The Sun Sword

[Dingdin]

Did anyone besides me read Michelle West's Sun Sword series?
6th and last book is coming up.

What do you think of it?

Personally, I found this series refreshing, because it is very demanding and expects the reader to catch on by himself/herself in a way that fantasy normally doesn't. I hate books that explain themselves, and this is a book that really doesn't. If you don't stay alert, you'll be lost, and the book will not help you back on track.

Am going to start on the fifth book tonight. Yes!

[val7]

I read the first book and hated it, so I did not read the second. Each to his/her own I suppose.

[Dingdin]

Oh yeah? why did you hate it?

[val7]

it kind of dragged on and on... and when something major did happen, like the takeover thing at the beginning, it happens kind of offscreen and you just see the aftermath, not the action. Kind of like CoT, except it was the 1st book in a series, not the 10th.

[Dingdin]

I think I understand that. I believe that West is so very interested in the psychology of her characters and the cultures she's created, that you really have to love that. If you do, though, it's one helluva story. It's suspense, not action (though there comes more of that in the following books), and it's true that some things happen offscreen - she uses the consequences of events and the reasons for them to describe the events themselves. I think that's because she isn't really interested in the events.

I personally find that refreshing, but I agree it can be a bit infuriating when she turns too mysterious. You gotta be somewhat of a PI to pick up on the important stuff.

about it draggin on and on - i don't agree there. It's a big book of course, but it's packed with meaning... maybe it doesn't mean that much to everyone.

And I think I resent the comparison to CoT - that book is stale and practically empty compared to the Sun Sword series. Even though I did think CoT was a little better - better book, better story and more believable - than Winter's Heart...

[KevBrinks]

how was that fifth book? is the series ended? i hate being stuck in the middle of series waiting for the next book to come out

[Dingdin]

The fifth book was supposed to be the last, but West couldn't do it. However she claims to be close to the end of the sixth and last book. (to be released within 6 months from july i think, that would be jan - feb 2004).

The fifth book is holding up well, considering the usual slackening that far into a series. It becomes a bit easier to follow. Some new characters are developed, and these portraits give some additional understanding to the world. I don't think the book is as stunning as The Broken Crown (1st book) or The Shining Court (3rd book). The book takes the story forward (sometimes a little inelegantly - quite unlike West, that) in ways that have closed some options for the last book and made it "possible" to tie it all up (unlike WoT) and this gives me very high expectations for the 6th and last book.