Customer Reviews

The Wanderer's Tale (Annals of Lindormyn)

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

 

 

I wish I had more credibility as a critic, if only so you would be more likely to heed my warning. This abysmal book inspired me to write my first amazon review if only to save you from experiencing what I went through.

I cannot describe how desperate I was to put this thing down, chapter after chapter. I kept plugging away in the hopes that something would change, or, minimally, I could at least tell you I read the whole thing and that, indeed, nothing changes.

First and foremost, I wish Mr. Billsborough had simply put the thesaurus down and wrote using his own vocabulary. I cannot describe to you how adjective-weary I am. Lesson to all authors: piling on adjectives does not mean you've painted a clearer picture in the reader's mind, especially when most of the adjectives you use mean roughly but - importantly - not the same thing. Also, because it _does_ seem so apparent the author was pulling out a thesaurus every five minutes, the result feels like the author must be schizophrenic. One goes from sentences like, "Volcanoes there are too, mephitic behemoths of incandescent fury that cough great pyroclastic clouds upon the seething ice fields below," [Page 1], or "It was a slid visage, a melted countenance, a facial glissando" [page 434] and "dissolved into nothing more than a massive puddle of venomous effluvium", to having certain peculiarities simply described as, "wierd." Incidentally, I'm not sure I've ever read a fantasy or spec. fiction work that used the word, 'wierd' so often. Probably because most fantasy or spec. fiction authors know that the word 'wierd' is out-of-place, and ultimately inneffective, in a setting that is inherently, 'wierd.'

Similarly, the author can't figure out if he's a depraved sicko or a puritan. In one chapter, he vividly describes the maggot infested corpse of an infant left on a walkway, which one of the protagonists callously kicks off the walk into the water below, and in the next chapter the author is substituting "armholes" & "armpits" for curse words. Of course, this doesn't stop him from using f&@% in other parts of the book. Generally speaking, you can count on every description to be over-the-top.

The plot, beyond not really being there, is extremely silly. We're told that this is a quest novel, which should go some length in excusing a series of basically unrelated events, but it doesn't. Very little of what actually happens to the protagonists will end up making a difference. Each event is simply a showcase for the author's grandiose vision of a "world teeming with peoples, history, cultures; a world rich with fabulous landscapes and hidden terrors." Note to self, never buy a book because the book-jacket makes the setting sound exciting.

Also, I was constantly flummoxed by the characters doing things they expressly said they would not, and implicity is understood that they would not. The author crams the actions of the characters into the plot, instead of the other way around. The decision of the character Boldhe on page 415 is so counter to every shred of evidence of his character provided before hand - though absolutely necessary to the plot - that it would be laughable if it weren't so sad. In other instances, the author avoids the ridiculousness of actually articulating for us the counter-intuitive decisions of the characters by simply fast-forwarding to the next scene and then trying to explain the ridiculous decision afterward.

The foreshadowing does not so much foreshadow as cast a brilliant spotlight on what's going to happen in the future (the secret evil identity of a major character, perhaps), or it simply doesn't exist at all. Thankfully, from the author's perspective, one can always explain backwards in the narrative why a certain something wasn't foreshadowed. "Oh, by the way, I happen to have been carrying around this useful device this whole time. Sorry I didn't mention it before...."

The book is not without its attributes. Chapter two, which describes the capture of the Bucca, was well-imagined and kept me reading longer than I otherwise might have.

But for every well-wrought bucca there is a ridiculous "taxi" ride scene that wallows in cliches about how cab-drivers everywhere are always foreigners and have little regard for traffic safety, or a James Bond Q-like techno-wizard scen, with the niftiest gadgets for the hero to take with him before he leaves on his mission (most of which you never see again.)

Finally, just because you give something an alternate spelling doesn't mean you've created something new. (it's especially shameful when you admit as much in your bestiary in the back of the book)

fyr-draikke (fire drake) = dragon

Also, you might as well as admit that Peladanes are paladins. I don't even remember the extravagant word used for vultures.

If it's okay to have horses and hedgehogs, it's okay to have dragons and vultures.

I don't really blame the author. It's his first book. It's a little criminal that I know many writers with better debut novels that haven't yet been published, but...my primary disappointment is with Tor. I am sorry to say that the editors at Tor, with this volume, have finally published their way out of my good graces. In the past, if I couldn't find a good read, I'd just grab a Tor book. No more. Last mistake for me.

The book is mostly average to poor sprinkled with some good parts. The better parts include the character Wodeman early on and Gapp later on, the rest of it is rehash fantasy with poor swear words(armholes!) and detail in the wrong spots. Everything important seems underdeveloped, but the book is long and meandering.

Basically, as a freshman effort it's decent, and could get better, but if you're looking for good, recent debut fantasy, you're much better off with The Name of the Wind than The Wanderer's Tale

Bilsborough claims to be doing something new and fresh and wonderful. And strikes out on all three counts.

