Customer Reviews

Sorcery Rising

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

"Literary fantasy" it isn't, but if you're looking for some good, fast, fun adventure, this is the book for you.

This book moves along at an incredibly rapid clip. There are quite a few characters, but the author doesn't sit with any one of them too long; she cycles through the characters quickly enough that you never get bored with any of them, and in such a way that the plot moves right along. The characters themselves aren't particularly deep or complex, but they are all well-defined and act consistently, and are mostly quite likeable. Also, there are thankfully no "Good" or "Evil" characters, just people who are living their lives. An interesting twist that's not found in too many fantasy novels is that the different characters in the book are from very different societies, meeting at the "Allfair," rather than a group of people all hailing from the same village/region, which adds some interest to their interactions. Additionally, the banter/dialogue between the characters tends to be quite entertaining.

This novel is clearly the opening to a bigger story, a prologue really, written mainly to establish the characters and world. The series title, "Fool's Gold," is apt, but it's not what this particular book is about. This book is about the re-emergence of magic. At the beginning of the novel, magic really is a non-issue in the world, but as the book progresses, simple charms and spells start working far too effectively, as the characters realize that the magic of the world is "re-awakening." Not an entirely novel idea, but it's presented in a fun way.

Overall, this is fun fantasy. If you want dark, realistic, complex nitty gritty, look elsewhere, but if you're looking for something along the lines of Farland's Runelords or Haydon's Rhapsody (minus the angst), then this is the book for you. A solid, if not perfect, debut novel. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

This book annoyed me enough to pull me out of the story from time-to-time. As other reviewers have said, this book is definately a set-up for the series. For watchers of anime series: this is the Carnival episode! (The episode where, in a long storyline, everyone goes to a carnival and mayhem ensues, but very little happens in the way of plot advancement.) In other words, I found it hilarious that this story took place over four days of the "Allfair."

This book also has the stumbling block that the three main cultures were derived from earth: Gypsies (Footloose, which meant I had the popular 80s anthem running in my head non-stop - ugh), Norse (Eryans, complete with battle axes and sword-weilding women), and the Arabs (Istrians, with veiled women and laughable misogyny in which they claim that it's a women's privledge to be veiled.) The males thought about sex non-stop. Saro, one of the Istrians, seemed disillusioned with his culture, which naturally made him one of the good guys. So, as a good guy, he had to fall in love with Katla (our heroine) practically at first sight.

Katla, as the main character, is a little bit of a drag. She's bossy, imperious, pig-headed (as the author informs us more than once), and is written as a Mary Sue, despite all these shortcomings. She's a fast runner, the greatest swordmaker at the Fair, an amazing rockclimber, and it looks like she's getting some strong magical powers thrown into the mix. Ugh. When ill befell her, I found that I didn't care too much. Let's add to this that a enormous number of male characters are in love with her. Blargh.

Then there's the Rosa Eldi, the Rose of Elda, a nameless amnesiac who fills men with overwhelming (plot-driving?) lust.

Personally, I preferred Selen, the Istrian daughter of a nobleman. Her struggles and emotions seemed realistic. Eron too seemed like a decent character - not too overdrawn, with a personality that seemed feasible. In fact, the minor characters of this book may have been the strongest points - Katla's father with his wandering soul, brave Tor, sensitive Saro, narrow-minded and fanatical Fent.

The endless references to sex, as mentioned by another writer, were awfully funny. I realize that these are 'barbaric' cultures, but they might think of something else once in a while. There was also an enormous amount of unrequited love, which was annoying.

Despite all this, I really loved some of the lesser characters enough to get book 2 and find out what happens to them. The climax of the book is interesting and exciting, even though it takes ages to get there. Some of the subplots held a lot of promise. It'll be interesting to see how this author handles the threat of war and the return of magic to the world. I'd recommed this author before Anne Bishop but left in the dust by Carol Berg. Give it a try and make up your own mind.

I must say I started reading SORCERY RISING with a few misgivings: I so rarely find fantasy that really excites me any more, it all seems to be a mishmash of the same old plots and characters, same old quest-structure, same old quasi-Tolkien set-up. And I can't say this one is all brand new, either - there's lots of familiar territory, including a Viking-style culture in the north and a Roman/Mediterranean culture in the south that reminded be a little of some of Guy Kay's work; but the characters just had me hooked!

