35 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Griffins take center stage in the start of a new trilogy, June 20, 2010
This review is from: Lord of the Changing Winds (Griffin Mage Trilogy) (Mass Market Paperback)
I love Griffins.
Sure, Dragons are awesome. Dragons are mighty. Dragons go with heroic fantasy as much as, say, treasure laden dungeons.
But Griffins...
Combine a lion, king of the beasts, with an eagle, king of the air. That's a potent combination. A combination that speaks to me in a way that the coldly reptilian eye of a dragon doesn't always manage. Too, Griffins are not as well developed as dragons. Everyone knows dragons breathe fire (except when they don't). Everyone knows they love riddles (except when they don't). Smaug is the classic, archetypal dragon.
Griffins aren't anywhere near as common, and so their natures are more of a blank slate...and thus room for a writer (or a GM) to invent as they like. I like seeing that potential fulfilled...and this latest read of mine makes it happen.
Lord of the Changing Winds is the first book in a new trilogy called "The Griffin Mage" by author Rachel Neumeier.
Set mainly in the country of Feierabiand, Lord of the Changing Winds is the story of Kes. A young healer in the backwater village of Minas Ford, her life, and the life of her country, are turned upside down by the arrival of large migrating band of Griffins. Why the Griffins have left their desert, what they want with Kes, and the machinations of the Kings of Ferierabiand and neighboring Casmantium are the Matter of this first novel.
This is Neumeier's first adult novel, and there are striking strengths, and, unfortunately, some glaring weaknesses that mar but do not completely spoil the reading experience.
Best of all is Neumeier's imagining of what Griffins are, and what they do. Their terraforming of the land around them into a beloved (to them) desert is a wonderful conceit and concept, and a strong rationale for why Griffins are usually found in places far isolated from man. The characterizations and emotional palettes of the characters, both human and Griffin, on all sides of the conflicts are strong. I felt myself wanting to know more about the Griffins, their culture, and the cultures of the two very different nations caught in the claws of the Griffins life.
The quality of the writing is very good. Neumeier describes the Griffins lovingly, with the words of someone who loves these creatures as much as I. Each of the Griffins we meet is an individual, in appearance as well as personality. Her writing description of environment goes best when she is describing the Griffins desert, and less so when the action takes us elsewhere.
The magic use in the novel was not strong enough for me to judge it. I need more data before I can decide whether it makes sense or not. I can see the lines of how it works, but I'd like to know more before I decide if I like it or not.
The weaknesses in the novel on the other hand have to do with the movement of people, and more especially armies. There is a phrase in military circles: "Amateurs talk strategy. Professionals talk logistics."
As bad as it seems that armies fly around the map of Neumeier's world (and they do, I couldn't get a decent sense of scale), the worse part is the logistical trains. Neumeier does not seem to really have considered the logistics and supply chains needed to make the movement of these armies, especially at speed, practical and possible. From a 30,000 foot level. what the two armies are trying to do makes sense. But without a decent sense of scale, it seemed as realistic as wargaming in the video game Civilization IV. Happily, this is not as crucial to the enjoyment of the book as one might fear, but this lack of thought was disappointing.
So, would you, gentle reader, like this book? If your preference is for fantasy fiction with strong characterization and the use of a neglected mythological creature, the Lord of the Changing Winds might be your cup of tea.
If you prefer the military aspects of your fantasy reading to be more rigorous. you are going to be frustrated with swaths of this novel. Personally, I think the strengths and inventiveness and quality of the writing outweigh the negatives, and I have already make plans to buy and read the second novel in the series.
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22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
If you would like to read a straight forward fantasy style read with magic, and amazing creatures - griffins, this is it., May 14, 2010
This review is from: Lord of the Changing Winds (Griffin Mage Trilogy) (Mass Market Paperback)
Kes is up in the woods collecting herbs for her stock when she spies the Griffins flying in the distance, and is distracted by their beauty. After Kes returns home to her sister Tesme and their helper Jos, she goes into the small village with her sister to celebrate the birth of magnificent horse of Tesme's. While there a man comes looking for Kes, asking for her help. Kes realizes something different about this man, that he must have a connection to the griffins by what she sees and feels. Kes willingly goes with this man and learns she can heal griffins, without her herbs.
The countries have divided themselves by the people and their abilities. The setup of these abilities, or different magic's, is started in this book as you learn a little about all of them and more of a few special ones. The abilities are categorized as; Makers, Legists, and Animal Affinity. Then there are Mages present as well; earth, cool, and fire. And they all have a strange affect on each other. But Kes is about to learn a wondrous secret of herself...
There are no mysterious turns to the story, this story is a solid fantasy style read. I enjoyed reading the beauty drawn through words of the griffins and learning of them as the story went on. In the first 100 pages I only felt for Bertaud and of his friendship with the King. I wanted to connect with Kes and the griffins, yet they seemed... standoffish. But, somewhere between 125 and 200 pages something happened, and I feel for Kes and the griffins and started to understand more of their personalities. I think part of the connection I didn't feel was because I didn't trust the Griffin Mage. I didn't like him in the first half of the story, but I came to understand him in the second half, and even start to like him in the end. I think the author wants you to not trust Kairaithin along with finding it harder to connect with him and the griffins. I started to realize it may be part of their nature since they are creatures of fire. But in the end I accepted them for who they are and liked them.
The only thing about the read I had a hard time with were the names of the griffins. It was hard for me to keep them separate at first as the names were rather long and similar to each other, example: Eskainiane Escaile Sehaikiu. What did help was the author did usually give a description of the griffin by color with the names to help differentiate them, and after giving them nicknames I started to do well with them.
After reading this book, I am curious to see where the rest of the trilogy goes. In the end of the story I felt I started to understand what makes all the characters work and would like to read the next book to see where they all go and what falls upon them.
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