Customer Reviews

The Last Guardian of Everness

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Over the years I've read a lot of stories which claim to take place in the first of all worlds, the origin of dreams. Almost without exception they are standard roadside attractions on the Fantasy Tour.

John Wright has avoided this trap. His writing style evokes Dunsany, Clark Ashton Smith, Lovecraft's Kadath, and Eddison. Without ever saying "Look at how clever and well-read I am" he mixes fairy tales, the Mahabarta, occult imagery and our deepest fears in a seamless way.

And this is all in the first sixty pages.

I feared, at the end of The Golden Transcendence, that Wright was a one-hit wonder. Those fears have been most joyously laid to rest.

This award-winning new author turns his hand to fantasy bringing the same fast-paced action, fascinating characters, intriguing philosophy and top-notch world-building to the story of Gavin Waylock and the guardians of Everness, that "strange and ancient house unchanging."

Ware the toll of a single ring
Night-mare her single rider will bring
Woe if twice the great bell tolls
For fire-giants and fell frost trolls
Storm-princes rise at the sound of three
The fourth ring brings the plague Kelpie
Five for Selkie, Six for Hate
Seven for Doom, Death for Eight
And if the toll sounds nine withal
Wake the Sleepers; Nine worlds fall.

For fifteen hundred years the Waylocks have guarded the gate between the world of reason and science, and the world of dreams. Now, standing watch in the Deeper Dreaming, Gavin Waylock, heir to Everness, hears the sea bells tolling without end as a black gull brings him a burning light out of the darkness. Eager to win his spurs, he disregards his grandfather's caution and summons a dream-colt to take him beyond Tirion to the iron cage where the first Waylock, founder of Everness, arch-traitor and wizard, swings above an abyss of madness.

With this errant impulse, Gavin Waylock sets in motion the downfall of Everness House: For Acheron is indeed rising, its terrible heralds even now taking their first steps out of the mists of dreams and into the waking world...

The high fantasy is married with thrilling action scenes; there are moments of great beauty and tenderness, and moments of silly humor. One of the supporting characters, Wendy Varovich is particularly enchanting and often very funny. The horrors of the cannibalistic selkie, the pious and rotting kelpie knights, the sheer strangeness Wright evokes for his dream-lands is worthy of a Cthuloid nightmare. Moving from light to dark, horror to humor, Wright never misses a beat, seamlessly providing page-turning entertainment.

THE LAST GUARDIAN OF EVERNESS rises above the run-of-the mill action fantasy: For my part, this is one of the best fantasies I've read this year. Its only fault: You'll have to wait until next year for the second half. I write "you" for I've seen the whole story in MS and can assure you, part two is great fun!

(This review first appeared, in slightly shorter form, in the WashRag, journal of the Washington Young Adult Materials Review Group)

Note to the unwary: This book is the first of two volumes, and the ending is quite a cliffhanger. Things won't be resolved until the second volume comes out in 2005, so keep this in mind if you're not the patient sort. Okay, now for my review, which goes a little bit against the grain here. What I liked about this book was Wright's unique and imaginative blending of mythology, horror, and legend. I also liked how he wove a constant thread of choice and consequence throughout the story and gave us some characters that were truly compelling.

What kept me from giving this book a higher rating is that I found it somewhat of a chore to get through. Most likely, this is because I'm so desperately weary of the common elements of so-called "high" fantasy. You know what I'm talking about...rituals, quests, Words and Objects of Power, heavy symbolism, mythic creatures, earth magic, perpetual angst, etc. I've started to avoid much of the fantasy genre for this very reason, and I probably wouldn't have bought this book in the first place, except that I enjoyed Wright's harder sci-fi (The Golden Age trilogy) so much.

So, if you're reading these reviews to help you decide whether to purchase this book, and if you aren't as tired of the fantasy genre as I am, my unreserved recommendation is that you click the "add to cart" button. Wright is clearly talented and proves he can deliver fantasy with as much punch as he does sci fi. If, however, you're like me and find you have trouble stomaching a lot of the core elements of high fantasy, you might want to wait on this one until you can buy both volumes at one time and less expensively.

