Customer Reviews

The Seer King

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is the opening volume of a war-with-swords-and-magic trilogy, taking place in a somewhat stripped-down world with Roman-empire military technology and also magic and demons.

Let me take care of the sex scenes issue up front. An earlier reviewer was right on the mark when he compared them to "Letters to Penthouse", except, to be precise, they're more like "Letters to Penthouse Variations" in their systematic kinkiness. And they're not there to develop the character or the plot, either. You go along for 50 pages of plot, and then you get a ten page kinky sex scene, sort of like beer commercials in the middle of a football game. I've never seen anything quite like it. It's weird. Well, you can take that as a plus or a minus, it's up to you.

Basically this trilogy is all about war, civil and otherwise. The protagonist, Damastes a Cimabue, is discovered in prison at the beginning of Volume I, expecting to die, penning his reflections on the rise and fall of his career as the friend, tool, and dupe of Tenedos, mage-emperor of Numantia. (Don't get too discouraged, though, that isn't really how the trilogy ends.)

Numantia is an empire which has no emperor, is ruled by a committee, and is unraveling into its component kingdoms. Or so it is when Damastes encounters the Seer (really mage) Tenedos, who has some big ideas but no batallions. Since the book is called "The Seer King", I don't think I'm giving anyway any deep secrets by telling you that through his tactical and strategic abilities Damastes is able to help Tenedos realize some or all of these ideas.

Bunch maintains a lot of energy and is mostly convincing when he is writing about military campaigns, relationships among officers and men, victories, defeats, miserable retreats through lousy terrain, the effects of war on the civilian populace, and so on.

On the minus side, the social-science side of things is pretty weak. In essence this is a world with two empires in it (and some border terrain). There are supposedly some other kingdoms somewhere, but you never find out anything about them. A lot of subject areas just haven't been explored well, such as oceanic trade, supplying the capital city with food, the economic system, the religious infrastructure (you learn about some of the gods, but are there scriptures? disputes? etc.), history, political philosophy, and intellectual pursuits in general. The level of civilization is somewhere between imperial Rome and 17th-century London, but nobody ever reads or writes a book (or scroll).

A huge and powerful secret society of assassins appears, being a sect of demon-worshipers in volume 1, a worker-artisan-peasant alliance in volume 2, and millenarians of some kind in volume 3. And they manage to do this without any aboveground propaganda, organization, etc. Take it from me, it's not that easy to organize even an ordinary secret society, let alone one in which all the thousands of members are fanatical assassins! Of course this is a reflection of Bunch's Viet Nam experience, but it suggests that he never really understood Viet Nam. People don't become VC-style militants just out of mob instinct, without the effects of the social, political, and cultural context.

These things may seem nitpicky, but in my book you have to at least think about these things some to get more than 3 stars.

Then there is the magic. Now, some of it is pretty cool. I kind of like the incantations, with their vague and suggestive wording. And there is some interesting use of substances, like expanding skillets, one boat turned into many boats, that sort of thing.

But when you sit down and try to make sense of it, you start to realize that Bunch has sort of skated over some of the problems. For example, how come nobody else has figured out how to do the stuff that Tenedos does? Is it just that he has more "mana" than anyone ever had in the history of the world before? Or fewer scruples? How come he doesn't use one good spell over and over again, instead of having to create something original for each battle? Although it is crystal clear by the end of Volume 1 that "Great Spells" and the use of demons are as powerful as tactical nukes, how come this has no effect on the organization of armies, states, etc.? How come everyone just organizes for battle the same way as "always", sort of hoping the enemy's next Great Spell won't kill too many thousand? Doesn't technological development induce social change?

Well, that's the sort of thing Bunch would have to address better than he does before he would get top marks from me. Furthermore, since you're going to want to read all 3 books, I think it makes sense to rate the trilogy as a unit. This means that the whole trilogy suffers from the fact that Damastes is so willfully ignorant throughout Volume 2, which I consider to be another defect. However, three stars is not a bad rating in my book.

Let's tackle this head on: Very graphic sex and fantasy is definitely not your standard bread-and-butter combination. Should you have problem with the former, you don't need to read on & simply forget this book (series) - because there's plenty of it, treading a very fine line between feeling weirdly out of place and actually cutting the edge.

However, if you don't mind, you will be treated to a very deftly written yarn - a young military officer and an equally young wizard that set out to find their destiny, face uncountable dangers & conquer a realm. Not a very innovative plotline - but always very welcome, especially if well written. Chris Bunch does a really neat job here; very down-to- earth, fast-paced, nitty-gritty, blood&sweat&tears, no-frills action garnished with very solid military lore. (I think it's the earthiness of this book that actually let's the sex fit in without feeling too awkward). Bunch succeeds in instilling his protagonists with an unerring sense of urgency, especially Tenedos, on their quest to glory, while far on the horizon dark clouds start to build up (BTW, not a very smooth trick to give THAT away in the prologue of the book). Definitely worth a try ! (i.e. a very solid 4 stars effort).

Unfortunately, that's the good news. If Bunch had slapped on another 150, 200 (tops) pages to tie down all the loose ends, he would have created a very nifty & tight epos. As is, the series starts to nosedive in subsequent volumes. Volume 2 (The Demon King) is basically Napoleon's Russia disaster revisited, with the two main protagonists going jaded or plain nuts and the graphic sex now actually feeling completely out of place. Emotionally a real downer of a book with a downer-ending. Still, by sheer fascinating grimness, close to 3 stars. The final instalment (The Warrior King) got me p...ed off. Somebody from the publishing house must have reminded Chris that there still was a final volume to write and sure enough Chris went ahead and churned out `them pages'. Sloppy plot, uninspired writing, cop-out solutions, tired, programmatic action & finale. So much more could have been done with this. All in all, I think the sex was the most interesting thing this time around. `Nough said ? 1-star effort.

