A very interesting premise and setting, and a clever way of instantly characterizing the involved people by making use of real-world concepts. The triplicate layer of the setting's powers is marked improvement on most other fantasy stories, that usually have just the 'old magic' vs. 'new industrialism'; A.T. introduces an even newer upstart, part of and yet separate from the old/new dichotomy, and antagonistic to both. And it works, as a world-setting detail, and serves to impart credibility.That said, this felt a lot more of a 'coming of age / quest-journey' fantasy story that I'd expected. With a premise being such as it is, I was prepared for a way more out-there, esotheric narration, rather than the straightforward and action-focused means of telling the story. This isn't a flaw per se, just an unexpected stylistic choice.What is a flaw, however, is the somewhat nonexistant delineations. The chapter focus seems to skip entirely without reference to the actual chapter separation, and story beats pass at a rhythm that's entirely asynchronous with the book's sectioning. At a lower level, this repeats with viewpoint character designation - i.e. there's almost none. Where in one paragraph we might be told the views and thoughts of X, a moment later in the very same scene, character Y - no matter friend or foe - is laid bare and central to the narration. There is no sense of identity to the scenes, they don't seem to 'belong' to any particular character unless the entire scene involves just one. It's not even that the author takes an omnipresent viewpoint, it's more that the focus is shifting seemingly at random, or rather following the action.Another thing to note - the story was fairly gripping. After the final denouement, which seems to set up the sequels, we get a scattering of micro-novellas, far more bleak in their tone and the aspects they imply seem to invalidate much, if not all, of what occurred in the main story. Indeed, some characters' placement and environs in these micronovellas run very much against what the core novel suggested. An odd choice to include them in the book, then - they sort of dampen the desire to read the next one; on the other hand, they provide a far greater sense of closure, even if it is heavily tinged with resignation. I'm really pleased to say that I've read almost all the books and have no regrets really. If you're a fast reader it goes by very fast and I found the time spent worthwhile. But there is still one thing bugging me (no pun intended, I regret it like hell if you didn't catch it at first and are now all grossed out). If I was a person who got magically transported to this world, I'd be the most confused mother*cker in the world. It would go something like this in my mind: "So you guys can do things like shoot FIREBOLTS out of your hands, magically stick to surfaces, conjure up wings to fly, and have whole intertelepathic (not sure of the word) cities, but you don't believe in and cannot operate magic?" "Hey, you guys who can't pull a trigger or move a latch, you know when you do things like pull your finger in or pull something to make it move a bit? SAME THING."Really, I know some of these things might be a bit unfair and because the books are pretty good, I can forgive them. But they make my mind go in REALLY funny places that are totally justifiable. Every time I read a page full of great character and plot development, nice prose and military tactics and strategy, all I can think in the back of my mind is "So if I made something like a backscratcher for these InApt guys, but instead mold the hands into certain movements that would help them open said doors or shoot a gun, would I be a rich woman? Or would it just totally mess up and cause more hell?" Then I imagine a moth or a Mantis using like, 50 household objects and trying to manipulate them into opening a door. Might sound dumb, but believe me, in my mind it's hilarious.Kinda like that montage in Scary Movie 2 where Cindy does a whole lot of dumb stuff and somehow creates a tractor.
What do You think about Imperium Czerni I Złota (2000)?
i really enjoyed this book. the action was cool and i loved the diverse characters.
—Pup
