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A review by ineffablebob
Lord of Mountains by S.M. Stirling
3.0
If you've read the prior books in the Sunrise Lands and Montival series (and to a lesser extend, the Change series), then you definitely want to read this one, as the last quarter of the book will finally wrap up some of the stuff started across those previous novels. (I say "wrap up" although of course he leaves plenty unresolved for another book or three.) If you haven't read at least the prior two Montival books, and preferably all those mentioned above, don't bother with this one until you have. There's just way too many threads going to try to catch up with the small amount of back-story that Stirling manages to include.
Unfortunately, to get to the last quarter of Lord of Mountains, you have to get through the first three quarters, which is boring as all get-out. It's a description of a big battle, which under normal circumstances might be interesting. But in this case, nothing really interesting happens. It's no spoiler to say that the good guys win, that should be obvious to anyone following the overall arc of the story. But the way it happens just didn't hold any interest for me. Maybe I'm just jaded after some of the prior books, where interesting and unexpected things happen regularly, to be satisfied with a couple hundred pages of things going pretty much according to plan.
Stirling fans will want to read the book to see what happens to all their favorite characters. Others...don't start with this one, go back to the original Change novels. If the story and world grip you enough that you make it to Lord of Mountains, it'll be worth reading then.
Unfortunately, to get to the last quarter of Lord of Mountains, you have to get through the first three quarters, which is boring as all get-out. It's a description of a big battle, which under normal circumstances might be interesting. But in this case, nothing really interesting happens. It's no spoiler to say that the good guys win, that should be obvious to anyone following the overall arc of the story. But the way it happens just didn't hold any interest for me. Maybe I'm just jaded after some of the prior books, where interesting and unexpected things happen regularly, to be satisfied with a couple hundred pages of things going pretty much according to plan.
Stirling fans will want to read the book to see what happens to all their favorite characters. Others...don't start with this one, go back to the original Change novels. If the story and world grip you enough that you make it to Lord of Mountains, it'll be worth reading then.