The Ale Boy's Feast: A Novel (The Auralia Thread)

As with most fantasy series, it's practically impossible to summarize the events of the story without facing spoiler issues, so I won't. If you think you'll be interested in reading The Ale Boy's Feast, then you really should start with the first books in the series, Auralia's Colors, and then read through all four books in order. And if you liked the first three, then you'll probably love this, the final book.

I've been reading the Auralia's Thread series since only the first book came out, primarily because I liked reading Overstreet's movie reviews, and I was curious if he could write fiction equally well. To begin with, I wasn't convinced. There's an unevenness of tone in the first book, and it sometimes felt a bit too much like an show more exercise in imitation of Patricia McKillip. All of the books are somewhat difficult to get into--at least in part my own fault, as I never bother to reread the previous books in the series in preparation for a new installment--but by the end, I'm utterly absorbed.

In this regard, The Ale Boy's Feast was no exception. It took me about a quarter of the book to readjust to the characters, plot, and prose style, but once I did, I was completely engaged and stayed up until 3 am to finish it at one sitting. Overstreet's prose is still variable, but he hits the right notes far more often than not, and his use of theological metaphor is very well done, not half as heavy-handed as I was fearing. In fact, once the theological elements came seriously into play (in the last few chapters), the emotional impact was enhanced, and I did find myself slightly teary-eyed. (Okay, it was after 2.30, which might have had something to do with it--but, still!) So, ultimately, I would very much recommend this book (along with the rest of the series) to lyric fantasy aficionados, whether religious or not, with the caveat that it might take a bit of work to become full invested in the story. It is really a lovely book, though. show less

This is one of the first series that I've read in a long time where I've really connected to the characters and been enthralled (mostly) by the story. As plots go, it's fairly standard fantasy in the making: There is good and there is evil and there are small, strange, gray spots, and the evil must be eradicated because it's trying to take over the good. The nuance comes in with certain characters' abilities, due to their direct ancestry from the four factions' leader: Some can mold stone, some can walk through fire unharmed, some can sing or play gorgeous music, and there are various and sundry other ways hinted at in the books.

The writing style is really fascinating, and it's quite obvious that Overstreet is coming from a background show more dealing more with movies and film. This isn't a bad thing; rather, it's a point in his favor, because scenes are described just enough to get a vivid mental picture, and have the kinetic energy (or lack thereof) appropriate to a scene. It stands out from the typical plodding fantasy or the fast-paced, frenzied fantasy because of that.

The downside? Clearly a first-timer to the fantasy realm, with highly unusual (and almost unpronounceable) names for people and places that don't stick in your head for quite some time—which alone almost made me put down the first book in frustration. Another is that pacing seems to be a bit of an issue, with seemingly unimportant (or overstated) things being drawn out to a very slow and painful release, and some very important things (for instance, the death of a second-tier character) being described in one sentence and never touched again. There's something to be said for both a long and desperate journey taking up the space of an entire novel and for rapid-fire action taking place with staccato sentences, but sometimes, a moderate amount of description is necessary for both.

Coming as a conclusion to the series, this book ties up the loose threads (and deals with a rather stretched-out plot coming from book three, [Raven's Ladder]) and suggests more at the end, as I believe a good ending should. Overstreet neatly ties everything up, and does so in a manner that doesn't feel initially too contrived, but still deals a fairly heavy dose of deus ex machina. Life naturally goes on for the characters at the end of the book, and there are certainly questions left to be answered, but any having to do directly with the plot are summed up in a reasonably straightforward way.