At the heart, there is a great story here. The characters and plot are both intriguing and well-thought out. Unfortunately, Wright spends too much time describing unnecessary scenes.

It's difficult to write a GOOD dream sequence; there's always the danger that the reader will be overwhelmed while trying to figure out symbolic connections and allusions. This book is full of dream and memory sequences, some of which aren't necessary to either plot or character development; they punctuate the story and are slightly painful to read (boring actually). I had a very hard time actually getting to the end of this novel because of all the irrelevant prose I had to plough through.

Essentially, the bones of this novel seem strong, but they are buried under a mountain of dross.

Having devoured the Golden Age trilogy I eagerly dived into Everness. Then I actually had to check the cover to see if it was the same author. Going from the dazzling mental gymnastics of Golden Age to this bit of fluff was jarring. This book reminds me more than anything else of all the Piers Anthony novels I read in high school. Just about every tired fantasy theme is thrown in--weak boy is the chosen one, must go on quest, buncha enchanted stuff to acquire, world going to end unless he defeats insanely powerfull baddie, yadda, yadda. It all reminded me of why I stopped reading fantasy years ago.

Even worse, it's all done in a kind of fuzzy dreamland where nothing seems all that real. You're transported there by mystical dream horses (which Wright should've just had the balls to call Night Mares after the Xanth novel). The characters can be suddenly transported to other frames of reality with little explanation of how or why, so why should I ever believe anyone's really in danger? This just killed any chance of suspense for me. If you're like me and you can spot a dream sequence in a movie after two seconds and resent the manipulation, this isn't the book for you.

On the one positive note, Wright can write. Even when he's writing fluff he can put words together so skillfully I found myself re-reading paragraphs just out of technical appreciation. His passages written in old english style have the kind of weight and lyrical beauty I haven't experinced since Tolkein. An extra star for that, but still I can't recommend the book. Read Golden Age three times first.

"Everness" isn't merely elaborate, it's inscrutable. If you liked that element of his sci-fi trilogy-the sense that metaphor has been made real, and that Wright has glimpsed into things undescribable with our vocabulary, and unpicturable by map or illustration-then you will probably enjoy this book.

Me, I found myself confused, and round-about the middle of the book I put it down for a few days. You can feel the story building up, but the actual tension doesn't erupt until more like 2/3rds of the way through (and then I couldn't put it down.)

I will grant that this novel is unlike anything I have read before. He certainly has blended and re-worked myth in novel ways. But he has woven such a labyrinth that it is difficult to climb inside, in the way you might climb inside Middle-earth. Perhaps the second book, Mists of Everness, will make things a little clearer.

Two other issues I have with this book:

First, the blurb is misleading. This book is just the prologue to Galen's choice. A long, confusing, prologue.

Second, despite Wright's intention to write a story where "characters talk and act like contemporaries and express the values in which modern readers believe," I found the characterization in this book to be fey. None of the characters act like normal people, and when they do, they are denigrated-belittled for their unbelief, or psychologically or magically manipulated. Perhaps the next book will be different.

All of that said, I did enjoy, and will hang in for the sequel(s). This is an exceptionally creative book. If you liked his sci-fi series, this is certainly worth a read. If you haven't read them, but enjoy fantasy that escapes the usual paradigms, you also should give it a shot.

As K. Butler said in another review, and this bears reiterating, Wright's excellent Golden Age science fiction series should not be used as a benchmark for Everness.

Everness, while mildly entertaining, is by no means a masterpiece. In fact, it is not even that great of a novel series. Throw a few different brands of mythology in a big blender, chuck in some hollywood stereotypes for characters (including the Bitter Old Vietnam Veteran), and stir until no longer lumpy. Try not to fall asleep while eating.

Go for Golden Age. It is incredible. Pass by this pile.

