Customer Reviews

The Chosen (The Stone Dance of the Chameleon, Book 1)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I've just finished the book and have found myself alternately fascinated, horrified, and intrigued. Pinto has only begun to tell this story--which I assume will cover at least 2 more books--and thus things were somewhat slow to start. Saying this, however, the events which thrust the story ahead are not slow. I found the images painted by Pinto in this book both repellant, beautiful, horrific, yet transcendant. Yes, I'm into adjectives today I guess. His Chosen and their Hidden Land are creul as ice and just about as uncaring. The society he has commenced showing us is still a mystery in many respects as are the motivations and connections between characters. As a fan of more intricate scifi and fantasy this aspect of his writing didn't bother me. Actually I initially picked it up because of the main character's name, Carnelian, and because several reviewers apparently disliked it because the main character was gay. What drivel. I've read many many fantasy novels and scifi novels and only ONE other had truly "gay" characters. Thank god I could suffer through all those other straight characters I couldn't identify with huh? That's not the point. One relates to Carnelian because of his horror at the events around him. One relates to him because of his fear and loneliness. One relates to him because of his delight in another 'human' to share his terrifying life. Whatever. I am looking forward to seeing what Pinto comes up with in the next books. I would recommend George R.R. Martin, Robert Holdstock, Storm Constantine and Guy Gavriel Kay to you if you liked this book, or other intricate, beautiful fantasy.

If "God is in the details," then "The Chosen" by Ricardo Pinto should be a reflection of divine inspiration. Lavishly detailed and descriptively realized, the author has imaginatively succeeded in creating a realm and society unlike any I have encountered in fantasy fiction, even though antecedents can be traced in the works of Mervyn Peake, Gene Wolfe, Michael Moorcock, Storm Constantine, or Steven Erikson. But perhaps no other author has as firmly, obsessively and inventively delineated his world as Ricardo Pinto.

This is a realm ruled by a blood theocracy whose social structure is rigidly hieratic, and whose laws and customs are inflexible and cruel, existing upon a base of customs and traditions that are morally alien from our own, and in which the majority of society are seen as no more than cattle to be used or dispensed with as the ruling caste sees fit. With an absolute authoritarianism not seen since perhaps the Chin Dynasty of China, the Chosen preside over an ancient world that shifts between squalor and exotic beauty, a mix of the barbaric and the aesthetic almost so refined as to be ethereal. Most of the population inhabit a land brutal and grim in setting, reduced to virtual servitude, whereas their rulers, the Chosen, are cloistered within the mountain walls and sky mere of Osrakum, a holy city in which the ruling caste lives amid luxury and splendor, but are equally oppressed by the rigid society they have created, in which at any moment they may fall beneath the brooding, hidden and often arcane intrigues of an elaborate political and religious court system. Deity does not rest easy upon the shoulders of divine aristocracy.

While Ricardo Pinto has lavished his world with incredible amounts of descriptive detail, creating what might be hailed a monumental and highly original feat of world-building, this has come at the expense of often subsuming his plot and characters within his description, descriptive detail dominating the novel's character development and storyline. This is not to say the latter do not exist, but they are in part buried beneath the architecture of Pinto's world, slowing the narrative pace and, for those dependent upon action to propel the narrative along, many I suspect will find this book slow slogging. However, there are decided rewards to wading through the vast amounts of descriptive detail---if no other the clarity of depiction in the world unfolding---and the society and religious motifs are firmly developed and intriguing. So also is the main protagonist, an individual who, while a member of the ruling caste, has been raised outside the sacred precincts, and is therefore alienated by much that he finds himself inheriting. This creates enough tension to sustain much of the seemingly excessive description, and by the end of the novel conflicts are propelling the novel swiftly forward, even if baldly manipulated by the book's cliff-hanging conclusion.

