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A review by censius
Tower Lord by Anthony Ryan
2.0
Tower Lord is possibly the biggest book disappointment of the past year, made worse by the high expectations of the book's predecessor, Blood Song, which was, ironically, one of the best books I had read this last year.
Blood Song was a fantastic book. It was subtle and surprising, a refreshing blend of many genres - coming of age story, subtle fantasy and magic, knighthood/military story- but didn't settle into any of the easy tropes. The characters were interesting, and the narrative revealed the more interesting parts of their history first-hand, rather than being told to readers by heavy exposition. And the cast had subtle yet definitive character distinction, without their defining feature becoming their ONLY feature. The guy with a healthy sense of humor wasn't purely the comedic relief, and the brooding character wasn't always a downer. They felt like real people, and their hidden fears and inhibitions remained both respectably out of the forefront, yet acknowledged and known to the reader.
Now, Tower Lord was completely different. I prefer to think of Blood Song as a standalone book, and that Tower Lord is its own story written by a lesser writer.
The biggest issue I have with Tower Lord is that it doesn't follow one narrative - that of Vaelin, the protagonist of the first book - but rather splits into the stories of Frestin, Lyrna, and Reva, with Vaelin making very brief and intermittent appearances. Not only do I hate jumping from one character to another every chapter, a la Game of Thrones, but the characters we jump to each chapter are disinteresting people with disinteresting stories. Not to mention the fact that they all pretty much read like the SAME character. Each is a great warrior, tactician, and all around genius. Each has deep regret and pain in carrying out the necessary bloodshed that their fate calls for.
Frestin, for instance, was a very exciting character from the first book. Gifted in the ways of the Sixth Order, that of the warriors, yet optimistic and light. Here, he is brooding and quiet, though just as skilled.
Lyrna, the genius and cunning princess of the last book is turned into a warrior genius and no cunning. She has none of the "It had to be done" attitude towards the things that HAD TO BE DONE, instead regretting whatever bloodshed occurs. Also, it should be noted that a character is not a genius simply because characters orbiting her say so. Yet she has little oppertunity to impress the reader with any true brilliance, aside from the fact she quickly dispatches people in the book's version of chess, without showing the readers exactly HOW she is besting them.
Reva was a promising character introduced to the book. However, the character only just starts to become interesting to the reader (through the eyes of Vaelin) when she is separated from Vaelin and starts her own narrative without him. This happens barely a fourth into the story, and the reader is hardly given enough time to care about her arc by the time we are forced to follow her and leave the real protagonist behind. Also, and annoyingly so, she becomes as gifted a fighter as Vaelin after just a couple lessons from the man, who himself had taken a decade to hone his skill.
And finally we get to Vaelin himself. The sole protagonist of the first book, he now shares the lead with three others, and not only that, he has the least amount of book time. His blood song seems nerfed compared to his abilities in the first book. Also, by the end of the first book the man had become an empowered, optimistic, passionate man with purpose. However, all the goals he had made for himself by the last book becomes forgotten. No mention, but one line, for his past love. Barely any remembrance towards his previous brothers in arms, or the Sixth Order that he fought for, or the demonic villain that showed its face. Nope, Vaelin, and indeed all the characters, spend most of his time traveling form one place to the next, swapping dialogue with characters so vapid I really didn't know who was who, completely forgetting to associate their names with their role.
This Game of Thrones style narrative wouldn't be so bad, if only Anthony had followed Martin's formula of changing the status quo every chapter, keeping the readers on their toes. But no, each chapter is more nothingness. No new features of the world get revealed, no character development occurs, and no action changes the narrative.
Granted, Anthony does try to delve deeper into the magic and supernatural of his world. But while the supernatural of the first book was intriguing and without need of explanation, it now becomes convoluted and ill-defined.
I will be picking up the third book when it comes out in hopes that the series returns to its initial glory, but SPOILERS I can't conceive of how the story can make me anymore interested, especially since the blood-song, the ONLY device that had kept me motivated to keep reading, had been removed from Vaelin by the book's climax. What book three will have to offer me, I honestly don't know.
