Heresy Book One [Hardcover]

Anselm Audley (Author)

Book Description

Series: Heresy | Publication Date: August 28, 2001

All across the waterworld of Aquasilva, change is being fought and ruthlessly suppressed by the Domain and its ferocious holy warriors, the Sacri. If the people of Aquasilva have any hope of survival, the Domain must be stopped.

Amid the perpetually raging storms plaguing the mineral-starved world, young Cathan, son of a powerful count, travels to inform his father of a crucial discovery of an iron ore cache in their lands. En route to the clan congress where his father awaits, Cathan unwittingly stumbles upon a Domain-engineered plot to unleash a firestorm of oppression upon the world.

Cathan is thrust into events beyond his control, forced to become an unwilling agent of change. A way must be found to break the ruthless grip of the Domain. And Cathan begins to understand the daunting scope of what lies ahead in a long and deadly struggle for liberation.

Extraordinary first-time novelist Anselm Audley has crafted a fiercely intelligent, lightning-paced, and ambitious fantasy saga that mines the contrary natures of evil and good, fire and water, stasis and change. A richly dramatic evocation of an epic struggle that often bears pointed comparison to our own real-life culture wars, this astonishing first volume of Audley's "Heresy trilogy introduces one of the most exciting voices of the new millennium.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

ublicists aren't doing Audley a favor by stressing how young he is (19) and comparing him to Robert Jordan and George R.R. Martin. Expectant readers will find a competent, appealing but rather standard sword-and-super-science tale. On Aquasilva, a water-planet with physical laws that vary somewhat from Earth's, society is split into rival cities and clans. A fanatical priesthood tries to keep control by murdering all who don't worship its elemental god, but the heretics organize devious counterplots and train young people in "magic" mind powers that use natural elements. The narrator, Cathan, is a young nobleman who just happens to be a phenomenally gifted natural mage, able to manipulate several elements at once. Audley successfully suggests a complex society through a bewildering mass of historical and political details, but he's less adept at showing how the society actually functions. In particular, it's hard to imagine how hand weapons have developed only as far as swords and crossbows while high-tech submarines launch "flame lances" and torpedoes at each other. He's also better, so far, at presenting characters frozen in uncertain pondering than he is at describing direct action. Still, the size and scope of this novel demonstrate Audley's energy and ambition. It will be interesting to see how his characters explore Aquasilva in subsequent books. At the very least, a 20-something's second novel won't be burdened with the extravagant hype of a teenager's first. Agent, James Hale.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Though merchant houses and noble clans hold political power in the land of Aquasilva, the priests and holy warriors of the Domain exercise a religious monopoly over the beliefs of the people. When Cathan Tauro, a young nobleman, accidentally discovers a conspiracy by the Domain to extend its tyrannical grasp even further, he realizes that his only hope for survival lies in starting a revolution. Nineteen-year-old Audley's first novel launches an epic trilogy set in a world in which magic and religion vie for precedence. The author's skill at portraying young people caught up in world-shaking events should appeal to YA readers as well as general fantasy fans. For most fantasy collections. [From Simon & Schuster U.K., Audley received one of the largest advances ever paid to a new British fantasy author. Ed.]
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Star Trek (August 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743427386
• ISBN-13: 978-0743427388
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,329,380 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars To call this a novel - an insult. To publish it - heresy., March 4, 2002

By 

Alex (College Park, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heresy Book One (Hardcover)

Dear. God. What an awful book. Audley's total lack of skill shows frightening consistency. Four hundred pages and none of them worth reading. This is the first book in a very long time I have absolutely nothing good to say about.

Audley's prose is halting, cumbersome, infantile, full of run-ons, and deliberately pompous. Awkward words like "tiredness" keep popping up. The characters' actions are often illogical and entirely unmotivated, while their personalities change arbitrarily from chapter to chapter. Audley's worldbuilding efforts are laughable. If Aquasilva's global ocean is 11,000 miles deep, why do landmasses exist at all? What are "flamewood" and "seawood", besides cheap excuses not to invent real technology? The "mantas" have flown straight out of Star Trek, force-field defenses and all ("Increase shield strength as much as you can, and launch the pressure charges!") The politics of Audley's world are muddled and confusing. Half the countries mentioned aren't even on his map. Who conquered what and when are questions that long for real answers. When a king is assassinated, not only would I have been hard-pressed to identify what exactly he ruled, but that he existed at all. It is also unclear why Aquasilva's organised religion is so totally corrupt. Audley's bad guys aren't even bad as individuals; his Domain is a facelessly nefarious force of such absolute, uneffable evil that it must be hated wholeheartedly and without explanation.

