John Marco took a break from writing for a little while, but is back in the game in April with the next installment in The Bronze Knight series, The Forever Knight. Sadly, part of the reason for that break was because his editor sat on TFK without even reading it for 2 years. This kind of stuff gets my blood boiling and if you want more thoughts, I wrote a little bit more here.Marco is a unique fantasy writer in my opinion. He writes adult fantasy, but not gritty or over-sexualized fantasy as is the current trend. He writes quests, but not travelogues. He writes about library apprentices, but not about their destiny for power and glory. He writes a unique tale that's filled with action and thought, that skips over the fluff and gets right to the point. And sometimes I just need to get my head out of the gutter, it's not really all that pleasant a place.For some reason, many fantasy writers have begun telling a story only to feel the need to go back and fill the reader in on backstory. Suddenly, instead of moving forward, the plot stagnates and a 700 page behemoth is mostly filler. Not so in The Eyes of God. There is so much that goes on, I was amazed. They travel to and from distant places without any mention of what kinds of dried meat they had for breakfast. Then, they travel back again. There's betrayal, tragedy, hope, madness, it has it all.But quite possibly my favorite part about Marco's writing is how real his characters are. They are flawed in a very human way that makes them compelling, and at times makes you both love and hate them. It brings the storytelling to a whole new level to understand the motives of the villain and even pity them, to root for the hero and yet despise his or her actions and thoughts.The Eyes of God is largely about The Bronze Knight, Lukien. He's a character who has it all, looks, swagger, military prowess. He even wins all the tourneys with hardly a second thought. He's also a very flawed character that you root for nonetheless. Because he's good at fighting, he loves war. While he can get almost any woman he wants, he longs for noble women he can't attain because of his low beginnings.The thing that gets me is that Lukien is a real person. Who doesn't want to belong? And if the only thing you're good at is war, why wouldn't you want wars to continue?Lukien's best friend is also the king, Akeela. Akeela is a man of learning and peace. He will do anything it takes to not only erect his grand library, but to offer peace to his enemies, even if that means giving some things up. But at the same time, Akeela lacks Lukien's looks and grace with the ladies. Thus sets up the tale that is really just about the characters, one of the ultimate betrayal and constant forward momentum.Like I said above, there are so many things that happen in this book. Everything is precisely planned and worked to the fullest and most efficient. Besides the characters, and to be honest, because of the characters, Marco sets up and executes some of the best twists I've seen.Because the characters are so real, they can be "good" one moment and "evil" the next. I'm using those terms in the sense of the typical archetypes, hence the quotation marks. Not unlike ourselves. They can be driven to the point of no turning back and it really makes for some great surprises in where the story goes.John Marco is an author that I wish more people would read. I hope you give this series a chance or another favorite, The Jackal of Nar. This epic fantasy will have you reading for the characters as it breaks your heart and puts it back together.4.5 out of 5 Stars (Very Highly Recommended!)
Other reviews can be found at http://wellreadviking.blogspot.com/ Recently I won the fourth book of this series. I figured to give it a fair shake I should probably read the first three. As I started into the first book of the series I couldn't help but make comparisons to a famous legend.As the book starts out King Akeela (Arthur) is trying to make peace with the lands around him and he ends up engaged to a lovely princess named Cassandra (Guinevere). The King's champion is named Lukien (Lancelot). He has never been beaten in battle or game, he is simply the best my far. (Camelot reference for you folks out there) Both Lukien and Cassandra love the king, but sadly they both love him like a brother. They try to tell themselves that their affection for each other is wrong, but it is too powerful. They end up betraying the king by getting together to act on their love. They hate what they are doing to the king, but they are unable to stop.Sound similar at all? Oh and did I mention that the young king is an idealist who is trying to make his kingdom one that is based on equality? To make your life easier just remember this legend and skip to page two hundred and once you get there be prepared for a rough slog through the next few hundred pages. Normally a book of this size will take me a few days to read. Pages 200-370 took me about a week and a half. I just could not find the energy or interest to keep reading. When I read a book and I am distracted by needing to work or do real things (it happens on occasion, not often mind you, but it happens) I will almost always head right back to the book as soon as I am able. That was not the case with this book. I would finish my work, look over at the book and decide that staring out the window seemed like a much better use of my time.Eventually the writing of the book improved and the story seemed to take off. After the rough start I finally found myself interested with what was happening to the characters and the story arc. Maybe it was because the story jumped to 16 years in the future or maybe it was just the fact that the characters seemed more rounded and less like their counterparts in Arthurian legend or maybe I knew that I couldn't move on to another book until I finished this one. No matter the reason the last four hundred pages went by like a breeze. If you are willing to give an author a chance on their first book and you don't mind a blatant rehashing of a legend for a quarter of the book I guess you could do worse than pick up this book. The last half of the book gave me enough hope to go on with the rest of the series. Fingers crossed that this doesn't become a decision I regret.Rating: 3 Stars
What do You think about The Eyes Of God (2003)?
