Tom the Merciful Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 I absolutely loved The Ten Thousand. The writing style, the plot, characters, tempo and length. Everything was OK. I can understand some complaints written in this thread, but those complaining about plot should consider that the book is only a remake. So, no freedoms there. The setting deployed by Kearney has some real depth and given background information on gods and myths really fits and feels well designed. I wouldn't be surprised if we get another novel in the same setting. Characters are fleshed out as they could be. Imagine a warlike people and their soldiers who are drilled since early age to become part of the machine (phalanx). How much depth would you expect from such a character? Their philosophy must be very simple. Staying alive to be able to celebrate victories and fight again. Just like in the novel, some of them may dream about quiet life, but after 20 years of fighting, there's no way they could make this simple transition without any traumas. There are enough materials about war veterans and their issues with society to confirm it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Some news [url="http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2009/02/paul-kearney-signs-with-solaris-for-two.html"]here[/url] that may be of interest to those who enjoyed [i]The Ten Thousand[/i]. This was my blog's first exclusive news scoop :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mashiara Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 [quote name='Werthead' post='1678892' date='Feb 8 2009, 17.17']Some news [url="http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2009/02/paul-kearney-signs-with-solaris-for-two.html"]here[/url] that may be of interest to those who enjoyed [i]The Ten Thousand[/i]. This was my blog's first exclusive news scoop :D[/quote] Awesome! :) I'll add my two cents to this thread in saying that I enjoyed The Ten Thousand tremendously. Not [i]quite [/i]as much as I enjoyed Gates of Fire, but close enough. I loved how Kearney stayed close to the original story while creating a word of his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duchess of malfi Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 That s good news. While I recognize the heavy inspiration from Xenophon, Kearney did make enough changes to make the work uniquely his own. I thought it to be especially intriguing that humans are a minority in that world. I will certainly be willing to read more books in that setting. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beniowa Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 More Kearney books are always fantastic news. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolverine Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 [quote name='Deornoth' post='1395581' date='Jun 12 2008, 09.04']I thought exactly the same thing when I picked up my copy... I've just finished it ([url="http://www.graemesfantasybookreview.com"]reviewed[/url] on the blog) and it's a damn fine read, makes me wish that I'd picked up Paul Kearney's work sooner. Now I've got to wait for the omnibus editions of 'Monarchies of God'... :tantrum:[/quote] I have them :thumbsup: I have often wondered why they were out of print when his work is much better than many of the books that stay in print. The series is not amazing but it is enjoyable and readable. I like the parallels he draws to actual history in the books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Kearney has signed a contract with the 'new' Solaris for two follow-ups to The Ten Thousand, the previously-announced Corvus and Kings of Morning. The Monarchies omnibuses remain contracted, but no word on a new release date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automne Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 I've just finished The Ten Thousand. It was OK but not a book I will re-read.Though I don't usually read that type of books, I wanted to read a novel with warriors and battles and so-on. Now I have.The battle scenes are interesting and I especially enjoyed reading about the retreat of the mercenary army through the Empire.What I didn't like:. I can't count how many times rape occurs. I know it's a book about war but ... :(. The ending was so disappointing.. Vorus fate wasn't consistent with his character. The conflicting loyalties didn't seem convincing to me.. The death at the end of the book felt artificial as if the author didn't want to end his book without killing off one of his main characters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 A review of Paul's early novel, A Different Kingdom.Growing up on an Antrim farm in the 1950s, young Michael Fay has an idyllic but hard-working life. However, he soon discovers that the woodland beyond the farm is a doorway to another place, a place of wonders and stark terrors which has a strange hold on his family and where he must travel to right an old wrong.A Different Kingdom was Paul Kearney's second novel, originally published in 1993 by Gollancz. It's a stand-alone, although it shares a thematic link with The Way to Babylon and Riding the Unicorn in that it features a person from our world who is drawn into a fantastical one. Those more familiar with Kearney from his later work, such as the excellent Monarchies of God series or his recent accomplished fantasised historical, The Ten Thousand, will find