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Children of Chaos (Sci Fi Essential Books)
On a dodecahedral world іn thrall tο thе oppressive, war-obsessed Hrag dynasty, nο one сουld ѕtοр thе Bloodlord frοm sending troops over thе Edge tο Florengia, invading іtѕ major cities, аnd offering thеm a сhοісе between austere colonial rule аnd immediate аnd total destruction. Whеn thе doge οf Celebre wаѕ faced wіth thіѕ ultimatum, hе gave hіѕ children up аѕ hostages ѕο thаt thе rest οf Celebre mіght live. Thus thе four young Florengians wеrе full frοm thеіr homes аnd scattered асrοѕѕ thе Vig
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A fabulous fantasy read,
Dave Duncan’s a writer you can always rely on to entertain with style, wit and astute observations of human nature. Children of Disarray is the first volume in a duology, his first work since leave-taking behind the Tales of the King’s Blades (another brilliant fantasy series, the first book is The Gilded Chain, do yourself a favour and read it now!).
In a nutshell: 4 children are full as hostages by an invading army. They are separated for many years, and when they finally meet again they’ve be converted into very uncommon public. The inquiry Duncan poses is: can these four strangers tied by blood find a way to be converted into a family again and save their right land of your birth from the ravages of a ruthless enemy? Even though each is horribly scarred, physically and emotionally, by their experiences as hostages in enemy hands?
As you’d expect from Duncan, the book is quick-paced, with deft characterisations and really snappy dialogue. For me, one of the absolute standouts is the world/culture building. In fastidious the creation of the Werists, warriors who undergo hideous transformations in order to fight, is one of the finest examples of speculative fiction I’ve read in recent times.
Duncan doesn’t write the really huge doorstop fantasies, his books are lean and mean — but feature oozes from every page. Bottom line is, I live in Australia and I buy Duncan in imported US hardcover — which costs a bomb. Every penny is hugely well spent.
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|Duncan never disappoints,
After two years lacking a new Dave Duncan novel I was really excited for this one to come out. Typical of Duncan, Children of Disarray has fascinating font, quick paced adventure, plot twists, and some stuff to yucky you out. The font are realistic in that they are not perfect and thus not higher than revenge, greed, and misguided perceptions. Here are a few clear terrible guys, but you aren’t sure whether the main font are really the excellent guys. The novel ends at a excellent spot so that you get some closure but with enough suspense that you wish you had the sequel aptly now.
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