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| Banewreaker: Volume I of The Sundering | 
 enlarge | Author: Jacqueline Carey
Publisher: Tor Fantasy
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
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You Save: $7.98 (100%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  66 reviews
Sales Rank: 118380
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 512
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.6 x 4.2 x 1
ISBN: 0765344297
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780765344298
ASIN: 0765344297
Publication Date: August 2, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
If all that is good thinks you evil... are you?
Once upon a time, the Seven Shapers dwelled in accord and Shaped the world to their will. But Satoris, the youngest among them, was deemed too generous in his gifts to the race of Men, and so began the Shapers' War, which Sundered the world. Now six of the Shapers lay to one end of a vast ocean, and Satoris to the other, reviled by even the race of Men.
Satoris sits in his Darkhaven, surrounded by his allies. Chief among them is Tanaros Blacksword, immortal Commander General of his army. Once a mortal man who was betrayed by King and Wife, Tanaros fled to Darkhaven a thousand years ago, and in Satoris's service has redeemed his honor-but left his humanity behind.
Now there is a new prophecy that tells of Satoris's destruction and the redemption of the world. To thwart it, Satoris sends Tanaros to capture the Lady of the Ellylon, the beautiful Cerelinde, to prevent her alliance with the last High King of Men.
But Tanaros discovers that not all of his heart has been lost--his feelings for Cerelinde could doom Satoris, but save the race of Men...
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| Customer Reviews: Read 61 more reviews...
 Underrated May 7, 2008
Okay, I know...this isn't what you expect it to be, coming from Jaqueline Carey, especially if you've read any of the Kushiel books (wonderful, wonderful stuff --stayed up all night cause I couldn't put down the first one). And I, too, didn't like this much...at first. And then suddenly I realized...this is a direct response to the very didactic Christian perspective that dominates The Lord of the Rings. I mean, you have the group of travelers who are trying to stop the other voyagers...the Elvin princess (is it an Elvin princess? It's actually been a while since I've read this) whom both sides desire to possess (and the interaction between her and the general guy -- HOTT), the dark, evil lord who dominates completely... The only difference is that it's told from the point of view of the "evil guys," which throws an interesting twist into it. And the evil guys -- not that evil. They've all acted out of revenge or from having been wronged in some terrible way that makes one sympathize with them. Once I realized this, though, it was suddenly very interesting. Carey plays with the power of legend and hearsay in a fascinating way. My only regret was that I couldn't get a hold of the following books of the trilogy and couldn't find out what happens to the princess -- does she end up siding with the "evil guys"? And do the evil guys get redeemed? Or does Carey have a more interesting (and more appropriate -- the idea of them joining the "good guys" horrifies me because that side was kind of dull and narrow-minded) fate for them?
 Jumps in too fast, makes up for it later April 5, 2008
For a good portion of this book I found it very lacking - character development seemed weak, backstory was only barely hinted at, I just couldn't care about any of the pro/antagonists.
And the prophecy - the whole book revolves around the prophecy, but she just delivers it like a dictionary definition, with really no explanation of where it came from, is it unique, how old is it, nothing. Even a simple preface of an ancient character having a vision and delivering the prophecy for the first time would have gone a long way in making the story more enjoyable.
Oddly enough, towards the end of the book, she starts to give more backstory, character depth and motivations. Because of this 11th hour effort, I will give book 2 a chance.
Intriguing twist and a new perspective April 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm honestly surprised by the bad reviews. I really liked this book - we're given a completely NEW perspective on the "dark God" premise. What if ... what if the so-called "dark God" is NOT in fact the one who is responsible for the destruction of the previous "Golden Age"? What if the so-called "light God" is the one who is trying to take over the world and re-make it in his image through any means possible - with lies, twisted truths - and then basically make certain that everyone will do things his way (i. e., take away freedom of choice)? What if, basically, everything you THOUGHT was TRUE, was, in fact, WRONG?
