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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating world -- setup for a potentially cool series -- just OK plot, June 16, 2006
This review is from: The Wizard Lord (Annals of the Chosen, Vol. 1) (Hardcover)
The single characteristic of Lawrence Watt-Evans's books that has struck me most insistently over time is the way he features basically ordinary people in heroic roles. This doesn't mean nebbishes or losers: for the most part his heroes are fairly heroic, but they are heroic for reasons that make sense for regular people. The Wizard Lord is a practically perfect example of this.
The main character is a young man named Breaker. He lives in the town of Mad Oak, a fairly ordinary rural town, part of a land called Barokan. Barokan is ruled by a Wizard Lord, who makes sure that the weather is fine, and that particularly vile criminals are punished, and in general that life goes on smoothly. For centuries this system has worked well. One problem is the occasional Dark Lord -- a Wizard Lord gone mad -- and their control is a group of 8 heroes, The Chosen -- the World's Greatest Swordsman, Archer, Thief, Leader, etc. The other magical aspect of this land is the omnipresent "ler," spirits with whom local Priests and Priestesses must negotiate to allow people to live in each area. The "ler," and their individual desires, seem to cause Barokan to be a rather fractured set of small towns, with fairly limited trade and travel.
One day the Chosen Swordsman comes to Mad Oak. It turns out he is old, ready to retire, and he wishes to recruit a successor. Breaker, perhaps a bit to his surprise, agrees to take the job. This despite his lack of desire to kill anyone: but there has not been a Dark Lord for over a century, so what's the risk? (100 percent as the reader knows!) So after months of training, and a magical ceremony to transfer the Swordsman's special magical abilities to Breaker, he becomes the new Swordsman. After which -- perhaps just a bit late! -- the old Swordsman reveals reluctantly that he has some slight misgivings about the current Wizard Lord.
So Breaker decides to travel the world, or at least Barokan, and to try to meet his fellow Chosen, and to learn if the Wizard Lord really has gone mad. Of course he learns eventually that the lord has -- he has murdered an entire town. Several of his fellow Chosen agree that the Wizard Lord must be taken down, but others are surprisingly reluctant, for different reasons. It's clear something odd is going on (and most readers will guess the outline of the problem fairly quickly) but they push through to force a resolution.
The Wizard Lord is the first of a trilogy, but it comes to a definite close. However, questions have been raised about the very structure of Barokan society, particularly by Breaker. I am sure subsequent volumes will address those questions. The novel itself is ever readable, quite enjoyable, and just plain, well, sensible. The magical system is fairly original and interesting. Not quite as much happens as in many fantasy novels, and the closing battle is really rather abruptly presented. But as I said, the novel is striking for the way each of the powerful magical characters is portrayed as basically ordinary (even the Wizard Lord). There is a real sense that these are regular people, acting the way any of us would act had we grown up in this somewhat unusual world. And I have a feeling that there is considerable potential for more action and more intrigue in subsequent novels: that this book is very much a scene setter, an introduction. I enjoyed it, though I rank it as Watt-Evans at closer to the middle than the top of his range.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gathering of the Chosen, January 21, 2008
The Wizard Lord (2006) is the first fantasy novel in the Annals of the Chosen series. The Wizard Lord rules all of Barokan, although he has limitations on his authority. He can kill rogue wizards and any criminal who flees into the wilderness, but not innocent people. If he exceeds his limits and becomes a Dark Lord, the Chosen will gather to kill him.
In this novel, Breaker is a young man in the village of Mad Oak. As the villagers are celebrating the completion of the barley harvest, two wizards and the Swordsman -- one of the Chosen -- come into town looking for a new Swordsman. Breaker is the only one to volunteer for the position.
Breaker gets a good scolding from his mother. She sees the affair as him agreeing to become a killer. Breaker can't convince her that the position is purely ceremonial. After all, there hasn't been a Dark Lord for over one hundred years.
Breaker won't become the Swordsman unless he has learned how to use a sword and then defeats the Old Swordsman in a duel to first blood. For the next few months, he practices with the Old Swordsman and is unable to even touch him while practicing.
