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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Imaginative, well-written, mature, but repetitive,
By
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This review is from: Hawkwood's Voyage (The Monarchies of God, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)
So far I have read the first three books in this series, and I have rewritten this review to reflect that. If you've read other of my reviews, I am trying to introduce more helpful, balanced reviews of fantasy novels, rather than the misleading "5 star" reviews which overly dominate. What are the 5 star reviews correct about? First of all, this is a delightfully mature novel. There is sex when sex is appropriate, but without pruriance. The characters are mature figures. I have never enjoyed fantasy novels with juvenile characters (even when I was child). Kearney apparently agrees. The characters are mature wizards, young but wise and knowledgeable kings, an experienced merchant sailor captain, a mature noble woman, middle aged clerics, and so on. People act and think maturely. Secondly, the novel is extraordinarily well-written. Kearney has an excellent touch, with descriptive prowess, clear dialogue, and extremely (almost encyclopedic) informed jargon. He weaves in battle realism taken from his study of medieval warfare -- it's utterly accurate. Thirdly, the novel is imaginative, with a believable, fully fleshed out world, centered around political intrigue. Originally I gave this book 3 stars, but I am revising that upwards based on the later books in the series. The weakness with the first book is one of the things that others rave about: the main orientation of this first novel is political intrigue, mainly between the Church and the Kings. But what is at first refreshing and well done, becomes repetitive. The relationship among The Church (which is grabbing for power), the Kings, and the peasantry, is not too hard to understand. Scene after scene repeats the mantra. At the same time, action grinds to a halt. Though Kearney can write great action scenes, relatively little happens toward the end of the book. In fact, now and then a shape-shifter or other interesting character pops up, but for the most part almost all of the characters could have stepped out of 14th century Europe. I became frustrated that such an exciting world ended up so little used. I was hoping that in the next books some of the imaginative promise would be fulfilled, and I was not disappointed. The repetitiveness found in the first book disappears afterwards. The second book increases the imaginativity found in the first book, as Kearney develops the story of the Western continent. Church and state politics is embedded now in character-driven action, not setup. The third book is almost unbelievable in its action: pure action, briskly paced. I couldn't believe it was Kearney. It might be the most exciting fantasy book I've ever read, judged in terms of ratio of action to pages. You will not be disappointed by this series, but don't get bogged down in this first book.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a wargamers dream series,
By
This review is from: Hawkwood's Voyage (The Monarchies of God, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)
let me qualify my review prior to starting. I am a military veteran, lover of all things nautical, and avid historian. I enjoy fantasy books, but often find them lacking some element, aimed at the over the top trials of a hero or teenage protagonist. I stumbled across Paul Kearney without preconception. I have been very impressed. Hawkwood's Voyage is the initial book in Kearney's "MoG" series. He writes of a gritty, realistic fantasy world, an exotic, but familiar place. It is a world of magic, but there are no wizards washing dishes with spells. It is a land of demons, but the scheming and savage humans who call this world home are far more dangerous than werewolves or spirits. In short, it is very "real", with magic dancing on the edges rather than flaming in the center. I found this series to be a perfect fit to me. Kearney is a master of depicting military campaigns, and pulls no punches when describing the horror of war. His sailing scenes are true to that genre, and if he chose he could weave a tale of sword and sail better than any 21st century Author I have read save perhaps Lamden. If you are looking for a low-fantasy world, gritty and harsh, with a hint of magic and a dash of seafarer's spice, pick up this book. You will not be let down.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Original and Entertaining,
This review is from: Hawkwood's Voyage (The Monarchies of God, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)
Fantasy novels these days are usually very cliched and it seems that author's feel that they have the right to steal plots from other authors. Because of things like this, fantasy can get boring. In Paul Kearney's "Hawkwood's Voyage" this is not the case. This is a very original novel that is entertaining right from the prologue. War is raging in the Five Kingdoms and the Merduk army is the main cause of this. The holy city of Aekir, what was the holiest city in the world and was supposed to be one of the strongest cities, has fallen. This is where the novel opens up. Now, the king of Hebrion is starting a voyage to go across the Great Western Ocean to start a whole new colony. The voyage will be lead by mariner Richard Hawkwood. This voyage was done twice before but failed. This is the basic plot of a very original fantasy novel. This book has lots of main characters which makes this book similar in a way to George R.R. Martin's series. This novel takes place all over the world. Places included are Richard Hawkwood's boat in the middle of the ocean all the way Ormann Dyke, a city that is under the threat of attack. This novel is politically and militarily oriented. The politics are that of the standing of the Five Kingdoms and how the Kings react to what is going on in the world. Military wise, you are taken to battle plannings and actual battles themselves. This book is not cliched is very suspenseful. This was fun to read while I am waiting for the next book in my favorite series, a series by George R.R. Martin. While this book isn't as detailed as that series it still embodies some of the same attributes as that series, such as good characterisation, good plotting, and suspense. This book would be good for a GRRM fan in addition to anybody that is looking for a highly original book. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series. Happy Reading!
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