Customer Reviews

The Sleeping God: A Novel of Dhulyn and Parno

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

 

 

I really enjoyed this book. On the surface, it is a standard sword-and-sorcery novel with incredible swordsmen, barbarians, snivelly townsfolk, and evil magicians plotting destruction. But it's more than that: each character is solidly portrayed, with development and growth that is believable.

Each character makes a choice/choices, both good and bad, that have consequences. Some of the decisions of the characters are agonizing to read, because you know they will regret them later. Other decisions are so right, fit so perfectly with the character, that you simply agree with the character and continue reading.

The world is mapped out more by caste than by geography, which is unusual. The various castes are not explicitly defined, but instead are shown to the reader by each character's actions and beliefs. Figuring out exactly what each caste's role is adds another layer to the story.

An improvement over The Mirror Prince, which was also enjoyable but more uneven, this book is good escapist fiction that also shows strong characters with distinct personalities acting according to their nature.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
on 09/22/2007

Members of the Mercenary Guild, Partners Dhulyn Wolfshead and Parno Lionsmane are accustomed to danger. Their fighting spirit is summed up in their ritualized parting: "In Battle," to which another Mercenary replies "Or in Death."

When they arrive in the land of Parno's birth, they are shocked to find homicidal hostility toward the Marked--people born an ability to Find, Mend, Heal, or See. Historically, the Marked have been treated as everyday tradespeople, paid for appreciated services. Now, they're being persecuted by priests of the Sleeping God.

Dhulyn has a secret Mark, that of Sight, which is the rarest of the four. Guided by her ability to See, she and Parno take on a commission to deliver a young girl to her family in a city Parno both misses and would rather forget. Their arrival triggers a series of events that could change everything.

In this fully realized fantasy, Violette Malan blends traditional elements with her characters' unique perspectives. Not only are the settings vivid, but the social structure and climes are understandable and believable. Readers will experience this journey as if they were part of it, a sure sign of good fantasy writing.

This novel is a fun read with a great combination of danger, intrigue, humor, and more. The pace only slows long enough for readers to catch a breath before picking up with more action.

Violette Malan's THE SLEEPING GOD is a great choice for good fantasy reading.


4.5-Books

My main issues are with Dhulyn & Parno being billed to among the greatest warriors known ,but there are only a few fight scenes. Malan makes it clear in the book and builds the prowess of the Dhulyn and Parno but just doesn't deliver or back it up enough. The few battle scenes in the book are glossed over and end quickly which doesn't seem to be consistent with her two battle loving main characters. The pacing was also off amd again I have to point to the main characters not being involved in as much action as you might expect. At times the story moves slow enough where a reader could very well lose interest, but luckily the plot is good enough to give it time to unravel. A patient reader will be rewarded.

In the end I can recommend The Sleeping God to those who enjoy a good political intrigue fantasy. The characters and plot are strong enough to make you stick around even if the action that the reader is expecting never materializes. I would not recommend this to anyone who is looking for an action packed slug fest. Overall, Malan manages to pull off an intriguing story of politics, love, and the fate of the world without being clichéd and should not disappoint readers in those aspects.

I really, really, really wanted to like this novel. It showed so much promise. The world building was magnificent, and the idea of The Brotherhood of Mercenaries blew me away. I could tell the society was complex, and would have enjoyed knowing more.

I ended up putting this book aside, thinking to come back to it when I was more 'in the mood'. Only to realize that I really didn't care what happened to the characters and that I wasn't going to finish it.

This book is like the display cakes at the bakery: it SEEMS like it's gonna be great, but it's actually indigestible.

It strays from classic sword and scorcery type books in that it has very little real conflict of arms. The makings are there for subsequent books that may have more but this one is about intrigue and a curious relationship between the two main characters. Both Parno and Dhuyn are interesting in their own rights, but their relationship is the bright light of this book.

I found this book to be mildly involving, but either way too long or the author was not sure how to make an ending. After about 350 or so pages, we know just about everything and it seems like it is time to end it. But it goes on and on for close to another 100 pages and by then, interest wanes.

The problem may be that, being the first book in a series, we have to learn who Dhulyn is and who Parno is, where they came from and all that background detail. But there is also a very complex tale with a lot of other people (& a "thing") including one young woman who is, in a way, more interesting than either of the two main characters. And the three stories just don't mesh very well.

Don't publishers have real editors anymore? You know, the kind that work with an author to tighten things up, sharpen the plot, etc. Ms. Malan needed one I am thinking.

My problem with this book was the writing. It was frequently difficult to tell when the speaker or scene had changed. I'd have to go back and re-read to figure out what was going in. It was very distracting and detracted from the overall experience.

This ia a good enough read. I liked the idea of a "mercenary brotherhood". I will give the second novel a go but stop there if the story does not kick up a notch or two.

I really wish I could have liked the story more. The cover is amazing and immediately caught my interest. The book starts out really good and I was happy to have found a little gem. The world building is very well done and kept me going for a while. Unfortunately, the story begins to loose its appeal after around 150 pages. The plot is okay, if a bit cheesy and even without reading the ending first one can easily guess how the story is going to continue and will finally end.
But the main lack for me is the author's inability when it comes to emotional connections. I had a hard time believing that Dhulyn & Parno are as important to each other as the author wants me to believe. It simply isn't enough to write about a connection like this but to make the reader believe it, feel it. Yes, I'm very well aware that this isn't planned to be a love story but a sword-and-sorcery novel. Still, I want to feel an emotional connection to and between the main characters. I need to either love or hate them and. And this simply didn't happen here.
Someone else pointed out that there aren't really a lot fighting scenes and I would agree. Let them fight some more in the next book. I want to see some of the things they are able to do.

Overall, I didn't regret reading the book but I'm a bit disappointed... it could have been done better. However, I will buy the sequel and give Dhulyn & Parno a second chance. There is a lot of potential with them.

The two Mercenary Brotherhood members, psychic Dhulyn Wolfshead and former noble Parno Lionsmane, are assigned a relatively simple task. They need to escort orphaned Mar-eMar to her royal relatives at Tenebro House in Gotterang, Imrion.

The pair expects a quick trip with no issues. Instead the supernatural magical Marked have reasons known only to them to prevent them from succeeding. Meanwhile the zealous New Believers think that the Marked are conjuring a way to awaken the Sleeping God and consequently destroy the world. They too want Parno and Dhulyn stopped. None of these two groups of adversaries or the Mercenary Brotherhood is aware that the diabolical Green Shadow is playing everyone for a fool; regardless Parno and Dhulyn know their mission could prove lethal, but they will continue to press forward in order to keep Mar safe until they can drop her off with her kin.

This exciting sword and sorcery fantasy is fun to follow because of the camaraderie of the Mercenary Brotherhood tandem, who each knows to trust one another and no one else. Although somewhat typical of the sub-genre, the lead heroes and the diabolical Machiavellian Green Shadow bring freshness to a simple escort task that turns into a series of potentially deadly escapades as Violette Malan disproves that your enemy's enemy is your friend; Dhulyn and Parno know first hand that their enemy's enemy is also their enemy.

Harriet Klausner