The Old Swordsman, however, is able to touch him almost anywhere on his body, but Breaker is beginning to hold him at bay for longer intervals. His friends see what the Old Swordsman can do to him and think that he is an easy mark. After several efforts to fence with him and receiving sound defeats, they start calling him the New Swordsman.
In this story, the day finally comes for the ritual duel. Naturally, the Old Swordsman is not allowed to use his magic in this duel, but decades of practice still give him a substantial edge. Although the Old Swordsman agrees to leave an opening for Breaker, the opening moves by the Old Swordsman are powerful and quick.
The Wizard Lord can see and talk through the lower animals. He uses a rabbit to watch the duel. Breaker has never heard a talking rabbit before, but is told that this is one of the many powers bestowed on the Wizard Lord.
Breaker begins to wonder if the Old Swordsman has changed his mind. Then the rabbit makes a comment and the Old Swordsman is momentarily distracted. Breaker lunges and gets a hit on his opponent's shoulder. He has won and undergoes the rituals that make him the greatest swordsman of the land.
Before the Old Swordsman leaves Mad Oak, he confides to Breaker that he is worried about the Wizard Lord. Unlike prior Wizard Lords, the current Lord has constructed his home away from any village. He has more temper than the previous two Lords and seems less predictable and less rational. But the Old Swordsman only has suspicions without any proof.
Breaker decides that he will visit the Wizard Lord after the spring planting. Besides, he needs -- and wants -- to go out into the wider world and learn more about the land. After all, he has never before been away from Mad Oak.
The story tells of the trek of Breaker out into the greater world of Barokan. He learns much about the strange customs and unusual ways of other villages. He also learns that the Seer -- another Chosen -- has passed through villages ahead of him and he decides to visit her prior to traveling to the Wizard Lord.
Months later, he is thinking about returning home when a guide arrives to lead him to the Seer. He also will meet the Scholar -- another Chosen -- in the town of Tumbled Sheep. There he receives news that seem to confirm the Old Swordsman's suspicions.
Breaker is new to the Chosen and he questions almost everything. He wonders if the Seer and Scholar are impostors or have lied to him. As he eventually meets the other Chosen, he questions their identities and actions. He must have been noted for his incessant questioning even as a child.
This tale is very different from other novels by the author, but the characters have similar aspects. Overall, this novel is very readable. Still, it is difficult to foresee how the sequels will continue this tale. Enjoy!
Highly recommended for Watt-Evans fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of magical powers, daring quests and tangled relationships.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
"Oh", May 20, 2007
Normally I wouldn't give a good effort so low a rating, and I do think this novel is a good effort. Regardless of that fact it has some staggering issues that really can't be ignored.
If you read the book you will become well aware of why I titled my review with a single word. The main character, the Swordsman (or whichever name the author refers to him as on any given page), is quite possibly the most obnoxious character I've ever looked through the eyes of. When he's not constantly reviewing the plot in his head or speculating on possibilities that go nowhere, he loves to blithely respond with the single word, "Oh." This grows more annoying as the book wears on and more noticeable every single time.
The other characters, though less annoying since they are not the main focus, have their own foibles. Any and all conversations and scenes involving the Thief, for example, are completely useless and might just as well have been subtracted from the book entirely. The ending somehow makes quite a bit of the book make sense but this should apply more to the plot than the characters' habits and conversations.
As I mentioned with the Thief's scenes, there are quite a few parts of the book that are simply worthless. My apologies to the author but filling the space in between important things with useless scenes where nothing happens doesn't improve a story. The plot does little enough to make me care in the first place but wedge in a couple of chapters where absolutely nothing happens and I am more likely to put the book down permanently.
All the same, it was a good effort and I do plan to read the next book in the cycle (in the hopes that the characters are less annoying and the story is more exciting). The writing style is very informative and the "world" made enough sense to sustain its mythology throughout. The novel is by no means terrible but I have certainly read much better books lately. If the second book is indeed good then I would recommend this only on the basis that it covers past events.
But if Erren/Swordsman/Sword/Breaker/whatever his name is keeps saying "Oh" you can guarantee I will be writing a similar review to this one in the near future.
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