Book Review
Apr. 2nd, 2004 11:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariThe Waterborn
The Blackgod
by J. Gregory Keyes
These two fantasy novels tell one continuous story, which is why I'm reviewing them together. They were good. Keyes does a great job of world building - after only a few chapters of The Waterborn, I felt like I knew and understood the world the characters. I could visualize things with a reasonable degree of accuracy, and with a pretty good feeling for the way things were. In addition to being well-formed and well-described, the world itself was pretty original. Most fantasy novels take their inspiration from medieval Europe. Keyes' books are based on pre-medieval Asiatic cultures, like ancient China and the middle east, the Mongols, the Scythians, and the early slavic tribes. It's also a sort of shamanistic world, where every place and thing has its own god or goddess. It was a really interesting place.
The story is very much modelled after the kinds of ancient legends that come from the kinds of cultures that served as inspiration for the world and its peoples. It's about people getting caught up in the conflicts of the gods, and ultimately challenging those gods. The main characters are not mere tools, however. While their goals sometimes align with those of the various gods, their main aims have to do with a preservation of self and honor in the face of the implacable forces of destiny and divine wills. I found it all very engrossing, enough so that my mundane surroundings (usually a crowded car on the green line) often receded far into the background while I was reading while the world and its tale came to the fore.
The Blackgod
by J. Gregory Keyes
These two fantasy novels tell one continuous story, which is why I'm reviewing them together. They were good. Keyes does a great job of world building - after only a few chapters of The Waterborn, I felt like I knew and understood the world the characters. I could visualize things with a reasonable degree of accuracy, and with a pretty good feeling for the way things were. In addition to being well-formed and well-described, the world itself was pretty original. Most fantasy novels take their inspiration from medieval Europe. Keyes' books are based on pre-medieval Asiatic cultures, like ancient China and the middle east, the Mongols, the Scythians, and the early slavic tribes. It's also a sort of shamanistic world, where every place and thing has its own god or goddess. It was a really interesting place.
The story is very much modelled after the kinds of ancient legends that come from the kinds of cultures that served as inspiration for the world and its peoples. It's about people getting caught up in the conflicts of the gods, and ultimately challenging those gods. The main characters are not mere tools, however. While their goals sometimes align with those of the various gods, their main aims have to do with a preservation of self and honor in the face of the implacable forces of destiny and divine wills. I found it all very engrossing, enough so that my mundane surroundings (usually a crowded car on the green line) often receded far into the background while I was reading while the world and its tale came to the fore.
