's too painful to wade through. It reads like it was translated into Japanese and back again.
'Shapes shifted in the far umbrage either side and he questioned their meaning.'
'Her white blouse, unbuttoned to reveal cleavage like a bad cliche, she made the most of what she had.'
'It's no enigma that she despised the Emperor for his treatment of her late mother.'
Meh.
'Shapes shifted in the far umbrage either side and he questioned their meaning.'
'Her white blouse, unbuttoned to reveal cleavage like a bad cliche, she made the most of what she had.'
'It's no enigma that she despised the Emperor for his treatment of her late mother.'
Meh.
christophertd's review
4.0
Can't do half ratings would really be 4.5 stars. An intriguing setting, some interesting characters and things set fair for City of Ruin.
markyon's review
4.0
Imagine a book that reads like Joe Abercrombie, set in a Jack Vance-like Dying Earth and written with characters the equal of Moorcock and Mieville. Too good to be true? This book might just meet your expectations.
The novel is mainly set in Villjamur, an enormous city, set on a world where the weak red sun heralds the coming of a decades-long Ice Age.
Amidst such a widescreen vista there is a pleasing range of memorable characters. Brynd Lathraea, an albino commander of the Emperor’s elite Night Guard, is a hero of this tale. Ambiguous in attitude and sexuality, his mettle is tested when Emperor Johynn commits suicide and he is set the task of maintaining order in a rapidly changing world and retrieving the Emperor’s heir, the eldest daughter Jamur Rika.
As a counterbalance, the main villain of the book is Chancellor Urtica, who has designs upon the Empire, not to mention a desire to instigate a war with the northern Varltung race in order to enhance his own political standing. His connections with the outlawed Cultists (practitioner of the black arts) lead to a furtherment of his career and war between the rival mage groups in Villjamur.
Between them are Errol Flynn-like rogue Randur Estevu, whose relationship with Princess Eir (the younger sister of Rika) evolves through the book. All of these have complications which read sensibly and logically throughout the book.
Other characters also further widen the novel’s viewpoint, though Mark sensibly concentrates on a few characters in depth rather than attempt epic battles and broad catalogues of people. That’s not to say there aren’t battles and well-written fight scenes, and written well at that, but the emphasis here is on the characters. Of all the book’s strengths, for me it is the range of memorable characters and the places travelled that are the pinnacle.
Similarly, the city is clearly outlined, bringing to my mind images of Viriconium and Lankhmar. The urban setting for all these characters is unveiled through a murder plot, the deaths of a number of the city’s Councillors. Leading the investigation is the ramel (an alien-type race) Investigator Jeryd, who in typical noir-fashion has personal problems which seem to be almost as complex as the case in progress. His relationship with his work-partner, Tryst, is difficult, as Tryst was recently passed over in promotion, whilst his marriage to Marysa seems to be on the rocks.
Often, in larger tales, a reader can lose track of characters, places and events. This didn’t happen for me here. There are instead impressive actions, dark alleyways and soaring towers, places of grandeur and power, scary monsters, eldritch magic and alien races that are in enough variety to keep the reader engaged. For some writers such a variety can be quite a struggle to maintain, juggling all these elements, but I was pleased that Mark, for such a relatively new writer, was able to do so with skill and élan.
In fact, NoV is a great book, which takes old tropes and re-imagines them into something new and memorable. It is an assured tale written with style, intelligence and skill, written inside a fantastically set premise and brilliantly focused novel that shows all the strengths of the genre and relatively few of the weaknesses.
The main disappointment for me was the fact that when I finished the book I wanted to read further (the book is the first in a proposed series.) Though the book finishes at an acceptable place, the book does have that feeling at the end that there are many unresolved events set in motion that will be examined in future novels.
In summary, though, very highly recommended. Definitely my favourite fantasy of the year so far, in what is a very good year for the genre. This will be a ‘best of the year’ novel, unless I’m much mistaken.
