Banewreaker: Volume I of The Sundering

Most people who read this immediately notice its similarity to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Well good for you! It's obvious! That is done with a purpose. This is a grand retelling of the same old good vs. evil story. But here - who is good and who is evil? In this book, you feel for Satoris. His only "crime" was an unwillingness to foraske his own gifts at the behest of his elder brother, Haomane. He befriends and loves the lumpy misshapen Fjeltroll, the abused and cast out among the humans, and the prideful men who worship money. These people had no place in Urulat, according to Haomane. This is the story of two sides destined to fight to the death in a classic good vs. evil, right vs. wrong tale. Only in this one, Carey artfull spins you into wanting the side of darkness to win; the reader finds herself unable to side with those on the side of "good." Excellently written, this book is a good read. Admittedly, the prose is not as artfully done as the Kushiel's series, but still is a cut above the norm.

But I didn't expect it to be. Banewreaker held my attention to the last page and I am looking forward to the next installment. The story was solid, and I had sympathy for the characters. All of them which is hard for someone to do. I admit I was expecting more of the erotic aspect of Kushiel but that wasn't the story Carey was telling here. If you are expecting that, get over it. This is a good, fast-paced and completely different story from any other I have read recently (and I have read a lot of books) and Carey did an excellent job telling it.

This is a truly original work, and it is a truly great novel. We're all familiar with the myriad variations of what boils down to a Tolkien-esque story: The good guys, comprised of many races and nations, rouse themselves to defeat the bad guys. Tolkien created this genre, or at least, he set the standard. It's unfair to judge an author on her fourth novel by comparing her to the great Tolkien and pronouncing that "she has come up short". Or even to compare this novel to her earlier ones and say that she's "not up to par". This novel, for one thing, is a departure from her Kushiel Trilogy. That Trilogy is OVER. Carey is no David Eddings, to continue going over the same ground. And Carey's goal never was to compete with Tolkien. What Carey has done with this book is show us that the "bad guys" aren't necessarily all that bad. It's a fact of human nature that when two people disagree with one another, each will believe they are right and the other is wrong. What makes this novel so intriguing is that we are comfortably familiar with the "company of good guys" out to "defeat the evil monster". And the reason for this is that the Tolkien-esque plot has been done over, and over, and over. What HASN'T been done is sharing the story of the "bad guy". As I read this novel, I was forced to ponder why I identified so strongly with the players who were "supposed" to be bad. They were noble. They were loyal. They believed they were right. Imagine Sauron, from the Lord of the Rings, as just a normal guy who can't figure out why his neighbors keep starting fights with him when all he wants is to be left alone. He isn't out to conquer the world; he just wants to defend his small corner of it. He defends himself from their attacks, and then watches as they dust themselves off and try again. If they would just leave him alone, he'd be glad to do the same. Of course, a major difference between the minions of Sauron and the followers of Satoris, in Banewreaker, are that the Fjelltrolls are not malicious and wicked slayers of innocents. They do what they're forced to, by circumstances, but they don't mount raiding parties for no better reason than "they like it"-unlike Tolkien's orcs. They are actually quite capable of demonstrating kindness and loyalty and brotherhood. The man who serves Satoris as his general is a person every bit as noble and honorable and intelligent as any "Aragorn", even though his master is supposed to be a monster. The man who serves Satoris' foe, Haomane, in a Gandalf-esqe role, is every bit as powerful and cunning as Gandalf was, but seen from "the other side", he's also a bit of a jerk, who is not above tricking or bullying others to get his way. It makes you realize that while the Alliance of men and ellylon (elves) are convinced they are right, when you watch the story unfold from the point of view of the "other guy", they begin to come off not as heroes, but as bullies. Not so much faithful as misguided. And

Ever come up from a book gulping for air? That's what this book does for me. Considerably different from her Kushiel trilogy, which is incomparably lush and character driven; it won't appeal to everyone who liked her other books. Readers who enjoyed the Silmarillion will enjoy this book very much; it has the same feel of historical breadth and world creation. There are echos of Tolkien, bows to the master as mentioned by less favorable reviews; but much greater differences that make her world entirely her own. There's also use of the myth of the Fisher King, which provides its own interesting foreshadows of what's to come. She does much the same in Banewreaker as Guy Gavriel Kay in his Fionavar Tapestry, where he weaves many strands of myth into his own unique world; but she does it seamlessly, which he did not. I can hardly wait to see what she builds on this strong foundation.

With writing that is compelling without being overwhelming, Jacqueline Carey presents to the reader a mythology of true depth that never, in all its creativity waxes too esoteric. Unlike the Kushiel's books, wherein we were given an alternate history of Europe, Carey has flexed her creative muscles and shaped an entirely new world, free of cutural knowledge on the readers' part. She peoples this world with characters whose trials resonate with our own, staying poignant, even as dragons, dwarfs, and "madlings" come through. There are echoes of Tolkein's effort here, more in the creation of an entire mythology than in direct subject matter. In the introduction, the framework of this world is laid out in a simplicity that belies it's complexity and immediacy. The characters, even among the "gods" of the realm each carry their own tales of real and living struggles that keeps them close in the heart of the reader. Carey has done a masterful job at simultaneously building the story on epic and character levels; we are not just transixed by the struggle for Urulat, the world, but by the experiences of it's individual inhabitants, as well. It is a deligtful read, if one likes to both think and feel intensely. There is no bubble gum here. It is a read that demands more of the reader than the deliciously beguiling yet easier plot of her last major work, which was handed to readers as if on a platter in the hands of an adept of Eglantine house. This is a work that will resonate with intellectual readers, as well as those who just love a good story. Readers must not approach it with an expectation of more from Terre d'Ange. That is coming later, in the forthcoming Imriel novels. This one, though, in Jacqueline's own words, "it's really different."