Customer Reviews

Lens of the World

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's always interesting to see how other people liked or didn't like the books in this trilogy. Of the three, this is far and away my favorite. They are all three worthwhile and engrossing reading for any lover of fantasy fiction, and place and character are evoked vividly in every book, but what really absorbed me about this book, was the writing. This is the only writing, outside of poetry, that I have ever felt compelled to read aloud to myself. The narration is first person (Nazhuret) and his tone is elegiac and self-effacing; the effect is a timelessness that, in my opinion, makes the book more a classic novel than genre fiction. I would love to know what inspired the author to find this pitch so perfectly!

Lens is the first book of a trilogy entirely set in a "non-Earth" pre-industrial world, and arguably R.A.MacAvoy's best work to date. She creates a powerful story with realistic characters and situations and wastes no words in her elegant storytelling.

The story is about the coming of age of Nazhuret, a natural scientist who is dogged by mysterious happenings that he doesn't particularly want to believe in, as he is converted by his (rather bizarre) mentor into the Lens of the World (a concept that's rather hard to explain). He is let loose on society and becomes a nexus, altering what he come in contact with.

It's hard to spell out why this book is so good, but it's a real original in the Fantasy genre and definitely my favourite series (I read an awful lot of F/SF).

This is the first book of a wonderful, undeservedly obscure fantasy trilogy. IMHO, R.A. MacAvoy is, along with Gene Wolfe, one of the two best authors currently writing in the genre. Most of what passes for fantasy today is cartoonish by comparison.

A great read!

This book, the first in a trilogy, turned out to be a well written fantasy that increasingly held my interest and by the end of it, left me eager to get to the next installment.

The story revolves around the main character, Nazhuret (an interesting gnome like figure who is a lot more that he appears), his travels and his interaction with people and things he meets on his journey. There are several other important people in this tale and Macavoy does a stellar job in developing and introducing them into the plot.

My only niggling complaint is a lack of a map of the area that would have let us to track the adventures of our hero.

All in all, a good fantasy adventure and I'm looking forward to more.

In this series, MacAvoy has created a highly complex fantasy world with very little sorcery but plenty of sword play, science, philosophy, and mysticism. It is the story of Nazhuret, a strange looking orphan of mysterious origins who finds himself the pupil of an equally mysterious man known to him only as Powl.
Once his time with Powl is done, he sets off on his own and quickly finds himself embroiled in the affairs of others; something Powl has cautioned him to avoid if he wants to be truly free. Nazhuret tries his best to heed this advise after his first encounter with the outside word leaves a bad taste in his mouth. But what kind of fantasy hero would he be were he not somehow the catalyst of major events and circumstances? In his wandering he finds romance with an ambiguous stranger of questionabe morals. He also earns the love and respect of the young king and the contempt of the king's highest ranking noblemen. By the end, the secret of Nazhuret's origins is revealed and the enigma of Powl unraveled in a refreshingly unpredictabe manner.

Beautiful and engaging. Unusual characters who are brought to life fully and unquestionably took me into another world, which left many impressions upon my mind. It could have done without the introduction, but even with it this is quite a beauty of a book. It has several twists that come out at you unexpectedly. It refrains from making the usual mistakes of a fantasy book- falling into its own world and filling the entire book with descriptions, assuming that everyone knows about this world as well as the author, using the cliched story lines, etc. Plot is ingenious, and the story is one you won't forget for a long time. Read it.

Macavoy creates a fantasy story filled with real characters and a wonderfully believable plot. Beautifully written and gorgeously crafted. Nothing like it.

I read this book so many years ago, yet the memory of it is still with me. It could easily be dismissed as a somewhat unusual fantasy novel, yet it exceeds the genre. This is a deeply intriguing story of mind and morality, with an undercurrent of Zen that seems to run through several of MacAvoys novels. As a coming-of-age story, it is superb. Nazhuret, small, ugly, outcast, could be compared to Miles Vorkosigan. His gentle nature and strength of heart are an inspiration.

I have enjoyed this genre for over 20 years and when I stumbled upon this little book on the rack of a dollar store I picked it up on a whim... it changed the game completely for me. The tale is all about the journey and not some standard cliche story arc. The writing is as good as you will ever find, the characters are mind-blowing, and the only downside is it will ruin your ability to suffer through long-winded tomes of standard fare fantasy. I admit it may not be for everyone due to the lack of said standard fare, but if you want your fantasy batteries recharged this is the one to turn to.

MacAvoy's other offerings are all enjoyable as well but they don't quite measure up to this masterpiece. I can't say the entire trilogy is required reading because this first novel alone stands just fine, but to take the whole journey with your new-found companions is very satisfying even if it does falter a bit at times. I only wish these characters could return in more journeys and tales. Easily in my top 10 fantasy books of all time. read52in52

As in all of MacAvoy's novels, the writing in 'Lens..' is impeccable. The author uses clear and concise prose. For all its good points, the story left me unfulfilled at the end.

'Lens' is a character-driven story, meaning that all actions and events (and plots) are secondary to the character. As such there's not an overriding plot throughout the novel. It's more a series of three or four plots. This type of story doesn't particularly appeal to me, hence the three-star rating.

On another level, the character of Powl the teacher warned his pupil, the main character, about several things. The character was to be a begger, live in poverty, never consort with authority. MacAvoy mentioned these things several times. Not once did it come up again in the book. There was never a reason provided for any of Powl's cautionings (which seemed particularly ridculous when Powl himself didn't abide by any of his teachings). Perhaps MacAvoy planned for these ideas to be used in the future two books of the trilogy.