The novel is mainly set in Villjamur, an enormous city, set on a world where the weak red sun heralds the coming of a decades-long Ice Age.
Amidst such a widescreen vista there is a pleasing range of memorable characters. Brynd Lathraea, an albino commander of the Emperor’s elite Night Guard, is a hero of this tale. Ambiguous in attitude and sexuality, his mettle is tested when Emperor Johynn commits suicide and he is set the task of maintaining order in a rapidly changing world and retrieving the Emperor’s heir, the eldest daughter Jamur Rika.
As a counterbalance, the main villain of the book is Chancellor Urtica, who has designs upon the Empire, not to mention a desire to instigate a war with the northern Varltung race in order to enhance his own political standing. His connections with the outlawed Cultists (practitioner of the black arts) lead to a furtherment of his career and war between the rival mage groups in Villjamur.
Between them are Errol Flynn-like rogue Randur Estevu, whose relationship with Princess Eir (the younger sister of Rika) evolves through the book. All of these have complications which read sensibly and logically throughout the book.
Other characters also further widen the novel’s viewpoint, though Mark sensibly concentrates on a few characters in depth rather than attempt epic battles and broad catalogues of people. That’s not to say there aren’t battles and well-written fight scenes, and written well at that, but the emphasis here is on the characters. Of all the book’s strengths, for me it is the range of memorable characters and the places travelled that are the pinnacle.
Similarly, the city is clearly outlined, bringing to my mind images of Viriconium and Lankhmar. The urban setting for all these characters is unveiled through a murder plot, the deaths of a number of the city’s Councillors. Leading the investigation is the ramel (an alien-type race) Investigator Jeryd, who in typical noir-fashion has personal problems which seem to be almost as complex as the case in progress. His relationship with his work-partner, Tryst, is difficult, as Tryst was recently passed over in promotion, whilst his marriage to Marysa seems to be on the rocks.
Often, in larger tales, a reader can lose track of characters, places and events. This didn’t happen for me here. There are instead impressive actions, dark alleyways and soaring towers, places of grandeur and power, scary monsters, eldritch magic and alien races that are in enough variety to keep the reader engaged. For some writers such a variety can be quite a struggle to maintain, juggling all these elements, but I was pleased that Mark, for such a relatively new writer, was able to do so with skill and élan.
In fact, NoV is a great book, which takes old tropes and re-imagines them into something new and memorable. It is an assured tale written with style, intelligence and skill, written inside a fantastically set premise and brilliantly focused novel that shows all the strengths of the genre and relatively few of the weaknesses.
The main disappointment for me was the fact that when I finished the book I wanted to read further (the book is the first in a proposed series.) Though the book finishes at an acceptable place, the book does have that feeling at the end that there are many unresolved events set in motion that will be examined in future novels.
In summary, though, very highly recommended. Definitely my favourite fantasy of the year so far, in what is a very good year for the genre. This will be a ‘best of the year’ novel, unless I’m much mistaken.
seak's review
1.0
I tried, but failed. I made it through a little over 4 of 14 cd's (I calculated it to about 100 to 120 or so pages) and it just wasn't working for me.
I guess, and maybe it's because I'm getting older or because I have a one-year-old and all I read every day is Goodnight Moon or Thomas the Train, but I'm just tired of books being completely focused on sex. I read fantasy because I like fantasy elements like medieval times, swords, adventure, different races and lots more.
I don't read romance.
I don't have anything against it, it's just not for me. But, and this is a big but, I purposefully read fantasy and not romance.
If such elements pop up every now and then (ASoIaF for instance isn't even that bad for me, but it's been a while), that's fine with me...but everything can't be about the sex, especially explicit sex. Not only does it not do it for me as a reader, but I really don't feel it moves the story forward much. When an author does this, I can't get it out of my head that the author is deprived (not depraved, sex is healthy, I'm a fan) in some way and all they can do is fantasize about situations they got from some porn flick...and I really don't need or want to hear about them.
