Le Coeur Du Monde, Tome 1: Farlander (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
Col Buchanan's Farlander is a promising but frustrating fantasy debut. The prose throughout is solid (and stays out of its own way), the setting is well developed, and the action is effective (if unspectacular). I also especially like the author's choice to give us a lot of villain POV chapters. These work very well.That said, I do have some problems with the book's two main protagonists, Ash (the elderly assassin) and Nico (his apprentice). They're both perfectly likable and competently written, but I never developed any attachment to either of them because I didn't feel that they were particularly compelling or sympathetic characters (despite their harrowing back stories). This is a huge problem.I don't want to sell this book short, though. It's complex, thoughtful, and well-plotted without ever wowing. ***Spoilers Ahead***At a specific point near the end of this book, the author goes for a Ned Stark death moment. This could have done one of three things to me as a reader:1) It could have shocked me into feeling like the rest of the series would be awesome and unpredictable.2) It could have driven me away from the series by killing a character that I loved and didn't want to die.3) It could have resulted in me saying "huh" and realizing that I had no attachment whatsoever to one of the main protagonists. (This is what happened during my personal read-through) Nuts and bolts: 380 pages. Multiple third person perspectives. Buchanan's debut.Hmm. Take a land under threat from an expanding religious empire (Holy Empire of Mann), throw in an elite group of philosopher assassins (the Roshun), the obligatory effectively orphaned boy (Nico) with a reluctant mentor (Ash), a love interest and you've got a fairly conventional fantasy tale. Until about halfway through, when Buchanan throws out the rule book and the story improves markedly. The samurai-esque Roshun act as a kind of bodyguard/revenge society. For a fee, the Roshun will affix a 'seal' to a specific person. If that person dies unnaturally, the Roshun will extract vengeance by killing the instigator. The Roshun are so effective that the purchase of a seal is often enough to act as a deterrent. Unless, of course, you happen to be the sociopathic, entitled young son of the Holy Matriarch. After his impulsive murder of a sealed young girl, the Roshun are obligated to kill him, even though it will likely be a suicide mission and have far-reaching political consequences.The POVs changes are a little clunky. One particular POV (Bahn's) seems to be almost completely severed from the other threads - it feels like an attempt to set up the next book rather than any credible sub-plot. The other problem with the POV changes is that it is unclear for a long time who the protagonist is: the older Ash, who is reluctantly forced to take on an apprentice; or Nico, who is coming of age. Overall, this read as a stand alone.It's very obviously a debut novel, but will eventually get around to reading the sequel.
What do You think about Le Coeur Du Monde, Tome 1: Farlander (2010)?
While I see why the ending is the way that it is, I can't help but feel slighted by it.
—Caroline
