Forging the Sword is the final volume in the excellent, non-European political fantasy Farsala trilogy. The first book, Fall of a Kingdom, is good; it establishes the world and its lead characters' motivations very well. The second book, Rise of a Hero, is better. This, the final volume, is the strongest of them all. It's exciting, to read and reread a series that gets better as it goes. The trilogy is about the attack of the Hrum empire on the kingdom of Farsala. That summation leaves out the meat of the story, though. The series begins with the ruling class of Farsala - their politics, their class system, their treatment of subordinates. It continues as the story of the cities and countrymen, the miners and desert-dwellers and peddlers that comprise the kingdom. It becomes an examination of the lengths people will go to fight for freedom - and where they'll draw the line - and what exactly freedom means. It's about governance. It's about trust and betrayal and rebellion, and how individual people can affect empires and kingdoms. It's about how far people will go for revenge. It's about war, and what goes into a war beyond the actual fighting; it's about teamwork and spies and prisoners. It's about risky - and entertaining! - plans and clever tactics.The Farsala trilogy is a smart, thoughtful story with good and bad on both sides, a story with a strong eye toward political implications and the imperfections of kingdoms and human beings. (There are times when it could be more nuanced - not because the story lacks nuance, but because sometimes it's hammered home a bit strongly.)I'm spending a lot of time talking about the books' themes and how they really work for me, but the reason they work as well as they do is because of the characters who live the story. There are three protagonists, three points of view: Soraya, the spoiled daughter of the noble commander of Farsala's army; Jiann, her unacknowledged illegitimate half-brother in the Farsalan army; and Kavi, the peddler with the painful past and complicated future. I find Kavi's point of view the most compelling, but all three grow, and that growth feels earned and remarkably well done. These are three journeys with surprising, but fitting, destinations.And then there are the little snippets, almost unconnected to the plot, about the legendary hero Sorahb. In a way they're the story's heart, a hint at its greatest theme. The ideas these snippets suggest about history and myth, truth and lies and ambiguity - they give the series a greater historical perspective, an overview of how history is shaped and about the stories we tell ourselves.It's something that connects very well with Kavi's characterization, something that makes the book feel more complete. Something that makes the ending very satisfying.I haven't even mentioned the Suud or the Kadeshi or the Hrum swordsmanship. Or Mazad. This is fantasy that's smart and political and detailed. A story where every apprentice who spills a keg of nails on the road before a Hrum patrol passes is Sorahb.Or is he?
Once again, great plotting, but I found myself feeling bored. My problems with this series:-The characters never felt lifelike and human, so I didn't feel emotions for them. I would have to say Kavi especially--his voice just never feels realistic somehow. Kavi definitely feels like he's around 30 years old, so I could never picture him as the young guy he's supposed to be.-Inconsistent period language. It's great that Bell gives each character a different and nuanced voice, but every once in awhile she throws modern slang into her ancient tale, such as "I haven't a clue."-Too many good guys. How is there a whole giant war going on when everyone really just wants to get along? How can a single villain hold the whole plot together?-The author never made me believe that anything bad could happen to the main characters. Even when there is a torture scene, it seems unrealistically tame. Believe me, I am the first person to get icked out by a torture scene, but I was still totally bored by it.-This book, maybe more than the other two, starts verging on cheesy. Everything is neatly packaged up.Anyways, I think the main reason I found it ho-hum is that Bell just played too nice. Gail Carson Levine, in her book Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly, advises writers to their characters suffer, because this is what keeps people reading. She also has a blog entry about it. Check it out! :)
What do You think about Forging The Sword (2006)?
It's been a long time since I read a book in a day... but this one was just that (and not short either!). I really liked the plot, world building, pacing, every scene kept me turning pages. However, I always rate character over plot. I liked the growth of the characters, but I was looking for more scenes to push relationship building. I wanted them together more, learning to trust and love each other more. I love a good friendship or (romantic--I am a female) relationship, and there wasn't much
—Mary Margaret
This book was a complete improvement from the first two!!! I actually really enjoyed it and instantly got into it. The ending was just pure awesomeness!!! I'm so glad I persevered through the second one to read this one! Characters First and foremost my favorite character was totally Patrius. I'm not entirely sure why, but he was just perfect. He was the only person who throughout the entire series was extremely respectable, loyal, and kind. This was also the only book where I really liked Soraya, Jiann, and Kavi. They all grew so much, and the ending fit them each, giving them the proper responsibility they deserved. I truly felt for all the characters and actually wanted all of them to win in their own ways. Soraya became more than a deghass, Kavi became a true Farsalan, and Jiann became a mature commander. Plot This book actually wasn't slow at all. From the first page I was super involved and into this book. I'm not a huge fan of Hilari Bell's writing style, but it didn't irritate me as it had done in the past. The plot was amazing though, almost completely making up for the writing! It was slightly predictable, but overall it was almost perfect. There weren't any parts which I felt were truly unnecessary or anything. The whole thing flowed and I was always wondering how it would turn out. Speaking of which, the ending is probably the reason I rounded up on this book. There wasn't a single thing that the ending lacked, and I know that I couldn't have written a better one if I had tried. Definitely read this one no matter what your opinions were for the first two- it was awesome!!!
—Riya
Wow, I completely forgot about this series but vaguely remember being somewhat bored. I must admit I was dragging my feet, and consequentially it was one of the library books that hung out on my "library shelf" for a long, long time. Whoa, this made a good impression! I WAS a bit bored at the beginning, but kept reading because I wanted to know what happened in Soraya and Jiaan's relationship with Kavi. All in all, a good read. The ending wasn't wrapped up quite how I expected, but the very end made me smile. (sorry, that sounded corny)
—Elizabeth Wallace
