Customer Reviews

The Mark of Ran: Book One of The Sea Beggars

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

 

 

I've been meaning to read some of Paul Kearney's works for some time now. This author is not widely known in North America, but he's been on the European scene for quite a while. Even better, I've only heard good things about him. Last but not least, Kearney comes with the Steven Erikson seal of approval! All in all, the odds appeared to be in favor of my liking Kearney's novels.

This author is known for the brevity of his books. And in this day and age, fans are screaming for epic fantasy works of titanic proportions, or so it seems. Hence, Kearney's novels are a far cry from the "doorstopper" works which have made Tad Williams, Robert Jordan, Steven Erikson, Peter F. Hamilton and George R. R. Martin famous. As as such, can the man compete with authors like these? Well, the answer is yes! Believe me when I tell you that great things come in small packages!

The Mark of Ran immediately grabs hold of you and won't let go. The pace is fast and crisp, with a narrative that flows effortlessly. Much like a thriller, the novel is a page-turning reading experience. With relatively short chapters, you always tell yourself that you'll only read one more. And then you reach the end of the book!

One would tend to believe that a 400-page novel would be rather linear and simplistic. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is a work that echoes with depth and an assured knowledge of the sea.

Unlike writers like Jordan, Erikson and company, Kearney doesn't go overboard (no pun intended!) with secondary characters and sub-plots. As a result, his main characters are more fleshed out more rapidly, and the novel moves along without a glitch.

Umer appears to be a far-reaching world, even if Kearney only offers us a glimpse in this opening chapter. Something tells me that the worldbuilding will continue to impress me as subsequent volumes are released.

The storylines don't necessarily offer anything new, but Kearney's style is definitely his own. The high seas and other naval elements make The Mark of Ran something special.

Hopefully this review will pique people's curiosity enough for them to give Paul Kearney a chance. Especially in the USA and Canada, where he remains little known. This is an author worth discovering! It's with great pleasure that I'll now read the second volume in The Sea Beggars sequence, This Forsaken Earth.

In my opinion, The Mark of Ran makes a fine addition to any fantasy collection.[...]

I was first introduced to Paul Kearney with his excellent (and now unfortunately OOP) Monarchies of God series. As such I was eagerly anticipating the release of The Mark of Ran. I am glad to say that Kearney was not off his game here.

The story follows a man named Rol Cortishane, a seaman who is trying to find a place in the world for himself. Reading this book I couldn't help but think that that Kearney was very much inspired by Rafael Sabatini's pirate novels. As such anyone who enjoyed Captain Blood, or The Sea Hawk will definitely enjoy this book.

As the above reviewer noted Kearney does in fact use some Epic Fantasy's more overused elements, but Kearney does it with such elan that you really don't mind. Kearney's characters as usual are great and have (dare I say) depth, quite rare in the majority of fantasy being published these days.

The book is not quite perfect however. The Mark of ran is a bit episodic, and doesn't feel self contained. Though now with all of the chess pieces in place after the first book, this will probably change now that Kearney can get to the meat of the story.

Overall, quite an enjoyable read. Anyone looking for a great sea story need not look farther than here.

As a fan of Kearney's Monarchies of God series, I was disappointed with The Mark of Ran. Stop me if any of this sounds familiar: a boy with a mysterious lineage and blossoming powers encounters a cruel trainer of assassins and a beauty with secrets. Is there a more unoriginal premise in fantasy? The plot is derivative of a dozen other novels, the characters are stereotypes, and the storyline lacks continuity. Don't excuse the averageness by saying it's the first in a series and it will get better. In my opinion, every book regardless of its position in a series should contain a complete story. This novel reads more like a sequence of episodes than a unified story with a beginning, middle, and end. The "end" here is the worst. The book just ends, with little resolution, as if the author was tired of writing any more. The potential for an engaging story exists in the love (lust is more apt) and subsequent enmity between Rol and Rowen. If they become legitimate enemies, the series will achieve some originality; however, I suspect that they will resolve their differences and work together.

The writing is passable, not memorable, and readers won't miss anything by skipping words and sentences. Kearney's talent is best displayed in the naval passages, and he would be smart to keep the story on water if he hopes to improve it. The Monarchies of God proved that he is capable of satisfying, original work.

Lets put it this way: The book sits unfinished collecting dust on my coffee table with about thirty-five pages left. I will not completely bash it, for it is an honorable introduction for some to sci-fi, but for those who are veterans of the genre, don't expect too much.

I picked up the book because I was interested at some 'On-the-sea' writing and was convinced by other reviews that this book was just what I was looking for. Well, thankfully it is pretty easy reading, because I did not want to spend much time on it. I will finish it one of these days, but I am not excited to find out what happens to the very predictable storyline...which is full of outrageous coincidences. For instance: a ship in the distance breaks apart on the rocks, all sailors are lost except for one man, the same man Rol, the lead character, befriended in a bar two years ago. Its a bit wishy-washy and not epic in the least.