Further, the author has displayed a certain boldness in wrapping his protagonist at the book's conclusion within a homosexual relationship: fantasy fiction is almost entirely dominated, after all, by manly men and women who are brave and beautiful, as well as decidedly white, and I suspect the gender blurring here will make many of the genre's more obvious audience somewhat uncomfortable. Whether this element will succeed in garnering what traditionally is a decidedly heterosexual and often male-dominated audience remains to be seen. But one must admire the courage shown by the author in taking the risk inherent in introducing this element to his narrative. As a heterosexual male, it raised issues of identification that are perhaps most succinctly addressed by an earlier reviewer who, as a gay man and reader of fantasy, has found himself perforce needing to identify and relate to characters whose sexuality and identification is expressed through traditional and decidedly heterosexual romanticism.

This will obviously not be a book that will please everyone. At times the writing is obscure, losing itself within the labyrinths of its own description, and following an evolution that is doggedly and patiently rendered. Nonetheless, for those interested in exploring a detailed and fully realized world and society that is exotic even by the standards of fantasy and science fiction, and that is not in a rush to reveal its storyline or conflicts through the flash of wizardry or sword play, this novel offers many rewards to the patient, and is certainly one of the most impressive debuts I have encountered, irregardless of its flaws. And, should the author reign in his obsessive and impressive descriptive skills, the vast and fertile imagination shown here offers exciting prospects for the future.

This is one of the best new fantasy stories to appear in some time. Regardless of what the blurbs might try to make you believe, it is not, however, "literary fantasy of the highest order". It's good, but not that good.

The story progresses quite linearly, starting out with the young protagonist, Carnelian, spotting an incoming ship from his island exile. Soon those aboard, three so-called Masters (or "Chosen"), have disembarked, and have called upon Carnelian's father (another Chosen) to return to the Sacred Land, Osrakum, to participate in (and, indeed, regulate) the election of a new God-Emperor. For reasons which are at that time unknown (but which turn out to be motivated by love, a rather naive premise, given the utterly grim setting against which most of the story is placed) Carnelian's father acquiesces. A vast - but (again) rather straightfoward and at times even almost dull - journey follows, as Carnelian and his father journey to Osrakum. During this sequence, which takes up most of the book, Pinto seems to delight in developing, not a plot as such, but rather a succession of horrible and at times seemingly gratuitous cruelties. Still, he does this well; slowly the "wonder" and the "majesty" of the Chosen people are brought forth, Pinto ably portraying their absolute power and moral decrepitude in equal measure.

As the pages wear on, however - the book's got about 700 of them - you're ground down by this repetition of well-drawn but unvarying images, which amount, all told, to something of an indefinate mass of hierarchic (vaguely Chinese) oppression.

Moreover, although the writing is admittedly well-realised, much of it ultimately amounts to little more than superficial background. In can be pointed out that, in the end, the story boils down to a quite simple struggle with regard to the votes cast in the election of the new Emperor, whilst, at the same time, an incongruous and rather absurd love affair between Carnelian and the Emperor-elect is thrown in for good measure. There's very little in this outcome which surprises or engages; Pinto, perhaps realising this, then abruptly sets out to give the book a totally inappropriate "cliff-hanger" of an ending which does much more harm than good.

This is a good book, better than 90% of the fantasy novels you'll find this year. But it isn't great, and perhaps Pinto still has a bit to learn. If you're looking from something new, buy it by all means, but if you're new to this genre, you'd do better getting anything from Guy Gavriel Kay, Patricia McKillip, or Stephen Donaldson (to name just three).

I've one other quip to make: throughout the story, Pinto manages time and again to describe his scenes in an irritatingly oblique fashion, causing you to to do double-takes just about every ten pages or so. That's all very well for those writers whose content is essentially dominated by their style (such as Paul Hazel), but Pinto is a long way off from emulating (and, I would assume, from wishing to emulate) such writers.

