Customer Reviews

The Hidden Stars : Book One of The Rune of Unmaking

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I enjoyed reading about the characters that Howard created. They were well drawn and executed. I will probably pick up the next book in the series though may wait till I can get it used. The problem with the story is that it's nothing new. It seems that Howard has read a lot of other fantasy novels and has incorporated aspects of several of them (such at Tolkien, Robert Jordan, etc) but not really created anything of her own. She doesn't even explain most of the aspects in her book that are different from what we would expect on Earth because they've been explained by other authors.
Her book is a good, quick read if you're not looking for something new.

The Empress Ouriana has declared herself a goddess and is intent on conquering the entire world. Those who oppose her have battled for decades, yet have only defeat and dispair to show for their fighting. But a prophesy holds hope. Someone from the Empress's own bloodline is supposed to bring about her defeat. And Ouriana's sister has a baby daughter. Keeping that daughter alive becomes one of the most important goals in the world. But the wizard who sets out with the baby girl is lost in a battle with Ouriana's priests--and nothing more is heard from the girl.

As Ouriana continues her conquest, years pass. The Empress's conquests move closer and closer to the core areas of the alliance that opposes her. If the girl survived, she would be a young adult now, and they need her help. A small group including a half-elf prince, the most powerful wizard left to the side of light, and the wizard's daughter set off to follow up rumors that a princess in a distant kingdom might not be who she pretends--might actually be the child foretold in prophesy.

Author Madeline Howard delivers a well written and interesting debut novel. The world she creates--one filled with monsters frozen in the deeps, a newly lowered moon that creates earthquakes as it circles, and of powerful magic, will be familiar to fantasy readers while containing creative elements that are all her own.

The story concentrates on the journey of Sinderian, wizard's daughter, and the Prince Ruan, but occasionally switches to the point of view of one of Ouriana's sons or to that of the princess Winloki herself. I didn't find the characters quite as well developed or interesting as the world and magical system, however. Winloki is whiny and impulsive, and Sinderian is a bit whiny herself. While cardboard characters are a staple of fantasy (did we really get to know Aragorn, after all), it would have been nice if these central characters were more fully defined and sympathetic.

THE HIDDEN STARS isn't perfect, but it makes for engaging reading. I was reading it on the train and nearly missed my exit.

A small band of wizards and warriors must find the lost royal child prophesied to end the reign of an 'evil', self-proclaimed goddess-empress. Adapting that main plotline from *Willow*, Madeline Howard's first novel *The Hidden Stars* further combines several Tolkien-esque elements (wondrously dexterous elves/fey; vastly powerful wizards; not nine but twelve misshapen servants of the villain) to create an initially promising but unfortunately disappointing fantasy experience.

All or almost all fantasy plots have been explored time and again. What matters is the execution, and that's where this story falls short. It opens with the birth of the promised child and her disappearance (or death) in a cataclysmic battle between a wizard and the empress's servants. It then moves twenty years forward, to a time when the promised one has reportedly been sighted in a distant land. The good forces dispatch a small company to find her, racing, of course, against the evil forces.

A core problem is that, in the opening section, it's never shown how the empress became so powerful or why she's evil. We're simply to assume she is both. Echoes of this problem continue throughout (perhaps because of the strange viewpoint shifts--a main character is not well established). In the way of characterization, telling is often preferred to showing, perhaps because there's little of depth to show. In comparison with the characters from Martin's *A Game of Thrones* or any of Guy Gavriel Kay's novels, these are quite bland and stereotypical. (The wizards are calm and wise; the young heroine determined yet self-questioning; the half-elven prince amazingly agile and quick-witted.) The book's cover is perhaps ironically telling: no characters shown, just a generic sea-serpent attack. Inexplicably, too, there is no map of the fantasy world, which is almost necessary, given the importance of travel. However, one can be found at the author's website:

http://www.thehiddenstars.com/mh-map.htm

The above disappointments are only magnified by Howard's writing ability. She can truly write well, often with wonderful clarity and beauty. However, she is perhaps a bit too enchanted with the high-fantasy storyteller's voice and employs far too many adjectives, adverbs, and redundant descriptions. (She also changes tense in descriptions of places and is prone to telling instead of showing character behavior and feeling.) *Stars* is the first of a projected trilogy. My personal plan is to avoid the rest of this story and then see what she writes next as her talent, one hopes, continues to develop. Her potential is that strong.

Recommended as a library loan for fans of high-fantasy. Two-and-a-half disappointed stars.

"The Hidden Stars: Book One of the Rune of Unmaking" was a decent stab at fantasy -- it does fit into a standard fantasy mold a bit easily (hidden Child of Destiny, wicked witch-queen who wishes to kill her younger female relative, twelve demon-knights serving the Witch Queen and harrying the land, a time of medieval armies on the move and incipient war/rebellion...). The linguistics are strongly reminiscent of Tolkien, and therefore of Finno-Urgic language sets... all your characters are named things with umlauts and accents (Ouriána of Phaôrax, King Réodan, Thäerian, etc.), and that may make it a little difficult to get through if you're not fascinated by the linguistics. Still, it wasn't at all a bad read, and I was engaged by and interested in some of the characters, even if they were a little predictable. Not at all a bad first effort -- I'll probably buy the rest as they come out to see how magic continues to evolve/devolve in this universe.

