Customer Reviews

Flesh and Fire: Book One of the Vineart War

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book definitely reads like the first in a trilogy. It rather conspicuously lacks an ending. How I wish that someone would write a decent stand-alone fantasy novel...

Anyway, it takes a very very long time to get to anything that resembles plot development around Jerzy, the main character. This is not to say that the book lacks plot development entirely, rather it is separated and disjointed over the course of the book and doesn't start to become more apparent until Malech, Jerzy's teacher, sends his charge away to study with someone else. Then there are some strange goings on, some eavesdropping, and other mayhem culminating in an exciting escape. Then the book ends.

Now there are reasons to read this book. The system of magic described is pretty interesting. Why? Because grape juice from certain grapes is magical... and some of them just make good wine :) There's a lot of description and explanation of how it works, who can use and make such things and why they do that in the first place. I thought it clever, original and well thought out.

The characters also seemed to be well thought out. While the exposition of those characters seemed to drag at times, I thought that the characters themselves weren't all that bad. Unfortunately, all the ones that intrigued me right off the bat died all too quickly... but that seems to be my tough luck. Ao was my favorite. He got to live. :)

If I paid closer attention to the other reviews I would have been able to infer that this book doesn't have an ending. It just stops. That would be ok if the other volumes were already written but it was a big problem for me. The story was just starting to move and then splat. The end. Everything left up in the air.

The premise of this fantasy world is that all magic is found in special grapes, which when made into "spell wines", allows people to tap into the actual magical properties. Each type of grape can only thrive in one region, thereby dividing the power among several people instead of it being concentrated in the hands of the one person or group. Of course, in true high fantasy style, there is the unknown antagonist who wishes to "rule the world" and is attempting to consolidate the power in his/her hands.

This novel was an excellent "Book One" of a series. The characters are intriguing and realistic, the settings are well defined, and the overall plot moves along nicely. I eagerly await the next book in the series.

The story unfolds really slowly, probably because there are many plot threads to be introduced. Frankly, if Gilman wasn't such a good writer, I'd have put the book down and not picked it up again. Of course since this is the first of a series something had to be left for the next book. Just as I really was pulled into the story, the book ended! I don't know that I'll read the next volume. The only character I felt any engagement with was Jerzy and even with him I felt distanced because it was difficult to figure how he fit with the other plot strands.

Three stars for the story; 4 stars for the writing.

Jerzy is a slave. He has never known anything but slavery in the Master Vineart's fields, toiling away at the grape vines that create the magical wine that is so coveted by the powerful and all of the Vinearts.

Jerzy's life is uneventful until one fateful day when he happens to get a face full of the grape mash and feels something magical in the wine. Knowing death is certain now that he, a lowly slave, has tasted the magical brew, the Master summons Jerzy to the main house. But instead of walking to his execution, the master gives Jerzy a test and takes him on as his apprentice. Jerzy has the gift to craft and use spellwines.

While Jerzy is receiving his training, strange things are happening all over the realm. Cities are disappearing, strange monsters are causing death and destruction, and diseases threaten to kill off many of the spell vines. The Master is confused and worried by these changes of events, and therefore hastens Jerzy's training. Even though Jerzy is talented, is he ready to up his training...when he's just begun?

Flesh and Fire was interesting to say the least. I was intrigued by the idea of creating a fantasy world revolving around wine, one of my favorite things ever!

I was really into Flesh and Fire and enjoyed Laura Anne Gilman's characters, who I felt had a lot of depth and a quality about them that made me want to keep reading. Jerzy in particular had innocence to him where everything was new and different. It was interesting to read about small and seemingly insignificant things through Jerzy's eyes.

However, there was something about the general plot line that lacked excitement. Laura Anne Gilman revs her story engine with something exciting like a battle with a sea monster, but then almost immediately switches gears and bogs down what was once a promising plot with political mumbo jumbo, and speculation. It became tedious.

