Customer Reviews

The Way of the Rose: Everien: Book Three (Everien, Book 3)

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

 

 

The title of this review sums it up: this book is a mixed bag.

First of all, let me say that I loved the first book in this series, "The Company of Glass." I thought it was different from every other fantasy I'd ever read, had complex and egaging characters, and most unique world I've ever encountered.

The second book, "The Riddled Night," was more exciting but confusing and the plot became tangled.

In this third and final volume, the plot unravelled completely.

What happened? It was as if Valery Leith wrote down her first-draft, first-impressions of the plot and didn't think it over. It's like her muse, pure creativity with no order, took over and left her without any control over what happened.

Now, the first two books got some negative reviews, I assume from readers looking for mindless sword-and-sorcery. Her books are mature and poetic, and sometimes too wordy, sometimes slow-moving, but she writes so beautifully with such distinctive imagery, it's worth it.

OK. "The Way of the Rose" made such little sense that I can no longer recommend the series to friends without beign embarassed.
The only reason I give this book 3 stars, instead of 1, is because there is no other fantasy world like this one, and Leith's writing and command of language is moving and beautiful.

Command of plot, she has not. What happened to the story that so captivated me in the first book? The backstory of Queen Ysse's quest for magic artifacts, and Quintar's company. . .where did it go? What about Istar, the warrior woman feeling lonely and confused? Now she's in love with a. . .I don't know, a bird man/monster. . .and it's the plot that's confused.

A character I liked, Xiriel the scholar, disappeared completely.

And my favorite character, Tarquin, formerly Quintar the Queen's champion, now a warrior in self-imposed exile, tormented by his past failures. . .what happens to him? Well, a horse eats him...

You see, my review is as incoherent as this book. Sadly, Leith had such a good thing going with the previous two volumes. I think it was the "time-serpent" that undid it.

I do recommend this book to anyone who wants to write fantasy or study every aspect of the fantasy genre. Don't write a plot like this! But do think of things as interesting as these, and write with such poetic beauty. Just keep control over your muse.

i rarely ever buy books - i like to buy them after i read them, only if i deem them good enough. i have purchased all 3 of the Everien series. As the other reviewees have noted, Leith has created this amazingly complex, intricate world that is confusing at times. But her language and imagery is so vivid and her phrases beautiful that it's worth the read. i have not come across any thing like this trilogy where the plot and the fantasy world is this complex. i found it very enjoyable and i hope you do too!

Having read all 3 books I can safely say Valery Leith has created a very complex web of events and characters. This is a trilogy to be read slowly and savour, because it does not fall prey to all the simplistic cliches that most fantasy books do -X falls in love with Y, this person becomes braver and more noble due to this, someone overcomes childhood fears, all the characters split up to do different tasks, meet up in the end and have the usual 'aftermath orgy of explanations', etc. Thank goodness. Each character is a whole world unto themselves and does not necessarily come to understand all that has happened, but each has a role that, as time goes on, becomes complex, sad, bitter, sometimes funny and important in ways that cannot be foreseen. The evolving revelations about the Timeserpent, Everians, Ice, Jaya's role and the fate of the clans is not wrapped up in one perspective or one grain of truth.
Don't worry -this doesn't mean you'll need a dictionary, or will fall asleep due to lack of action, suspense or surprises. Enjoy the fresh narrative, the chapter endings that leave you hanging, and root for your favourite character, good or not-so-good.

This is the conclusion of Valery Leith's Everien series, and is one of the most imaginative books I've ever read (this includes the Dune series(Frank Herbert), Lord Of The Rings(J.R.R. Tolkien), and The Gunslinger(Stephen King). Her mastery of language and description is downright poetic at times, and her characters are as good as any in the books I mentioned above.

That said, this isn't a very easy read. It does have a plot, but the plot is extreemly complex, and some of the places the book takes place in are even more so. They are very good, but I found myself having to read a few chapters twice to understand what was happening. It is still so good, though, that I had to give it five stars (althogh it probably deserves 4.5).

The bottom line: this is an amazing book, but only if you can handle it. If you aren't a strong reader, you will probably get extreemly confused and not be able to enjoy it as much.