I finished reading The Chosen over the weekend and immediately looked to pick up the second novel. While this is not a "perfect" book, it is overall well written and plotted. It is a bit long in spots - the best sections of the book are the ones focusing on the intrigues of this extraordinary world. The author has a tendency to draw out the travel/quest portions of the book, at times applying new and (possibly) unnessary descriptive passages. While I found it took a while, I did enjoy the characters and found them to be individuals not mere characterizations. The protagonist is possibly a little naive, but that is what suspension of disbelief is all about. I find it actually refreshing to have an author focus on the pain and violence endemic to the society he is writing about. Too often fantasy novels are all too sweet and precious, where evil is represented in a symbolic embodiment only i.e. the big bad wizard/demon/dark lord etc. In this case the author provides us an alternative where "evil" is simply part of the societal structure. I am not even sure that it is evil per se, it is merely a different view of the world. Our own world has seen a number of societies that view their survival as being paramount to the lives of others. I most frequently thought of Melnibone or Gran Bretan when reading the Chosen and believe that the author is continuing a tradition started by M. Moorcock. In this case, I enjoyed the more direct, day to day view of the beautiful but dangerous and decadent culture being written about. I would highly recommend this book and hope that Mr. Pinto continues to write, honing his skills and producing a five star novel the next go round.

The basic story line is quite interesting. The characters have depth and complex relationships. The plot is a little predictable, but it is interesting.

The pace of the story is excruciatingly slow, with a great deal of unneccssary detail and repitition of the same stuff every 4-5 pages.

A good editor is supposed to help identify these types of wrinkles and smooth them out. The author is on the right track, but this edition is 100 pages too long for the story it tells.

There's nothing wrong with having the extra 100 pages, it's just a good idea to write them in a manner that keeps the reader driving to the next page instead of dragging into it,

This is the kind of book that makes you want to worship the writer. How does Ricardo Pinto take fantasy, with all its tired, old devices and conceits, and turn it into something so lovely that it defies description? THE CHOSEN is by far the best book I've read in over a year. If you like Gene Wolfe's Urth cycle, Mervyn Peake, Paul McAuley's Confluence series, and other such stuff, you'll adore this one. I think the cultural influences Pinto weaves in are Japanese, Mayan, and Egyptian. The elaborate rituals and ornate settings are hypnotically described, and the characters are flawless. My only complaint is the terrifying ending. I am obsessed! I need to know what happens!

I've been debating how to go about writing a review for this novel. Although it has glaring problems, it also is very imaginative. Ricardo Pinto has succeeded in creating an entirely original world, completely devoid of the usual pitfalls so often the bane of other otherwise serious fantasy (i.e., cute, lovable creatures; unrealistic resolutions dependent on magical powers, etc.) Unfortunately, as his imagination unfolds the details of this cruel, heartless and extremely regimented world, it seemed to me (as I'm sure it would seem to most readers) that he has not decided just what he wants to do with the plot.

Judging entirely from this book, I would say Mr. Pinto is an excellent writer but a poor novelist. In a nutshell, the story involves the young Carnelian, raised during his Father's exile on the outskirts of an empire. Because of his seclusion, Carnelian is unaware of the extremely cruel and regimented customs and racial distinctions separating him and his father from all the other classes in their society. Carnelian and his Father, Suth, are taken back to their ancestral home, Osrakum, where Suth is to preside over the election of the new God Emperor.

There is no deus ex machina. Carnelian has no special gifts apart from his wits. Although he is the heir to seat of his household, and thus the heir to considerable power and wealth, he is often in the company of the heirs of other households and thus his birthright has little sway in influencing the outcomes of the situations that unfold around him. Carnelian is not a static character; Mr. Pinto uses character development amply, an extremely rare rhetorical device for this genre. Carnelian and the supporting characters change and grow through the course of the novel; their experiences influence how they react to future situations.

Mr. Pinto's descriptions of Osrakum and its society is a delight. I can't remember the last time a writer planned a world in such detail--the class structure, the culture, the traditions, a complete breakdown of the political structure. As if this were not enough, we get some of the descriptions from more than one point of view. I'm not commenting on the settings, which are are imaginative and rewarding as the rest.

