7/22/2023 0 Comments Edwin paul![]() And then there is the issue of a conflicting chain of command, warriors with inferior equipment or fighting styles, or the fact that humans are not incorruptible by evil.Īnd why exactly is there a siege occuring here anyway? What IS so special about Rath Tintallain?Įven though the first two battles are quite possibly the largest, this book scales throughout its journey. It is as the story develops that we realise how and why they are desperately required.īut having humans amongst elves always causes problems when PEZ is writing the story. They provide nothing more than elves, dwarves or immortal mages. I feel that the main story presented is actually the interaction of the main characters while they attempt to resolve the issue at hand the siege.įor more than half of the battle Istvan, and other human heroes, feel that their presence isn't actually required. Prince Tahion, Carrol Mac Lir, and Arthfayal Mac Ronan, who all play large and important roles in the outcome of the siege.Īnd then there are the immortal Hasturs, the dwarves, and the elves - each of whom have their main characters highly detailed. Ingulf, son of Fingold, who has his own novel to tell his story. Istvan DiVega, known as Istvan the Archer, whose personal development we follow throughout the story. Yet there are a few that outshine the others. ![]() Many of these characters have detailed (and sometimes conflicting) personalities, histories, and abilities. You just cannot learn about them all in one reading of the book, and you cannot feel attached to so many heroes. ![]() ![]() This single factor is probably the hardest to fathom I feel. This book has approximately 45 main characters. From the start, from the actual gathering of heroes to the journey to fortress city Rath Tintallain (in the demon forest), to the overwhelming attacks against the wall or in dwarven tunnels, or even the assault from the sky Paul leaves nothing to chance.Īnd yet, if the story was just a description of a siege, why go into such detail? Why write it at all? Paul does not glaze over any of the finer detail. (And yes, I'll touch on spoilers, but I won't reveal all!) There are added elements that would be spoiler alerts but are what make the battles so intense. Sound familiar?īut this is not what makes this book the epic tale that it is. The dwarven citadel city is being attacked by orcs and goblins, dragons and dark things. Ultimately, we're looking at a defence/siege scenario of a fortress in a fantasy setting. The setting in itself is nothing special and has probably been done too often since this was written. This statement has never been so true as it was for this novel. When I finish reading a novel by him I look back and I cannot think of one more thing that could have happened within the story. He has lived and taught in New Mexico, Nevada, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Virginia, and is now associate professor of English at Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota.When PEZ writes a novel, he leaves nothing behind. As a native Minnesotan, Paul grew up exploring the forest and watching the stars near a lake in the northern part of the state. His articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times, Slate, Salon, Los Angeles Times, Outside, Audubon, Conservation, Reader’s Digest, National Geographic, Creative Nonfiction, and elsewhere. Paul is also editor of the anthology Let There Be Night: Testimony on Behalf of the Dark, a collection of essays by twenty-eight writers on the value of darkness and the costs of light pollution. Paul Bogard is the author of The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light. He lived and worked all over the world, from Tokyo to Istanbul. He studied architecture at Delft University of Technology and was a fellow at the Jan van Eyk Academy. He has worked as an editor, designer, urban researcher and theorist for Archis/Volume and Partizan Public. From spatial planning to social engineering. As one of the founders of Studio Monnik, Edwin specializes in technological developments and the way they affect society.
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