Review: Epic Tale
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 24, 2013
Merriam-Webster defines "epic" as:":telling a story about a hero or about exciting events or adventures: very great or large and usually difficult or impressive"L.T. Getty'sTower Of Obsidianmeets every aspect of that definition and makes the genre her own. The tale starts with arguably the best prologue I've ever read, "You know how the tale is supposed to go. The maiden is seized, captured by some foul villain. The hero gives chase, defeats the villain, and rescues her. The maid and hero wed and live happily ever after. But suppose it doesn't go like that."Then Getty switches from the clear contemporary voice of the prologue to a dense style with the flavor of every old tale of knights and dragons. The first fifty or so pages certainly realize the "usually difficult" part of the definition as the reader is plunged into an imagined version of ancient Ireland, with names, histories, characters, plots and subplots flying faster than the almost-archaic dialog. We meet the young nobles, Aoife and her beloved, Kale, as well as a bewildering cast of family, friends, royals, and commoners. Aoife and Kale have been betrothed for five years while Kale fights for his family and Duke. His prowess as a warrior brings him to the Duke's attention when his son-in-law is killed and the Duke needs to arrange a new marriage for his childless and now-widowed daughter. Bowing to the demands of family and fealty, Kale puts aside his engagement to Aoife and accepts the young widow's hand. But before the wedding, treachery at court leads to both Kale and Aoife being kidnapped. She escapes her captors, and teams up with Kale's best friend, Aaron, to rescue Kale. Their odyssey takes them to dangerous far-off lands where they must face enemies ranging from pirates to monsters to sorcerers and even dragons.Getty's canvas is huge and she wants to make sure we see the entire world she's building. The result is both a strength and a weakness. In her densely populated pages, we do get a marvelous picture of the imagined early Irish world. But at the same time, there are many sidetracks, such as a subplot with Aoife's sister which ultimately doesn't effect the story line, and countless smaller riffs that might provide color to the tale but don't move the story forward. For example, after Kale is captured, his friend Aaron is consumed with worry as he goes to comfort Aoife. But there is a passage where we're told how he almost runs down a little girl hurrying to buy a doll from a pedlar, and even a description of the doll and speculation about the child's mother improving the face on the doll.Still, once the chase is on, I was completely captured by the tale itself. The twists and turns that bring all the characters to their individual destinies are well-paced, fast moving, and... well... epic. If you like your stories big and your characters strong-willed, three-dimensional beings with flaws as well as greatness, you should read Tower of Obsidian.