Now the problem: Albeit, beautifully written and planned, I can't help feeling that that damned plot keeps getting in the way of Mr. Pinto's writing. The reader will be seriously disappointed by this novel. Huge sections of the book have little or nothing to do with the story, and the ending has an inexcusable flaw: a thoroughly unbelievable cliffhanger reminiscent of a bad 1930s matinee serial. Curiously, the cliffhanger appears so suddenly (and seems to be written in a style different from the rest of the novel,) that I'm want to believe Mr. Pinto either got fed-up with trying the find a way to end the first volume of his series, or his publisher got tired of his rambling plot and told him to just end the damned thing.

On a final note, Carnelian has a gay affair in the novel, details of which I feel are unimportant to my review. A potential reader should not be influenced by its presence; the sex is implied rather than described. If it were a film, it would be rated "R". The violence, however, might give it a different rating. Would I recommend the book? Yes and no.

I am kinda scratching my head as I am writing this. Ever so often (or better: rarely), a truly unfettered, free-spirit writer comes along and creates an universe so novel and unique that it escapes all conventional patterns generally known and accepted in the genre.

R. Pinto's "The Chosen" confronts us with such a universe. Definitely my respect for creating a land of strong, violent scenic contrasts (really, some very cool stuff here); and definitely my highest respect for being able to describe his world in a strangely feverish, sometimes barren, sometimes lush imagery - almost like a canvas from Hieronymus Bosch. Truly a tour de force that I have not seen in ages (well, strictly from a world-building perspective, not since Gene Wolfe).

And still, I feel unable to grant it more than three stars. Why, where's the problem ? Well, it's the human component. The world-building IS exquisite, but - gee - what a dreary society that Pinto felt compelled to create here. How dreary ? Imagine Marquis de Sade being reborn as Friedrich Nietzsche and George Orwell in one, trying to recreate Raymond Feist's Daughter of the Empire series as a downbeat version of "1984". Yes, it actually is THAT dreary ! Believe it or not - Pinto has succeeded in creating a caste-like society so rigid and stratified in its social and moral patterns that the extreme cruelty that oozes from the book's pages simply becomes a faceless, amorphous, even institutionalized everyday circumstance. Gosh, this world should be purest evil - once seen through Westernized eyes. But this world is so incredible alien and unconventional in its in-human-ness (besides its inhumanity) that the normal classification of good and evil simply won't hold. I mean, c'mon - Pinto's "humans" consider this system normal - it's their world, after all, they do not know any other. So finally getting to the main character: What actually ARE the chances of getting anywhere in this world for a protagonist like Carnelian - a blooming, frail, humanist, naïve, desperate, awkward, passive, budding slip of human being in an extensive, frozen, barren and paralyzed emotional wasteland called The Three Lands ? Well, not many - and Pinto is between a rock and a hard place for the two volumes to follow: If he keeps matters as are, literally nothing can happen (except for the rather graphic death of the protagonist). If Pinto decides to transform Carnelian into a world-changer, he'll have quite a dance ahead to explain to the readers how our so incredibly fragile protagonist was able to do so in such an inmutable world.

I must confess that I do not know whether I really want to find out. Reading this book ended up being a rather excruciating exercise, because of what I am calling "Pinto's Paradox": Creation of a tale that offers absolutely no hope of escape or release dedicated to a genre that is based firmly on escapism (in the good sense). Ultimately, no pleasure at all. Impressive nonetheless, but no pleasure at all.

If it were for that, I could just stick to the newspapers - now couldn't I ?

I began reading this book on a whim and by the time I was halfway through with it I was still wholly unsure whether or not I liked it. I couldn't have told you whether or not I was interested in the story or the characters, I couldn't have told you if I liked Mr. Pinto's writing style, and I certainly couldn't sum up the plot. Now that I'm done with it, pretty much the only one of those things that has changed is that I can sum the plot up. I still am unsure whether or not I liked _The Chosen_. I've never had this happen before, but I am going to assume that I did like it, because I will most likely read the next book in the series when it is published.