This isn't just standard derivative fantasy. This is horribly written; laugh-out-loud at the beaten to death tropes that weren't even fresh when J.R.R. Tolkien took up pen. The prose is so purple I wouldn't be surprised to hear it died of the gout. The usage of adjectives is overly florid at best. At worst, which it usually is, it is more like taking a thesaurus and picking the synonym with the most syllables. No matter how tenuous the usage in that particular sentencing.

Bilsborough does nothing to build any type of plot, let alone logic in character actions. A declaration of danger is made; typical group of companions forms with no real sense of reason and off they go vaguely a wandering. Instead of character development the author merely informs the reader as to their thinking. Motivations and dimension? Look elsewhere. Even slightly entertaining reading? Only if you like to laugh at someone. Cruelly. For several hundred pages. And do you really want to spend money laughing at Bilsborough's ineptitude?

It's too bad there isn't a zero star rating. Or even a negative. So don't consider this actually a 1-star rating. Consider it a negative five star rating. Next to Bilsborough, Goodkind and Newburgh look to be masters of their craft.

"The only sounds to be heard in these gloomy yet beautiful places were the moaning of the treetops in the breeze, the creaking of ancient boughs, the dull thud of falling cones upon mossy ground, the furtive rustle of unseen creatures through the fallen leaves, and the scraping of beetles in rotten tree bark."
The whole thing (up to page 70 anyway, that's all the further I was able to go) reads like this. I have never given up on a book this soon but I could not bear another word of Mr. Bilsborough's writing. I hope this poor soul has another job besides author of unreadable schlepp.

Unfortunately the intriguing cover and interesting author bio don't extend to the story inside. I tried hard to like this book, but it gave me nothing in return. I kept thinking as I slogged along how a promising plot and well-imagined scenery were destroyed by bad writing and zero character development. It reminded me of stories I scribbled in notebooks in my early teens, where I felt compelled to race from one exciting, amazing, stupendous situation to another. I left those stories unfinished after 70 or so pages, as many of you will want to leave this one... my question is, how did The Wanderer's Tale ever make it past a publisher?

The first and foremost problem is the over-the-top description and gobbledygook prose. I enjoy details of description in my books, but this writer knows no subtlety. Every description tries to force you to see things a certain way with adjectives and heavy handed metaphors, rather than simply painting a picture and letting you imagine it. For example, we have to be told that a cave opening is eerie, monstrous, unrelenting in its gloom and gaping like the jaws of Hell waiting to swallow all passersby... you get the idea. This gets tiresome after only a few pages, let alone after 436. It never seizes to lets up!

Secondly the plot feels contrived and the characters are mostly unbelievable. A quest premise is fine, but this one starts on a whim with an unlikely handful of participants who are difficult to empathize with, have little depth and less growth (despite attempts with Gapp the esquire)and whose motivations remain unclear to the very end. Even many of the names are obnoxious and uneasy to pronounce. Exotic is fine, but no need to over do it. The leader of the group remains a vague and fuzzy stereotype throughout that we could care less about. At the end of 436 pages, nothing is resolved. Nothing! Then I realized it is supposed to be "Book 1" of the Annals of Lindormyn. Wrapping a few questions up and bringing two divergent story threads back together was the least I expected. Even after expecting little, I felt cheated. It seems highly optimistic on the author's part to assume that this will be the first part of ANYTHING more to come.

As with so much fantasy, creating a world from the imagination is often an excuse for lazy writing because it involves no real research and invention knows no boundaries. This makes for many one dimensional "shock and awe" settings that quickly wear thin, and it is apparently easier to move on to the next locale than add more depth. It is a shame the author felt the need to rush from one hastily contrived extravaganza to the next, when any one of his settings (such as the forest home of the Vetters)could have been fleshed out into a book of its own. Why must everything be bigger, older, vaster, etc. than anything in this world? Fantasy is fine, but it is like viewing a gallery of overly saturated photographs with impossibly green grass and brilliant blue skies. It grows tiresome.

Save yourself some frustration unless you like analyzing bad writing, and sit this one out. The potential was there... what a waste! This book has had the one benefit of making me want to search for other quest style adventures done right, and read about some characters I can care about.

There are several aspects of the novel which could have been better, and would have prompted me to give it a five-star rating. First of all is the heart of the quest - how it all started. A vision. It's not wrong, but the character who has this vision is not particularly striking, nor does he seem that significant. Had a Sage or an Oracle been mentioned, the quest would seem more urgent, more important. Throughout the whole book, the quest requires this urgency, this wholeness that would give it a sense and importance to the world.

