A review by sambora
The Tower of Fools by Andrzej Sapkowski
4.0
*A big thank you to Gollancz for the physical ARC in exchange for an honest and spoiler-free review.*
The Tower of Fools is the first book in a historical fantasy trilogy by the author of The Witcher novels, Andrzej Sapkowski. It is set in Europe in the 1420's - primarily Silesia, in Poland.
The story follows a young man called Reynevan as he is forced to flee his home after being caught sleeping with the wife of a Knight and angering a powerful family in the region, the Sterczas.
Reynevan is a doctor and also, supposedly, a magician - having secretly studied the arcane arts whilst abroad in Prague, thus he is also being tracked by the Inquisition to answer for his unholy crimes.
The way this story is structured is very straightforward.
We have only one main POV (and a few small interludes from the perspectives of our various antagonists), and it is completely linear, with no flashbacks or huge time jumps.
This may sound like a criticism, but I actually found it to be rather refreshing, and it helped me connect with young Reynevan on a much better level than I would have otherwise - despite him making a myriad of ridiculously terrible decisions throughout the journey.
The cast of characters - travelling companions, old school friends and the more minor side characters are all memorable, well written and distinct from each other.
There is a good balance of people who are willing to show Reynevan kindness, to count against the host of people that are out for his blood, all for their own reasons in well crafted circumstances.
Unfortunately I felt Reynevan himself, at least in the first half, to be the weak link in the character department. He seemed all too childish and ignorant, refusing to consider the consequences of his actions and chasing skirt wherever possible.
I am sure this was a deliberate design choice, but I found him too act too much like a teenager to believe he studied medicine (and sorcery) at university. As I mentioned, he did grow on me, but he was far from my favourite character.
The story itself was fantastic. I will keep it spoiler-free, but after an admittedly fairly weak prologue of stale and un-engagingly written history, straight into the awkwardly worded "lovemaking", it really improves, for which I am very thankful.
There is lots of historical politics, talk of holy crusades, banditry, religious fanaticism and zealotry. All spliced up with the more fantastical elements, such as the three witches, a prophecy, undead spirits, a reverse exorcism and a mountainside sabbath with not a few non-humans in attendance.
It's a very soft magic system and it's used with about the same regularity as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings books - as a well implemented problem solver, rather than fireballs and lighting bolts on a field of battle.
The pacing of The Tower of Fools I can certainly see being a problem for some readers. It is markedly slower than Sapkowski's work with The Witcher. There is a lot of time spent journeying between locations, descriptions of scenery and wildlands, pit stops for herbalism and foraging, plus a lot of talk about the politics of the world in and around the major scenes.
I personally appreciated all of these moments. It made me feel like I was on a proper journey too, alongside our characters. And, of course, the payoff for paying attention to all of the politics and history was completely worth it come the end.
I am very much looking forward to seeing where the story goes in the next two books, and hopefully seeing Reynevan evolve further into being a character I can truly connect with.
If you want a slower-paced, historical light-fantasy set in a medieval Europe, this is a great place to start.
4 Stars. Solid and enjoyable, but there is plenty of room for improvement in the next installments.
______________________
Thank you for reading my review! And thank you again to Gollancz for the ARC!
The Tower of Fools is the first book in a historical fantasy trilogy by the author of The Witcher novels, Andrzej Sapkowski. It is set in Europe in the 1420's - primarily Silesia, in Poland.
The story follows a young man called Reynevan as he is forced to flee his home after being caught sleeping with the wife of a Knight and angering a powerful family in the region, the Sterczas.
Reynevan is a doctor and also, supposedly, a magician - having secretly studied the arcane arts whilst abroad in Prague, thus he is also being tracked by the Inquisition to answer for his unholy crimes.
The way this story is structured is very straightforward.
We have only one main POV (and a few small interludes from the perspectives of our various antagonists), and it is completely linear, with no flashbacks or huge time jumps.
This may sound like a criticism, but I actually found it to be rather refreshing, and it helped me connect with young Reynevan on a much better level than I would have otherwise - despite him making a myriad of ridiculously terrible decisions throughout the journey.
Mud splashed from the horse's hooves, muddying the already muddied, cloaked figure huddled by the cross. None of the riders paid the figure any attention.
And nor did Reynevan raise his head.
The cast of characters - travelling companions, old school friends and the more minor side characters are all memorable, well written and distinct from each other.
There is a good balance of people who are willing to show Reynevan kindness, to count against the host of people that are out for his blood, all for their own reasons in well crafted circumstances.
Unfortunately I felt Reynevan himself, at least in the first half, to be the weak link in the character department. He seemed all too childish and ignorant, refusing to consider the consequences of his actions and chasing skirt wherever possible.
I am sure this was a deliberate design choice, but I found him too act too much like a teenager to believe he studied medicine (and sorcery) at university. As I mentioned, he did grow on me, but he was far from my favourite character.
The story itself was fantastic. I will keep it spoiler-free, but after an admittedly fairly weak prologue of stale and un-engagingly written history, straight into the awkwardly worded "lovemaking", it really improves, for which I am very thankful.
There is lots of historical politics, talk of holy crusades, banditry, religious fanaticism and zealotry. All spliced up with the more fantastical elements, such as the three witches, a prophecy, undead spirits, a reverse exorcism and a mountainside sabbath with not a few non-humans in attendance.
It's a very soft magic system and it's used with about the same regularity as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings books - as a well implemented problem solver, rather than fireballs and lighting bolts on a field of battle.
'Beware the terror by night, beware the pestilence that walketh in darkness; beware the demon that wasteth at noonday! And that which calls: Adsumus! Beware the Wallcreeper! Fear the night birds, fear silent bats!'
The pacing of The Tower of Fools I can certainly see being a problem for some readers. It is markedly slower than Sapkowski's work with The Witcher. There is a lot of time spent journeying between locations, descriptions of scenery and wildlands, pit stops for herbalism and foraging, plus a lot of talk about the politics of the world in and around the major scenes.
I personally appreciated all of these moments. It made me feel like I was on a proper journey too, alongside our characters. And, of course, the payoff for paying attention to all of the politics and history was completely worth it come the end.
'And you, kinsman,' she said, turning around, 'take care of yourself. Hussite emissaries are being hunted down. Strangers and foreigners are watched and anything suspicious is reported, because anyone who doesn't inform is himself suspicious.
You are foreign and a stranger.
I am very much looking forward to seeing where the story goes in the next two books, and hopefully seeing Reynevan evolve further into being a character I can truly connect with.
If you want a slower-paced, historical light-fantasy set in a medieval Europe, this is a great place to start.
4 Stars. Solid and enjoyable, but there is plenty of room for improvement in the next installments.
______________________
Thank you for reading my review! And thank you again to Gollancz for the ARC!