This is the premise of this refreshingly original idea. Satoris Third-Born, formerly known as the Sower - since his Gift was that of the Quickening of the Flesh (aka - passion, lust, call it whatever you want!), is now called the Sunderer, the Banewreaker and all manner of dire things after refusing to take away his Gift from the Children of Arahila (his Sister) - that is, refusing to take away passion from Men. After defying Haomane First-Born - Lord-of-Thought - three times (Haomane was peeved because - after refusing to allow Satoris' Gift for his Children - the Ellyl - and because of their surpassing beauty and perfection - and immortality - Men became jealous and waged war upon them, trying to gain the secrets to their immortality; Haomane thought that removing the Quickening of the Flesh would help by a) "thinning the herd" and b) creating a calmer, more rational people) at Arahila's request, Haomane sent his wrath upon Satoris. Anyway, because of Haomane's various attacks upon Satoris, the Souma (the Eye in the Brow of Uru-Alat - the World's Creating God) is split apart, the world is Sundered and the sea pours in. Satoris is wounded by a splinter of the Souma, a wound that will never heal - however, he manages to catch hold of this splinter, and maintains possession of it - a dagger he calls the Godslayer. Satoris remains in Urulat with the various Children created by the Shapers, and the other six Shapers stay across the Sea in Torath where they continue to plot. That is the background of the story.
Flash-forward: almost everyone in the world believes Satoris alone is responsible for the Sundering and splitting of the Souma. As a result, Satoris is despised universally, despite the fact that all he wishes is to be left alone in his fortress in the Gorgantum Defile, in the mountains he has Shaped. He has called to himself Three Men and bound them to his service, stretching the Chains of Being and granting them immortality - Tanaraos, called variously Blacksword, Kingslayer and Betrayer; Vorax, the Glutton; and Ushahin, the Dreamspinner. In Banewreaker, the signs of war have appeared, and Haomane's Prophecy for the downfall of Satoris is in the process of being fulfilled - a daughter of the Ellyl is to wed a son of the house of Altorus, that which is Unknown is made known, that which was hidden is found, etc. It is up to the Three, with the help of their allies the Fjeltroll, the Were, and the Men of Staccia, to stop those who would fulfill the prophecy and thereby destroy Satoris and bring about the reign of Haomane First-Borne.
It is an incredibly intricate and dense story - there are a lot of characters and the plot is tightly webbed; however, J. Carey writes with an easy self possession that makes the story accessible. I hope more people will give this story a try; it is very interesting!
 Where are the bad guys? March 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Jacqueline Carey had an intriguing idea when she conceived Banewreaker: What if the Lord of the Rings was told from Sauron's perspective? I have always been attracted to the bad/evil guys in movies and books and had hoped that Carey's novel would feature compelling, evil characters. Unfortunately, it does not. My biggest grip is that her "bad" characters are not that bad. They're good guys who may have made bad decisions. She probably has a point: that good and evil are not so easily differentiated, and good and evil labels depend on who is telling the story. Still, I regret that she did not commit to creating fully evil characters and showing us their point of view.
Banewreaker is an intentional doppleganger of the Lord of the Rings, so I cannot fault Carey for the overall similarity; however I do think that it is TOO much of a copy. The plots are almost mirror images. Does the novel really need its own fellowship? She could have use the Lord of the Rings as a starting point and developed her own plot.
I also think that Carey spends too much time with the "good characters", burdening us with too many characters and tangential subplots. She should have clung to Tanaros, who is the most complete and conflicted character. I would have liked a novel just about him: starting with his life as a general and sworn sword, then to his betrayal, and then to his commitment to the "dark side". I think that this novel would have been much more effective as a character piece than as an epic fantasy.
One last complaint: Why does everyone call each other "brother", "cousin", or "lad"? It was annoying after the twentieth time.
Thank Goodness for the Villains January 20, 2008
I'll be honest there were so many similarities between this novel and The Lord of the Rings (LotR), I lost count. Several times I almost put the book down thinking that I was just reading LotR again. However, what kept me going and even allowed me to give this book a three star review instead of a two was the villains.
Tanaros Blacksword may compare to the Witch-King, but we know so much more about Tanaros. One gets to know and like this conflicted and very human immortal. If Tanaros the warrior is not your kind of character perhaps Ushahin Dreamspinner will make this book better. Despite his small role in the novel, his story really sticks with you. He is a half-breed. Half-man, Half-Ellylon, belonging to neither, an outcast raised by the monsterous Were. His torment and pain is artfully rendered by the author. Yet another reason for the three star rating is Carey's ability. If you like to read and have never read LotR then you will love this book. If you have it is difficult not to make comparisons.
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