Beginners only.

Rarely do I pick up a book off the shelf, buy it, enjoy it enough to write a review, buy another book by the same author, and then enjoy it just as much as the first. I was truly impressed by The Ten Thousand and this series is no disappointment.
I may have inflated my score a bit ( just a bit ) to offset what I saw as unfair reviews, but I assure you ~this book is good, definitely worth the money. I now regard Kearney as the best, least known writer in science fiction, almost criminally underread.

There are two different stories in this book, and for the reader, almost independent. The first is the coming of age of a young man, with a fast, furious pace who ends in a bloodbath, and the start of a new life. The second one, far better than its predecessor is in the line of Forrester, Pope, naval adventure intertwined with magic. Very interesting and convincing to follow the next installment.

Kearney's ground-breaking Monarchies of God series opened my eyes to the world of fantasy fiction aimed at an adult audience. The entire series was richly textured and exciting and full of interesting and nuanced characters, all set in an intriguing universe with a deep history. While, as a whole, the series was not perfect, at its high points, it contained some of the best fantasy writing I've ever encountered. The battle sequences and the sack of Aekir in particular will always stay with me.

The Mark of Ran, by contrast, offers nothing particularly memorable. A young man of uncertain parentage has a series of misadventures, none of which particularly illuminate his character. He meets some people, gets into some fights, grows up, and becomes a dull and bitter man.

There is lots of action in the Mark of Ran, but none of it is very engaging. In truth I struggled to reach the end of the book. Most disappointingly of all, the quality of the writing was generally very poor. As I was reading, I felt that Kearney's heart wasn't in the book at all. It's a short novel and yet it seemed that Kearney had to struggle to fill even as many pages as he did. I will not be reading any of the other books in this series.

I picked this novel up never having heard of Kearney before, and I have to say I enjoy his writing. I have read in some other reviews people have put him down for using common themes in fantasy. Unfortunately these themes have been used since time immemorial. You might as well scold Tolkien for ripping off Finnish folk tales.

Kearney brings a new twist to the old themes with a gritty hero who isn't a great person, in fact is relatively amoral. Kearney's writing is very stark and graphic, the hero doesn't always win, or get the girl. I get the feeling also that he has served time in both the military and on the ocean. His imagery has a lot in common with Glen Cook's Black Company series, in that it doesn't gloss over the harshness of life, whether fantasy or otherwise. His writing is spare clean and powerfull, and I relly felt immersed in his imaginary world, which is really why I shell out my hard-earned cash for a book in the first place.

I have the second book which I will be cracking open and I am hoping that it is as well written and entertaining as the first.

An enticing fantasy/adventure by Paul Kearney.

When I started to read this book I had some initial concerns that it may have been meant for an adolescent audience; such is not the case. Although the story seems to begin rather tamely, the main character (Rol) quickly becomes engrossed in a story of travel, intrigue and combat; then add to this some sexual innuendos, betrayals and a liberal dose of magic, and you have just about everything anyone could want in a good adult fantasy novel.

The quality of writing is good, however it is the story line, with its many twists and surprises, that really make this book hard to put down.

All in all, a excellent start to (hopefully) a ongoing series of entertaining novels. The second book is coming out soon and I'm looking forward to being able to continue to follow the story of Rol. 5 Stars.

First off, Paul's theory of the Gods abandoning humanity is an interesting one, but not new. He gains originality on creating a different version of shape-shifting creatures.
I would have loved to see more details about this new race though.

There is little in way of plot of the story, but lots of adventure. The description was a bit light, but enough where I can picture most of the characters. But, the scenery was fairly well shaped.

Now to the characters.
Rol- I liked him, but there was little depth or emotional growth. I did not think his wanting to kill Psellos genuine enough. He is at least quick-thinking, and not whiny like a lot of heroes his age.
I did not feel that he aged properly, I think Paul rushed through much of his learning and exprience...
He did not show enough of Rol's powers, or why he was different than other Heroes.

Rowen-I was attracted by her strength, her will power, and her character. This person was well done, and had lots of emotions. I was rooting for her, more than Rol. Yet, not enough was done about her either. I wished to read more about how she became the feared Prince killing machine she turned out to be.

Psellos-- your typical "villain" character. He's nothing special, but, darned, if I would've loved to see more of his ancient blood to be revealed later on or talked about here.

Action--it was decent. The sea scenes were worthy of many sea-going movies, and even equal to Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World.
If you love the sea, or love sea-action--this is the book for you!


Not bad over all, but not great.