I was almost through the entire book when I became very ill over the holidays and put it down for a week or so. After improving, I realized that I just couldn't bring myself to pick up the book again, so sadly, I never did reach the end.

Laura Anne Gilman had a great concept for a good series, but it just fell flat because of her roller coaster of a plot line. Sometimes exciting, sometimes not. I became more frustrated than enthralled, and ended up just not caring in the end. Pity. I had a lot of hope for Flesh and Fire.

Plot Summary: I've always thought that wine is magical stuff, but this book truly takes that idea to the next level in this fantasy full of spellwines, mages, and slaves. Jerzy was kidnapped from his family long ago, and he's grown up as a slave to a Master Vineart, one of the revered magicians who craft spellwines. When Jerzy's inherent abilities are noticed by Malech, he's taken into the Master's house to train as a student. The Vinearts live like monks, shut up and isolated from the outside world, but an evil magic is slowly unravelling the peace and prosperity of their civilization, and Malech sends Jerzy on a mission.

I predict this novel will be sold in gift shops throughout Napa Valley, and anyone who loves a good fantasy should be well satisfied. I was in the mood for something unique when I decided to try this one, because hey, it's not everyday I see a fantasy that involves magic wine. What impressed me the most was the incredibly detailed world building that dominates the entire story. It's a strength and also a weakness, because so much of this book was about setting the stage, and I think some readers will be impatient for the action to commence.

I wish more stories would take time to craft the master and apprentice relationship, because it's never boring, and unusually complex. There's devotion, servitude, obedience, rebellion, and hopefully, deeply ingrained respect. Jerzy's time as a slave came very close to breaking his spirit, and his growth mirrors the vines that he tends. Alas, there was no romance, and it doesn't look promising, but this fantasy is deep enough to hold my interest even without it.

It looks like more books will be coming, one about every October, and I think it's fitting that this follows the actual grape harvest period. I'll keep my eyes open for book two this time next year.

Laura Anne Gilman has created a new concept in magic.

In Flesh and Fire: Book One of The Vineart War, the source of magical power is grapes (very special grapes of diverse genetics) made into wine and then enspelled to specialize the raw magical power into useful forms.

Once a Vine-art has enspelled a mature wine, it lasts about a year and allows those with no magical power to cast that one, prepared, spell the wine contains.

A Vineart, however, can use even specialized wine to do -- well, we don't know the limits of what a Vineart might do yet.

We live the lessons a young vineart in training goes through, the initiation by immersion in spelled wine, the visceral contact the young magician makes with the source of magic as he gains control over the power. We learn what it feels like to be a vineart.

We also learn the cosmogany of this universe. Originally, magic was used by Prince-Mages, magicians who held political power, and their main occupation was war. A god sundered the bond between politics and magic, creating princes and vinearts, who were Commanded not to meddle in each others' affairs.

Now, however, some magic that vinearts don't recognize is stirring, destroying villages, prompting Princes to change their personal character and act irrationally.

With only occasional glimpses of the affairs of others, we follow Jerzy, the young magician's apprentice through his lessons and into his first field assignment in a royal court. Jerzy earnestly follows instructions and orders, and because of that is catapulted into the role of Hero on a journey we can see will be many novels in the telling.

Frankly, I'm looking forward to more stories of the Vineart Wars, hoping we will follow Jerzy through his greatest epiphanies.

Well, what can I say? Flesh and Fire was simply a wonderful read. I picked it up at Borders on a hunch, simply because I saw it was Hugo Award Nominee and looked pretty. And I like wine, and I wondered how on earth one could craft a magic system around wine. Great choice on my part.

Flesh and Fire follows a young slave named Jerzy in his rise from the life of a laborer into an apprenticeship to his owner, a vine-mage. Throughout the book we watch Jerzy flung into a world of learning and social upset, transformed from a beat-down slave to the "young master", something he is not entirely comfortable with. Jerzy isn't a stereotypically perfect hero: as his own master thinks frequently, during his own chapters, Jerzy has his own host of problems such as doubtful timidity and insecurity. But events in the outside world force the master to train Jerzy as fast as possible, and in the second half of the book, throws him to the wolves in a life-changing adventure that flirts with violating the religious laws of the land.

