James Lowder

Why read: Received for review

What impressed me: Many aspects of the comic books and TV show were discussed, both in relation to one another and as separate entities. I loved that there was a large focus on the comic storylines as they greatly differ from the show and have been around for much longer. I was afraid this book would just be a complete lovefest for the show because of its current popularity. It was a lovefest, but it really did only slightly touch on the show (as it should being show more there had only been one season at the time of writing) and embraced Robert Kirkman's initial vision.

What disappointed me: Everyone sort of agreed. Most of the Smart Pop books include essays with opinions and theories that are completely at odds with others. They usually contain ideas that will completely rile up hardcore fans, while at least making you think about things in a whole other light. In Triumph of the Walking Dead, beloved characters remain loved and praised, evil characters are pure evil without questioning their potential for good, and all in all, nothing came across as a potentially unpopular opinion.

Recommended: Definitely, as long as you've read the comic books and watched the show already. Those who haven't read the comic books will discover many spoilers, some of which will most definitely become part of the TV show. show less

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Title: The Ring of Winter
Series: Forgotten Realms: The Harpers #5
Author: James Lowder
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 320
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Artus Cimber, a former harper, has show more been searching for the Ring of Winter for over a decade with almost no success. However, when a fellow Adventurer member comes back from an expedition in the deepest, hottest jungles where dinosaurs live and tells of a freak snowstorm that saved his life, Artus knows he's hot on the trail.

Taking off in the middle of the night with his only friend, an older mage, so that the Harpers can't pressure him in any way, Artus's journey doesn't start well. The ship they paid passage to be on forces them to be regular sailors and the captain is an insane witch woman. Artus ends up killing her. Artus and Pontifex finally make it to Dinosaur Land, only to be attacked by members of the Cult of Frost, who are led by Kaverin Ebonhand. Kaverin also desires the Ring of Winter as it supposedly endows its controller with immortal life.

Pontifex dies, Artus is on his own. Sets off into the jungles with a local guide, only to find out it is a magician in thrall to Kaveron. Artus is captured by goblins, thrown into a pit of a monster that they worship and escapes with the help of 2 talking wombats named Byrt and Lugg.

I am NOT kidding.

Kaveron gets all the goblins to unite and attack the city of Mezro which had 7 magical guardians. One of them revealed that he had had the Ring of Winter but that he couldn't control it and so threw it into the testing chamber where new magical girls, errrr, guardians were tested and chosen. Artus goes after it, gets it and saves the city because he CAN control the Ring.

Everybody who is still alive is happy and Artus realizes that he's still a Harper at heart and now with a super powerful artifact he can do lots and lots of good things. Yippeee!

My Thoughts:

This was a perfect example of an author forcing the character to act like the author wanted without regards to any past actions, feelings or explanations. Artus starts out as an impetuous, selfish idiot. He hates the Harpers, puts others in danger without regard when searching for the Ring of Winter and generally acts like an ass. The shazaaam, he gets tested by the god Ubtao and suddenly he's the soul of wisdom, discretion and goodness.

The talking wombats? Besides getting him out of the monster pit the first time, and talking in fake british accents, dropping all their “h's”, etc, they were pointless. Which leads into all the side characters. There were so many that none of them really got to be “real” people. Kaveron was the perfect example. He's the leader of the Frost Cult, has stone hands due to fighting with Artus in the past, is in thrall to the mad god Cyric and can make magical icemen assassins. Yet he loses control of a small goblin tribe? He was just a name attached to a vehicle that moved the plot forward. People are introduced and in a lot of cases, die off within 10-20 pages. I gave up trying to keep track because I never knew if someone introduced was a long term character or just another meat bag for the mill.

I felt like this had too many elements contained in one story and it diluted the whole focus on the Ring of Winter. Well, I'm giving the Harpers sub-series one more book and then if that book doesn't get a 3.5star rating I'll be done. I'm not 12 or 14 years old.

And the Ring of Winter? It should have been a wicked super awesome cool artifact. Kind of like this M:TG card looks. But no. It is as disappointing as the rest of the book.

★★☆☆½ show less

Call your bannermen!

Beyond the Wall: Exploring George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, edited by James Lowder (Smart Pop, $14.95).

For those of us who were re-introduced to Martin’s fantasy novels by way of the HBO series—and for newbies, who are readng the books to keep up with the series and catch missing nuances—this collection of essays by smart people will crack open a few ideas and trains of thought.

These are much more oriented toward the books than the series, though, so show more beware: spoilers within and ahead.

First, each of the authors included have varied areas of expertise. For example, Caroline Spector takes a feminist approach (and yes, given the setting, violence against women is rampant; by the same token, resisting and powerful women wear many faces).

Brent Hartinger, the well-respected author of the YA novel The Geography Club, weighs in on the position of the outsider in the books (“A Different Kind of Other: The Role of Freaks and Outcasts in A Song of Ice and Fire”) and Matt Staggs looks at the outright sociopathy of Petyr Baelish (“Petyr Baelish and the Mask of Sanity”).

There are also a couple of really good essays on magic, religion and ethics as they work in Martin’s built world (“A Sword Without a Hilt: The Dangers of Magic in (and to) Westeros” by Jesse Scoble and “The Brutal Cost of Redemption in Westeros, or, What Moral Ambiguity?” by Susan Vaught).

And there’s also an interesting essay on romanticism that addresses the pernicious discussions of the Lyanna-Rhaegar hypothesis (“The Palace of Love, the Palace of Sorrow: Romanticism in A Song of Ice and Fire” by Linda Antonsson and Elio M. Garcia, Jr.).

For readers who are fans of the novels or world-building in general, this is a wonderful collection that will enrich one’s enjoyment. For those who are simply enjoying the TV version, it won’t likely add or subtract much either way.

Reviewed on Lit/Rant: www.litrant.tumblr.com show less

This is a sequel to a painfully sub par roleplaying spin-off book. Surprisingly it’s pretty good. It’s worth it just for the two villains, the Bloody Cobbler and the Whispering Beast. I felt that the first novel in this series tried and failed to be both a fantasy and a gothic horror novel; this one succeeds particularly in these characters as they are wonderful gothic motifs, two creatures formed from the unresolved and suppressed pathos of the main character. They each serve a role in show more this little tragedy and they aren’t what they originally seem. There is a nice supporting cast as well. While roleplaying fiction rarely rises above sub-par standards this book holds its own on the bookshelf next to similar bubblegum sci-fi fantasy books. show less