The Hero of Ages, by Brandon Sanderson

This novel concluded one of the best fantasy trilogies I’ve read in years. Affectations that seemed so casual in earlier novels were shown not only to have a deeper meaning but be critical to the plot. No character is safe, and right up to the last pages it isn’t clear what sort of victory the protagonists will achieve. After all, how can mere mortals fight an omnipotent being? My one quibble would be with the length of time it took the principals to figure out what the numbers of mist-affected people meant. Our otherwise smart heroes comment on the anomaly more than once, but almost willfully ignore the obvious meaning. A minor issue with an otherwise masterful plot, though. At over 700 pages, I simply couldn’t put this down.

As with previous volumes, the underlying discussions give another deeper level to the book; in this case, an examination of what makes people so willing to accept religion. “Most [religions] taught about a god or gods, yet—again—had little justification for their teachings. And every single one of them was riddled with inconsistencies and logical fallacies.” So why do otherwise intelligent people embrace sophistic orthodoxies? Tradition and societal norms are certainly factors, but Sanderson seems to decide simply that religion helps people through the trying times, that it is a comfort in the face of the unknown. “To believe, it seemed, someone had to want to believe.” Faith is making a choice, not something forced upon someone. Interesting that I get more insight into spirituality from a fantasy novel than any number of more “serious” efforts.

First Sentence:

Fatren squinted up at the red sun, which hid behind its perpetual screen of dark haze.

The Well of Ascension, by Brandon Sanderson

Sanderson has written another winner. The Lord Ruler has been defeated, but without a single unifying emperor, the world is devolving into petty political factions and war. Allomancy, the use of metals to grant magical powers, is expanded, with new alloys and powers being discovered. The plot centers around the battle for Luthadel, but the politics are largely black and white: either benevolent and socialistic or dominant and selfish. This weakness is minor, though, as the characters themselves are richly developed with multiple motivations. The ending was telegraphed, but knowing this was the second book of a trilogy and seeing the signs through the eyes of the characters only ramped the tension. A well-written and exciting plot, but even more interesting is the underlying exploration of what love is.

Several of the characters experience doubts in their spouse or themselves, and others are falling in love for the first time. Their discussions and explanations to each other show the various sides of the emotion, and by varying points-of-view we see relationships from all different angles. “Love must be allowed to flow both ways—if it is not, then it is not truly love.” Quite insightful for a mass-market fantasy novel.

First Sentence:

The army crept like a dark stain across the horizon.

This Body of Death, by Elizabeth George

I’ve missed Inspector Lynley and was glad to see another episode. I thought Lynley was a bit out of character here, shunning the instincts of his trusted team and friends to embrace their hated superior, but the actual mystery was captivating. George bounces back and forth between the story of a murdered ten year old boy and an unidentified young woman in a London graveyard. The two threads have seemingly nothing in common, but knowing that they are presented in the same narrative and need to share a conclusion makes it fairly obvious how they are related but no less suspenseful. While interesting, it was disappointing that we spent so much time with folks other than Lynley, Havers, St. James and the gang, and when we do see our friends they are whining about the new chief or at odds with each other. Overall I have mixed feelings here listing towards the negative; a good mystery with atypical character behavior—unfortunately sixteen books into the series I’m here more for the people than the prose.

First Sentence:

Reports from the investigating officers who interviewed both Michael Spargo and his mother prior to charges being filed against him all suggest that the morning of the boy’s tenth birthday began badly.

Ghost Country, by Patrick Lee

I picked this up because the cover led me to believe this was an alternate history novel. It was in a way, but really was more of a time travel adventure pitting two factions against each other, one trying to create a particular future and one opposed. The President of the United States is of course one of the villains, and has the power to order up secret hit squads that will attack armored motorcades in the streets of Washington D.C. without any repercussion. The brains behind the operation (because of course the President will take orders from a former Peace Corps worker) doesn’t want the heroes killed because he abhors violence, but of course wipes out the population of the earth according to plan. The evil minions are equally inconsistent, noticing a few flakes of paint on the ground in once scene and then missing the fact they were walking for miles over gasoline-soaked rubber chips. I’ll admit the MacGuffin that allowed travel into the future was clever, but not much else was. Disappointing.

First Sentence:

Fifty seconds before the first shots hit the motorcade, Paige Campbell was thinking about the fall of Rome.

Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson

The blurb on the back hooked me immediately: “Once, a hero arose to save the world. A young man with a mysterious heritage courageously challenged the darkness that strangled the land. He failed.” A land where the bad guys win is unique, and the promise of this uniqueness was quickly fulfilled in the world Sanderson creates. A tale of class rebellion and long cons unfolds in a delightful manner and reveals one of the more original magic systems I’ve encountered.

Allomancy is the ability to consume metals for a particular power; for instance, tin will greatly enhance your senses and zinc allows you to riot other people’s emotions. The skill is rare in the population, and rarer still is the ability to use more than one type of metal. Not only is Allomancy well thought-out and presented consistently, but the uses of the various skills are original and exciting. Mistborn is the first of a series, and I’ll eagerly seek out the next volume.

First Sentence:

Ash fell from the sky.