Fantasy Author Reviews: Second Set

Robert A. Salvatore:
Salvatore is one of the most prolific of contemporary fantasy authors. His most memorable works are the Dark Elf Trilogy and the Icewind Dale Trilogy, which are based on the fantasy world called Forgotten Realms, which should be familiar to RPG gamers. It was in those books that he created and developed the unforgettable characters of Drizzt Do'Urden, the dark elf, and his companions, Wulfgar the barbarian, Bruenor the dwarf, Regis the halfling and Cattie Brie the human girl. Salvatore's description of the lands in these books has been absorbed into the definition of the Forgotten Relams, especially the sinister land of the Underdark, home to the Dark Elves. Drizzt is a "renegade" dark elf who forsakes the self-destructive and evil ways of his kin and escapes to the surface world, where he finds himself constantly hunted and judged by the colour of his skin and the deeds of his kind.

Salvatore's style is easy on the readers, and he tells his tales without embellishment, while building up the plot and characters in a well-paced manner. However, his talent should not be judged by the apparent simplicity of his style, as he never ceases to surprise me with the odd point of philosophy or irony. The beginning of each chapter in most of his series is a page from the diary of the lead character, be it Drizzt in the Dark Elf series, Elbryan the Ranger in the Demonwars Saga, or young Luthien Bedwyr in the Crimson Shadow series, and provides a refreshing, thought-provoking break from the action and the adventure of his books. Salvatore's strength, however, is definitely in the battles. Even though these are books, not movies, every sword thrust, parry and dodge is described in breathtaking and vivid detail, conjuring up a picture of the actual fight in your mind, scimitars, hammers, bows, arrows, shields, spells, dragon breath and all.

Salvatore's fame led to him being invited to write the official Star Wars novels for Episodes 1-3 based on the movies. Recently, though, Salvatore has tended to stretch the Drizzt story thin with sequels upon sequels, and the Second Demonwars trilogy is totally dark and sinister and not at all enjoyable. Overall, though, he is quite brilliant and definitely one of my favourite authors.

George R. R. Martin:
I am yet to read any of this guy's older novels, but I have read the first three books of the Song of Ice and Fire series, and they are absolutely amazing. Martin's books are quite different from traditional fantasy books in that they are meant for adults and not for teenage kids, resulting in a more mature and intense reading experience. There is less of overt magic and spell casting and such; rather, the magic is inherent in the world.

Martin excels in building layer upon layer of intrigue in the plot, and even experienced readers will be left guessing as twist after twist leaves you begging for more. Each of his characters are unique and well-defined; their futures on the other hand, are far from that. An exiled princess assembles an army to sail across the ocean and reclaim the throne. The five children of the King of the West, each on a separate, sorrowful yet courageous path. A surprisingly large number of plotters with mysterious objectives and unknown sides. A huge, if ragtag army of simple folk on the run from a nameless horror, where the dead walk the earth. The return of dragons, and old magic coming back to strength. A truly fascinating web indeed!

If there is one fault I find with Martin, it is that a couple of dead characters came back to life in the third book... reminding me of Robert Jordan's tendency to bring back the forsaken to life time and again! Lets hope the trend doesn't continue! At least, Martin has promised to finish the series with the 7th book.

Janny Wurts:
When I read Curse of the Mistwraith, first book of War of Light and Shadow, I couldn't help but think it was the most brilliant book I've ever read. Find my review of that book here.

Since then, my opinion of Wurts has lessened, though only by a bit. The pace of the series slows down after the first book, but it is still tremendously enjoyable and gripping. However, on reading some of her other novels, I discovered that the "tortured hero character" as one reader put it, is one of Wurts' favourite devices. However, she seems to have perfected it only in the aforementioned series. Her standalone novels somehow seem too packed and imperfectly paced. The Cycle of Fire trilogy seems pretty good though, upto the point I have read at least.

I find Wurts to be a really talented writer, and she fills in the void I find in most contemporary fantasy authors: flair and skill in writing. Couple it with the devious plots and ironies, meticulously built original fantasy worlds, and raw emotion that she weaves into her characters, and you can see why she is possibly my favourite fantasy author at the moment.

Feist fans have additional cause to rejoice: Wurts co-authored the Daughter of the Empire series with Raymond Feist, which is based on the world of Kelewan with the story running in parallel with the Riftwar Saga. I really enjoyed reading that series, especially since it had been a long time since I read Magician.