Having read in the author bios that Overstreet was active in the Christian community (and reading the various Thank Yous in the acknowledgements), I was a little bit skeptical about the material of the book—particularly since I'd gotten another Early Reviewers book that was very distinctly and heavy-handed-ly Christian fiction, which is not at all my cup of tea—but it just goes to show that not every author feels the need to preach their beliefs when they write. There are certain happenings that, when looked for or analyzed in that particular light, seem to be heavy handed in their "Isn't Christianity wonderful?" light, but those are things that are fairly typical in mythic fantasy. A scene with characters being taken into a Paradise-like setting, for instance, is just as typical a description of Heaven as it could be of Tolkien's Grey Havens. The mysterious, magical, older teacher-mage type could be God, but it could just as easily be a Gandalf or a Dumbledore. Don't let it turn you off of a good series! show less

The masterful conclusion to the Auralia's Colors series left me weeping tears of fulfilment.
It was perfect.
All the hanging strands, all the apparent inconsistencies were bound together and woven into a satisfying and rewarding ending. If I didn't know that it has become meaningless through overuse, I would say that here is a worthy successor to C.S. Lewis.
I look forward to future works from Mr. Overstreet.

A solid and interesting piece of fiction with a very interesting voice. I'm only giving it four stars, however, because of how poorly it allowed readers to come into the series halfway through. I almost never read a series from beginning to end, and this book really relied on the reader having a lot of background knowledge. Part of that was due to the complexity of this original world (ten out of ten for that: it reminded me of Patricia McKillip or Ursula K. Le Guin, and I really appreciate good, original world building). This was definitely an ensemble piece as well, with a lot of cast members that weren't introduced sufficiently. Prehaps the tiniest bit busy, as well. I got the feeling that Overstreet had cast out more lines than he show more could gracefully reel in. show less

I received this book in the Early Reviewers. Because it is the 4th in the series I decided I wanted to read the ones before it. So while I read all 4 books directly after each other I'm going to review all 4.

The first book is Auralia's Colors. I only sort of liked this first book. While a lot of the descriptions were quite lovely I found it a bit shallow. It was only meh.

The second book is Cyndere's midnight. As I read this one I realized how wrong I was about Auralia's colors. The author has in no way created a shallow world. The farther I got into the story the more impressed I was at how he dropped subtle tid-bits into the first book that were developed more in the second book. Here I began to truly develop an attachment to the show more characters and their stories and struggles.

The third book is Raven's Ladder... again, I was floored at how complex and compelling this story has become. The history and myth of everything evolves in such an organic way. The characters define themselves more and more as the story goes along. It's like I got to know them as one would in real life... not how many stories are where everything is laid out before you right away. I never would have believed as I was reading Auralia's colors that this story could become so rich and complex.

And finally is the ale boy's feast. The conclusion of the books... not necessarily the conclusion of the story. (Which I always love.) 80 pages from the end I had no idea how the author was going to give me the satisfying ending that I wanted. I had so many questions that needed to be answered, I was terrified I was going to be massively disappointed that he has created bit off more than he could chew and he had tangled this story so tightly that there was no way he could connect all the pieces back together in the end... well I should have known... it was perfect. Beautiful even.

I loved these books. It was a rich, compelling, suspenseful, beautiful, and enlightening world. I'm happy I was able to spend some time there.

I'm glad I know how Krawg's story ended. :) show less

Like the other three books in the series the writing was wonderful. The world created is so wonderfully described the reader could almost step right into it. ONce again an author has created a book full of Christian values without screaming "This is Christian Fiction". The Seers of Bel Amica are still destroying the land using Deathweed. The four books in this series has plot lines that meet and twist together. However, I often felt confused because there were too many things going on at one time. I would definitely read the first three books in the series so that you can get up to speed Although this last book was not my favorite I would recommend the series to all who like fantasy and for those who like an element of Christianity in show more their fiction. I know the first three books in this series have been checked out since I first put them there. This will indeed be a great addition to my collection for my classroom. show less

Overstreet concludes the Auralia Thread series with this book. It has quite a few surprises. Most of the principal characters from prior novels received somewhat less time, and I think this affected the overall continuity. Still, this is one of the finest of modern fantasy series, with well developed characters in a world that is well thought out. I can easily see other series taking place in this universe, and eagerly anticipate the next Overstreet novel.