/r/Fantasy Discussion Group discussion

Discussion for the 1st half of the book. I just checked and I think stopping at the chapter title 'Next' is a right at 50%. Spoilers for first up to this point are welcome and expected here. The idea is that after reading half the book, come join in this discussion. Comments for the second half should go in Discussion 2 on the full book. I look forward to revisiting this one and seeing what people have to say about it.

I've made it half way through, and it's pretty good so far, but it still only feels like the very beginning, I'm thinking this book sets up all the characters and the world, however I'm enjoying it.

Andrew wrote: "I've made it half way through, and it's pretty good so far, but it still only feels like the very beginning, I'm thinking this book sets up all the characters and the world, however I'm enjoying it."

I would agree with that statement. Its a good book but a great trilogy.

Picked up after Logen got into a big fire fight with the Magus. I am enjoying it more now. Some action! Woo hoo.

I've reached the 60% mark...and I'm kinda losing hope.

One of the things I hate in recent fantasy is the incomplete story arc. It seems to be a necessity that the actual story span multiple volumes. This annoys me because a story should be self-contained and set in a world worth further exploration in later novels -Not one unedited story split into 3 volumes. So far this book is one giant prologue without a story arc.

Several promising arcs, or what I thought were the central arcs, are either complete or pointless: Glokta's unraveling of the Mercer Guild, Jenzen's Training for the Championship, Logen's meeting up with Bayaz. All are ends unto themselves and have little bearing on "what comes next".

Further, I am just not interested in adding yet another thread to my plot tangle - the character of Ferro. So far, the tie between the disjointed story elements and the central characters has all been Angland and rising tension between the Union and the North. I am certain she must serve some future purpose but, at this point in the narrative, she is an unnecessary distraction.

I also did not need to know that Logen's group has survived in the North. Logen is no longer with them, nor is he likely to return to them in the remaining 200 pages...

Sigh...I am frustrated by having characters that I think are fabulous hanging by tenuous threads to a plot that is next to non-existent...

Lucinda - Oh I'm glad someone has the same views as me. I'm not that enthralled by the book either.

Well my interest has picked up from the first 100 pages. Jezal isn't as annoying as he used to be, Logen's story ark finally feels like it's about to begin and Glotka is as interesting as ever.

I will say that I share some of Lucinda's disappointment in the plot progression. That is to say there isn't any. This novel definitely feels like a really long introduction and doesn't look like it will stand on it's own.

There are some pretty dry parts where I find myself wanting to skim but on the whole I'm quite enjoying it so far.

I've just reached the halfway point, and I agree with the previous posters that the plot progression is moving very slowly. To me, this book has an 800+ page epic fantasy novel feel yet there is less than 200 pages left. Overall, I'm really enjoying the characters so far and am happy there is no "perfect" character.

It's interesting to see the different reactions here. There are some books where you just have to follow the separate story lines and wait and see how they come together. I actually really enjoy that aspect, trying to speculate how and why they may be connected, but I understand that not everyone loves that aspect of it. And anytime you get into an epic story, I think you have to expect some portion of the story line to carry over to the next book. At least that is my take on it. Maybe because I have read mainly modern epic fantasies. Personally, I really enjoy them. And in this book, I really enjoyed Glokta and Logen. Even Jezel grew on me.

The pacing of the book hadn't bothered me much, but I can probably attribute that to the fact I know it's an already completed trilogy.

The separate plotlines have me intrigued to see if and how they'll overlap, and how each character will react in their first impression to characters we already have insight into.

I agree with what Justin said about it feeling like it's part of a much longer book, but that doesn't necessarily bother me.

With that said, I felt a bit disoriented when Ferro popped up. She better throw down some series shit by the end of this book, or I'll be pretty annoyed.