The Fifth Ring (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "KARAS DUREN STRODE DOWN THE HALLS OF HIS PALACE, passing servants and guards alike..." (more)
Key Phrases: power without knowledge, cable tier, fifth ring, Father Thomas, Captain Donal, Jerrel Rozon (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Through sparing prose and spirited dialogue, first-time author Graham spins a brisk adventure packed with plenty of action but very few fully developed characters. In an excavation beneath his palace, the power-mad King Duren finds the remnants of an ancient warrior race and the tools he believes will help him unite the world under one banner (naturally, his). These tools come in the form of five magical rings that supposedly control enormous crystals containing vast arcane power. But when the fifth ring goes missing and ends up in the hands of a young farm boy named Mathew, who happens to be a skilled swordsman, a series of tragic turns leads this unwitting protagonist into a lengthy battle against Duren's forces. Like all stories involving magical rings, this one will endure countless comparisons to Tolkien's Middle Earth epics, but those comparisons aren't particularly apt. With its lack of descriptive detail, this is merely an action tale that happens to be set in a fantasy locale. Smaller in scale than Robert Jordan's enormous volumes and less scholarly than Tolkien, this is still an enjoyable diversion for fantasy fans.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

In the peaceful town of Devondale, young Mathew Lewin's skill fencing wins him a prize at once beautiful and terrible: a ring in which is locked the power to enslave a world. In short order it brings tragedy into Mat's life ... and turns a simple youth into a necessary murderer and haunted renegade. For what Mat now reluctantly owns is coveted by the insidious tyrant king Karas Duren, who would call forth all manner of hellish abomination to possess it. And in the savage face of unspeakable carnage and terror, a farm boy swept along by fate must answer the call to unleash the awesome might of the ring -- a power that drains the body ... and corrupts the soul.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Eos; 1st THUS edition (January 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060506512
• ISBN-13: 978-0060506513
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #214,878 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars entertaining but compromised, May 6, 2003

By	"exeuntsl" (Honolulu, HI USA) - See all my reviews

The Fifth Ring is a fun read. Its pacing is fast and the sparse dialogue and storytelling aids the flow.

Perhaps most intriguing is the book's premise: a boy finds a magical ring that gives him powers -- but instead of being truly magical -- and thus not needing explanation -- the ring is actually a remnant of high technology from a civilization lost eons ago in an apocalyptic war. Furthering this premise is Graham's admirable attempt to make the ring scientifically limited. The wielder of a ring can only manipulate energy, and is limited by his knowledge of the physical world. There are many examples provided in the book, but the incident where King Karas's sister kills a man by stopping his heart illustrates the concept well: not only did the sister have to know what a heart looked like, she also had to understand how it functioned. She stops the man's heart by imagining the heart and then constricting its major valves. Unfortunately, this great concept was carried only halfheartedly and Graham dropped science for plot device.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good Start to a Series, May 15, 2003

By	Nancy C. Beck (Northwestern New Jersey) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I put off buying this for quite awhile because I couldn't "look through" the book on Amazon.com, nor could I find it at the local bookstore. I decided to jump in and am glad I did.

To paraphrase an earlier poster, don't expect this to be a Pulitzer Prize winning novel. It's not. But it still makes for a good read, with interesting characters and well-written battle and sword fight scenes. There's also a dash of sci fi sprinkled throughout, as when certain characters refer back to The Ancients, who built different types of machines which were destroyed in some cataclysmic war that killed off most of The Ancients.

IMHO, the most interesting character is Father Thomas. Yes, he's a priest, but he's no ordinary priest...and part of his past life, which hints that it was anything but dull, emerges in this book. Quite a character, and I'm sure we'll get to know more about him as the series continues.

BTW, I agree with the poster who took umbrage with the poster who questioned the "sexual advances" made by Lara toward Mat (Mat is the chap on the cover). I really don't know where this came from; there's some flirting between the two, and Mat starts to notice and feel certain things about Lara, but isn't that normal for a guy in his late teens?

One more thing: There is a slight twist near the end of the book which took me by surprise, happening when it did. I'm sure this is the strand which the author will use to help flesh out the next book in the series.

In short, if you're looking for War and Peace, this ain't it. But if you're looking for a decently-written fantasy that will keep you turning the pages, this should fill the bill.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, May 25, 2003

By	wendy (Savannah, GA) - See all my reviews

There are a few things I can say about this book.

First, I really enjoyed it and read it quickly. Mitchell Graham's style is smooth, polished and flows well.

Second,it has very little nothing to do with the Lord of the Rings except in the broadest sense. There is magic of a sort, but it's based on a machine the Ancients created. There is a dark lord and the tale is an epi, but that's where it ends. One of the best things about THE FIFTH RING is the detailed world-building --really excellent. Another is the interesting relationships between characters. They're fun and enjoyable.

Several things I liked a lot were the touches of humor (very well placed) and the fight scenes. If there's a writer out there who can do it better than Graham (he's a champion fencer himself) I've yet to meet them.

I'd have no trouble strongly recommending this book to anyone.