Customer Reviews

Wheel of the Infinite

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book immediately caught me, and I haven't been able to do much else until I finished it. Wheel of the Infinite is set in a world you could imagine as like Cambodia six hundred years ago, with a capital city like Ankor Wat, both an imperial and a religious capital. The temples and palaces of the city form an enormous diagram of magical power, symbolizing the true form of the world. As in other Martha Wells novels, though, magic is entirely real, and the correspondence between the layout of the city and temple rituals and the world flows in both directions--you can change the world by changing the symbols. The heroine Maskelle is an enormously powerful priestess, second in power in the religious hierarchy, whose major blunder in interpreting a prophetic dream ten years before the novel's action caused her disgrace and exile. Now the chief religious feels deeply disturbed about an upcoming, critical, ritual performed every hundred years, and has called her back to the capital. The character Maskelle is a fighter, sarcastic and with an awesome temper. She propels the action through a fast and very enjoyable read.

My first experience with Martha Well's work was Death of a Necromancer. I love her ability with character development and her wry sense of humor. Having read that book I quickly sought out her other titles and consumed them (City of Bones being my favorite). Wheel of the Infinite proved to be just as engaging as her previous works and more tightly written than Necromancer. Maskelle, Rian and Ristam are all very engaging, but even the less central characters are well developed and interesting. Add to that a fascinatingly new world view, with an intriguing religion, and Ms. Wells has succeeded in creating a truly engrossing tale.

First, let me say that WHEEL OF THE INFINATE is not as good as THE ELEMENT OF FIRE or THE DEATH OF THE NECROMANCER but better than the CITY OF BONES. In WHEEL, Ms. Wells has created a whole new world fully realized, with patches of Earth cultures (I recognized India among others) but in a new stew...and Ms Wells bubbles it for all she's worth! The plot line follows a more conventional "prevent the end of life as we know it" plot line than her better books. This reduces the ability of her characters to relax and just be people (as opposed to heros and heroines) for brief moments. She has used the devise of the traveling players before but integrated them into the action more this time. The relationship between Maskelle, the troubled Voice of the Adversery, and Rian, the very skilled but outlawed bodyguard is strong and unusual: she is considerably older but maybe not wiser. There are lots of plot twists and turns, a few surprises and a few not-surprises that were supposed to be. The last quarter of the book got just a bit murky but recovered with a sharp ending. This isn't Martha Wells' best book but as few other writers come close, I wouldn't let that worry me.

In WHEEL OF THE INFINITE, Martha Wells has created a fascinating world and belief structure. Each year, the priests and 'voices' must create a microcosm of the world. The connection between the 'wheel' and the world is causal. If they are unable to recreate the world, chaos may result. Maskelle, voice of the Adversary, has lost faith in herself at the same time as the wheel is threatened by a powerful over-writing. Unless Maskelle can overcome her doubts, the world may be destroyed.

Maskelle is an intriguing protagonist. Her doubts are understandable as she killed her husband in response to a false prophecy. For the most part, however, the other characters lack the dimensions shown by Maskelle. The motivation of Maskelle's love interest, in particular, is unclear.

Still, Wells' writing moves the story along with a good mix of adventure, magic, and a world you'll want to return to. ....

As evident from my e-mail address I am a Martha Wells fan. It began with City of Bones (which is my favorite book of hers thus far) and still hasn't ended. I found The Element of Fire and complelety loved it. Death of the Necromancer was excellent, so is it no wonder that I expected having to pull some all-nighters to read Wheel of the Infinite? That the book would become glued to my hand and I would be in a race to finish it? I still did enjoy the book but it was not what I was expecting. I realize that one of Wells strengths comes from her beautiful and complete storytelling. She is very exact and it isn't difficult to find yourself in her worlds because they are created almost seamlessly. Everything fits. However Wells is also very detailed with her characters. I think there is a balance between the setting and the characters that makes her books so believable. You need both. In Wheel I got the impression that this balance was horribly upset. The world where the book takes place was INCREDIBLY detailed. But the characters weren't. Maybe Maskelle's past was suppose to be that enigmatic but if it was it didn't work. Near the end of the book I found myself skimming paragraphs ( I thought I would never do that in a Martha Wells book) that I felt were merely useless discriptions that didn't pertain to the storyline. I was getting desperate for more of the story and desperate to learn more about the characters, and not just the major characters. I couldn't believe that some of the relationships between characters were barely explained and in some cases ignored. That is not like the Martha Wells books I know. By not explaining some of the relationships between characters there was a gap in the story that her setting couldn't cover. For example I found it difficult to believe that the two main characters could find such love, trust and loyalty after sleeping together the second night they knew each other. ( I didn't just give away some of the story because it happens in the second chapter.) With her other books full of complete, three dimentional, complex characters, it was almost an insult to read the seemingly overnight bond of Maskelle and Rian. Comparing it to her other books Wheel seems to be more of a short story. The setting wasn't cut short but the characters were. I would recommend this book though. Wheel does provide an interesting storyline and a surprise ending but I would also recommend not starting it with as high expectations as you would reading her other books. This is not her best.

