Customer Reviews

Steel Remains

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

 

 

Y'know I wasn't going to bother. But the only other review for this book seems to be unduly distressed about the homosexuality of one of the characters. That's sorta like watching "Titanic" and complaining about Leonardo DiCaprio's tuxedo -- you're missing the point.

The Steel Remains is a gut-wrenching look at an archetypical sword & sorcery novel. Swordfights? Yep. Sorcery? Yup. But it's not clean. It's not Disney. Richard Morgan shows us how horrible such a world would really be. His discriptions of violence are deeply disturbing; they unflinchingly portray what happens when a swordblade strikes a person. His "heroes" aren't heroes at all, they're simply survivors (who often survived because they were lethally competent killers). I find this oddly refreshing. So many other fantasy authors seem to forget how awful a world dominated by swordsmen would be. Particularly if you, yourself, were an unarmed shopkeeper, peasent, or slave. The Steel Remains is a Dragonlance novel for grown-ups.

Having said all that, I STRONGLY recommend this book. It's not for everyone, granted, but it's an excellent tale with plenty of action. And sex. And violence. It follows the tales of 3 former comrades who find themselves together again, fighting a semi-mystical enemy bent on invasion and conquest. Rather than give any of the plot away, I'll simply say, Richard Morgan has written another winner. I look forward to his next novel, in whatever genre.

I really enjoyed this one. Gritty and realistic. I happen to like the more adult takes on Fantasy (like George RR Martin, or Abercrombie) so the sex and violence weren't negatives for me. If you are squeamish then you may need to avoid this book; but my true suggestion is to take a deep breath and give it a try.

I am anxiously awaiting the next book. I hope this series catches on as the paperback becomes available here in the States.

Excellent! Don't want to spoil the plot but methinks this is the beginning of another series for Morgan...

I couldn't stop reading this book, and a severe disappointment and anxiety gripped me as I made my way towards the end, knowing that I would have some indeterminate wait for more of this story. I've promised myself that I would stop reading fantasy series-in-progress, but I can't bring myself to regret diving into this book. It's a great story.

If I had time, I would write a full review, detailing everything that I loved most, but I don't have that much time. Especially since I have to have time to go back and read the book again...lol

And as for the people complaining about the sexual orientation of the main character--grow up already.

I liked this book and I liked the way the authoer was able to tell the story of 3 different characters at the same time, and then bring them all together for the finally. Left no strings untied, no cliff hangers.

Morgan could never be considered a gentle author, but that's part of the appeal. His worlds are imaginative and harsh, his characters have brutal histories and broken lives, and the stories explore corrupted ethics navigating bizarre conflicts. So no one should be even a little surprised that he continues to look for ways to shock and intrigue his audience, which he certainly does with The Steal Remains. He has again created an interesting world full of history and conflict, impure "heroes", and, as the story progresses, intriguing revelations. I like it. The looming "BUT" is that he uses the homosexuality of the main character not just to involve tension with the culture of his created world, or to poke smartly at the sensibilities of his readers. That is, unless you consider sequences that amount to gay porn as poking at the reader's sensibilities. Authors push people's boundaries and comfort zones to entice and to challenge, but this reader feels Morgan has massively missed the mark this time. He could have left the story intact, been just as interesting, but left out the unnecessarily detailed sexual descriptions. So this reader likes the book but just doesn't understand the author's objectives for this aspect of the writing. If he thought the book wouldn't stand without these scenes, then he has a lower opinion of his own work than this reader. If he did this to spite segments of our society, I don't think they read his books to begin with. So 5 for a great Richard Morgan story, but 1 for inexplicably lame judgment on the sex scenes, so 3 it is.

There are themes in this text that I found offensive namely the homosexuality. If his previous work had to be renamed 13 for the American market I think you, dear reader, need to be aware of this. Apart from this point the book is tedious, Morgan appears to be attempting to cash in on the fantasy bandwagon, where everyman and his dog, thanks to the success of a bespectacled English public school boy, is now writng 'fantasy'. Its awful stuff. Try KJ Bishops 'the Etched City' if you would like some literate fantasy.