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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Books -- the good, bad and ugly, September 8, 2004
This review is from: The Destruction of the Books (Hardcover)
Mel Odom's "The Rover" was a fun, light fantasy peopled by the stereotypical dwarves, elves, medieval humans and hobbitlike dwellers. Its sequel, "Destruction of the Books," is very different -- darker, nastier, and taking on the promise of epic battles that were only hinted at in "Rover."
Librarion Juhg is the apprentice to the Grandmagister Wick of the hidden Library. When he hears a rumor of a rare book aboard a goblin ship, he and his ship's crew manage to get the book away -- but not without grappling with the goblins and an evil wizard. He brings it to Wick and the wizard Craugh, who try to figure out what is up with it.
But the book is booby-trapped -- it allows horrifyingly evil creatures to swarm into the Library and destroy it from the inside out. The Library is in ruins, and four-fifths of the books are gone. With the dwellers refusing to help, and evil undead armies descending on them, Juhg must do whatever he can to save his friends -- and what remains of the Vault of All Known Knowledge.
As evidenced by the big blinking "To Be Continued" on the end of this book, there's going to be much more. And it feels like a gradual windup to a spectacular battle, rather than part of the battle itself -- lots of talking, with the odd action scene. But in the last third of the book, Odom makes the plot suddenly spark to life, promising excellence in whatever comes next.
Odom's writing is pretty good, descriptive and sometimes downright chilling. He does tend to launch into long conversations that talk about A) the importance of books, or B) how destroying books destroys civilization/history, and that gets annoying. However, when those conversations drop out of sight, the narrative speeds up and gets tenser, complete with the climactic battle with the undead goblin-beastie Boneblights. Though his good guys aren't terribly original (forest-y elves, tough dwarves, timid halfers), his villains are on par with the best of dark fantasy.
Juhg is in some ways a better character than Wick was -- he has more doubts, more internal conflict, and a more tragic history. Wick also appears, older and substantially wiser; a young human sailor, Raisho, adds an upbeat note to the story. But the scene-stealer is Craugh, a grumpy wizard who is one of the few things standing between the Library and destruction.
Though it takes awhile to get where it's going, "Destruction of the Books" is a passable middle volume in the trilogy that started with "The Rover." Flawed deeply in places, but still entertaining.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More praise for Mel, February 26, 2007
The Destruction of the Books takes place many years after the Rover, with Wick as a supporting character. Mel puts Juhg, Wick's apprentice as the main character, with a rich supporting cast. Wick is a Dweller from the Island of Greydawn Moors, where the Dwellers are kept safe, along with the Vault of All Known Knowledge. Jugh was a slave in the Goblin's mines on the mainland. Since this book is told through Juhg's eyes, the world is a very different place. The Rover was quite a bit more light hearted, the story her is more dark and foreboding.
Mel's story telling is top form, his world he has created is told in rich, broad strokes, filling in the details necessary to the story, but leaving much of it to the reader's imagination. An important note is that Mel has intentionally left off a map of this world. he wants you to use your imagination.
The Rover was young adults book. The Destruction of the Books is more mature. It deals with many issues that are darker and grimmer. The sociological points brought up in the story are well thought out and surprised me at the depth they impact the world and its history.
There is less action in this book as opposed to the Rover, but it is important to set up for the next book, Lord of the Libraries.
I enjoyed the book. It had a good balance of all the parts, good flow, and as always with Mel's books, great characters.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good, but unsatisfying ending, August 19, 2005
In this sequel to The Rover, Mel Odom takes us back to his world of elves, dwarves, wizards and (hobbit-like) dwellers. First-level librarian Juhg learns that a goblin ship will be sneaking into Kelloch's Harbor, carrying a book. Goblins aren't known for their love of books, so why is this ship carrying one? And so, Juhg and the crew of the pirate ship Windchaser setout to capture the book. But, there's more to the mystery of this book than meets the eye. Someone has set a trap, a trap in the shape of a book, and this trap can have dire consequences for the whole world!
Overall, I found this to be a very good book. Admittedly, it seems to be the first part of a series, and as such has a very unsatisfying ending. But, that said, I loved the action and adventure angle of the book. I loved the dwarves and their fighting styles, the pirates, the wizards, and the magic.
Also, what I liked about The Rover was its setting - where most fantasy books focus on a climactic battle between Good and Evil, that book is set in a world where that battle occurred hundreds of years earlier, and the world is left in a dark ages. In The Destruction of the Books, we begin to find that the Dark Lord's plans went deeper than simple world conquest, and that his plans are bearing fruit all this time later.
Yes, I really enjoyed this book, and can't wait to read the next one. If you like good Tolkienesque fantasy, then this book is for you. I loved the book, and highly recommend it!
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