the book a surprise and a revelation. This is a work that is steeped in earthy Celtic mythology and is riddled with the sensibilities of Ireland. During early sequences on the Fay farm you can almost taste the soda bread and buttermilk, whilst later sequences in the fantastical 'other place' are rooted in the earth, the musty smells of the forest and in the palpable terror of the hunted.A Different Kingdom reaches into the same taproots as works such as Robert Holdstock's Mythago Wood, a comparison most books would not weather well, but this novel stands up to it with gusto. It's extremely well-written, with Fay a troubled and complex central character, and features an unusual structure where the story proceeds in three different periods in Michael's life and the story moves between them as he has prescient visions of his future journey into the forest as a boy, flashbacks to it as an adult and then we see it during the present. There's an element of Heart of Darkness also at work, as Michael's journey into the heart of the forest to confront an elusive enemy also becomes a confrontation with his own soul and his desires to save a family member clash with the desire to stay with a beautiful woman he meets in the woodlands.There aren't many weaknesses. The sequence set in the future when Michael is grown-up are somewhat brief and not as well-explored as the earlier episodes, but then it doesn't really need to be. Some may find the ending also to be a little abrupt given the novel's build-up, but it still worked well and was a thematically appropriate conclusion. I particularly like the way you can't really read it as a 'happy ending' or not, depending on your interpretation of the story.A Different Kingdom (****½) is a rich, powerful and strikingly good novel. It's regrettably out-of-print at the moment, although second-hand copies are available via Amazon in the UK and USA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renasko Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 Hmm...However, he soon discovers that the woodland beyond the farm is a doorway to another place, a place of wonders and stark terrors which has a strange hold on his family and where he must travel to right an old wrong.I thought of Tad Williams' 'Otherland', to be honest.This may need to be read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 I thought of Tad Williams' 'Otherland', to be honest.Except without the computer virtual world angle and that Kearney's book came out a lot earlier? ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuchulain Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 Nice review, Wert. Do you plan on reading The Way to Babylon too ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerol Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 Wasn't there going to be an omnibus of some sort on the Sea Beggars? I read the first two and really really really wanted to see where that was going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 If I can find a copy of The Way to Babylon, I'll read it.The Sea-Beggars omnibus is still years off, as Bantam are still playing merry buggers with the rights situation.The Monarchies of God omnibii are now scheduled for late 2010. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuchulain Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 If I can find a copy of The Way to Babylon, I'll read it.You can still find some cheap copies on Amazon UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jussi Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Amazon.com claims that Corvus will be published in October 2010. The cover art is for The Ten Thousand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortstark Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Amazon.com claims that Corvus will be published in October 2010. The cover art is for The Ten Thousand.Really looking forward to this, I wonder if the warleader is who i think it isThe son of justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidan Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Amazon.com claims that Corvus will be published in October 2010. The cover art is for The Ten Thousand.Kearney says HERE that the manuscript for Corvus is due to his publisher in June 2010, making an October release somewhat unlikely. I'm curious about that cover though, as it could easily sit alongside the UK paperbacks of Joe Abercrombie's The First Law Trilogy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Kearney says HERE that the manuscript for Corvus is due to his publisher in June 2010, making an October release somewhat unlikely. I'm curious about that cover though, as it could easily sit alongside the UK paperbacks of Joe Abercrombie's The First Law Trilogy.The new Solaris seem to be just gearing up again, so it's possible they've made Corvus a priority early release given The Ten Thousand apparently did quite well for the pre-buyout Solaris as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigei Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Sea Beggars still unfinished? Aws.A Different Kingdom sounds interesting and I like that it is a stand alone book, I might try to pick it up secondhand somehow.This is a work that is steeped in earthy Celtic mythology and is riddled with the sensibilities of Ireland. :thumbsup: Good stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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