Well of Sorrows

Let me start off this review by saying that I really loved this book. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started it but it kept me on my toes throughout the book. The book begins with the story of Colin Harten emigrating, along with his family from strife-filled Andover to the new lands over the ocean to the east. There immigrants like the Harten family face discrimination in the new provinces from the respectable "old blood" of Portstown. Bullied and beaten, Colin fights back which leads to his family's eventual decision to head east over the land in search of new land to claim for the Proprietor of Portstown. This first section then follows Colin and all the families who head east with him. After disaster strikes, Colin drinks from the Well of Sorrows and transforms into something ...else. He also learns that the deadly Shadows that live in the eastern forest are hungry to possess the Well of Sorrows and have developed "wraiths" to assist them in their plans. His eventual return to Portstown leads him to join a group of Alvritshai, one of three races he encountered during the trip east over the plains. The second half of the book then turns to the larger issues of revenge and political intrigue among the three major races: human, Alvritshai and the stout and war-like Dwarren. In the background, Tate drops hints of war back in Andover over the "Rose" - a potential weapon. Well of Sorrows is well written and captivating. It blends realism and fantasy beautifully. Every time I thought I knew what would happen next, the book surprised me yet no surprise was jarring - the twists and turns were seamless and inevitable. My one (minor) complaint was the *some* of the dialogue was a little wooden and not natural. It was a little too much Tate trying to tell us something through dialogue. However, this is a small glitch in an otherwise fully developed fantasy book. I look forward to the second book in the series.

With so much urban fantasy saturating the market these days, it's really nice to see that a good ol' fashioned fantasy novel can still show up on the shelves. Like, say, Benjamin Tate's Well of Sorrows. Well of Sorrows tells the story of Colin, a boy who's come with his parents across the sea to a new country, fleeing war in their homeland--only to discover that the city where they've settled has no use whatsoever for the influx of refugees. Violence eventually ensues, and Colin's father must lead a group of their people out to try to found a new settlement. But there are strange and dangerous things out in the plains, things which have caused previous settlers to never be seen again. Colin's family's group of course finds these dangerous things. And Colin's life is irretrievably changed. I could go on from there, but that would be significant spoilerage. I will however say that this is only really the first stretch of the book; the main storyline is what happens long after these events. And I can add that the worldbuilding is the primary thing that appealed to me about Tate's work. The idea of an overseas colony, complete with strife between it and the motherland, is not new to fantasy to be sure. But it's handled well here and with a nice balance between a realistic feel and just enough magic to remind you that oh yeah, this is in fact a fantasy novel--not to mention that there are two non-human races that initially will probably strike most readers as thinly disguised elves and dwarves. Tate's names for them, the Alvritshai and the dwarren, do not exactly dispel that impression. (That said, the dwarren are not miners, which helps a lot.) Much of the book hinges upon the volatile relations between the humans, the Alvritshai, and the dwarren, and this is really where it shone for me. I was less invested in Colin's acquisition of magical powers that enabled him to be the prime person to stop the blossoming warfare, mostly because his acquisition of them is primarily off-camera and so I had to adjust hard to jump from "Colin as youth" to "Colin as man with magical ability". Aeren, one of the lords of the Alvritshai, becomes a more accessible character in the latter stretches of the book. Lastly, I'll note that Tate had a bit too much "as you know Bob" type dialogue in various conversations, such as an Alvritshai character using a given term and then immediately following it with the term's definition--in conversation to another Alvritshai. But that was pretty much the only issue I had with any of the writing at all, and I'll definitely be coming back for the next book in the series. 'Cause this ain't done, not by a long shot. And I do need to know what happens next! Four stars.

This is a great tale that picks up speed as you read on. The story is full of realistic characters with genuine inner struggles, who together face serious external conflicts. Colin is a great lead character and when he feels something, you feel it too. The unique customs, settings, and histories really flesh this world out, and although it sort of feels like colonial America early on, things take a dramatic change for the better when the other races are discovered. I thoroughly liked the magic, including its limitations and costs, though it was pretty sparely used during the first half of the story. For those who like lots of magic up front, you'll have to wait. The action starts off small, changing to larger scale skirmishes and battles later on. What I liked best about this book was how the protagonist resolves the final conflict using his abilities. I won't say how, but it was a breath of fresh air for the genre.

In the landof Andover, the Twelve Families of the Court prepare for a Feud that will eventually be an all out war tearing apart the country. Citizens from each of the Families travel on ships across the Arduon Ocean to escape the fighting and to settle on land promised to them. Colin Harten and his parents travel to Portstown, which belongs to House Carente, who does not welcome the refugees from the Twelve Families war or their allies. The Hartens, who belong to the Bontari Family, are forced to live in a city where they cannot find work. The situation gets so bad that the Proprietor ruler of the establishment plans to destroy the Lean-to city where the refugees live. He tells the residents that they can go on a wagon train to begin a new settlement trying to be created by the Family and the Church. Colin's dad leads the wagon train knowing no one who left for the Plains ever returned. They encounter the Alvritshi warriors who warn them to go back. However, the refugees decide to continue though afraid as they have nothing to return to. The Dwarren hate humans who betrayed treaties with them attack them while the dark forest contains Shadows who kill without leaving a trace. Colin barely survives but the Faelehgre spirits of light get him the drink of Life Blood from the Well of Sorrows. He stays there for several years and is no longer human. After six decades he returns to human lands and realizes there is no place for him but he is needed. This is a huge fantasy in which the above paragraphs fails to even come close to what is going on as the details are extraordinary. Colin obviously plays a critical role in the Colonies now called Provinces. Using the colonization of the Americas as a background, Benjamin Tate builds his own fantasized world that seems real and most critical the three prime species seem genuine. Mindful of Kate Elliot and, Terry Goodkind. Fans will enjoy this strong thriller while anticipating the next installment. Harriet Klausner