I have seen some odd comments in some of the other reviews of this novel. One point I would like to make is that this book is not strictly fantasy. That is probably why it surprised and bothered people. Tor has published many other non-fantasy titles before (i.e. Card's "Homecoming" series) and this is another such case. Were this story a fantasy account, Pinto would have spent much less time describing the societal structure and the gruesome acts. More would have been focused on the main character, Carnelian, and his relations with the other characters. There is also a complete absence of anything remotely magical. I am inclined to believe that _The Chosen_ is either a sci-fi/fantasy mix, or wholly sci-fi. Science fiction novels spend a lot of time describing the universe around the characters, as Pinto has done in his first offering in this series. These universes are often complex and have interesting quirks, such as the Chosen society of Pinto's book.

One of the good sides of this novel is that you don't necessarily have to like any of the characters to read it. In fact, I'm pretty certain you're *not* supposed to like any of them save Carnelian, and even he is a bit stupid and naïve at times. It's an interesting choice on Pinto's part. Another good side is that you really get a feel for the world that these people live in. I could picture the landscapes and scenes Pinto was describing. I could clearly see the gruesome reality of the relationship between the Chosen people and their servants. I am pretty sure that I understand how life in Osrakum must feel and what it must be like to live under the sort of oppressive rule the servants must endure. I found myself severely disliking some of the other Chosen people Carnelian was traveling with.

The novel does suffer from excessive description, as others have said. Pinto will use a paragraph describing a single marble column and then dedicate another two to describing its origins and cultural significance. I guess if you enjoy that sort of thing you will be enrapt by this novel. I oftentimes had to force myself back a few pages to reread a description to make sure I had understood it. Another downside is that the events after the election feel almost forced and move much quicker than the rest of the book. It seems as though Pinto's editor decided to have him cut the story short abruptly. I feel many people will be totally upset by this.

I admire Pinto's boldness, however. Many have commented on Carnelian's homosexual love affair towards the end of the book. This love affair pops up with no prior explanation of Chosen views on such matters. To me, that means that Chosen society looks upon any sexual relationship as proper, that love between any gender is acceptable. In the story's world, a homosexual relationship is as natural as if Carnelian had met an attractive Chosen female and made love to her. Furthermore, the sex itself is not described and should not be offensive to anyone. I am heterosexual, but I was able to feel the romance and sexual tension in the situation as though it weren't between two males. One thing, though, is that throughout the entire novel you never see Carnelian with a female his age. We cannot assume that he is totally gay based on his affair in this novel. Perhaps in subsequent stories he will become bonded to a woman and have children of his own. How are we to know? I applaud Pinto on this subterfuge, especially if he is not bi- or homo-sexual himself.

All in all, Pinto has some things to learn about writing. What he does know, however, is more than enough to pass this off as a good read. It may not be superb or on the Tolkein scale, but it fends for itself and certainly has some interesting things going for it. I would definitely recommend it to sci-fi fans and fantasy fans alike, though keep in mind that it is very long and sometimes overdrawn. I guess I did like it, after all. =)

I got this thinking it would be a depiction of an interesting, different world with some "taboo" elements (sadism, homosexuality). Well, it's a different world, alright. It starts out in one place, with a weird society, where Carnelian and his father are "Masters" and the other people are all "servants". Carnie's half-brother acts as his personal slave, dressing him, etc. Then we go on board ship, for a long, long, boring voyage, and find out that everybody but the "Master" race (hmmm... sound familiar?) is treated, not as servants, not even as slaves... more like Kleenex. Then we have a long, boring journey -- overland this time. That's where I gave up. I don't mind S & M or gay characters in books -- but you need to care about the people, and there has to be *some* sense of balance. I have never seen so many massacres & mutilations in my life. And I think it was a mistake to have the "hero" be of the ruling class (though, in this world, anybody else risks being squashed like a fly). I just didn't care about Carnie, though I did flip through to the end to find out whether his poor brother got to keep his eyes!
A complete waste of time. The one star refers to some imagination on the author's part -- otherwise I would give it NO stars.

To clarify: The gay relationship in this book is not what I objected to. I didn't even read that far! (Many terrific sf/fantasy books happen to have gay characters.) The long, involved descriptions, plot that moved at the pace of an arthritic snail, and (most of all) the wallowing in cruelty and mutilations were what prevented me from finishing the book.