Geomancer (Well of Echoes S.) [Paperback]

Ian Irvine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 24, 2003 | Series: Well of Echoes S.

Two hundred years after the Forbidding was broken, Santhenar is locked in war with the lyrinx - intelligent, winged predators who will do anything to gain their own world. Despite the development of battle clankers and mastery of the crystals that power them, humanity is losing. Tiaan, a lonely crystal worker in a clanker manufactory, is experimenting with an entirely new kind of crystal when she begins to have extraordinary visions. The crystal has woken her latent talent for geomancy, the most powerful of all the Secret Arts - and the most perilous. Falsely accused of sabotage by her rival, Irisis, Tiaan flees for her life. Struggling to control her talent and hunted by the lyrinx, Tiaan follows her visions all the way to Tirthrax, greatest peak on all the Three Worlds, where a nightmare awaits her ...Find out more about this title and others at www.orbitbooks.co.uk

Editorial Reviews

Review

A page-turner of the highest order ... Irvine can now consider himself comfortably ranked next to the works of Robert Jordan and David Eddings. Formidable SFX Ian Irvine has produced one of those rarities in the fantasy genre, and that is a unique, well-thought-through world coupled to a well-written storyline. A gripping read for Irvine fans, or a fresh new series for any other readers. ENIGMA Geomancer starts a new sequence of novels "The Well of Echoes", set some centuries after Ian Irvine's earlier fantasy sequence "The View from the Mirror". The world of Santhenar is under attack from the Void by the lyrinx, giant winged intelligent carnivores, and generations of war have turned human society into a totalitarian spy-state with the front line of the war held over all men and so-called "Breeding Factories" held as a threat over women. Tiaan is a brilliant young artisan in a munitions factory whom the authorities are deliberately pressuring into excelling herself; when she falls foul of her rival Iriis and the apprentice spy Nish, events are set in chain which jeopardise the humanity of two worlds. Irvine's strength here is that he makes us care not only about the idealistic, wet, misguidedly ruthless Tiaan, but also about the occasionally vicious and manipulative Iriis and Nish, who are not merely villains, but products of their unpleasant world so Roz Kaveney, AMAZON.CO.UK REVIEW

About the Author

Ian Irvine lives with his family in the mountains of New South Wales, Australia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: Orbit (July 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841491373
• ISBN-13: 978-1841491370
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.6 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,334,952 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Here we go again., August 15, 2003

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Geomancer, Vol. 1 of The Well of Echoes (Paperback)

It is a little funny, because I am often so critical of Ian Irvine, but I keep buying and reading his books. There is a compliment there in its own right. Is that the kind of critic that a writer wants to have? One that keeps on complaining, but also keeps on buying.

To be clear, I like a whole lot about what he does-- both here and in the View from the Mirror series.

This said, I have a sinking feeling that we are going to have yet another weak central character who I don't really like as a person. I understand that is part of what Irvine does-- work with characters who are talented, but not terribly heroic. Unfortunately, I really found it difficult to like Tiaan. She gives in and she whines. And once again that character is given a foil of a weak man to play against-- in this series it is the fickle Minis with whom Tiaan is paired. I sincerely hope that this develops somewhere in the continuing books, because this character element is the thing that gives me the strong "here we go again" feeling in the review title. In his last series, nothing annoyed me more than this character dynamic.

I am in any case curious to see what happens in this post-Charon Santhenar. I will buy the next installment, even if I grumble while I do.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A pleasant read, May 5, 2003

By 

J (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Geomancer, Vol. 1 of The Well of Echoes (Paperback)

I purchased this novel after reading The View From the Mirror series. Geomancer invloves new characters set on Santhenar. Their personalities are marvellously created with the same brilliant talent as Irvine use in the first series. It was a pleasure to read Geomancer. I eargerly await to see Tetrarch in my local store! Happy reading to you all :)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting, quite captivating first book, June 30, 2003

By 

Candice (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Geomancer: A Tale of the Three Worlds (The Well of Echoes Quartet) (Paperback)

After reading The View from the Mirror series, I decided to go on to the next series, which is set in the same world. Geomancer has turned out not only a great read, but also engages the reader. I am definitely looking forward to the next book. Some reviews on The View from the Mirror series have been quite unforgiving. Although Ian Irvine's books are not the best ever written, they are not as bad as the reviews display them as. You really have to finish all the books in the series before you make a judgement or comment on his writing.