I defy anyone to read this and not love Katla Aransen: she's the feistiest, funniest, most headstrong and contrary female fantasy character I've encountered in years. The Rosa Eldi, that strange, magical creature abducted first by a mage, then by his apprentice, to wreak havoc in the world, is deliciously intriguing, and Selen Issian takes on the role of oppressed women the world over (how interesting that the Istrian women's 'sabatkas' so resemble Afghan 'burqas'; yet this must have been written before the light shone on recent events in that part of the world). This is not to say Fisher goes light on the guys: she offers a wide variety of male characters all the way from utterly vile...(Tanto Vingo and Tycho Issian) to adorable (Saro Vingo and Erno Hamson).

Other people have talked about the plot, so I won't go on about that. All I can say is I couldn't stop reading, and that I'm desperate for the next volume. If you like Robin Hobb and George RR Martin, this is next best thing while you're waiting for their new books!

I had high hopes for Sorcery Rising when I saw that it came with a recommendation from Robin Hobb. One of the things that I like so much about Hobb as a writer is that she works within epic fantasy tropes to create something really unique. Unfortunately, Fisher is pretty heavy on the stock fantasy elements and fairly light on the unique. This said, she is clearly a good craftsman and the writing flows smoothly all the same.

The main "real" story seems to be centered in the competing God myths that the different cultures have-- Falla and Sur. There is something in it about magic coming back to the world and the consequences of getting what you pray for that has the potential to be really interesting. I wish that the book had focused itself a little bit more here and a little bit less on the competing romantic and sexual issues of the various characters.

Katla is one of a long tradition of strong tomboy fantasy characters and she does not disappoint as being part of that tradition. Her relationship with her brothers adds a new and interesting complexity to the character type as does her weapon-making ability. I would have preferred it if Fisher had taken a page from Modesitt and focused on Katla's love of the craft. It would have made the subsequent actions of her father that much more compelling.

I was not bothered by Fisher mining the Viking tradition. She does it well, and it is nice to see nordic races treated as more than blond barbarian counterparts to complicated English/Irish/French-based nobility types. However, I was annoyed to have the typical gypsies and the now nearly-standard middle eastern characters in the book. They did feel like retreads in a way that the Eryans did not.

In short, it was a decent use of a few hours and I liked it enough that I will probably pick up the next book in the series. The book should appeal to fans of swords & sorcery fantasy epics. It has a number of sexual plot elements and is not suitable for younger readers.

Sorcery Rising has an interesting concept with well fleshed-out cultures, but it reads like an extended prologue, slow moving and spread thin. I kept waiting for the "real" action and revelations to begin, but instead the story got bugged down in frustrating misunderstandings and mistaken intentions, fiery speeches, and actions scenes that sometimes seemed like just "filler."

The story takes place over a span of only a few days, so all the exciting plot lines that are implied never even get to see the light of day. Obviously this is a book that will be part of a series, but so many threads are started here and left barely woven, that I had a hard time feeling like I ever entered the "meat" of the story.

It's implied that certain characters are going to meet and get to know each other, but they never get beyond fleeting glimpses. Most of the main characters are quiet likeable - Saro, Katla, Selen, and Erno - but almost all the others, especially the men, are painted as vile, lecherous, and despicable, and after a while they all blended together and I had trouble keeping them apart. Characters often refuse to believe blatant things that should be obvious, or misconstrue each other's intentions in completely opposite, or even twisted ways. Sometimes this is done to show the black-heartedness of certain characters, but other times I failed to see any reason other than to add another wrinkle to the plot.

I enjoyed the contrast between the two cultures and the words themselves are well written and engaging. However, I found many other aspects to be frustrating and distracting, and there were times when I was tempted to put the book down altogether. Read this book as what it is - an introduction to a much greater and longer to story to come.

This trilogy has a great premise, as well as excellent character development. Unfortunately, it also has chapters and chapters of irrelevancy, needless yet constant gratuitous rapes, graffic female genitalia mutilation, and every descriptive vulgar word the English language has to offer. Most offensive is the ending: a goddess who, prior to dispatching the villian, sees fit to reward him with a parting hand-job! Some other reviewers found none of this offensive, and, therefore, perhaps you won't either. If you must read this trilogy, skip every three or four pages. You'll be doing yourself a favor and you won't miss much. Under no circumstances allow your children near it!