Blood Song was a fantastic book. It was subtle and surprising, a refreshing blend of many genres - coming of age story, subtle fantasy and magic, knighthood/military story- but didn't settle into any of the easy tropes. The characters were interesting, and the narrative revealed the more interesting parts of their history first-hand, rather than being told to readers by heavy exposition. And the cast had subtle yet definitive character distinction, without their defining feature becoming their ONLY feature. The guy with a healthy sense of humor wasn't purely the comedic relief, and the brooding character wasn't always a downer. They felt like real people, and their hidden fears and inhibitions remained both respectably out of the forefront, yet acknowledged and known to the reader.
Now, Tower Lord was completely different. I prefer to think of Blood Song as a standalone book, and that Tower Lord is its own story written by a lesser writer.
The biggest issue I have with Tower Lord is that it doesn't follow one narrative - that of Vaelin, the protagonist of the first book - but rather splits into the stories of Frestin, Lyrna, and Reva, with Vaelin making very brief and intermittent appearances. Not only do I hate jumping from one character to another every chapter, a la Game of Thrones, but the characters we jump to each chapter are disinteresting people with disinteresting stories. Not to mention the fact that they all pretty much read like the SAME character. Each is a great warrior, tactician, and all around genius. Each has deep regret and pain in carrying out the necessary bloodshed that their fate calls for.
Frestin, for instance, was a very exciting character from the first book. Gifted in the ways of the Sixth Order, that of the warriors, yet optimistic and light. Here, he is brooding and quiet, though just as skilled.
Lyrna, the genius and cunning princess of the last book is turned into a warrior genius and no cunning. She has none of the "It had to be done" attitude towards the things that HAD TO BE DONE, instead regretting whatever bloodshed occurs. Also, it should be noted that a character is not a genius simply because characters orbiting her say so. Yet she has little oppertunity to impress the reader with any true brilliance, aside from the fact she quickly dispatches people in the book's version of chess, without showing the readers exactly HOW she is besting them.
Reva was a promising character introduced to the book. However, the character only just starts to become interesting to the reader (through the eyes of Vaelin) when she is separated from Vaelin and starts her own narrative without him. This happens barely a fourth into the story, and the reader is hardly given enough time to care about her arc by the time we are forced to follow her and leave the real protagonist behind. Also, and annoyingly so, she becomes as gifted a fighter as Vaelin after just a couple lessons from the man, who himself had taken a decade to hone his skill.
And finally we get to Vaelin himself. The sole protagonist of the first book, he now shares the lead with three others, and not only that, he has the least amount of book time. His blood song seems nerfed compared to his abilities in the first book. Also, by the end of the first book the man had become an empowered, optimistic, passionate man with purpose. However, all the goals he had made for himself by the last book becomes forgotten. No mention, but one line, for his past love. Barely any remembrance towards his previous brothers in arms, or the Sixth Order that he fought for, or the demonic villain that showed its face. Nope, Vaelin, and indeed all the characters, spend most of his time traveling form one place to the next, swapping dialogue with characters so vapid I really didn't know who was who, completely forgetting to associate their names with their role.
This Game of Thrones style narrative wouldn't be so bad, if only Anthony had followed Martin's formula of changing the status quo every chapter, keeping the readers on their toes. But no, each chapter is more nothingness. No new features of the world get revealed, no character development occurs, and no action changes the narrative.
Granted, Anthony does try to delve deeper into the magic and supernatural of his world. But while the supernatural of the first book was intriguing and without need of explanation, it now becomes convoluted and ill-defined.
I will be picking up the third book when it comes out in hopes that the series returns to its initial glory, but SPOILERS I can't conceive of how the story can make me anymore interested, especially since the blood-song, the ONLY device that had kept me motivated to keep reading, had been removed from Vaelin by the book's climax. What book three will have to offer me, I honestly don't know.