lildizzee's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ladyofbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I can’t believe that I’ve never discovered this author before. She should be sitting up next to Patricia A. McKillip, Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey, Andre Norton, and other high-end fantasy authors that write so beautifully and vividly, it’s as though you’re actually a part of the story! Each page if filled with such depth that I lingered over this book for several days. It’s 600+pages felt more like 16,000+pages due to the sheer amount of characterization and world-building. I wish that I could write as well as this author, for she is truly one of my new favorite authors, and I am so glad that I own a copy of this book, but I checked on google and there are some with far better covers that I am intent on buying as well. Not that the covers matter, of course, but it’s another thing to work on collecting and owning for my bookish room!
This will sit on my treasured favorites shelf. It’s going to be right between Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Patricia McKillip, Elizabeth Wein, and several several others. I’m hoping to get the rest of the series of Aurian, because damn this is some fine story-telling here!
This will sit on my treasured favorites shelf. It’s going to be right between Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Patricia McKillip, Elizabeth Wein, and several several others. I’m hoping to get the rest of the series of Aurian, because damn this is some fine story-telling here!
book_whispers's review against another edition
5.0
Sounds like any number of fantasy books out there. Aurian had the potential to be another boring A-typical book in the Fantasy genre. Before rereading this book, I had wondered how come this book had stuck in my mind for so long after reading it probably about six years ago. I was fairly young and thought maybe the impression was left from the inexperienced mind of a young reader. However, Furey has created one of the best epic fantasy books I have read. Taking the same old tale and turning it into a refreshing new story.
One of my favorite things about Aurian is all of the subplots that work themselves into the main idea. They all fit together somehow and it’s fun to see each one pull together and shape the story. The twist on fairies is really fun, and the history of the world is unique to see from different cultures. Especially once the reader is given the real facts. Every time you get more information on the world, other races, and cultures , it is like feeding an addiction. Meeting each of the powerful races of the elements is also a great treat, and I want more on the Skyfolk.
Aurian is the main character, but it is told by the points of views of many different characters. I come up with ten right off the top of my head, but there are many more. Furey is so skilled that I never found myself bored as the story went from one character to the next. Even with all the back and forth between characters and plots, I didn't get lost.
The names of the characters are very beautiful, and they are all different enough that I never get the characters mixed up. That has always been one of my pet peeves with fantasy books, all the names are so similar that you never know who you are reading about.
My favorite part of this book isn’t the wonderful plot and story ideas, but it is the emotions. Furey has truly proven with this book. Her skill is making the characters real by thinking, feeling, and interacting with the world they are in. I’m not quite sure if I can properly explain it. Each character from our main heroine to the evil villain, or even just to a temporary character, has such depth and growth. Furey expertly deals with grief, the kinds of love there are, happiness, revenge, evil, and the change people go through as they live. She expertly shows how others can impact and change someone’s life.
The great characterization is coupled by Furey’s rich writing. Every place that is described flows easily into the mind. Every character has a unique voice, and point of view, that never takes away, but adds to Furey’s style. She can easily wrench your heart with sorrow, and then have you chuckling with a humorous line.
Bottom line:
Even after all of these years, Furey’s book still manages to captive me. Aurian’s character depth and emotions are something that no reader should pass up. This book has one of the best love stories I have ever read. There are many plots to follow in this book, which I didn’t find over whelming as some readers might. If you read a lot it shouldn’t be too hard to differentiate and remember them. This is a series where you are not going to want to wait a long time in between reading the next book.
Sexual content:
Furey keeps it pretty clean. There are some sex scenes which are not detailed. A beginning to a rape scene, the author does not go into details.
One of my favorite things about Aurian is all of the subplots that work themselves into the main idea. They all fit together somehow and it’s fun to see each one pull together and shape the story. The twist on fairies is really fun, and the history of the world is unique to see from different cultures. Especially once the reader is given the real facts. Every time you get more information on the world, other races, and cultures , it is like feeding an addiction. Meeting each of the powerful races of the elements is also a great treat, and I want more on the Skyfolk.
Aurian is the main character, but it is told by the points of views of many different characters. I come up with ten right off the top of my head, but there are many more. Furey is so skilled that I never found myself bored as the story went from one character to the next. Even with all the back and forth between characters and plots, I didn't get lost.
The names of the characters are very beautiful, and they are all different enough that I never get the characters mixed up. That has always been one of my pet peeves with fantasy books, all the names are so similar that you never know who you are reading about.
My favorite part of this book isn’t the wonderful plot and story ideas, but it is the emotions. Furey has truly proven with this book. Her skill is making the characters real by thinking, feeling, and interacting with the world they are in. I’m not quite sure if I can properly explain it. Each character from our main heroine to the evil villain, or even just to a temporary character, has such depth and growth. Furey expertly deals with grief, the kinds of love there are, happiness, revenge, evil, and the change people go through as they live. She expertly shows how others can impact and change someone’s life.
The great characterization is coupled by Furey’s rich writing. Every place that is described flows easily into the mind. Every character has a unique voice, and point of view, that never takes away, but adds to Furey’s style. She can easily wrench your heart with sorrow, and then have you chuckling with a humorous line.