Do not waste your time reading this book. Why? Because of the amount and character of sexual content throughout the books. If I repeated it here, I'd be violating Amazon's review standards about no "obscene or distasteful content."

Now, if you're like me, when you get started on a series you want to read the whole thing. Reading just one book is to leave the story unfinished--and it's the subsequent books that ruin this one. In fact, this first book in the series is reasonably good. It was a good start setting up the characters and a somewhat interesting world. It felt like it had promise. But even before I got completely disgusted with the sexual content, I started to feel let down halfway through the second book.

And by the time I got halfway through the third book, Rose of the World, I was too disgusted to keep reading. The content goes into the gutter sexually and the writing quality simply deteriorates into junk.

And if you think the sexual gutter is just fine, just be aware it's unromantic, artless sexuality. Maybe you don't mind offensive, but do you mind boring?

No matter what the genre, a story should be fascinating and interesting. Reading page after page about a man with uncontrollable and unfulfillable sexual desire and a never-ending priapism? Ugh.

And I can't give you details or it would be a spoiler, but when you figure out who the Rose of the World is and where she came from and how she got where she is, you'll just be sadly disappointed.

Oh well, let's get back to more details about the man and his priapism. And let's torture, rape, and kill multitudes of other people throughout the story, too! I know that happens in lots of stories, but there's something about this one that leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

I'm trying to decide if I throw the books in the trash or if I can stomach taking them to the used bookstore for a few dollars, since I'd be inflicting them on some unsuspecting soul.

My final verdict: this series is not tasteful, clever, subtle, noble, tragic, or intriguing. It's juvenile, crude, and overdone.

I didn't get very far with this story. Firstly, I couldn't identify or get involved with any of the characters in part because there was too much scene flicking too soon to allow me to get hooked in. I like to be invited into the character's minds and thoughts and given enough time so I can get to know the character and begin to care about what happens to them or what they're up to. As I kept plugging along (skimming some, a bad habit I know but I was bored, but why was I bored I asked myself) I discovered that I just didn't LIKE most of the characters.

Katla I disliked in particular because she is a spoiled little bratty, tantrum throwing dork. I have sworn off suffering through stories with our hero(s) behaving like the worst kind of two year olds. Dawn Cook's "the Hidden Truth" novels cured me forever! I suffered through TWO of that series, I was so gullible and had high hopes for character growth! Never happened folks!! The main female character's personality degenerated into a completely loathesome two year old brat. Then Dawn Cook topped it all off by having the nice male character falls in love with the evil little snot. How could he fall in love with her when there was nothing about her to love?? (such a dissappointment). Anyway, I really dislike that character type now.

The real death knell, though, was when we meet selena (or whatever her name is) and the gross guy is thinking how 'her lips are red like labia and how much fire there is between her thighs. I said, "Aaaaackk! That's It! Bye-bye!" and into the discard pile this book went (along with book 2 which remains unread) Is it asking too much for a little class and couth? I mean eeeewww, how crude. I wasn't sure where Jude Fisher was taking me with that and I freely admit to a lack of courage to allow myself to be taken there (more scars from other really bad fantasy (Anne Bishop and her gold penis rings) Shudder!!!

So, I will trade these books in for something better at my local used bookstore to try to recoup some of my loss. I wish I could charge for my time and eyesight.

I am a Sci-Fi/Fantasy fan, and I really enjoyed reading this trilogy. There are a lot of characters to follow in the trilogy, which can be difficult to follow at times, especially in this first book. I think this is a worth-while read, though, because the story is interesting and the author ties everything together well. There are many instances of violence with graphic, sometimes gory detail throughout the book. If that type of thing bothers you, then I wouldn't read the book.
Overall, this book was hard to put down, and I went straight out and bought the other 2 books of the trilogy to read.

I have to say I'm surprised by all the so-so and bad reviews this book is getting. I don't feel like I read the same book as the other reviewers at all. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading the next book. The multitude of characters added depth and interest to the story. The slow unfolding of the mysteries of the magic and the Rosa Eldi(still not explained completely at the end of book one) drew me on into the story and left me wanting more. It wasn't perfect in every way, as no book ever is, but all in all I thought it was a great introduction to a complex new fantasy world.