Customer Reviews

Paladins II: Knight Moves (v. 2)

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

 

 

The first book in the series, Paladins, was a great book. I've long been a fan of Rosenberg (20 years now) and I found Paladins to be one of his best. The characterization was outstanding (as always) and the world interesting.

This book is almost as good from a writing viewpoint. The characters are again great. The only real problem with the writing is that we jump around a bit much between different plots. But I'm generally okay with that. What I greatly disliked is that the book doesn't end. In most of his previous series, each book stood on its own. This one feels like the first half (third?) of a book. Very annoying....

The second book in this series is as good as the first. I am eagerly awaiting the next book. I do hope it has more history since what has been written in the first two books was very interesting. More of the back story on Cully would be of interest, especially his relationship with the Abbot since they seem to have had a long and not always cordial relationship with each other, I wondered if they were once friends and had a falling out or were always at odds. All the players are well drawn and very interesting.

Paladins II Knight Moves is an excellent follow-up Paladins by Joel Rosenberg. The genre is alternative hisory/fantasy. The charaterization is awesome. Why, because there is no readily discernable hero. Is it Gray, Cully, or, Niko? Or is it the Admiral? Each one of these people has flaws and foibles that do not fit traditional fantasy. There are characters who you might find more interesting than others- but does not this mirror life. In this second book you find out a little bit more about each of these characters through their thoughts , words and deeds. The novel has a multicultural aspect that reflects the world in which we presently live. Finally, if you are a reader who prefers to read a novel and to be suprised at the ending-- while in afterthought realizing that what seemed a number of unrelated events and characters are woven into a complex, but tight tapestry-- Paladins II is the novel for you. I await the next installment in this oxymoronic realistic/fantasy series.

About page 249 someone in this book says, "All this talk isn't getting us anywhere." or something of that nature. It certainly doesn't get us very far. I read the first book and thought that it was worth a look at the second. Probably a wrong decision. There's too much talk and not a live-action for a fantasy/alternative reality book. For example one of the groups of good guys visits some great magician or whatever. Do we really need pages of everyone in the group's reactions, particularly when 90% of it isn't especially relevant to the plot. I think a decent editor would have cut out at least three quarters of this.
The book takes place in an alternative 17th-century, about which I have no great problem but gunpowder hasn't been invented? Perhaps they don't need it with those super magical swords that seem to be able to do anything. This is my next major problem. The swords seem to be so powerful that there is little point in using anything else, apart from collateral damage. You just have to swing them around a little and everything dies.
Lastly this author, among many others, should realise that people don't necessarily read parts of a trilogy one after the other. It's been months since I read the first book, and there are constant references to characters I cannot remember. All right, I may be getting old, but a list of characters at the beginning wouldn't be such a bad thing. At least it would save me constantly having to reference the first volume.
Aside from that it's a fairly typical plot, groups of friends get into danger looking for a looming evil etc. etc. Nothing particularly innovative here.

Joel Rosenberg's PALADINS II: KNIGHT MOVES tells of a world ruled by the Pendragon flag, which flies over much of Europe, Asia and the New World, and of magical swords which work in service of good or evil. Add an old force in form of a witch and the undead that are infesting Europe and you have a hard-hitting fantasy packed with action.