Great fantasy book with some faults. Mainly grammar and punctuation, but that's common with DAW and TOR and I don't blame the author.(even Terry Goodkind can't seem to hire a competent copy editor) This is epic fantasy for the fan who mostly enjoys a good story. The Eyes of God is filled with extremely interesting and likable protagonists who eventually become lovable and antagonists that have enough of an interesting formation for the reader to sympathize with instead of just hate. This first volume was low on action, in fact, it was almost nonexistent through most of the book. But character depth, suspense and short chapters give the almost 800 page book the feel of a 400 pager. There are also no wizards and no traditional "fantasy-by-numbers" magic. Though, elements of the supernatural play more than a key role.The book has a satisfying ending, which is good, but I expected the first volume of an epic trilogy to end on some sort of major cliffhanger, which it did not. So I wasn't clamoring to pick up the next volume. But from the look of things, the second volume, The Devil's Armor, will answer some key questions and take on an exciting adventure of its own. So I plan to do so eventually.Overall, I say read this.
—Jeff O'Brien
I really liked this book a lot, but it took me a long time to read because I upgraded from a regular non-smartphone to an iPhone shortly after I began reading it. Therefore all of the time that I normally would have spent reading (on break at work, on the toilet) instead was spent playing Angry Birds and Words with Friends and writing *hilarious* tweets.I liked the characters, and how the "good" characters are flawed and do awful things and how the "bad" characters are sympathetic and have redeeming qualities, and the evolution of good to bad and from bad to worse that you see develop in some of the characters. The only downside for me was the desert culture that was an unimaginative ripoff of the Muslims. But I can get over that, this book was well-written and I am looking forward to reading the sequels.
—Michael Schooley
This books sucks.It starts as moderately clever fantasy and eventually picks up momentum with every page, every scene, into a downward spiral of poor narrative, ridiculous plot line riddled with inconsistencies, and just bad writing.I don't ever criticize a book so poorly, but no joke, I am shocked this made it past an editors desk and into print. Shame on the publisher. Maybe cut the page count down by half and categorize it as young adult or teen fiction. Then I would get it. I won't list every problem, but here's two glaring problems:Its fantasy. That means "alternate world" or "magic world" etc. One of the religions of the "far away land" is clearly muslim. Right down to their one god, eating with one hand (the clean one), and the food is stuffed in a pocket of bread. I assume the guy who wrote this is a xenophobe writing fantasy for other xenophobes (a niche market I'm sure). YOu can't make up a religion that doesn't resemble a real one for your fantasy book? Argh.Ok, next....this even farther away "secret land" is rumored to be beyond traveling to. No one can get there. Its just perilous and stupid to try. Then the characters meet someone who can get them there. Ok, still following....turns out they make the horrible trek. 5 days across a desert. 5 days is the legendary, ass-busting journey of peril to the secret land? It turns out there are trade routes to it that the guide brings the protagonists on. Wooooo! I think it took the hobbits a week to get to the edge of the Shire. And they were still is friendly country. This guy wants to convince us his secret magic land is 5 days away, and immersed in commerce? Way to build the mystique and danger of this clandestine fantasy location.Ugh....I'm sorry. This book was just awful.
—Justin
