Dave Wolverton (1957–2022)

You know, in general, I really enjoyed reading this. All the endowments, the whole sum of all men thing, still has its creepy-ass aspect to it but we get to see a lot more of the people who give up their best traits for the high-and-mighty elite. It may not resolve anything, but at least we know that the GOOD devotionals are doing it out of love.

Would YOU go blind so your elite leader could have super-freaking-excellent sight? Or become weak so he becomes strong? Or sleep for twenty years show more so he can heal super quick?

No? Well, this is a fantasy and I just have to assume that there is some cultural s*** going on.

Putting that aside, I got all giddy when so many of the main characters went all out and dived into the earth to put an end to the gigantic crab leader and stick it to the million-plus reavers pouring out of the ground to put an end to all mankind. I have no problems with that. It was awesome. :) Supermen, nature magic, massive stakes. It's all here.

It's even awesome despite the nagging questions I have after reading it. Like all those seemingly useless plot threads that seemed to be so important in the text -- only to go absolutely nowhere at the culmination of the final battle.

Ah, but at least a certain cinder-boy got a satisfyingly ignoble end. :)

You know, for four books that take place over a single week, I'm pretty impressed at the way it gets pulled off. It's epic and the magic system allows for a ton of movement and events to occur very quickly. That's fine by me. But there's just one thing... the end of this book sped the hell up in a rather spectacularly annoying way. As in, everyone lived happily ever after even though our MCs basically have to split up because they're living at different rates and OH, btw, all these young-ass characters are suddenly old men and women. Yeah, yeah, the magic system has consequences, but still, these were FOUR BOOKS taking place in a week! Until the end when everyone dies of old age. lol

I know this sounds like I have a major issue with these books but it's just not true. I have a need to complain very loudly about a series I think does a great job pulling a very interesting rabbit out of its hat and I want to bitch and moan because I actually love it and wish I could see it fixed. Or explored further.

Fortunately, there are 4 more books. Guess what I'm reading? :) show less

I like the hints of new directions going on in this one. The different kinds of wizards, in particular. I can do without the walnuts, but the whole learning-depth about reavers, about fire, and about water seems very promising.

Oh! And let's not forget about our fair observers who are so preoccupied with time! :)

I say this is a promising series. Epic in the sense that it is epic fantasy, yes, and not as grandiose as some, but much bigger in a few ways than most. Many, many shadow worlds? I show more likey. Worlds out of kilter? You bet! Ravening hoards pouring out of the earth, destroying whole cities overnight? Yep!

Most interestingly is the magic system in general. The attribute-based one. Metabolism additions make people live faster. They die faster, too, but the whole world slows down around them while they become super fast to everyone else. Giving that to horses is very funny... horses who run as fast as cars on a highway. :) The whole thing is pretty awesome as long as I don't think about the one little snag. (That's a pretty huge snag.)

Anyone who gives an attribute like Wit or Stamina or Metabolism then LOSES all but a tiny tiny portion. That means there need to be gigantic institutions set up for idiots, the energy-less, and the peeps who sleep for 20 years. Each addition comes with a subtraction, and most of those are severely glossed over in these books. Because if the givers die, the person currently enjoying 2 times normal strength will lose that addition. If the person has a thousand additions, that means there has to be a welfare state of a thousand taking care of the victims or the recipient will lose it all. If there's an army with an average of 20 or so additions per warrior and a hundred per captain and thousands in the army, then there ought to be a vast ocean of idiots and weaklings and sleepers left at home. Who is taking care of them? WHO???

Okay. So let's ignore that and enjoy the fantasy for what it is.

It's fun! Comfortable! It stretches some interesting boundaries in fantasy! It makes me interested in the rules and how to break them! I want to break them! Or at least write some stories about the seedy underside of patient management. :) show less

Disclaimer: I am not much of a fantasy fan, in the ordinary way of things. I find Tolkien moralistic, and anything that smacks of elves and dwarves mostly insufferable; I abominate Harry Potter, and have managed to entirely avoid Game of Thrones. Nor are there any other of the endless fantasy series around of which I am a breathless follower. I like SF, in principle, but find it is often disappointing in execution. I do admire Philip K. Dick, Bradbury, Neil Gaiman, Pratchett and some show more others.

My expectations for this volume were not especially high, but I am happy to say that they were easily exceeded. Everything in here is worth reading. The selection is varied and (almost) impeccable; each piece is artful, well executed, free of claptrap, thought-provoking, and obviously the product of an interesting and original mind, not bound to the conventions of any particular genre. Each piece grabs holder of the reader, as it should, within the first few sentences. And, in general, they do not overstay their welcomes. The accompanying art is appropriately luminous.

A few niggling criticisms: Michael Panter's "Lilt of a Lark" is marvellously inventive, verbally, but the action drags a little. J. A. Becker's "For the Federation" is too rock-em, sock-em for my tastes, but it is saved (almost) by the ending, which is worth hanging on for. The final piece, Lazarus Black's "Psychic Poker", is the only one that is a near-dud, nebulous, self-important and not especially funny. Everything else is pretty rewarding material.

Well, I should add that the pieces by the headliners, Herbert and Anderson et al. can be safely skipped, unless you are deeply into SF history and apocrypha. And the L. Ron Hubbard piece is, viewed through modern eyes, dated, stale and predictable to the point of being almost unreadable. It is hard to believe it was at one time considering ground-breaking. Still, I have no problem giving five stars to the whole collection. If there are another 37 volumes like this in the series, that is a lot of reading to catch up on. show less

Man versus Nature. Writ large.

Or larger, if you consider we're dealing with whole armies concentrated into a single man or the Earth in the other.

This is an epic fantasy that's competent in characters if not in extensive worldbuilding. But more importantly, it runs with a very, very cool idea. And cool ideas are COOL.

The skinny? Attributes can be given or taken from people and added to other individuals. Use runes plus guile, absolute force, or desperate pleading, and then you've got some show more insanely powerful superheroes and supervillains. Think that Jet Li movie, One, but instead of sucking, make the possibilities unlimited for all characters. Want super eyesight? Take 100 the good eyesight from a hundred people, let them go blind, and become hawkeye. :) Same for Wit, Endurance, Metabolism, Glamour, or others.

Have the big bad become a god with all these attributes. He is the sum of all men. Now set the overmatched hero against him.

Cool, right? Simple, fun, and interesting. Not classic literature, but FUN. :) show less