As for the device of first-person narration - wishful thinking. In a certain scene a young woman rather spontaneously teaches the viewpoint hero "the arts of the night", which he finds rather pleasant. The young woman is never again mentioned. Cathan does however, have three other love interests, so that he can swtich between them as situation dictates. Throughout the book it is also revealed that he is a brilliant strategist, a superb swordsman, and the most powerful mage on the planet.

The bottom line is that Audley just doesn't know enough - as a writer as well as a person - to tackle a project of such scale. He cobbles together a semblance of a plot, and then barely manages to keep it from disintegrating. He tries to prove his worth as a storyteller through scrupulous attention to minor detail, which is not only distracting and irritating to the reader, but also exposes Audley's weaknesses, forcing him to demonstrate non-existent technical knowledge. A better writer would have done research... Because of this there are scenes of staggering, jaw-dropping idiocy, such as when Cathan conjures up and is washed away and covered "up to the neck" by a ton - one cubic meter - of water.

I would like to say that the author might improve with future novels, but I doubt he will. Audley shows no particular affinity for fantasy; he is looking for easy victories and takes too many shortcuts to generate anything worth reading. His debut is easily the worst book I've read all year.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Heresy - a disappointing debut from such a hyped author, October 16, 2001

By 

Harry (South East of England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heresy Book One (Hardcover)

We've heard all the media blurb - teenage guy writes novel, pockets a mini-mountain of cash, what a guy, etc...
But does the book measure up? This is the question that screams for an answer.
In short, no it does not, not in the slightest.
Now, this is just my personal opinion, so please if you completely disagree and want to tear my hair out, I would advise you not to continue reading this.

Importantly, Heresy is not terrible. In fact, there are many positive elements in the novel that are genuinely encouraging.
But this does not get Mr Audley out of jail, nor does the fact that he is only nineteen. Sure, he is young, but the publishers should have thought about that before they published the book.

With regards to the novel itself...it just doesn't make the grade. The concept is original in portrayal, but not in the nitty-gritty of the plot workings. Young boy sees danger, young boy tries to save homeland, etc with all the trappings that come with a young hero.
The world of Aquasilva itself is reasonably interesting, but confused. Take for example, the fact that weapons such as swords and crossbows are still in use, yet there are submarines that have 'flame lances' and torpedoes. Come again?
The prose itself is stiff, unnatural and often downright annoying, with Audley struggling to create memorable or even realistic relationships between characters. Detail is all to often lacking and many characters are introduced but left half undeveloped. Some elements of the novel are a little too 'fortunate', such as the fact that Cathan - the main protagonist - needs to undertake a desperate mission, and oh, he just happens to be a competant mage. Overall, there are just too many times when attempting to turn the page is more stressful than Cathan's own journey.

This isn't a terrible book, and there are small signs that perhaps Audley is better judged on his next offering.
But there - for me at least - is the unmistakeable sign that the publishers are trying to sell the book on the basis of the author's age, which is not the way to go about things.

Maybe 'Inquisition' - the next title - will show better things to come, but 'Heresy' unfortunately falls flat on its face.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Could have been great..., February 13, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Heresy Book One (Hardcover)

Don't get me wrong, the idea behind this book is great. The idea of the Aquasilva world is amazing; the descriptions of the water-world are inspiring. But the telling of the story itself is HORRIBLE. The story-line is confusing, the supporting characters are cardboard, and the main character is your typical hero gifted with all-mighty superpowers. Several phrases are repeated ALL too often--phrases such as "looked smart" and "waved cheerily". I "waved cheerily" to this book as I threw it into the garabage. Trust me, if you want a good book, stick to David Edding's The Belgarion, or the Otherland series. Leave this one where you found it. On the shelf.