Fantasy tournament - Fall update
It was August when I last published a fantasy tournament update. This series started with the intention of weekly updates, turned into bi-weekly, then longer and longer it took for me to deliver the next installment. Now I'm back with a seasonal update. But hey, the determination and steady progress are still intact.
Last time, I read half of the "Jade City" and "The Blade Itself" and chose "The Blade Itself" as the winner. I also read four samples. This round I went over eight books' premises and finished reading the samples of the chosen four.
Round One (the premise of the book)
I read the premises and general reviews of eight books to decide four for the next round. Here are my observations and decisions for the said books:
Warbreaker vs. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Sounds like Warbreaker has the fun trademark Sanderson magic system. The characters didn't catch my attention that much, except the "bored god," he might be an interesting character to read about. Looks like some famous Cosmere characters are presented in this book, which makes it an important book to read for anyone entering this universe.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell's realistic historical setting sounds a bit off-putting. I'm not sure if I'll enjoy the rival mentor-mentee dynamic. However, I'm terribly curious about this book and desperately want to read a Clarke novel. So, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell it is.
The Poppy War vs. Paksenarrion
Funny how these two series start with the same premise: "The protagonist doesn't want to be married off, so she starts a heroic, adventurous, perilous journey." When choosing which one to begin, recency bias got the better of me. I've been waiting to read "The Poppy War" for a while now and I went with this one.
With this choice, Paksenarrion entered the overlooked classical fantasy books list; those eighties and seventies epic fantasies with vivid covers and old tales of pure heroism. These books received blow after blow during this tournament. They definitely need a tournament of their own to be appreciated properly.
The Dresden Files vs. Southern Reach
The Dresden Files sounds fun, especially the idea of a murder mystery in a fantasy setting is novel. It's somehow rare in the fantasy genre.
Southern Reach seems enticing, more than the rest of the sci-fi stories I came across on this list. Maybe it's the women cast of characters for once. However, the dystopian plague setting hesitates me. I'll opt for the previous option, which I'm more interested in reading.
Powder Mage vs. Wars of Light and Shadow
Powder Mage got me with its sub-genre, I must confess. We have our first "Steampunk" in the roster where technology interferes with magic and "gunpowder" overthrows the most powerful classical fantasy element, the "sword." This novelty convinces me to choose "Powder Mage" in this round, but I'm not sure if the book will keep my attention. I often get bored with action-heavy material.
The other contestant, Wars of Light and Shadow, seems to fall short of distinguishing itself compared to the previous option. The premise reads like a standard 20th century fantasy; another lost opportunity for the era in my little tournament.
Round Two (10% of the book)
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell vs. The Poppy War
I didn't know what to expect from Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel. Maybe the simple black cover shadowed my imagination, but I certainly didn't expect Austenian witty prose from a modern fantasy book. This work might be the longest book in this tournament that didn't lose my attention with overwhelming details. I actually couldn't wait to continue reading each time I put it down. Maybe it was the low magic system and focus on the characters. Whatever it was, it grabbed me and never let me go until I reached the end of the sample. Even though the pacing is rather slow, but it fits the narrative and the prose.
As for the Poppy War, I found the story intriguing. However, the voice sounds odd; it reads like a contemporary setting rather than the story's 20th century setup, somehow reminiscing "Greenbone saga." But Greenbone is set in the modern world and this voice matches it better. The book reads like YA stories and it's easy to read. I couldn't find much more to delve deeper than the surface level story in the first ten percent of the book. It's a fun read, but I'm not particularly curious to continue reading it at this stage.
The Dresden Files vs. Powder Mage
Storm Front, the first book in the Dresden Files series, started like any average mystery novel. The prose and the narrative are on the weaker side of the books I chose in this tournament, but it's a tolerable shortcoming for such a premise. The vague and broad world-building slightly disappointed me; it seemed like anything and everything can exist and happen in the world of the Dresden Files. Which might be a necessity for a long-running mystery series like the Dresden files and an upside for the fans of such rich worlds.
"Promise of Blood", the first book of the "Powder Mage", was an unexpected hit for me on the other side. The writing was much better and indulging than I expected. It's one of those books that starts in the middle of the action; a hit and miss for my tastes in stories, but it worked for me in this book. I enjoyed the collective of the characters, there seems to be many vulnerabilities and unique backgrounds to discover about these characters as the story progresses. I found the themes similar to "the First Law" series, but with a "larger than life" point of view compared to the contained and grim dark setup of the First Law. The political intrigues also caught my attention and I want to see how it'll unfold.
That's it for the wrap up of 2024. For the next round, I'll continue reading the first books of "Realm of the Elderlings" and "Malazan" and then move on to "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell" and "Powder Mage"s first book; all of them till the 25% mark. I might pick up the next in the queue after that or opt in for a round of update here in the blog. Only time will show that.