Overall, this series was ... ok. It wasn't great, but it didn't suck enough for me to give it away to Goodwill or to "drop in between the bleacher seats at a college game, for it to dwell amongst the refuse, garbage, diapers, beer cans and general trash that is only seen by college drug dealers, desperate lovers and the wind." (quote from my good buddy Josh who did that exact thing to the Thomas Covenent White Gold Weilder book where the 'hero' ends up raping his great grand daughter. At that moment in time he, Josh 10 years ago, was numbstruck and opened his hands and consciously let the book plummet to it's death, where it is still there now probably being read by some drug dealer or exhausted post-coital participant.)But I digress.The cool thing I liked about this entire series was the very original concept of endowments where attributes (brawn, sight, smell, metabolism, etc.) that are taken from other people to enhance one's own self. So a lord might have several endowments of brawn, causing them to be three times as strong as a normal man. Very original and cool... when done in moderation. That, along with the opening scene in the market where the Prince stumbles upon an "astonishing" woman with two endowments of "glamour" rendering her incredibly beautiful, really set the scene for a wonderful book. But the David Farland simply takes a nice unique idea and ruins it to the point where the concept of endowments are nothing more than a cliche. Literally... a thousand endowments of brawn and glamour? So much for beating a dead horse.And the maps were horendous. None of them were of as much value as they should have been. Especially the 4th book. It's as if the map makers never read the books, or Farland merely contracted the work to someone in India.The character development is thin, at best. Everyone and their dog suddenly has magical power beyond the realm of endowments and there are certain plot lines that you can't wait to see what happens that lead off into nothing but dead ends. Literally. The trip south of Boronson and the Storm king... what the hell happened to that? I could go on, but it's not productive. It's like watching a bad soap opera that you can't turn away from. I got pulled in when I should have been reading something else... like the Initiate Brother.
DAVID FARLAND, what can i say? hes one of the best writers ive come across, and therefore one my absolute favorite. from the first RUNELORDS book i was tragically addicted to this series and in turn every book ive read (be it farland or wolverton) was a hit.so, naturally i couldnt wait to get down on the end of the first half of this series.and once again it earns DADDY's SEAL OF APPROVALwhy well lets get into it. and this time im gonna try a new approach for a review. a new format so to speak.Why is this book so great?THE LAIR OF BONES is total fan service, thankfully. I got everything i wanted in one volume and honestly i could stop there too. You get everything DF/W is making you beg for after the 3rd installment. In true runelords fashion you dont have to wait for the action especially in this one. Before you can even ask for wholehearted satisfaction its already breaking down your door, kicking your dog and pushing you aside to FUCK YOUR WIFE. and... That's whats up. PLUS it shuts you the FUCK up, thats right! it ties every knot, hems up loose threads, seals off every opening except one small crack that definitely paves the way for whats to come, if you want it. But in the end your SATISFIED and to me thats all that matters. I got one qualm that isnt even worthy of a complaint but i just wish it was longer. but we got FIVE MORE BOOKS comming at us NOW DONT WE. so i cant bitch or whine, i really cant. For an action series the characters rock! you constantly got gaborn, iome, myrrima and MY DUDE ball-less BORENSON's back. yer hating RAJ AHTEN and the other lowlifes like that cunt king anders. simply this shit is awesome, so read it. if you dont like it, yer a chump.
What do You think about The Lair Of Bones (2005)?
I criticized Volume Three, Wizardborn, for turning Gaborn into an angst-ridden bore. Sure, he directed some clever battles against the Reavers, but the side plots followed the interesting characters. Thankfully, Lair of Bones steps it up a notch and our hero returns as the Earth King he was meant to be.That's not to say this novel delivers full redemption. Despite a well-conceived journey into the Underdark...er...Underworld, Bones is something of a repeat of Volume Two, with yet another march of the Reavers and Carris under siege. So many other events occur at the periphery that I'm surprised more wasn't done to flesh them out. At least three important subplots, which had been carefully built up in the previous novels, shrivel and die. From the search for Dylan Hammer to the mystery of the Days to the mad king of South Crowthen, each important side trek is either wrapped up too quickly or abandoned entirely. I had been led to believe that they were critical to the fate of Earth, but apparently not.Of course, there are four additional novels in this series, and maybe these ideas are revisited, but with the death of a generation and a feel-good ending, Volume Four has a tone of finality. I had the impression that this generation had to move aside so we could move onto the next.Despite my reservations, Bones is still a fun read. Unlike many fantasy sagas, the writing here is not pretentious or bogged down with lengthy passages that go on and on with excessive detail. It went from point A to point B quickly and got the job done.I'll eventually read the next four Runelord novels, but not right away.
—Vincent Riddle
It took forever to get through, partly because it turned out to be dire, and partly because I had other things which were more interesting. The characterisation and story-telling went downhill, and the inspiration got less and less. The whole thing became very perfunctory, and even the vast distances the Runelords covered in a day or two became commonplace rather than fantastic and awe-inspiring. Usually, I love sweeping fantasy epics and hate reaching the end of them: here, I was desperate to finish the whole turgid shebang.
—Meo
Every epic should end like this. A story of hardship and overcoming unsurmountable odds without cheap deus ex machina solutions. This book ends the first series of the Runelords in a fitting way: with great accomplishments over an undertone of sadness, of works yet incomplete and of more tales to come. The world, after all, moves on.David Farland (a.k.a. Dave Wolverton) is truly the wizard of storytelling. His narrative is almost flawless, his characters, tridimensional and human, and the world he creates around them feel unique, yet recognizable. I'd love to keep on reading to this story, but all good things must come to an end.I know the Runelords series has another 4-book arc, picking up nine years after this one, but it's another tale. This one here is finished—and what an epic tale it was!
—Marcelo