So what do I recommend ? Stick to the first volume - and simply imagine the story ends there. It's not that bad a breaking point, actually...

Sparrowhawk

Flawed but made up with it's intensity. I read this two years ago and have yet to find a book with the same great combo of sword, sorcery, passion and yes, sex scenes. Hey if I am going to fantasize about swordsmanship and battles, I may as well have the fantasy sex along for the ride as well. Bunch scores big in my book. My only complaint is that his next two books fall short maybe due to my "high" expectations. If you are a guy that can enjoy Maxim magazine for a few laughs without apology, but also have rudimentary reading skills (that eliminates 50% of their subscribers), you'll enjoy this book.

First, I'd like to take exception to Gigei's review. I have read well over 200 books.

Now, I don't review often, but this series is so unique I feel I have to say a good word or two about it. The violence and magic are very well done, as is the sacrifice one must make for power. The battles are very detailed and well thought out. The sex is, um, very arousing. This is the ONLY series I've ever read that has combined sex and fantasy successfully. I think the end result is a very good series, but I wouldn't recommend anyone under 13 reading it.

The only flaw, if there is one, is that there is no second series to carry on the story.

This is adult fantasy at its best. Chris Bunch has created a world full of sorcery, battles, intrigue, political backstabbing and human feelings. The technique of the first person narrator works perfectly, given the fact that Damastes is a trustworthy, loyal soldier. A lot of negative things have been written about the sex passages in the book, but I think they are functional and they contribute to the development of the character of Damastes. Not once did I feel that I was reading a fantasy novel that a child could also read. This is a serious book, written for adults. The blood and gore of the battle scenes support this view. The battles, by the way, are described in a way that makes clear that Bunch must have some experience in this field. I can honestly say that this is one of the best books I have ever read.

This was the first book I had ever read by Bunch and it blew me away. I read it faster than any book I had before. This book is centered around a realistic hero, Damastes. He is the hero but has flaws and he knows about them but won't let that stop him from going from a nobody to being a hero for his kingdom. If you like fastasy books or military books then this is for you. Bunch creates the most realistic military battles I have ever read and sets them in a fully developed world. He must have been In the army himself because is knowledge of military structure is second to none. There are many developed secondary characters that move the story along. Bunch writes fast paced and action packed and doesn't waste any words. There are also great seens of magic from the Seer Tenedos who is Damastes friend and leader. I should also mention that there are grapic sex seens in this book that are well written but if you don't like that kind of stuff its ok because you can skip those parts and you won't loose any of the story. Overall an epic story of military-fantasy and a great read. This is the first book of 3 in this series and the others dont dissapoint either.

I always read the reviews on and in new books to find key words like "epic" and "fully developed world" and was completely fooled this time. There is nothing epic about it! The big fight with the monstrous demon takes one page! (If you don't count the entire page taken up by the spell) There's no time to get wrapped up in it at all. - The magic which plays a key role in every battle is never expounded upon as in other true "epics" (such as by Feist, Eddings, and Jordan). The mage casts spells, each bigger than the last but, some leave him drained to collapse while all of the huge climactic spells seem to have no effect on him whatsoever! - The narrator takes two pages to give us reasons why the troops shouldn't attack before what turns out to be a tragic slaughter, but the general says go, the mage alone protests, the men attack and half are killed. That's it, no mutiny, no insubordination, they march to their death, and then say "I guess it' time to rebuild!" - The "Rule of Ten" who govern the land are completely ineffectual, gutless cowards. What are the odds that 10 men who have ruled an ENTIRE KINGDOM for a couple of generations would just bluster for about a half hour and then give in to all the seer's demands! They have no tricks up their sleeves, and simply fade away. I would like to say more, but will merely say that this is no epic, maybe a forgettable beach read.

The Seer King offers but two things: graphic sex and detailed descriptions of strategy and battle tactics. Character, world-building, even plot -- all the finer points of literature -- are mostly glossed over or outright ignored. Fine. This is a book that knows its limits. What is objectionable is that its trite. The sex scenes are stale, unimaginative and not particulary evocative. The battle scenes are straightforward descriptions of standard tactics lifted, one supposes, directly from the manual. One is left with the impression that the principal character is a competent soldier, but not the budding Napoleon that the author is attempting to describe. Overall, the novel lacks vivid descriptions of either sex or violence, its supposed strengths. With nothing else to fall back on, the reader is left to regret his/her purchase.

I read this book years ago and I still think it is one of the most unique books I have ever read. The battles and fight scenes are excellent and the mystery behind the magic I thought added to the story. Bunch is no longer with us but I still enjoy these books today.

It is good, particularily with the millitary and magic systems. The first person POV leaves you less then surprised that the main characters going to live through everything.

That and Damastes EPIC FORESHADWING of the future betrayal. Meaning it pops up and hits you like a brick every fifty to hundred pages (possibly less).

Then theres the sex scenes that just pop up. Didn't surprise me much as it seemed a bit GRRM, with less pretense.

A quick read with few surprises and not too bad.