Review: Enjoyable romp through a well detailed setting
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 7, 2011
Spellmonger, Terry MancourEnjoyable romp.I was sorry to finish this book; I was having fun, and I thought there was story left to tell. In point of fact there absolutely has to be a sequel because of events in the story - the ultimate antagonist's final speech foreshadows surprises for quite a few people. There is a strong story here, driven entirely by the motivations of the characters involved.  People act based on the opportunities they have.  Sometimes others perceive those actions as good. Sometimes not; there are genocidal villains on both side of the conflict.  Even the elf-analogues act within parameters which arise organically from their circumstances. The differences between those motivations and choices gives rise to conflict and that conflict creates a story. A story that captures me and pulls me forward because I care about the outcome.The characters aren't deep, and aren't evenly covered. Lord Kourcey is like a pennant in the breeze flapping this way and that as the plot demands.  The Gobin POW and Min's apprentice both fail to provide enough complexity to convince me that they're real.I love the setting that Mr. Mancour has created here. The cultures, the politics, the economics are all there; they're not core elements to the plot, but at least for me they contribute strongly to having the story take place in a very real world.  The attention to world building continues in the magic system.  Magic is powerful, but not omnipotent.  Magic is complicated enough that no two practitioners are identical, and magic occupies a place in the world's geopolitic order.Mr. Mancour's setting isn't perfect.  I really don't need to be reminded again that colonization has negative effects on the native peoples. I think that Mr. Mancour missed a solid opportunity to compare the colonization of the gobin territories with the conquest of the Mageocracy by the barbarians - why is one so evil that the reader must be constantly reminded, which the other is just an artifact of history?The flashbacks to Min's war experiences were a bit difficult to read; well written, but I needed contextual cues to distinguish between the current narrative and flashbacks. Those contextual cues are absent in the kindle application I use to read.Although this book isn't a military book per se, I think that those who enjoy fantasy military novels or those who enjoy a detailed, logical, organic setting will enjoy this book.