The second thing that could have been better is the collection of characters that are presented to us. Bolldhe, the "hero", is not very appealing. The author might have opted to have a different sort of hero, but Bolldhe fails to meet out expectations. When he has a chance to shine, he ruins it. He is not brave, and he doesn't care about his companions. There is little connection between the other characters, as they all seem to be stuck up in their problems.

However, the interesting world the author has created for us seems genuine, full and rich. Huldres and fey, giants and mysterious creatures, they all keep the reader interested. In fact, the thing that interested me the most, were the different races and creatures, the monsters, and the strange environments they inhabit.

The novel started out slow, but it accelerated into a somewhat enjoyable read soon, especially by the end. I will of course, await the release of the second novel - but not as eagerly as I might some other books.

Characters are well drawn an behave like disgruntled, real people instead of unbelievable, cookie-cutter heroes. Some readers object to the flowery language, but I found myself laughing out loud at many of his less-than-flattering descriptions of the people and creatures encountered. His style is definitely unique, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Descriptions of places like the caves had me so engrossed that I completely forgot I was reading, and left me with a perfect visual memory, as if I had been there. The quest seems rather like an unpleasant job carried out by a bunch of coworkers that don`t get on so well, but are stuck with their lot. That may have helped me feel immersed in the story as much as I was. The narrative tone in the book is at times quite casual, and you can tell that the writer is enjoying telling the story. I read this immediately after Steven Erikson`s Malazan Book of the Fallen cycle, and was expecting to be vastly disappointed in whatever I read next. I was not. This is a good book that doesn`t fit a standard fantasy formula. The writing is idiosyncratic, but it can really be enjoyed on its own merits. I can`t accept the one star reviews. Seems to me there is a great deal to delve into for the openminded.

Before Leo Tolstoy tackled epics like "War and Peace," he crafted more intimate stories--he was an apprentice of his craft. Not David Bilsborough who offers a sweeping fantasy epic in his debut novel, "The Wanderer's Tale." The author should have followed Tolstoy's example--the ambition of this novel far exceeds his abilities.

The plot is nothing new. Dark lord seeks to regain power....motley group of heroes must defeat him...perilous quest. This is a familiar, perhaps an overly familiar tale and Bilsborough does not offer anything new here. His characters are not particularly interesting and he throws way too many adjectives at the reader. The namesake character-the Wanderer-is one of the worst leading characters I have ever stumbled across in fantasy literature. He is not a strong or an appealing character.

Even worse, Bilsborough seems more concerned with offering detailed descriptions of setting and strange asides--including a simply odd homage to the Q scenes in the James Bond films--than he is in advancing the plot.

There are some hints of promise. Bilsborough offers some unique places, creatures and people and there are moments when he grabs the readers attention. But this can only go so far. Bilsborough quickly retreats to the genre's clichés. He offers lousy poetry and songs. He gives common creatures in fantasy other names--and he does not show the language skills of a professional like Tolkien or even the logic and wit that Neal Stephenson revealed in "Anathem." Bilsborough downplays the role of women-the only ones who appear are evil. Even Tolkien gave women more of a role for good than Bilsborough did. It's odd to see in a novel published in 2007.

I think Bilsborough should have started smaller-fewer characters and a less ambitious plot-perhaps a dungeon crawl or a local threat story featuring 4 or 5 characters. Writers sometimes need to take baby steps as they start their journey. Bilsborough simply attempted to do too much and simply was not up to the task in this debut.

Unless the end got really good really quick this books is not worth reading. I read about two thirds of it and couldn't take any more and I hate not finishing books so it was a real bummer for me.

Five centuries ago on Lyndormyn, the heroic Peladanes defeated the evil rawgr Drauglir and his supernatural minions. Their victory ended a monstrous reign of terror.

However, the Peladanes failed to kill Drauglir. Appa the cleric claims to have seen Drauglir's return in a vision. No one except warriors Nibulus and Finwald believe him, but they fail to raise an army to stop the rawgr at their fortress; no one believes them besides the descendents of those heroes of five hundred years ago. People are living the good life and refuse to sacrifice. Meanwhile the rawgr have been spotted in their broken fortress Vaagenfjord Maw in the northern wasteland as they have begun an assault on humans. A band of six (Appa, Finwald, Nibulus, his pal Methuselech, a mercenary, and Bolldhe the destined one) begin the quest to kill Drauglir.

This exciting, relevant fantasy contains parallels to the current American Global War Against Terrorism as most of the populace live in prosperity, see no threat, and have not been asked to sacrifice their affluent lifestyle for centuries. However, unlike President Bush, Appa actually pleads with people to help him and his compatriots to save their realm, but most are too detached to care what is happening in the far north. Although somewhat typical of a save the world fantasy quest, fans of the sub-genre will root for the magnificent six warriors with their differing personalities and personal agendas as they set forth to stop the evil Drauglir.

Harriet Klausner