Customer Reviews

Rules of Ascension: Book One of Winds of the Forelands (Winds of the Forelands Tetralogy)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Forelands consist of seven dukedoms reporting to a central monarch. The land is sent into turmoil with the deaths of the current king and his heir until the RULES OF ASCENSION prevail with Javan becoming the ruler and his self-centered teenage son Tavin next in line.

As required of the rite of passage of a sixteen-year-old, Tavin visits a Qirsi seer to learn his fate. Instead of glorious royal trappings, Tavin sees a future in chains inside a dark dungeon. Not long afterward, the foretelling occurs as Tavin is incarcerated for murdering his girlfriend based on strong physical evidence that include the means and opportunity. The incident leads to war among the dukedoms. To prove his innocence, save his life, and ultimately the kingdom Tavin reluctantly turns to the Qirsi, but that race is divided between loyalty to the throne and a desire to take the crown.

On the surface RULES OF ASCENSION is a typical sword and sorcery epic adventure set in a feudal land. In actuality, the first novel in David B. Coe's Winds of the Forelands is a fast-paced story line loaded with political intrigue that would have awed the whole line of King Henrys and a conspiracy who-done-it for mystery aficionados. The charcaters and the land feel genuine so that the audience for accepts the authenticity of the magical abilities of the Qirsi. Fantasy lovers will fully enjoy this tale that can stand alone, but the author has cleverly planted the seed for book two.

Harriet Klausner

This fantasy adventure has as many twists and turns as a castle labyrinth. Devious plots, epic battles, gentle love, poignant sacrifice. It's all played out on a field of shifting political and personal fortunes. It always kept me guessing. The Qirsi race is a wonderful creation, eerie and mysterious, and I can't wait to find out more about them. I love having my assumptions turned on their heads. There I am, thinking I'm so smart and I have it figured out, and then the writer takes me by surprise.

If you like intrigue and characterization along with interesting magic and blowout battle scenes and sense of wonder, this is for you.

I have been looking for the next great series of high fantasy ever since I finished George R.R. Martins last book and have been going through a dry spell until I happened on Mr. Coe's book.

The worst thing about this book is the cover.

Some of the ideas and the characters are very similar to other writers, but his development of the families and such is very unique and his manner of writing and dialogue are wonderful. I will say that his first installment in very similar to Mr. Martin's Song of fire and ice, although it is with less violence and sexual conotation.

I will anxiously await the Seeds of Betrayal and hope that I can now find another novel to tide me over until Jordan, Martin, or Willimas come out with another novel.

I was pleasantly surprised by Rules of Ascension, the first volume in David Coe's Winds of the Forelands series. I had read his Lon Tobyn Chronicles trilogy a few years back, and while they were enjoyable, they were also pretty basic and predictable. I took a chance on Rules of Ascension out of sheer boredom, and am glad I did.

This series is significantly better than Coe's previous work. It is smarter, the characters are more compelling, and the plot is much more layered. George R.R. Martin's brilliant Song of Ice and Fire series has made me appreciate political intrigue in my epic fantasy, and Rules of Ascension has plenty to go around, along with the traditional sword and sorcery elements.

You need to try and go into this series without expectations though. Other reviewers have compared the Winds of the Forelands with Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series or the aforementioned Song of Ice and Fire, which is neither accurate nor realistic. Coe's work, while quite good, is simply not up to that standard. Martin's work is an obvious influence, and I'd guess Guy Gavriel Kay's is as well, but if you're looking for a better point of comparison I'd suggest John Marco's Tyrants and Kings series.

Rules of Ascension is a great beginning to an engaging series that should appeal to most fantasy fiction fans. Expect to be entertained, and you will not be disappointed.

This series is kind of a hidden gem that most fantasy fans don't know about. At times it's a rough gem, but it's a gem none the less. It reminds me a lot of Martin pre-Sword of Storms paperback. I'd talk to my friends that were into Jordan and Goodkind, the typical mainstream at the time, and they would have no idea who he was. Now, one novel later, everyone knows who Martin is. I hope that's the future for David B. Coe.

Don't mistake me, this series is not another epic once-in-a-generation-tale like "A Song of Ice and Fire", but its very good. Its interesting in a way that lots of fantasy series aren't. There are no elves, dwarves, or other high fantasy baggage. Instead we have the two people, the physical Eandi and the magical Qirsi. There are great battles, but there aren't many. Instead we have plots and counter plots. We have a conspiracy that has every noble thinking his advisor is his enemy. And in the middle of this we have our main characters Grinsa and Travis, and they aren't perfect, they screw up, they get annoyed by each other, but they keep working against our bad guys. The world is highly thought out, both politically and the geography, the characters are fleshed out, having obvious relationships with other characters in the world that have history beyond the pages, and the magic is rigid and easily explained while still being worthy of note.

The best thing I can say here, is I'm personally glad I picked up the first book when it came out. It was a chance thing. I was looking for a new name I hadn't heard of before, and, boy, did I find one. Coe is good. He does have some problems with his structure, an over reliance on exposition that can get annoying at times when he's catching up on events in earlier novels, but his books flow. And the plot of this series is complex, especially in the second novel where you have three parties each looking to catch and kill the others, all hunting through the land. A great game of cat and mouse.

Final Thought: It's a political novel over a war-based novel that deals with racial issues in a "who can you trust" setting. If you're interested in something like that, then pick it up.

