Brotherhood of the Wolf

I thought this series had an interesting premise. What if via magic, you could 'borrow' attributes from someone else? The result is super leaders and super warriors - leaving behind whole institutions of blind and crippled peasants. Its a horrifying thought and it makes for an interesting setting. I enjoyed the book but mostly for how he explores this concept.

Definitely better than the first book! Much more action and some really great battle and fight scenes. Of course, not on the scale of John Gwynne, but really good stuff.
My problem with this series though is, I'm not too much of a fan of the magic system. It's definitely unique, but not really what I'm looking for. Maybe I'm just such a traditional fantasy kind of guy, with dragons and swords, and this isn't really in that realm, at least not yet. There are some very interesting characters in this book though, and that helped out a lot!
I will read the next book and make a decision as to whether I want to keep going with this series. It's not bad at all, really, it is quite great... just not what I'm really looking for.

In a perfect world, I believe these novels should have been published as novellas. The end of book 2 is actually the end of "book" 8 and as far as I can tell, all of the Runelords Saga is one long story. I'm guessing, of course, but it feels very focused and quite epic.

It kinda has to be. The tale of the Sum of All Men and the Earth King deserves no less. Some strategies, much more along the way of consolidating or losing power, this particular book culminates in a massive uprising of monstrous Reavers that threaten both sides and all of humanity.

The epic battle is just that: epic. Very enjoyable. Massive. Bloody. :)

That being said, I now appreciate just how much I love Peter V. Brett's Demon Cycle. There's a lot of similarities between show more these. But if you like the Demon Cycle, I'm pretty sure you'd love Farland's Runelords. With all that entails.

My only problem is with the direction of the plot at the end. Am I happy that it had to go this way? Not really. I mean, it may turn out pretty awesome, but hamstringing the Earth King made me a little pissed.

Fortunately, I'm pretty gung-ho about learning how these books will rectify that. :) show less

The more I think about this book, the less sure I am that I liked it. All that talk of eating reavers and drinking blood just makes me feel a little bit ill. And it just took so long for everything to happen. I can't believe the entire book took place over the course of about a week. I didn't really like the way that Farland organized the book. I always had to backtrack whenever I got to a new character, and that is not only annoying, but also a bit confusing.

However, because I am such an avid reader, I am determined to stick the series out to the end. (At least the first four books, anyway.) Every series has to has a transition book—I'm hoping that this book was it. Everyone is still trying to figure out what the heck they are doing. show more That is why I wish time would go by a little bit faster. It would be nice if weeks would go by in just a few paragraphs. It just seems a bit unrealistic that worlds could change so vastly in a week. The series starts with just rumors of the legendary reavers, but a week later they are attacking by the thousands. And Gaborn needs to accept that he can't save everyone. He's starting to get on my nerves.

Let me just say that this book left much to be desired. But I still have high hopes for the next book. show less

Raj Ahtan has fled from Gaborn Val Orden, the prophesied and ascendant Earth King. Tricked on the field of battle by a ruse, Ahtan is far from vanquished. Bolstered by the strength, speed, stamina, charisma, and beauty of thousands of men, he moves to strike at where Gaborn is weakest, to tear down the kingdoms of Rofehaven from within. But while Ahtan works to lure Gaborn into a trap, Gaborn realizes a greater enemy is threatening, and designs a plan that he hopes will ally Ahtan with him against this foe.

Taking place over the course of just a few days, [b:Brotherhood of the Wolf|144112|Brotherhood of the Wolf (Runelords, #2)|David Farland|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400630733s/144112.jpg|1166994] picks up right where [b:The Sum of show more All Men|144127|The Sum of All Men (Runelords #1)|David Farland|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388196460s/144127.jpg|139049] left off without breaking stride. Gaborn is grappling with the ramifications of becoming the Earth King, as well as his marriage to Iome Sylvarresta, the daughter of the late King Jas Laren Sylvarresta. Determined not to use forcibles to increase his strength and power, Gaborn finds himself at an immediate disadvantage to Ahtan's super human abilities, not to mention vulnerable to any who does not share his qualms.

It is an ongoing source of dissonance for Gaborn: he sees the slavery and debilitation caused when ever one man gives his abilities to another, but is faced with an enemy that is prepared to end not just humanity but all life on the earth. Should he accept the endowments of other men to become strong enough for the coming battle, or should he rely on his new found abilities as the Earth King? With the selection by the Earth, though, comes responsibility above those of other men, and Gaborn must weigh the future of all men as he makes his decisions.

With how short a time as passes during the novel, events unfold at a breakneck pace. If only Farland would move his text as fast. Not atypical for an epic fantasy, Brotherhood clocks in at nearly 700 pages. Frequently I found myself wondering if a few of those pages weren't unnecessary to the story.

The result is that Farland develops his characters more than might otherwise be possible in such a short period of time. The length of the novel lends itself to more viewpoints than a shorter story might allow, and shows the reader a broader vision of the events unfolding. While the story never drags--per se--a faster paced story might have spent less time with each view point.

If The Sum of All Men was intended to introduce the main protagonist and antagonist of The Runelords series, then Brotherhood feels like a pulling back of the curtain. The threat to Rofehaven and the entire world is far greater than anything introduced in The Sum of All Men, and Farland takes advantage of the opportunity to hint at the scope of his series by introducing side plots, new abilities to what initially appeared to be small characters, and expanding his system of magic beyond the initial forcibles/endowments magic introduced in the first book.

Picking up a thick novel is always a risky endeavor. The time investment is long, and the pay-off may be a long time in coming. In the end, Farland provides, however, delivering a denouement that satisfies his promises, if not perfectly, at least satisfactorily. It's a worthy successor to The Sum of All Men and continuation of The Runelords' series. I ran into Farland at the Salt Lake FanXperience in April and picked up [b:Wizardborn|144109|Wizardborn (Runelords, #3)|David Farland|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388210779s/144109.jpg|1270521] from him there. I look forward to following where he takes Gaborn, Iome, Ahtan, and the rest of his growing cast next. show less

This is the second in Farland’s Runelords series.
Farland continues to elaborate on his cunningly devised system of magic and to emphasize the social aspects of that system (wherein an individual's traits, like strength, beauty and intelligence can be passed to another). The taking of such attributes from animals is a major point here, hence the book's title, and is handled well. I also appreciate that he sticks to his fairly straightforward set of rules and conventions regarding this magic system, rather than continuing to nuance and augment the system with previously undisclosed limitations or abilities.
The writing has improved, and the characters begin to develop some depth. The unique ideas of the first book are built upon as well show more - making this a much more enjoyable read. Is hope that Farland can avoid the trap so many fantasy writers fall into and that he knows a way to keep things interesting and end the series somewhere before we get bored. show less

Great second volume of this fantasy story that packs a lot of story line into just a couple of days. This book keeps going with most of the characters we met in the first volume but introduces some interesting new ones that I hope will become even more important in the next one - especially the female characters.