Bottom line:
Even after all of these years, Furey’s book still manages to captive me. Aurian’s character depth and emotions are something that no reader should pass up. This book has one of the best love stories I have ever read. There are many plots to follow in this book, which I didn’t find over whelming as some readers might. If you read a lot it shouldn’t be too hard to differentiate and remember them. This is a series where you are not going to want to wait a long time in between reading the next book.
Sexual content:
Furey keeps it pretty clean. There are some sex scenes which are not detailed. A beginning to a rape scene, the author does not go into details.
puzumaki's review against another edition
4.0
This is my second time through the Aurian series by Maggie Furey. I first read this about a decade ago. Back then, I absolutely loved the series of four books.
Rereading, I find the characters are a bit unrealistic, but the storyline and setting are excellent. Despite the unrealistic character reactions, I still absolutely love the book.
Aurian is very confident and strong, so this fits well into my very narrow feminist fantasy (magic) with slight romantic twist category.
Other books I liked that fall into the feminist fantasy with romantic twist include the Archangel series by Sharon Shinn; the Black Trillium series by MZB, Andre Norton, and Julian May; and Mists of Avalon also by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
Rereading, I find the characters are a bit unrealistic, but the storyline and setting are excellent. Despite the unrealistic character reactions, I still absolutely love the book.
Aurian is very confident and strong, so this fits well into my very narrow feminist fantasy (magic) with slight romantic twist category.
Other books I liked that fall into the feminist fantasy with romantic twist include the Archangel series by Sharon Shinn; the Black Trillium series by MZB, Andre Norton, and Julian May; and Mists of Avalon also by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
vaderbird's review against another edition
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
abydos6's review against another edition
4.0
Book was interesting, easy to tell that it was written at a time when attention spans where longer. I found myself skipping pages and being able to catch up with the story further on....now for book two...
andyn5's review against another edition
4.0
One of the reasons I like to browser in my local library is because you never know which little treasure you might find hidden on the shelves. This book was definitely a hidden treasure. I have to admit that the cover was the reason why I grabbed it; I have a thing for old-books! This fantasy novel is refreshing and the old-fashioned tale was very engaging.
Aurian tells the story of Aurian, a female mage growing from a young age with magic, trained in the art of the sword by an old friend of her dead father, Forral. When she’s sent to the city of Nexis to train her powers, she has no idea that her life is about to change forever as she stumbles into a power fight between humans, Miathan and the Archmage. So the fight begins to the end of the world: a quest to gather the only weapons strong enough to stop Miathan, the Artefacts of Power.
The style of writing is beautiful and it was very easy to get into the story. What surprised me in this novel were all the subplots that come together leaving no loose ends. I’m usually not a fan of this type of structure because I tend to lose in the thread of the story. I was surprised that I still felt connected to the story despite that, it actually made sense and the fact that there are different perspectives and opinions complete the story to the last detail. It’s also great to see the reactions of the several characters to the events. In the end, it’s not possible not to connect to a few characters. Their humanisation is incredible and their descriptions are so well made, I could actually see them as real people. This isn’t a fairy tale though, main characters meet their end like all the others, and everyone is on equal footing, which kept my nerves on the edge! Aurian is a very strong female character in a novel I could the feminine power, something I really enjoyed reading about. The responsibility that falls on her lap makes her step up her game and her determination and courage is amazing to read.
Overall, a very enjoyable and memorable novel! Highly recommend it to the fans of the fantasy genre that would like to read something refreshing!
Aurian tells the story of Aurian, a female mage growing from a young age with magic, trained in the art of the sword by an old friend of her dead father, Forral. When she’s sent to the city of Nexis to train her powers, she has no idea that her life is about to change forever as she stumbles into a power fight between humans, Miathan and the Archmage. So the fight begins to the end of the world: a quest to gather the only weapons strong enough to stop Miathan, the Artefacts of Power.
The style of writing is beautiful and it was very easy to get into the story. What surprised me in this novel were all the subplots that come together leaving no loose ends. I’m usually not a fan of this type of structure because I tend to lose in the thread of the story. I was surprised that I still felt connected to the story despite that, it actually made sense and the fact that there are different perspectives and opinions complete the story to the last detail. It’s also great to see the reactions of the several characters to the events. In the end, it’s not possible not to connect to a few characters. Their humanisation is incredible and their descriptions are so well made, I could actually see them as real people. This isn’t a fairy tale though, main characters meet their end like all the others, and everyone is on equal footing, which kept my nerves on the edge! Aurian is a very strong female character in a novel I could the feminine power, something I really enjoyed reading about. The responsibility that falls on her lap makes her step up her game and her determination and courage is amazing to read.
Overall, a very enjoyable and memorable novel! Highly recommend it to the fans of the fantasy genre that would like to read something refreshing!
tweak's review against another edition
2.0
I was given this series by my Dad with the warning “The characters are a bit whinny, but it was worth it”
I agree, the first book is particularly bad, there is a whole lot of asinine complaining, but if you can make it through the first, the series overall is worth it. I don’t think it will ever make my “good enough to re-read” list, but it was worth the read.
I agree, the first book is particularly bad, there is a whole lot of asinine complaining, but if you can make it through the first, the series overall is worth it. I don’t think it will ever make my “good enough to re-read” list, but it was worth the read.