I've had Martha Wells tagged as an author to watch ever since I read "City of Bones". Her latest book, "Wheel of the Infinite", is a big, ambitious fantasy story; don't be fooled by its relatviely small page count. It includes a lot if imagination, excellent world-building, and better characters than her previous efforts. After this, I'm really hoping that Wells will get the recognition she deserves as one of the premier fantasy authors alive today.

The story focuses on Maskelle,a priestess who went to exile in disgrace after she misinterpreted a message from 'the Adversary', an ancient spirit that protects the world from evil, and on Rian, her bodyguard, who barely managed to escape a gruesome death in a foreign land. The society where the story takes place seems roughly based on ancient civilzations in Southeast Asia, a welcome break from the typical Mideivel Europe setting in much of modern fantasy. A rite known as 'the wheel of the Infinite' is performed every year, and Maskelle's knowledge is needed to combat an apparent attempt to destroy the wheel. The plot events is this book are densely crammed together, yet it has one of those brilliant "aha!" conclusions where everything comes together and makes sense in the end. I also liked the fact that many of the characters and concepts are highly imaginative. My personal favorite is Gisar, an evil puppet who is constantly attempting to escape from the band of traveling actors that owns him.

Oh, and before I forget to mention it, the final hundred pages or so of the book are outstanding. There aren't many fantasy authors who can write sequences that are genuinely frightening, but Wells pulls it off with grand style. It's interesting that fantasy genre is currently dominated by big, bulky series that are generally incoherent and filled with lousy writing. Many of the more talented authors, however, are sticking to relatively short solitary books. Martha Wells can create more engaging characters, build a better realized world, and spin a more exciting story in three-hundred fifty pages that Jordan, Goodkind, or Lackey can do in thousands.

I am really glad to see Martha Wells books released for Kindle. Wheel of the Infinite is a fascinating journey into a different world and the lead character, flawed but heroic, is wonderful. Wells' world building is thorough. I wish she would give us another book set in this world!

Wells is one of the freshest and most talented fantasy writers working today, and I enjoyed _Wheel of the Infinite_ immensely. The City is loosely based on Angor Wat and the reader will catch whispers of Asian and Southeast Asian mythology throughout the book.

Maskelle is a refreshing character in the fantasy genre-- an assertive older woman who has come into power and knows her own mind. The other characters are equally well-fleshed out with many deft and light touches that keep the tone from getting too dark.

I was not completely willing to buy the ending-- a little bit too much Deus ex Machina, and that weakened the book for me. But still, it was a very good read and a commendable stand-alone fantasy novel.

I've read many fantasy novels and this one still sticks out in my mind. First because Martha Wells uses an exotic city for her setting that reminds me of Angkor Wat and other South-east Asian ruins. Secondly because the novel features a main character doesn't fit the average fantasy hero description. Maskelle is a strong middle-aged woman who has weaknesses but they don't stop her from taking care of business. The storyline has mystery and mysticism blended with continuous action that is well thought-out and engrossing. I was impressed enough to check out Wells' other books which are also good. But this novel for me was special in that it opened me to search out for books that feature really unique characters and creative settings.

Set in a mythical land that has some similarities to ancient India, Wheel of the Infinite deals with the endings and beginnings of cycles.
Maskelle is returning to her native Duvalpore in the company of a troupe of actors. The second highest religious figure in the Celestrial Empire, she had fled Duvalpore years before after a failed coup against the throne inspired by a false vision. Now,at the request of her superior and friend she is returning at a time of great signficance. It is the time of the year rite and also a hundred year rite. On this occasion the world is literally remade from a map of sand laid down on a circular wheel by the priests. Since her false vision Maskelle has been cut off from the Ancestors, and specifically from the Adversary, the power she represented.

Now unchancy things are happening, not just in Duvalpore. Her journey home has been dogged with misfortune. When she uses her power it is like lighting a beacon to attract the darker elements of magic. As she comes closer to the city she encounters unnatural creatures. In Duvalpore itself there is more than one mystery waiting for a solution.

Maskalle is an interesting protagonist. Quick tempered, generous, honorable. I also liked the fact that she was in her mid 40's and learning to live with her past mistakes.

Rian is not your average barbarian sword swinger. Betrayed by his first overlady, nearly killed by his second lord, he is attracted to both the power Maskalle wields as well as her sense of honor. There's also an endearing moment of lack of confidence when he wonders how his appearance stacks up agains Maskalle's previous lovers.

Wells has a talent for combining action adventure with political intrigue. The back story is slowly revealed piece by piece as Maskelle moves closer to a confrontation with an unknown enemy whose goal is far more than the destruction of Duvalpore. Expect the unexpected in this story!