Glenda Larke

Like most High-Fantasy books, the Last Stormlord starts a little slow as its sets up the story, the world and characters. After that, however, when you get to know the various players and the story's various conflicts come into full focus, I found it very enjoyable.

The prose is good, though a little long-winded at time. The characters are diverse, strong and compelling in their own ways, especially the foremost antagonist. One of the best parts, is the world itself, which is beautiful and show more deeply imagined. Glenda Larke creates a rich, distinctive society filled with odds, ends and creatures. For instance, they don't ride horses they ride large insects call Pedes, which she then touches on the carrying for. This might make it sound like the book would be bogged down with backstory and information, it is not. All of this information and creativity is simply a part of the characters' various daily lives and so it never slows the story, only enriches it.

One thing to consider, though, is that this is a larger book and it does move slower than many readers would like. And by "slower" I mean it doesn't rush from scene to scene and event to event, it takes its time to tell a good story. show less

Its been so long since I've read a straight fantasy that I've almost forgotten what its like. Don't get me wrong I love my urban fantasies, my romance fantasies...but I miss my straight ones. Glenda Larke is a favorite of mine from her 'Isles of Glory' books (of which I still haven't read book 3...), I'd even put her on par with my enjoyment of the Mistborn books or Tredana books honestly.

Stormlord starts out rather bleakly. Terelle has a dark future ahead of her as a handmaiden in Madame show more Opal's snuggery. As a handmaiden she's basically little better then a Geisha--she is company for men, sings, dances, plays musical instruments--but with the added duty of being a pleasing companion in bed as well. Mind you she's only 12 years old, her father sold her into this life and her older half-sister Vivie keeps telling her to suck it up and go with the flow.

From there we head to where Nealrith, son of Granlon (a cloudmaster, ie: very important guy), is visiting the water cisterns with Kaneth, his friend. Things are bad, the water levels being no where near where they should be. The solutions presented by Kaneth are both impossible and morally black, but the options are few. Is it better to be rid of a great many to save a few or should they all perish the same, slow, death?

There is a number of different intrigues going on--politically, personally and wide spread. Its not just that the water shortage problem is just now occurring, the problem is that its happening when there hasn't been enough Stormlords. In the last decades only a handful or so of potentials have been born and through disease, death and inability none of them are suitable for the position.

As one should expect from Larke's writing the narrative is lush with details. The layers of society are pretty simple to understand, but the world itself is more complex. From the religion (there is the Sunlord and the Raingiver--both practical given the world and concerns) to the social hierarchy (the more water sensitive you are, the better off you will be) Larke weaves an intricate net of survival.

I found myself liking Kaneth and Ryka despite some of my earlier misgivings. Kaneth is something of a playboy, until recently not prone to overthinking matters or worrying over the future. Current situations being what they are he's beginning to take a more active stance. Is it too late however? Ryka is a bookish woman with a slightly bitter attitude towards men (and Kaneth in general) and marriage. She is however someone you want beside you, she is intelligent, quick-witted and thinks on her feet. She's fiery as well, but that can sometimes be to her detriment.

I am, of course, impatient to read the next volume. With the North American release not until March 2010 (cry with me) and the subsequent volumes not being released until March and September 2010 in Australia, it feels like a loooong wait.

I will say this, I like the Australian cover much more then the US one. I think it fits better. The US/Orbit cover looks kind of like Gail Z. Martin's Necromancer cover and I don't think green is the best color to have. show less

Well that's an interesting end to the series, scope to return to the world (which was satisfyingly complex for me) and I enjoyed how people had different motivations and purposes and things were not simple for the chosen ones.

Oh man, that was a series that caught me and kept me interested. Magic and evil and a complex society that wasn't predictable, all good, my kind of read.

The evil has to be conquered and the survivors have to work out what to do with their lives and with the aftermath. show more Interesting work. show less

For a second book in a trilogy, Stormlord Rising is really well balanced. It did not feel like a middle book to me. Instead it felt just as intense and if anything, more action packed then the first.

Because it is a middle book I was really surprised to see so many events coming to a head. I expected more character and world development, which I got, but I also got to witness a brutal war. Glenda Larke did not hold back on the brutality nor was she afraid to kill off alot of important show more characters. As a result the pacing was pretty fast and the "omg what could possibly happen next" tension held me to the pages.

I am getting alot out of this story. A world where every drop of water is precious intrigues me. There is also a religious overtone to the story where the divergent cultures are completely different in their beliefs. Glenda Larke not only gives religion a large role but explores how completely offbase a system of beliefs can be when clouded by time and misinformation. I am looking forward to seeing how that line of the story plays out.

Read Full Review show less