I admit that I started the super-thick ACROSS THE FACE OF THE WORLD with a bit of trepidation. I knew it would take me weeks to read. I don't normally mind thick books, but for some reason, since I started Fantasy Debut I now notice how long it takes me to read them, when before I didn't care at all.
But I digress. All my fears were unfounded. I enjoyed ACROSS THE FACE OF THE WORLD very much.
This book is basically about a series of chases across . . . well, the face of the world. Or about half of it. I found it unique in my reading experience mostly for its sense of family. It's about a family, complete with mother, father and two brothers. And they all go on the adventure. The father has a mysterious past as a Trader, a sort of spying merchant who travels the lands and reports back to the king. For reasons unknown, Mahnum, the Trader, gave up his occupation to become a farmer in a remote northern village name Loulea.
After many years, the king has need of him again and sends him on another trading/spying mission. He returns home, chased by four Bhrudwan warriors. The Bhrudwans are a race who lives under the thumb of the Destroyer, or the Undying Man. He's not exactly a Satan figure, because he was once a man. Immortality is both his punishment and curse, and his "reward" for doing something he wasn't supposed to do.
Mahnum manages to lose the Brudhwan warriors on the way home . . . or so he thinks. After experience treachery in various foreign courts on the way home, Mahnum returns home, intending to spirit away his family to safety. However, the Brudhwans were behind him after all, and they abduct both Mahnum and his wife, Indrett.
From that point on, the book is a series of chases, captures and escapes from one end of the continent to the other. They are warned early on that they will experience both "friends and foes unlooked for" and this is true. Just when you think the characters have achieved a major objective, another enemy pops up. Just when you think they are in such deep trouble that you see no way out, some friends happen along to help out. At first, their challenges are rather easily overcome -- almost too easy -- but the author makes up for this toward the end.
This novel was not written for an American audience, and it shows. (It was originally published in Australia.) The point-of-view jumps from character to character, and for many people I know this is a no-no. I actually enjoyed it. An omnipresent point-of-view does have its advantages, and the big one here is that we were able to peek into everyone's heads without a major scene shift. Another thing that might try the patience of some readers is the excessive descriptions of scenery. People are hardly described at all -- in fact, the differences between the races is hardly evident -- but each bend of the road is rendered in loving care, and sometimes, there are even descriptions of things that none of the characters ever see.
However, the novel managed to keep my attention throughout. Toward the end, I detected some problems with pacing. The party had divided into four parts and they all had the same destination. Some were chased and others were not. This resulted in the plot either racing with the thrill of the chase, or sauntering through the countryside. I felt that the novel could have ended a good deal earlier than it did, but I understood that the author wanted to reunite all the characters before closing. The point-of-view shifts got to be a problem at one point when one character suddenly reunited with a group of others, and I was left wondering what he was doing in this scene until I understood what was going on.
The ending pages are breathless with excitement and the book really ends with a bang. In fact, it's almost too much of a bang, because the instant the final conflict is over, the novel is over. Thank goodness Orbit included the first chapter of the next book, In the Earth Abides a Flame, so I could see what happened next. I have an ARC edition, so I'm not sure if the sample chapter ended up in the final edition.
The thing I loved most about this book was the dynamics between all the characters. The parents, Mahnum and Indrett, do not have a perfect marriage. Leadership of the "Company" shifts between the village Haufuth, or headman, and Kurr, an old farmer who is a secret Watcher. (Secret occupations abound!) The brothers, Hal and Leith, have a tangled web of jealousy between. There is a fascinating secret yet to be discovered about Hal, something that I suspect he isn't fully aware of, himself. There is a love triangle that was unexpectedly sundered with the death of one character. The religion in this novel is heavily influenced by Christianity, with a mythology that is derivative of the Garden of Eden.
If you don't mind an occasionally challenging read about a fantasy that is truly epic in scope, then you might enjoy this novel. I'm especially interested in seeing how this author grows from novel to novel. I'm dying to see how things work out between Hal and Leith, so I can't imagine missing the next book in the series.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Across the Face of the World - Final Post
Friday, January 18, 2008
Across the Face of the World - Midway Point
Well, I'm almost halfway through ACROSS THE FACE OF THE WORLD, and so far, I'm liking it very much. It is very different from a novel by an American writer. The plot is leisurely, with lots of description. Yet, the plot does not stop moving; if it had, I would not have kept reading. As it is, I keep staying up later than I intended, trying to get through just another long chapter.
The little Company -- as the author calls them -- has grown from five to eight. I have not gone over all the characters, so I will now.