When I picked this book up, I expected it to be very...ordinary. I thought it was just your everyday sort of fantasy where good and evil have battles and there is a magic sword involved. As you probably have guessed by my five stars, I was wrong. There are just so many nice little fantastical elements to keep you going. For instance, this book sort of mooshes all different kinds of mythology together. We have some zesty Nordic fire giants and frost trolls, various Greek gods are called upon, such as Apollo, Hades, Helion, et cetera. In fact, Raven, a man from the Caucasus mountains is always referred to by higher powers as "son of Prometheus" (I don't know about you, but I can't resist trippy titles like that). Then we have some Celtic selkies, kelpies, and elves, as well as many references to King Arthur and his knights, and to Oberon and Titania. Even the archangel Uriel shows up in it. I don't know about all of you, but I find stuff like that exciting. As far as the actual writing is concerned, I found the characters very interesting, even the villains. I wouldn't say that they're quite as realistic as they come, but they're definately very interesting. First of all, we have Raven, a quiet man from the Caucasus mountains who's been here there and everywhere until he came to the United States. Then there's Wendy, his wife, who's part faerie and is always quite cheerful and childish. Then there's the Waylock family, Galen, Peter, and Lemuel, Peter being the one you get the most of. He's a soldier in a wheelchair who hasn't believed all the stuff his father Lemuel told him about the dreamworld, but now he's noticing that everything is true.
As for the plot, it speeds forward at a rocketing pace with all sorts of twists and turns that leave you racing to catch your breath. All I have to say is, I want the next book!

For centuries, the Waylock family has guarded the doorway between the world of dreams and our own mundane world. Galen Waylock, the young heir to the wardens, receives a prophetic dream from the founder of their family--calling for him to come to the end of the world and visit. Despite his grandfather's orders, Galen responds, sets across a dreamscape and into danger. Because the forces of darkness are readying their assault, planning to carry all before them. Where once the Wardens were a huge host, now there remain only two--an old man and an impetuous youth who is all to easy to trick into a trap.

Three people, Raven, his wife Wendy (who once knew how to fly), and Galen's crippled father Peter are all that remains holding the ancient barrier of Everness against plague, death, seelies, and the morning star himself. Great weapons were made for Everness's defenses, but Peter refused the knowledge and Raven and Wendy know even less.

Author John C. Wright combines Arthurian legend; Celtic, Greek, and Christian mythology; with fairy tales and Freemasonic rumors to create a fascinating and compelling contemporary fantasy. None of the characters is perfect--Galen is impetuous, Peter bitter, Wendy flighty, and Raven willing to compromise on what is too important. Similarly, many of the characters of darkness have their own appeal--evil is rarely unadorned ugliness.

Wright's strong writing, story-telling, and world-building make THE LAST GUARDIAN OF EVERNESS a book that's hard to put down.

Personally, the label "fantasy" usually sends me looking elsewhere as the entire genre suffers from comparison to Tolkien. I bought "Last Guardian" purely upon the strength of Mr. Wright's "Golden Age" trilogy and was pleased to find a work that stands quite independent of the "fantasy" label placed upon it. Although the book suffers from volume one syndrome (and with the exception of Stephenson, I don't know why the market tolerates what is essentially serial publication) this book manages the feat of making the surreal seem both intriguing and plausible. But be warned, just as you get a feel for the main characters and the gist of the story, volume one is over.

The strength of "Last Guardian" lies in the author's ability to effortlessly draw upon a wealth of mythology within a contemporary setting. The alternate world view develops very fast and while it can be difficult to keep track of the various beasts and characters taking their part in the story, the author skillfully creates a tension that draws you through the exposition without the story seeming to lag.

Each of the characters are confronted with particularly thorny moral dilemmas and the author follows the struggles by highlighting their different world-views and ethical considerations. Gifts always come with a price--and casual comments are binding, often at a frightful cost. Especially enjoyable are the observations of an ancient character reborn into today's world who must struggle to interpret the modern technology and social mores.

Mr. Wright has embarked upon a morality tale where private choices have public consequences; where promises kept result in great and powerful good and promises broken result in despair. I anxiously await the next volumes.