David Coe's new fantasy series is among the best that I have read in a lifetime of books cluttering every room of my home. His first series, dealing with the inhabitants of the world of Lon Tobyn, introduced me to Coe's uncanny ability to write characters that are so real, I almost felt like I knew them from next door. In Rules of Ascension, David Coe exceeded my expectations, weaving an intricate plot around the mysteries that face everyone at one point in their lives -- dealing with a thirst for power (be it your own or someone around you), insecurity, parent/child relationships, friendship and betrayal. The strength of Coe's writing is that his characters are real, and that you care about them, warts and all. The flaws in each character in this epic novel only serve to make them more endearing, and more intriguing. This is a masterpiece that any serious fantasy reader should own. I eagerly await book two.

This is one book on my shelves that was worth the price and then some. I only wish there were a rating above five stars, for David Coe has earned each and every one with this novel. Kudos to the author.

I'm very happy with this series. Currently reading the second book and no loss of steam power from the author. What I don't get is why more people haven't discovered this book. DOH! Must be that Tor didn't market it as hard compared to more mediocre fantasy novels.

The best way to view the story is to imagine a lot of petty kingdoms with dukes as vassals to these kings. The first book focuses on several of the dukes of one kingdom as well as other characters who come into and out of the tale. There's also a race of albino type beings who have short life spans, practice magic and lost big time against the humans in a war from long ago.

I would say the character complexities are close to that of George R.R. Martin's fantasy series. Coe spends a lot of time developing such characters, and, like Martin, he's big on believable History of the realm.

PROS

(1) At heart this is a murder mystery and conspiracy tale, so, if you like such things, this is good.

(2) Complex characters;

(3) No long typical fantasy tale journeys where it gives the characters and excuse to bore us with the rules of magic or a long, boring tale of Historical stuff that could have been spread out in the novel.;

(4) He doesn't follow the typical fantasy archetype adventure which is refreshing.;

(5) Lots of interesting Historical detail which feels different and not a rehash of previous fantasy books; and

(6) Magic is low and not like some bad RPGing game.


CONS

(1) There are a ton of names and places to keep track of, but, if you hold out, it's worth it b/c it makes the story more complex than the simple tales. If you prefer the simple ones, and, that doesn't mean you're stupid by the way, then HARRY POTTER or ERAGON should do nicely. It's too bad the book doesn't have an appendix of names and places but this is probably more a decision of the publisher than the author.;

(2) If you want to spend all your time with only one main character, then, this is surely not the book for you.; and

(3) Not a ton of battles, although there are a few, so, if you need a lot, this isn't it. Think intrigue more than hack and slash/break the door down/charge style.

A young nobleman wrongfully accused of murder. A race of sorcerors that was once betrayed and conquered but now, as advisors, holds great power in the land. A conspiracy led by a mysterious dream-walker. Assassins, torture, secrets, fortunetelling, ghosts--even wonderful titles for both book and saga. And yet . . . something's missing.

It's hard to say exactly what that something is. It's not the author's writing technique, which flows well and, in places, is elegant. Rather, someone once said that reading a good book or a poem in translation is like making love through plate-glass: you can see everything, but it just doesn't feel the same. It's like that here: you can see all of these elements and hear the characters and watch them in life and death situations . . . but you're not really afraid for them because you know they'll be just fine. (Part of this may be the book's general "PG-13" atmosphere, as compared to the solid "R" or "NC-17" of, for example, _A Game of Thrones_. Thus, younger fans or fans of "high" fantasy may find this book more engaging than their older or "lower" counterparts.)

Not fearing for the character is a minor problem; however, not being able to know them is not. They have faces and a trait or two, but not full-blooded hearts. None has a distinctive way of speaking, and the ones who must be different (such as the alcholic duke whose belief in the hero's guilt cannot be shaken for the plot's sake) are perilously close to caricatures. Character interaction is also weakened by ad nauseum descriptions of small smiles, head nods, and one person saying the other's name to stop him/her just before he/she leaves the room. (And while it would giving away too much to elaborate, one of the two "hooks" in the final chapter was so cliched that it provoked a spontaneous groan.)

If you enjoy a fairly clean, high fantasy tale, you may very well find this to be a 4-5 star book. But if you're looking for a fantasy with true fire and passion, the works of George R.R. Martin, Robin Hobb, and (particularly) Guy Gavriel Kay should prove much more satisfying. A 3-1/2 star book, recommended as a used purchase or library loan.

This is the first I've read of David Coe and I'm glad I bought it. The story was slow getting started, but then after about the 4th chapter I couldn't put it down. It's very easy to read and he doesn't throw in these huge made up names that takes about 5 minutes just to try to pronounce before you move to the next word. He doesn't go into a lot a wordy details just to fill up the pages. He gets right to the juice of the story and tells a great one. Some people who are use to wordy fantasy novels, like Jorden, will think this book is a bit sketchy. But those of you who like to read D&D novels, Wiseman & Hickman, will love his style of writing. I can't wait for book 2.

I made the mistake of picking this book up during my last semester of my master's program. I couldn't put it down, and when I was at school or work I'd be so busy thinking what the characters were up too! These are some of the best fantasy characters I've yet to encounter! They're real and have dimension, and you get so involved with their lives. Coe has created a fantasy world all of his own, with gorgeous landscape and turbulent borders. The Rules of Ascension are very well crafted, and you can tell he didn't make the doctrine up as he went along. I have yet to see what the first 20 or so pages have to do with the "big picture", but there are 3 books left, and the story's interesting...sooo... Okay, I like this guy also because he has a picture of his dog on his website. He seems really down to earth and his stories are amazing!!! READ COE!