Those Above

I've surprised myself by expecting less and receiving more from this book.

Honestly, I've read so many epic fantasies by this point that I either have to read something that is written extremely well or it comes with an extraordinary number of innovations, or both, before I get truly wowed.

I'm not quite there with this one, but after having read a good handful of Polansky's novels, I've gotten quite used to his style and know enough to be patient. It always pays off. Usually there's a lot of in-depth and long-building characters with a large amount of either politics or of rolling around in the dirt of a dirty city or of just plain warfare. Each is great in it's own way, but that's just the thing: It takes time and patience to pull off show more the big picture that he's painting.

But here's the good part: He paints beautiful pictures.

In this case, I knew before I started that this is a Duology. Knowing that, I didn't expect a truly satisfying end. I expected a picture-perfect build-up that will be concluded in the second novel.

This goes against a lot of modern expectations. Either we have immense build-ups over many novels that finish with a blow out, or we have individual novels that are fully satisfying on their own that happen to have larger threads that tie everything together for a big blow out. In this one, we may as well just clump these two together and call it one large tale.

Decisions, decisions, publishers.

I'm gonna shrug and read the second one right away and buck tradition. I'm just going to assume this is one big tale. You know, like Dan Simmons' [b:Hyperion|77566|Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #1)|Dan Simmons|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1405546838s/77566.jpg|1383900] and [b:The Fall of Hyperion|77565|The Fall of Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos #2)|Dan Simmons|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1429215870s/77565.jpg|1882596].

I'm fully immersed in this fantasy. It's the beginnings of rebellion between the downcast humans and somewhat bird-like peoples with long lives, great strength, and high intelligence. Simple, but written very well.

Above that, in my opinion, is the mythos that is developed and the depth of the world building. It sneaks right in there in all the nooks and crannies and it's really rather beautiful.

I've read a few reviews that complain about the characters, but I disagree. I like them. I like the political machinations above. I like the bad boys down below. I like the way that they all jockey for position and prepare or fail to prepare for the bloodbath to come. It's evocative.

And now I'm perfectly poised to dive in and see how this ends. :) show less

Prepare yourself to be blown away by Those Above.

Thousands of years ago humanity became enslaved to the Eternal. Four fingered instead of five, this species are strong, powerful and deadly. Humanity toils under their will and strength.

Twenty five years ago, humanity took a stand against those above. Revolting against their oppressors. In a bloody battle humans were slaughtered, and they like their hope, were destroyed. That was in the past and now, years later, hope is stirring once again, there are whispers of a new rising, and stirring in the hearts of men. The fate of humanity will fall on the shoulders of certain people: an infamous war general who defeated one of the eternal in combat – the only human known to do so, an show more impoverished young boy and a widowed woman on the hunt for revenge. Can they free humanity from the iron fist of those above?

This book is intense! This is the first book by Daniel Polansky that I’ve read, but since finishing it I’ve had a look at his Low Town trilogy and I think that is definitely going to be on my purchase list in the future! If you’re like me and love a bit of epic fantasy, this is going to be just the book for you. The premise is fantastic. Humanity is enslaved, toiling for those above with just a tiny flicker of hope. It’s different and it really intrigued me right from the start. Also this book has one of the most spine tingling and fascinating opening paragraphs I’ve ever read:

“Seen from the view of a bird, or of a god – which of course are not the same thing – the landscape might have been beautiful. A clear day in early summer, stalks high in the fields, the scattered currant bushes crowned with small red flowers. Far to the east a river ran fast and clear, a translucent snake of blue churning south-west towards the bay and the sea beyond. In half an hour it would be so thick with blood as to choke the the perch, bubble the salmon to the surface.”

Holy cow. If that doesn’t get you rushing to Amazon right now I’m not sure what will. The world building in this book is incredible. There’s so much detail, and it’s even more impressive because the story comes from multiple perspectives and so each setting has it’s own distinct look and feel to it. The characters all feel very real and three dimensional, each of our four main characters have their own hopes, fears and plans laid out and it’s really interesting to see how they weave in and out of each other’s story. I was really fascinated by Eudokia. She’s lost her husband in the war, and hasn’t stopped planning her revenge. She might seem like the kind “Revered Mother” that everyone claims her to be, but in the capital she’s the one who holds the power, she bribes, flatters and does whatever needs to be done in order to secure her goals.

This is quite a dense book. There are quite a lot of characters and different customs and titles did take some getting used to, but after the first few chapters it’s easy to immerse yourself in the story. It took a while to read purely because I had to put it down a few times to comprehend all I had read. It’s got lots of twist and turns, plenty of action and gore thrown in too. A really enjoyable book, the only problem being the wait for book two! show less

I absorbed the words like a drunkard sponging the last remnants of alcohol from a barrel to settle his tremor, and they left me giddy and reeling. Criminally underread and underrated.

Those Above have sat on the top most rung of the Roost and have ruled humanity for three thousand years. Squashing any hint of rebellion like a human would step on an ant. But down on the lowest, poverty stricken rung and out in the human cities there is once again dissatisfaction brewing about the mighty overlords. The story builds around four very different people from very different walks of life. Bas is a general in the Aelerian army currently engaged in pacifying and increasing the borders of this commonwealth nation and who also holds the distinction of being the only man to defeat one of Those Above in single combat. Twenty five years ago Eudokia lost her husband in the last human uprising and has been building her power base show more back in the Aelerian capital and is almost ready to finalise her plan that will offer up the opportunity for revenge on those responsible for her loss. Thistle is little more than a boy playing at being a man on the fifth rung of the Roost who leads his small crew of other youths in battles against others of his like from neighbouring districts before going on to join one of the Brotherhood's gangs that really run things at this level. Finally we also follow Calla who is a seneschal to The Aubade. Serving her master in anyway she can while living at his demesne, the Red Keep, up on the first rung.

As this is the first of a duology it is very much just half a story in setting up what is to come in the second. Don't expect too much in the way of revelations or resolutions from this one. The world building and character set-ups are excellent though and the story itself is never less than satisfying. There's not a huge amount of action as this is a tale based more around the political machinations and manoeuvrings of various pieces for what is hopefully a huge payoff to come. While not full-on grimdark it's certainly heading towards the gritty end of the fantasy spectrum so those looking for a lighter read should probably pick something else. Personally, I enjoyed part one of this story and don't think it will be too long before I pick up the continuation. show less

Just as good the second time around.. But then, I suppose if Polansky wrote about cat food rotting under the sweltering summer sun, as it gathered maggoty blow flys for 500 pages, in the same style as 'Those Above'... I'd still want to roll around in its wordery like others want to roll around in piles of cash.. Nothing but admiration for his skills!

I can see where the criticism of this book is coming from; it starts slow and thorough, establishing world and character before giving you an explicit look at the plot wheels that have been grinding all along. I enjoyed reading right from the start, because Polansky's style remains elegant and cannily savage, and because one of the main characters is a bulletproof delight for me (the machinating society woman). But it was only about a third of the way in that I felt like the story had begun, so it's hard not to wonder if this might have been stronger had that opening been condensed or handled differently.

It's a really interesting world, though, with fantastic characters, and this whole book was some great setup for a big damn showdown show more in the second half of this story, which I'm looking forward to. show less

a slowish start to the first book of two, because there's a whole lot to establish in terms of worldbuilding and character development, but it's totally worth it for the result, especially given Polansky's writing wizardry. and i must immediately continue to find out what happens in the conclusion....