But even in his new environment, Jerzy grows and learns, and it really is wonderful to watch Jerzy grow more skilled and confident in himself, both in working with the vines, the magical spellwine, and with people. The book ends on a cliffhanger, and boy am I glad that I read this book after the sequel, Weight of Stone: Book Two of the Vineart War was released. I am reading the Kindle sample now, and despite its higher-than-usual price, I am devouring the sample and will be purchasing it directly after submitting this review. Flesh and Fire was that good; it fully warrants buying the sequel immediately.

Flesh and Fire isn't perfect, shifts in character can be abrupt, specifically for Jerzy's master, Malach. Also, some supporting characters, who we at first think will be significant, like the house keeper, Detta, fade into insignificance. But this doesn't stop me from giving it 5 stars. This book grabbed me, kept me reading right to the end only 24 hours after purchasing it. The engrossing story very much outweighed the minor flaws in the story for me, and so I feel it is right to award 5 stars (I love it) versus 4 (I like it).

If you enjoy fantasy, imperfect protagonists, interesting magic systems with good world-building, I very much advise you to give Flesh and Fire a try!

The premise and idea was interesting. Spellbound wine in a world in which there seems to be three major groups: Vinearts (who control the wine, the spells, and answer to no one), the Princes (who think the Vinearts and the Washers should answer to them but understand the command) and The Washers (who seem to be priestly beings ensuring moral behaviors and that the Sin Washer's commands are upheld). Very creative, a fantasy about magical wine. I love it! As a person who loves wine.... I was game!

Sadly, this book didn't maintain my interest and I REALLY had to force myself to finish it. It isn't because it is badly written, it's not at all. It's because it seemed dry, dull, and I felt absolutely ZERO connection to any of the key characters until the last quarter of the book. The first half of the book was so disconnected to the characters that when Jerzy and Master Malech start working together, I could care less that the Slave was being primed to become a vineart due to his natural skills. The characters had nearly zero personality, except for near the end. I have an idea that the next book in this series will have more focus on Jerzy, the student Vineart, Ao, the trader, and Mahault, the daughter of the lord maiar who wants to be a soldier, as a trio.

I can not say I glowingly recommend this book, however, I also can't say I don't recommend it. I am very indifferent. The author's writing style is beautiful and descriptive and I believe that the Vineart War can definitely grow into a magical series. I certainly am willing to try the second book when it comes out with hopes it will have much more intrigue and less blandness then it's premiere.

This book was pretty good and was easy to get into from the very beginning. It takes place in a world where wine can be used to create magic and mostly revolves around a slave-turned-winemaker/vineart named Jerzy who spends most of the book figuring out exactly how the wine magic works.

Toward the end, the story starts to develop into something more interesting; but, it ends in a really awkward place - almost like there should have been at least a few more chapters to wind it down a bit. Because of that I think it would probably be better to start reading this series after at least one more book is available. It also makes me wonder if it should have been written as a long novel instead of a trilogy if there aren't any natural ending points in the story.

There were also some things that kept me from getting completely into the story as I was reading. For example, the story would jump forward confusingly at times - like one point where Jerzy was dreading a sea voyage, and the next section was talking about not having his sea legs; but the voyage was apparently already over. The author also makes note of almost every wood surface as being worn smooth by all the people who have either sat on it, walked on it, or touched it - after a few times, those comparisons started to jump out at me.

Anyway, I feel like I have focused mostly on the negative aspects, but this really was a pretty good book. The world is interesting and the main character looks like he will be interesting to read more about in future installments. I just hope the second book isn't too long in the making since this book didn't have a natural ending point.