I liked this story quite a bit. Not the best I've ever read, but still very good. I liked the characters, though they were a bit predictable, still the story moved along well with plenty of action. Been reading fantasy such as this for over two decades. This one will enjoy.

If you like books like this one, might I suggest another I've recently come across. The Unsuspecting Mage by Brian S. Pratt. It's another fantasy adventure sure to please. I highly recommend it. It's available in e-Book too.

I wanted to enjoy this book, I truly did, but it just did not work for me. For one thing I believe that Ms. Howard has too densely populated her book with fantastical characters: Faey, wizards, healers, sorcerers, princes, warriors, sea dragons, runes, mentions of frost giants; dwarves, werebats, werecreatures, giant turtules with castles on their backs, etc. Every death comes with some portent in the sky, indeed it seems if one can hardly move two paces in her world without something or the other being a sign/portent/omen/curse. I know it sounds ironic, but there was just too much of the fantastical in her book, that it became common and uninteresting. As a result of her cramming everything in none of her characters seemed to have any life whatsoever: all of her wizards are aged and sage, all her princes are honorable and hot headed in their way, the evil characters are all one dimensionally evil, their twisting evident to all. Blah...
The book would have played better if she had gutted three quarters of her fantastical characters, make magic not so easily accessible (too many wizards and what nots), and breathed more life into the characters (an average and unwise wizard perhaps fighting demons of his own that would tamper his outlook and humanize him; this would show more clearly exactly why he is fighting for the common man, other than the empress is evil and has to be stopped angle). Suffice it to say I do not intend to purchase the next book in the series. I do not mind reading fantasy books that travel well worn paths, as long as the path is fun, exciting, and entertaining. What I do mind is reading stories that are not interesting, (too much or too little) and coherently put together.

I picked up this book for $6 at my community college bookstore last year. I finally started reading it this winter break. I love fantasy books and this book had my completely open mind -- good title, good cover, good summary.... not so good story. The whole time you are left wondering why nothing is ever SOLVED. Problems arise here and there and there, and here.... but nothing is ever fixed. When will Sinderian and her crew make it to the princess. When will the princess' company be saved from the Eisenlonders, when will the Empress Ouriana be stopped, when will Faeloin be turned human again, when will Winloki find her amazing powers, when will all the 'heroes' be strong and stop complaining?????? Seems the only person that gets anything her way is the evil empress. How annoying. (Btw, i know i mispelled probably every single name, but who cares!!!!) I almost fell asleep a few times.... and I turned page after page hoping there was some point, some climax to the story. And sure enough there were interesting parts, but they fizzled out quickly. I only wish I had spent my time reading something better....

If one is looking to read a book and have the story come to some sort of closure by its end then this is not the book to read. It is however well written and the characters are well developed. I am very happy to say that it stays away from a rehash of the generic Tolkien story as so many fantasy novels tend to do. Still I think the cards are too stacked in the antagonists favor and one wonders how a conflict could last so long when the heroes opposition to said tyranny appears so weak in its magical form. Nice read when one was time to kill. I look forward to the next installment.

In a world overloaded with "literary fantasy" that makes no sense (What happen to story? What happened to adventure? Why are they publishing so many depressing novels in which Nothing Happens?), it is so refreshing to find a novel that actually tells a story using fantastical language and takes old-fashioned storytelling to new heights. Howard's debut is on my "highly recommended" list. There is magic and mayhem as an evil sorceress seeks to dominate a world while searching for the one child who could bring about her demise. Battles, worldbuilding and characters here are built in rich detail. I look forward to the rest of the series.

The Hidden Stars is a not-bad fantasy novel (the first third of a purported trilogy, so what's new?) from a new writer, Madeline Howard. She tries very hard to set the right tone and ambiance for a semi-medieval fantasy of the Le Guin/Tolkein flavor by using the usual tricks of the trade (Celtic or Gaelic names, Northern European milieau, etc. etc.). Although she deftly avoids giving us Yet Another coming of age story featuring what amounts to American youths dressed up in Renaisance Pleasure Faire garb, she also avoids giving us a fresh story or her own characters or landscape.

The result is a good read, not overly complex and, sadly, not very stirring either. Her betters (and her inferiors) have done this theme to pieces. With nothing particularly notable or noteworthy to say, it is hard to recommend this book, since I must admit that I kept wanting to stop and send the author a copy of The Language of the Night so she could bone up on what's missing here: nothing here smacks of the True Speech, it's all debased from some other work.

All that said, it is a nice first effort and the book does have a certain charms to it in places. I'm giving it four stars, but really it is more of a 3 1/2 effort.