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Mennonite · 08-23-2021, 10:43 AM

And this is where they lost me. You know how at the end of old detective books and movies the investigator will get all of the suspects into a room and then lay out, in exacting detail, what really happened? Well, this entire book feels like one of those scenes. For every part of the story that contains action there are three parts that explain what is happening and how it fits in with the previous three books.

Problems with the series:

1) Everything is a mystery. This is a problem with a lot of Fantasy fiction. Writers just do not know when to stop compounding mystery on top of mystery. Not every character has to have a mysterious background. It doesn't make sense for every character to hide useful information from the protagonist, only to reveal it after it could do him the most good.

2) "What just happened?" Various fantastic and mysterious things happen without an immediate explanation. Which is fine. The problem is that when (if) you do get an explanation (much) later on it really doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense. The origin of Benedict's mechanical arm is a good example of this.

3) The protagonist is conveniently dumb and uninquisitive. Every character in the book is a master schemer and conniver; they will read 50 different motivations into their rivals smallest actions and examine all the possibilities. The protagonist is one of the best at playing these games but he doesn't notice extremely odd behavior from certain characters simply because the story won't work if he stays in character. He knows or suspects that 2 or 3 characters who are presumed dead and who could be of great help to him are actually alive or at least could be and yet he doesn't do anything about it for some half-assed reason.

Another example would be the protagonist hiding an all-powerful magical gem in a compost heap in the back yard of his suburban home on Earth. Oh, and he also tells his lawyer buddy to put the home up for sale. And then he just forgets about it until he finds out someone is going to steal it and then has to frantically go in search of it.

4) Major plot line forgotten. The whole point of the second book was getting weapons that can function in Amber. After the battle at the end of that book those weapons are forgotten about it seems. Which is kind of a big deal because they would seem to eliminate the mortal threat posed by the bad guys in books 3,4, and 5.

5) Convoluted schemes. Hey, the book is about immortal master planners and backstabbers so I'm willing to extend the benefit of the doubt. The problem is that Oberon's scheme doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense.

6) "On second thought, King Torturekill is a decent chap." Too many characters who seem to be villains turn out to be otherwise. Almost every family member goes through this transformation. Often times this happens in one of those "Actually, this is what really happened" scenes. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't (Dara) but in either case it is overused.

All of this stuff together makes the story feel like a giant ever evolving retcon. Maybe it was all planned out in the beginning, but the constant explanations of past events, implausible character motivations and overly convoluted schemes make me think of someone hammering the wrong pieces into a jigsaw puzzle.

I read the first few chapters of book five, The Courts of Chaos, but I'm not going to finish it.

.................................

Next up was The Dark Land by C.L. Moore. This is yet another story in which Jirel of Joiry is swept into a medical land. This is the fourth of the five Jirel stories that I've read that had this same basic plot.

More Robert E. Howard:

The Lion of Tiberias (Historical fiction)
The Grey God Passes
Delcardes' Cat
The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune

The Hour of the Dragon

This is a book length Conan tale. It isn't bad, but it isn't one of the best Conan stories either. It was written as a serial and it is very episodic. The opening chapter is very good; there is a nice battle scene and the introduction of the story's primary antagonist is very well done. Unfortunately, the rest of the story's episodes fail to live up to this one. What follows is a series of decent, but unmemorable, adventurous vignettes.

08-23-2021, 10:43 AM	#830
Mennonite Veteran Join Date: Jun 2014 Casino cash: $10258572	And this is where they lost me. You know how at the end of old detective books and movies the investigator will get all of the suspects into a room and then lay out, in exacting detail, what really happened? Well, this entire book feels like one of those scenes. For every part of the story that contains action there are three parts that explain what is happening and how it fits in with the previous three books. Problems with the series: 1) Everything is a mystery. This is a problem with a lot of Fantasy fiction. Writers just do not know when to stop compounding mystery on top of mystery. Not every character has to have a mysterious background. It doesn't make sense for every character to hide useful information from the protagonist, only to reveal it after it could do him the most good. 2) "What just happened?" Various fantastic and mysterious things happen without an immediate explanation. Which is fine. The problem is that when (if) you do get an explanation (much) later on it really doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense. The origin of Benedict's mechanical arm is a good example of this. 3) The protagonist is conveniently dumb and uninquisitive. Every character in the book is a master schemer and conniver; they will read 50 different motivations into their rivals smallest actions and examine all the possibilities. The protagonist is one of the best at playing these games but he doesn't notice extremely odd behavior from certain characters simply because the story won't work if he stays in character. He knows or suspects that 2 or 3 characters who are presumed dead and who could be of great help to him are actually alive or at least could be and yet he doesn't do anything about it for some half-assed reason. Another example would be the protagonist hiding an all-powerful magical gem in a compost heap in the back yard of his suburban home on Earth. Oh, and he also tells his lawyer buddy to put the home up for sale. And then he just forgets about it until he finds out someone is going to steal it and then has to frantically go in search of it. 4) Major plot line forgotten. The whole point of the second book was getting weapons that can function in Amber. After the battle at the end of that book those weapons are forgotten about it seems. Which is kind of a big deal because they would seem to eliminate the mortal threat posed by the bad guys in books 3,4, and 5. 5) Convoluted schemes. Hey, the book is about immortal master planners and backstabbers so I'm willing to extend the benefit of the doubt. The problem is that Oberon's scheme doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense. 6) "On second thought, King Torturekill is a decent chap." Too many characters who seem to be villains turn out to be otherwise. Almost every family member goes through this transformation. Often times this happens in one of those "Actually, this is what really happened" scenes. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't (Dara) but in either case it is overused. All of this stuff together makes the story feel like a giant ever evolving retcon. Maybe it was all planned out in the beginning, but the constant explanations of past events, implausible character motivations and overly convoluted schemes make me think of someone hammering the wrong pieces into a jigsaw puzzle. I read the first few chapters of book five, The Courts of Chaos, but I'm not going to finish it. ................................. Next up was The Dark Land by C.L. Moore. This is yet another story in which Jirel of Joiry is swept into a medical land. This is the fourth of the five Jirel stories that I've read that had this same basic plot. More Robert E. Howard: The Lion of Tiberias (Historical fiction) The Grey God Passes Delcardes' Cat The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune The Hour of the Dragon This is a book length Conan tale. It isn't bad, but it isn't one of the best Conan stories either. It was written as a serial and it is very episodic. The opening chapter is very good; there is a nice battle scene and the introduction of the story's primary antagonist is very well done. Unfortunately, the rest of the story's episodes fail to live up to this one. What follows is a series of decent, but unmemorable, adventurous vignettes. Last edited by Mennonite; 08-25-2021 at 08:39 AM..
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