Customer Reviews

Blood Ties (The Castings Trilogy)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The first installment of Pamela Freeman's "Castings" trilogy may seem at first like a typical fantasy novel, with swords as everyone's weapon of choice, horses as everyone's mode of transportation, and copious amounts of ale and stew making up everyone's diet. But it doesn't take long before "Blood Ties" reveals itself to be quite different from the usual swords-and-sorcery realm: in its setting and atmosphere, in its plot and story-structure, and in its myriad of themes and ideas.

For starters, there is no supernatural evil "Dark Lord" out to destroy the world, just a number of squabbling and greedy warlords who have divided the land into a number of Domains, having invaded and conquered the original inhabitants. Now known as "Travelers", due to their wandering lifestyles, these dark-haired people are harassed and despised by those that forcibly took their lands. Such prejudice naturally leads to various crimes of murder, rape and theft against the Travelers, with little consequences for the perpetrators. Even though the invasion of their lands took place hundreds of years ago, the injustice still rankles amongst the Travelers, and the massacres of their people are remembered in song, passed on from generation to generation.

Two other notable features to this fantasy world are Freeman's portrayal of death and the presence of "stonecasters". In this world, the spirits of the dead linger on earth for a fixed period of time before moving on to (what they hope) is rebirth. Stonecasters are those that can read fate in the throw of a collection of small engraved stones, most of whom also seem to be able to communicate with the spirits of the dead - though some are better at this than others.

Into such a world are born our two main protagonists: Bramble and Ash, both with Traveler blood. Bramble is a wild young woman of the countryside who likes nothing better to roam the woods all day, whereas Ash is a young assassin's apprentice in the city, just coming to terms with the reality of killing. Most of the attention is on these two as they struggle through various obstacles in life, and both are interesting and three-dimensional characters: sympathetic without being too good to be true.

But it is the plot itself which makes "Blood Ties" so unique in the fantasy genre, for the story (such as it is) moves at a languid and meandering pace, spans a number of years, and bears no resemblance whatsoever to the typical aspects of what we deem "fantasy". There are no quests for magical items, no dragons that need slaying, no long-lost heirs to the throne or innocent farm boys with great destinies. Instead, Freeman explores the world through the eyes of her two characters, focusing on the day-to-day struggles of survival in a harsh world. It is so removed from the clichés of fantasy literature, that a segment involving Bramble would read (if taken out of context) more like a girl-training-wild-horse story, as she teaches herself how to ride.

And that's why I enjoyed this book so much, for along with Bramble and Ash's stories, there are several shorter chapters dotted throughout that tell the stories of periphery characters and their place in the world. It's an interesting feature to the book, and although some may grow impatient with these chapters considering they often have little bearing on Ash or Bramble's stories, they help to enrich the overall story and the customs and cultures that Freeman has created for this world. Furthermore, they allow us to catch a glimpse of worldviews that oppose Bramble and Ash's - such as the memories of a soldier who explains why he is so loyal to the warlord who poses such a danger to the rest of the world, and his reasoning that it may not be such a bad thing if he was to unite the Domains.

However, there is a thread of a definitive plot at work in the story; that of a third character named Saker, who travels the world in the attempt to raise the ghosts of massacred Travelers from their graves to wreck vengeance on the descendants of the conquerors. Toward the end of the book, another element is introduced (perhaps just a *little* too late to have the impact that it should) that hints toward a more concrete plot that will no doubt be developed further in later books.

Amidst all the pain and despair, Freeman is careful to include moments of joy and peace, and ultimately "Blood Ties" feels more like a story about a world than any particular person, full of its own history, culture and unfolding future. Presumably, the sequel Deep Water (The Castings Trilogy) will delve more into the brewing tension between the warlords and the Travelers, but for now, the exploration of this created world is all the reader needs to sustain their interest.

I was less enchanted with this book than previous reviewers. One thing I should point out is that, while this is touted as Freeman's first adult book, it really reads more like a Young Adult novel with some rape thrown in.

I did enjoy the jump from character to character--as another reviewer noted, I too preferred short chapters from other points of view over the typical flashback--but one of the main characters, Bramble, is too forced and cliche in many ways. I preceived her as a "Mary Sue" character; a term used when an author makes an idealized character who is one-dimensional and trite. Bramble does develop some as the book goes on, but never to my satisfaction. I never truly believed in her, and the *constant* references to her selflesness, independence and love of animals got old; after awhile I was like, "Okay, we get it!" Ash, on the other hand, is a well thought out personality, and his motivations are believable.

The writing style was not up to the standard I would like; Freeman constantly uses the same words over and over again, rushes through critical scenes, and goes completely off in left-field at times. The latter might be seen as charming to some, but I felt more as if she were trying to incorporate every idea she has ever had for short stories into this book.

Overall, it was a fair read, but I was definitely not left chomping at the bit to go buy the sequel, and if not for the occasional references to sex and private parts this would be more appropriate in the YA section of the bookstore.

The Domains are ruled by warlords, cruel and powerful men. But the Travelers are a unique people who choose not to make a home in any one domain. Instead, they follow their own path; and because of prejudice, they are hated by most settlements.

This epic fantasy follows the story of many characters whose lives begin to slowly intersect. Narrated by first person from the different characters' points of view, the jumping from person-to-person can be tedious to follow. But the first-person view did give greater depth to each person. I actually preferred this to a normal "flashback" style of giving backstory. The characters are vivid and interesting, each with completely different stories to tell. As the overall tale begins to intertwine the characters, the novel ends on a minor cliffhanger.

This first book was almost just an origin/backstory for everyone. And the next in the trilogy will pick up with a more centralized story. I'll be interested to see where the story goes now that most of the characters' backgrounds have been given and now can delve deeper. With magic, murder, adventure, and mystery, Blood Ties is an exciting beginning to a brand new fantasy epic.

[This review is based on an Advanced Reading Copy]

Pamela Freeman's "Blood Ties" is your average fantasy novel. The setting is more akin to a George Martin novel but with more focus on the younger characters of the story. The world itself is your run of the mill setting with conquered and divided domains/kingdoms vying for power. Essentially there are two castes of people, one being the current norm and accepted (Acton's people) and the other being shunned and forced into a nomadic lifestyle (Travellers). This book mainly centers around Bramble (a nature loving rebellious tom-boy) and Ash (a trained bodyguard/killer working for a local "protection" guild). Both come from Traveller blood and are therefore shunned by the majority of folks based solely on their looks (i.e. dark hair/eyes). The third character Saker (an orphaned enchanter/necromancer) is only dealt with in very small amounts but clearly he'll have a much larger role in the following books. In the end all three characters are forced on to their own seperate journeys which as the title would suggest will all cross paths. Here's my take;

Pros

+ Well written. The story was easy to follow but not to the point where it felt entirely like a young adult novel.

+ Enviroments are well described and easy to imagine.

+ Both Bramble and Ash have distinct and unique personalities. Freeman does a great job and fleshing out the two main characters.

+ Chapters were broken down by character. I found it refreshing knowing the entire chapter would be focused on solely that character.


Cons

- Main characters aren't tied together at all until the very end of the book. (Yes I realize it's a trilogy but it took entirely too long to get to the point of characters crossing paths).

- Bramble's chapter regarding her stay on the horse farm was extremely long and drawn out. I was excited for her to finally get to the Old Forest, not settle down and learn to train horses.

- Most character's names were taken from animals or plants which seemed terribly uncreative, especially for a fantasy. Examples include Lark, Sparrow, Ash, Bramble, Saker, Eel, Salamander etc. After a while it got very old and somewhat ridiculous.

- I found it difficult to feel sympathetic towards the plight of the "Travellers." Sure they were conquered, driven from their homes and forced to take to the road as gypsies. But the author made it feel like they laid down and rolled over rather than attempt to fight the large invading force.

- Needed a more detailed map. Many times Freeman was describing places in the world and I had only a vague idea of where the character was.


Despite its shortcomings I still found "Blood Ties" an enjoyable read although a bit irritating at times. I wouldn't recommend it to a friend but I'll probably read the following two books in the trilogy at some point.

I absolutely LOVED this book.
At first I didn't think that I would enjoy the use of multple stories to advance the book, but it really worked. Each piece told from the character's POV advanced the storyline and gives the reader a different perspective to what otherwise would could have been a 'they're evil-we're good story. The writing was awesome and the world-building complete.

The magic was believable and the characters fully-formed. I cannot wait for the 2nd book in this trilogy to be available for the Kindle and I highly recommend this book to YA thru adult.

MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD

There were some times that I felt situations could have been further explored--Bramble's redemption from her 'half-life', Thegan's POV not included--but I those omissions in no way lessen the rating of this book.

Took a little bit to get into and to understand all the different domains/characters. But once the story unfolds and you get a glimps of what happened and how these characters are so important it was easy to get caught up in their world. Overall was a great read and I cant wait for the other two books to come out.

Freeman has a good writing style from various character perspectives (ala George R. R. Martin). It's not epic fantasy, which is refreshing. She does a nice job of world building, making it believable with a history, but not overly complex and alien.

I realy enjoy how Freeman throws in a chapter here and there about an incidental character the main characters meet to show their background and provide some depth to them and their actions. It's a very nice touch that aids in immersing the reading into her world.

I'm ordering the other two books in the series now!

I'm not one for long reviews. This was an interesting adventure set in times I most enjoy reading about. I love long books and this fit the bill. The only odd thing was the first party chapters with character descriptions. Neverless, I just ordered the next book in the Trilogy!

I have almost finished the third in this series. I think that the story here is a good one and I have continued to read, but this could have been written in two books. The second one is almost 500 pages and there is a lot of really boring stuff in there. Her characters REALLY do not need to be fleshed out that much.

The lands of the Eleven Domains were conquered a thousand years ago. The original inhabitants were disenfranchised; despised and outcast, they are forced to live on the fringes of society, most roaming homeless, and are now only known as Travelers.

We follow the adventures of several point-of-view characters and a number of minor characters, all separate or meeting briefly, and only heading towards each other at the end of this first book in a trilogy. There is Saker, an enchanter who aims to raise the dead to avenge his people--those recently lost and those a thousand years gone. There is young Bramble whose Traveler blood makes her long for the road, even though she's grown up to respectable village parents. There is Ash, who is apprenticed to the only person who will take him; a person who wants to train him as an assassin and use him for his hidden abilities to see and talk to ghosts.

What unifies them is their difficult experience as Travelers, but each personality is distinct with very different things happening to them. They are all fascinating--from the main characters to the minor ones, and although the lack of a central plot is odd, the tales are all worth reading. The format also lends a little freshness to what might have been just another typical fantasy. It took a little while to really get involved with this book, but it definitely kept me interested. There is the revenge plot, escaping the nasty all-powerful warlords, horse-training and racing, fortune-telling, body-guarding and intrigue, ghosts and necromancy.

The end wasn't much of an ending, however. It would have been a bit nicer if there was a story arc that was concluded, but oh, well. Since it says "Book One" right on the cover, I was prepared for the story to be somewhat unfinished, so it wasn't that bad (some books don't even warn you!). I will be looking forward to the next book.