Leith and Hal. Brothers whose parents were taken by the Bhrudwan warriors. Hal is the older, and is crippled by what is thought to be a birth defect. Since his parents took him in as a toddler, no one really knows. Leith is is normal younger brother, about sixteen or seventeen years old.
The Haufuth. The leader of the village of Loulea, the home of most of the characters and the locale where the story begins. He is smart and cool-headed, and it is his idea to try to rescue Hal and Leith's parents. He starts out fat, but I cannot imagine that he will remain that way, due to all the hardships they are going through. He leaves his wife at home in order to lead this quest.
Kurr. A hot-tempered older man, who is incredibly tough. He has a mysterious past and belongs to an ancient sect called the Watchers. He is a source of lore and knows much of the land they pass through. He is a likable old cranky bastard.
Stella. A fifteen or sixteen year old girl, who they bring along because she happened upon their plans and they could not afford to leave her behind. She does not mind going because she is trying to avoid getting engaged against her will. She seems like a hindrance at first, but soon proves her worth.
Further on, they pick up two more men Farr and Wira. They are older than Hal and Leith, perhaps in their early 20s. Farr is hot tempered and Wira steady. One of them has a drinking problem, and the reader cannot be sure who it is. I have my suspicions; the author did not make it difficult to guess. There is a little love triangle developing involving Wira, Stella and Leith
And finally, they pick up an eighth character, who I will not reveal much about at this time.
And of course, I must mention Hal and Leith's parents, Mahnum and Indrett. I have to give the author credit for a twist on a familiar plot structure. No, the farm boy's parents do not conveniently die, thus motivating the main character for revenge. At least, not yet. Their captivity is what is driving the plot, right now. Every once in a while, we get a cliffhanger of a scene letting us know that they are still alive. And they both have backgrounds that are tantalizing enough for us to want to learn more.
The only real complaint I have so far is that the challenges they have faced seemed to have been rather easily overcome. They were attacked at a certain point, but all of them were able to fight off their attackers, even those who had never held a sword before. At another point, I was certain that they had a major challenge -- almost insurmountable -- but then, it was solved for them. It fit in the story and I would not call it a deux ex machina, but the author could have let the reader sweat about it for a few pages.
Speaking of pages, if you read this, expect pages and pages to go by, filled with description. It did not bother me, because as I said, the story kept moving. Besides, I got through the description of the city of Paris in The Hunchback of Notre Dame -- about 35 pages worth (and worth it in the end) -- so I can get through this, I think.
I'm finding the maps rather difficult to read. They look computer-generated. I have to peer at them up close in order to be able to read them. I'm hoping they got an artist to do some more attractive maps for the actual printed copy (I have an ARC -- thanks, Orbit!). In fact, I'm thinking about meandering to a bookstore to see if there is much difference between my copy and the one on the shelves.
If I do, I'll bring my camera.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Across the Face of the World - Opening Chapters
I've got to admit that I'm loving ACROSS THE FACE OF THE WORLD by Russell Kirkpatrick so far. The publisher, Orbit, was kind enough to provide me with an ARC copy, for which I thank them.
This novel was originally published in by Voyager in New Zealand (I have a disproportionate number of New Zealander debut novelists who have appeared on this blog -- there must be something in the water over there) and I just LOVE the Voyager cover! I do like the Orbit cover as well, but I was really wowed when I saw the Voyager cover.
I suppose I ought to say something about the novel itself. After a "Buah-hah-hah! I shall defeat the world!" prelude (not really, but almost), it goes on to tell the story of Leith and Hal, two brothers who have waited almost two years for their father to return from a mysterious mission, ordered by the king itself. This in itself raises all sorts of questions. Who is their father that the king even knows about him? And why was he the one chosen to journey across the face of the world to carry out this mission? And will he ever return?
He does return and brings all sorts of other questions back with him.
So far, the plot has been rather predictable, that doesn't bother me. The author tends to jump around in point-of-view, but that doesn't bother me, either. The plot even features a farmboy (or two), and that doesn't bother me either. Why?
Because I think I'm in love with Hal. If I were reading this last year, he would have had the potential to supplant Joby as my favorite male character. I just got to a part where he basically said, "Choose between two equally impossible tasks? We're doing both by God, and you're going to help!" All that fire and he's a cripple, too. I hope Kirkpatrick has a romance in mind for him. He deserves one.
The chapters are r e a l l y l o n g. If you try to read until the end of the chapter, you may be reading a while. The chapter breaks tend to appear at jumps in the narrative. This doesn't mean that they aren't cliffhangers -- they are, for the most part, and they're good ones. There's lots of description and the plot proceeds at an unhurried pace.
I'm finding nothing to complain about so far, and lots to admire. More to come!
