Customer Reviews

Chaosbound: The Eighth Book of the Runelords

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

 

 

I love David Farlands story, and have generally liked his writing style over the last seven books in this series. But this is the most sophomoric, poorly written science fiction fantasy novel I have ever read. It is written as if for a novice reader, where Farland will say something and then follow up with an explanatory sentence. Example, he once says that the provisions on the ship are getting low. Then next sentence says the food and water were running out. As if he thought we didnt know what provisions getting low meant. There are hundreds of examples of this kind of writing throughout. Plus, the story line was weak, and hardly advanced the cause of the overall story much at all. I cant believe the editors let this out for printing, other than that they just wanted our money. Well next time i wont be a fool and buy the hardbound edition, if i buy the next one at all. Highly disappointing. Feel cheated.

Come on David Farland, this is a joke, the last 2 books could have been put into one, it appears you are trying to cash in on the series. Good book, though far to short and does not justify the hard back cost for such little content. Please make the next one a proper novel and finish the series.
Very dissapointed.

This series makes you feel like you are reading Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series all over again. A really awesome first couple of books, and then a decent into mindless dribble. Extremely dissapointing. I hate to leave a series unfinished, so I sincerely hope it's finished in 1 last book (please, oh please, don't drag this out any longer).

On a side note (Page Count):
Sum of All Men - 624
Brotherhood of the Wolf - 688
Wizardborn - 496
The Lair of Bones - 480
Sons of the Oak - 432
Worldbinder - 400
The Wyrmling Horde - 400
Chaosbound - 352

Notice a trend?

This book by far is the weakest link in the Runelords series. It was very poorly written, I have to agree with the assessment that it was written for a 4th grader. No offense to 4th graders - but that might even be an insult. It just felt to me like it was rushed - it wasn't written with the same care and the same quality that previous books had been handled with. I have no idea if there were deadlines to meet or what - but it should have been sent back to the author to rewrite instead of published. I read a lot of books and this is by far the most disappointing one that I have spent money on in quite a while.

Also the book was way too short. Maybe that was a good thing since it wasn't very good - but it could have easily been another 100 to 200 pages of better writing to flush out the story, have more meaningful dialogue between the characters, better action scenes etc... It just felt like something an inexperienced author would write, not something that an established and published author would write.

Hopefully if he continues with this story line, (which I'm sure he will) - the next book will be a much improved story. Please take the time to write the book properly and don't rush it. I'd rather wait an extra year in between books if that is what it takes to get a quality story out of authors that I like.

It pains me that I almost gave this review only 2 stars, because I am a huge fan of the Farland novels. Chaosbound was the weakest yet. The book is too short and did not move the story forward, etc. Other commenters pointed out the weaknesses.

What I liked:
the descriptions of what becomes of Borenson in his new dual-role
the psychological development of Myrrimah
fe/male characters that are not degrading or demeaning to wo/men
the new characters' integration into the story of the folks we already know

I still think that more should have been put into this book, for example is someone* about to get an apprentice? What's going on with Fallion? An initial peek into the integration of the two story lines would have set me up for the next book. Instead, I'm kind of 'meh' as to whether to continue reading. So much was left open and unresolved that the next book might be another filler and not take me where I want to go... I closed this book feeling more 'cheated' and less excited than any of the previous books in the series.

*spoiler removed :)

I was initially disappionted that the story focuses on Borenson and Family instead of Fallion. Hoever, after reading it, I realized that the Borenson's role adds nicely to the story/plot.

My only gripe (and this is about the prior book as well) is that the book is only 350 pages of large type print. I read 100 pages a day just on my 1 hour total train commute to/from work.

The point being is that the story is excellent and definitely worth reading for fans of the series, but please wait for the paper back. The hard cover is not worth the money. In contrast, I just finished reading the excellent "The Gathering Storm" by Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson which was the same price and more than twice as long.

Thanks

The predecessor to this book, The Wyrmling Horde, was one of the best books I read in 2008. It was deep, dealing with serious issues, but still managed to keep the action moving.

This one is more long on action, but missing the rich meat that made Horde such a delight to read.

It focuses on Borenson and Myrrima, two of the champions from the first Runelords story cycle, and two of the Earth Kings closest friends. They fled to the ends of the earth, but when Fallion bound two worlds together, Borenson merged with his shadow self in the other world, becoming a giant of a man, with horns and over-sized canines. He and Myrrima are called into battle again, and they answer the call reluctantly. The themes here seem to be more about the prices paid by those who elect to stand between civilization and chaos, and the choices they must make to protect us. But it's not as rich or deep. I guess every book can't be almost perfect.

I enjoyed the story from Sir Boreson's perspective along with family. However I read the book in one night. It seems to cut off about half way through what the book should have been. Essentially it was way to short, and leaves many things unfulfilled. I can't say its worth all the money for the hardback, but it would make a good 5 dollar book. Did the author die half way through making this novel, and the publishers just print the book after prying it from the authors cold dead fingers or what?

In a previous book Fallion Orden bound two worlds. Unexpectedly he bound people on one world with their shadow selves from the shadow world. The aging Lord Borenson's pesonality merges with the physical attributes of Aaath Ulber, a champion warrior from the shadow world. Aaath Ulber's knowledge and experience fighting wyrmlings helps the people of Internook survive slavery and death. But the price Aaath Ulber must pay to help the "small people" is almost more than the soul of Lord Borenson can bear.

This book is a worthy addition to the saga of the Runelords wth further development and plot twists as heroes rise to the challenge of survival on an altered and dying world.

If you're already a fan of the series this is a worthwhile read. While not as long or well written as the first couple books in the series, it adds a dash of hope after the last couple books that were grindingly grim. It was action packed and moved rune lore (the magic system of this series) in a hideous new direction. If I could do the rating by half stars, I would give it 3.5. Enjoyable - thumbs up.