I feel bad because I know I'm wrong at least 99% of the time, it's just there, in my head, I can't get it out when I read these scenes.
I know, I'm weird. Maybe I have crazy issues from some childhood tragedy that I've repressed.
Otherwise, the world Newton has created is amazing. The characters are real and he's obviously an amazing writer. The audio is also completely well done. I can completely understand why everyone loves this series. Newton deserves all the praise he's received and it's my own issues that have prevented my enjoyment. I just think I'm over what I've talked about above.
I guess, and maybe it's because I'm getting older or because I have a one-year-old and all I read every day is Goodnight Moon or Thomas the Train, but I'm just tired of books being completely focused on sex. I read fantasy because I like fantasy elements like medieval times, swords, adventure, different races and lots more.
I don't read romance.
I don't have anything against it, it's just not for me. But, and this is a big but, I purposefully read fantasy and not romance.
If such elements pop up every now and then (ASoIaF for instance isn't even that bad for me, but it's been a while), that's fine with me...but everything can't be about the sex, especially explicit sex. Not only does it not do it for me as a reader, but I really don't feel it moves the story forward much. When an author does this, I can't get it out of my head that the author is deprived (not depraved, sex is healthy, I'm a fan) in some way and all they can do is fantasize about situations they got from some porn flick...and I really don't need or want to hear about them.
I feel bad because I know I'm wrong at least 99% of the time, it's just there, in my head, I can't get it out when I read these scenes.
I know, I'm weird. Maybe I have crazy issues from some childhood tragedy that I've repressed.
Otherwise, the world Newton has created is amazing. The characters are real and he's obviously an amazing writer. The audio is also completely well done. I can completely understand why everyone loves this series. Newton deserves all the praise he's received and it's my own issues that have prevented my enjoyment. I just think I'm over what I've talked about above.
beth_dawkins's review
4.0
Nights of Villjamur is about a group of characters in Villjamur. An inquisitor, an evil councilor, pretty boy, two royals, and a very cool commander. The time is stressful. An ice age is setting in, and refugees are flooding to the Villjamur gates. Villjamur has the growing number of freezing people outside its gates, but there is also plenty of turmoil inside the gates as councilors start ending up dead.
I liked this book, a lot! The setting is the first really interesting thing in the book. An ice age is about to start, and some even seem to know their sun is dieing. It is described as red. (On a side note- because the sun's uv rays and all that jazz depend on what color is bounced off objects into our eyes, I started to wonder if anything was greatly changed in color. It didn't seem to be. I just wondered.) The city of Villjamur is richly described with its many upper bridges, lower Caveside, and other districts. Even the kids that pelt Jeryd, the inquisitor, with snow balls helps create a scene. The only down fall is how much the reader was reminded of the cold.
The stories POV shifts with every chapter, something I love. I like these kinds of stories, you get to see things from every point. The first series I ever fell in love with had a shifting POV. That might have something to do with why I like it so much.
I have seen people write about their favorite character, most have picked the albino Commander Brynd or the non-human Inquisitor Jeryd. These were not my favorite characters. Brynd seemed play a minor role, and Jeryd was to honorable for his own good. My favorite characters were Eir and Randur. They seemed to be the two that really had a story other than Jeryd. Brynd's story felt unfinished, and I deeply hope the next books will give me a finish for him.
Oh, and before I forget! The cultist! They are part magician, alchemist and scientist, all wrapped up into one. I started to wonder midway through the book if the relics (old nick-knacks) that give them power are not just everyday devices to a more advanced civilization. So they just think they are magic. I have a great many theories about this world and creatures in it, and I am excited to know where it goes.
This is a short review, but I just felt the need to say something about the book. It is full of political strife, a good many characters and has great potential to develop. I am very excited to get my eyes into the next book!
vaderbird's review
3.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish