The Paul Kearney Thread

[aidan]

I just published my own review of [b]The Ten Thousand[/b]. Unlike most of the buzz, I wasn't entirely happy with the novel, despite being able to see flashes of brilliance.

[quote name='A Dribble of Ink']The Ten Thousand is a conundrum. On one hand, I can certainly see why many people consider Kearney to be criminally under-read: poetic prose; a visceral, I’m-really-there sense of battle; a sly eye for exposing the realities of being human. On the other, I just couldn’t become invested in the story. I’m still looking forward to the upcoming Omnibus edition of The Monarchies of God, and none-the-less-so despite my dissatisfactions with The Ten Thousand. I am also not so bold as to be blind to the fact that many people will probably consider what I call ‘flaws’ to be strengths of the novel and that audience will absolutely love what they find with The Ten Thousand.

[i]‘Opinions are like assholes,’[/i] they say, [i]‘everybody’s got one.’[/i] And I expect that this will never be more true than with Kearney’s The Ten Thousand; love it or hate it, it’s sure to get people talking.[/quote]

You can find the whole review [url="http://aidanmoher.com/blog/?p=213"]HERE[/url].

[Benowar]

The book arrived four days ago. It was a really good read. The parallels to the "Anabasis" are striking - that is not a negative remark. I have studied ancient and medieval history, so i enjoyed the world of Asuria (a mix of achaemenid Persia and Assyria). I liked the characters (especially Rictus) and the battle scenes. A good, fast moving plot with a sorrowful ending.

PS: I hope that we will read more about the Macht and Asuria in the future.

[Werthead]

Cheers for reminding me about this. I was able to go and update my reviews for Amazon.co.uk and I found out I can now post reviews to Amazon.com as well (mwahaha).

[Werthead]

Kearney's next project:

[quote]TIME FOR ADVENTURE

A Brand New Novel Based On The Hit TV Series, Primeval

Continuing the exciting new series of original novels spinning out of the prime time ITV series from Impossible Pictures comes PRIMEVAL: THE LOST ISLAND [Titan Books, 24 October 2008, £6.99].

When strange anomalies in time start to appear, Evolutionary Zoologist Professor Cutter and his team must help track down and capture a multitude of dangerous prehistoric creatures from Earth's distant past.

Written by Paul Kearney (The Monarchies of God, The Sea Beggars), The Lost Island finds Cutter and his team stranded on a mysterious island amidst the perilous Irish seas, where they must fight to survive as anomalies wink in and out around them, releasing untold dangers into the deadly storm.

A heady mixture of action and adventure, Primeval has captured the imagination of audiences and critics alike. Titan's first novel, Primeval: Shadow of the Jaguar [£6.99, 9781845766924] was a Bookscan #1 bestseller, while the DVD release of the second series topped TV DVD charts with 35,000 copies sold in its week of release.

As the show continues to be syndicated to networks across the world, these brand new original novels take Professor Cutter and his team to places and situations outside of the show to confront new creatures and face new dangers in the Primeval universe.

With the third series scheduled to air in early 2009, Titan's thrilling new fiction is the perfect way for fans to keep their appetites whet and immerse themselves in the world of the show.[/quote]

Interesting to see what Paul makes of the whole tie-in debate then.

[Pyrdwein]

Just saw this in stores for the first time today, bought it and read it in about 4 hours. Definately a great novel, but I can't help but notice the striking similarities between it and Pressfield's Gates of Fire. I couldn't help but feel a nod of the hat in that direction, and that's a a great novel to be compared against in any case. Nice to read a standalone occasionally, but as with all the best, I always wish the story could keep going. I suppose thats what feeds the multi-volume epic syndrome so common in fantasy, but I've always a been a fan of that format as long as its not taken to extremes.

[JGP]

The English professor who ran a workshop for my writing group recommended, specifically to me, Kearney [amongst other authors] since he thought our styles were somewhat similar, additionally citing that I might learn as much from what Kearney did wrong as what he did right.

Being a bit of a classical history buff, I chose The Ten Thousand as my first foray since I knew what I was getting into insofar as Kearney's world development was concerned.

For the most part the characters were well wrought and believable, excepting perhaps Gasca who didn't seem relevant overall, except, perhaps, to give us a developing greenhorn PoV from within the heavy infantry --which imo could've been done through Jason to much better effect-- and to the benefit of his development, but that's to pick a nit.

What surprised me however, was the author's choice to really invest himself in the [i]build-up[/i] to the fateful battle between the two brothers and then wind down in a blasé manner throughout the Macht withdrawal [which imo, was actually the more interesting part of the real Ten Thousands' story-- the hardships beyond mere thirst and hunger, the mad honey incident, [i]etc[/i]] and so robbing the final act of emotional impact, for me anyway.

There were some grammatical editing gaffs, but as mentioned above the pacing toward the end just didn't pull me along with it. I had to work at staying interested. There were beats where they weren't necessary [then there weren't beats when they were] and the showdown between Rictus and Aristos [sp?] just [i]lacked[/i]. I don't know why, but I could see it coming, [i]i.e.[/i] Jason, [i]etc[/i]

My critiques invariably focus on the negatives [or needs improvements] so some positives:

The first scene, our introduction to Rictus, was beautiful. Kearney's prose is enjoyably readable, sometimes even poetic [insofar as rhythm, but he should self-edit a little more to whittle out where it strays into purple] The Curse of God element was very cool, a sci-fi component that must’ve been edited out of the original text [there were several passages implying that Human’s are the aliens on this world] I wanted to know more about that.

I certainly found myself wishing The Ten Thousand had been longer, and based on what I read I'll definitely try Kearney again. So, ultimately, for an author or his work there's no bigger rec than that.

A good read, only a little disappointing, and though I was a little underwhelmed I was intrigued enough to want more.

[Werthead]

Interestingly, [i]The Guardian[/i] weighed in with a review [url="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/sep/06/sciencefictionfantasyandhorror.roundupreviews3"]here[/url].

[quote]On the planet of Kuf, Rictus and Gasca are part of a force of human mercenaries known as the Macht. Kuf is ruled by the native aliens, and the brother of the king schemes to overthrow him with the help of the Macht. The bulk of the novel is the story of the ensuing bloody battles and the figures, both human and alien, caught up in them. It's a brilliant study of warfare and how individuals formulate a sense of honour, as well as being compulsively readable.[/quote]

[Myshkin]

Just finished it, and I thought it was brilliant. Really loved the brutal tone of the book. I think what most excited me was the writing; not only was it a good story, but it was written by a good writer. I can't wait to get my hands on more of Kearney's work.

[bossfan2000]

[quote name='Myshkin' post='1520639' date='Sep 16 2008, 14.41']Just finished it, and I thought it was brilliant. Really loved the brutal tone of the book. I think what most excited me was the writing; not only was it a good story, but it was written by a good writer. I can't wait to get my hands on more of Kearney's work.[/quote]

Cool, I agree. My fav book this year so far. Can't wait to see what Aidan thinks after accepting my challenge to re-read it ([url="http://fantasybookreviewer.blogspot.com/2008/09/gentlemens-challenge-aidan-ten-thousand.html"]linky[/url]).

I'm pretty bummed the the Monarchies omnibuses (omnibi?) are on hold again apparently. I read the first 4, but was looking forward to the revised Ships From the West.

[pat5150]

Man, all this reminds me that I have to read this one soon. . .

Patrick

[pat5150]

Just posted a new interview Werthead and I did with Kearney on the blog. :)

Patrick

[aegon6]

[quote name='bossfan2000' post='1524997' date='Sep 19 2008, 22.03']I'm pretty bummed the the Monarchies omnibuses (omnibi?) are on hold again apparently.[/quote]
Omnibuses.

We already have a thread for this plural: [url="http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?showtopic=18843"]http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?showtopic=18843[/url]

[Gold Storm]

Just finished this book, I liked it a lot. Kearney is able to create a new world that is familiar but still different. Great vivid battles and interesting characters and storyline. I hope that we see more of this series from Kearney.

[Arthmail]

This book was good, but it was lacking, though i do not agree with Aidan on what that lack is. For me, it actually comes down to the feeling that i was reading a sub-par version of Steven Pressfields Gates of Fire. Now this book was good, and had i read it first, it would have been very good.

But Pressfield's Gates of Fire is phenominal, possibly one of the best books ever written. I mean, Sparta made him an honourary Spartan after that book...that has to say something.

One can see familiar elements in both books. Even down to the red cloaks, the Ten Thousand reminded me of the Spartans and the three hundred. The only difference being that one group were mercenaries, and the other were a slave owning class of elite warriors. But where they are really the same is in the description of the battles, massed groups of men grunting and pushing each other into the machinery of death...it sounded very familiar. (Of course, considering the nature of that combat, there is no way to escape this i suppose)

But removing Gates of Fire from the equation, there were still a few problems i had with the novel. The characterization felt, well, a little weak for some reason. Rictus was good, he had a solid foundation and was built up nicely. Gasca was, like someone else said, a bit of a weak point. He seemed bland, and at key points i found that i really didn't care what happened to him beside the fact that he was usually in some of the best fighting.

Vorus, the Macht general fighting for the Kufr, was a no show. Kearney had these odd moments were he tried to make the man seem a conflicted character, but it seemed strained - one minute he's looking on his vast multitudes pound the Ten Thousand into gruel (or so he thought at that moment), and the next minute he feels sick to his stomach. His behavior throughout felt inconsistent and forced, and i warmed to him a little only to have that dashed away by some bad theatrics.

The emotional impact of the end was like wattered down wine - very bland, and not really good. The retreat of the Ten Thousand up until that point had been the best part of the book. Seeing the divisions within the army as they faced the constant threat of starvation and death, watching it fracture along different lines. Now that was the best part of the book. But the ending left me feeling underwhelmed.

It was a good book, probably a 3 out of 5. I just wouldn't give it as much high praise as some others here have done.


For me, the highest honour that i can give a book is...will i read it again? I have read all of my favorite books multiple times because i tend to read alot, and quickly. I would not read this book again, though it was good. PRobably just go read Gates of Fire instead.

[Mexal]

I was horribly underwhelmed by this book. The ending was crap and I was never truly moved by their fight to stay alive. I expected a lot more.

[Arthmail]

[b]Mexal[/b]

I'm trying to be subjective on it. I noticed that you have the same love-on for Gates of Fire as i do, and you're right, i just didn't care as much. I tried to honestly look at the book through eyes that had not read that book. Like i said, it flavoured the entire thing for me. Ultimately it ruined the book a little for me.

Like i said however, i did enjoy the retreat of the Ten Thousand. But upon reflection, i think there was a real gold mine there that Kearney did not even begin to tap. I think he could have doubled the size of his book and still made it a good read, simply by focusing a bit more on the slow retreat through an enemy empire.

Maybe i'll just take up that mantle and put it in my book.

[Mexal]

[quote name='Arthmail' post='1595056' date='Nov 20 2008, 07.58'][b]Mexal[/b]

I'm trying to be subjective on it. I noticed that you have the same love-on for Gates of Fire as i do, and you're right, i just didn't care as much. I tried to honestly look at the book through eyes that had not read that book. Like i said, it flavoured the entire thing for me. Ultimately it ruined the book a little for me.

Like i said however, i did enjoy the retreat of the Ten Thousand. But upon reflection, i think there was a real gold mine there that Kearney did not even begin to tap. I think he could have doubled the size of his book and still made it a good read, simply by focusing a bit more on the slow retreat through an enemy empire.

Maybe i'll just take up that mantle and put it in my book.[/quote]

It's possible that [i]Gates of Fire[/i] ruined it for me. I also think the Chain of Dogs sequence in [i]Deadhouse Gate[/i]s ruined it for me as well. Both books made the fight of a few against many much more emotional. It made me care about the characters involved and it crushed me when main characters died.

With this book, I thought the characters that died, especially towards the end, was completely and utterly pointless. It served zero purpose. It's like the author said, "hey, I need a big death, lets kill him" without any rhyme or reason to it other than just to kill him. It really turned me off the book.

[Arthmail]

I agree about the deaths. I felt no emotional impact. Normally if a main character dies in a book i'll re-read the sequence again just to ensure that what i read is what happened. Then i usually feel something. A long time ago i once got a little misty eyed when Flint Fireforge died in the Dragonlance Chronicles. I was blown away by Ned's.

These deaths left me feeling cold. I didn't care.

I'm just not sure what everyone is raving about.

[Joanna vander Poele]

[quote name='ThRiNiDiR' post='1395489' date='Jun 12 2008, 07.10']And there was that; the ARC is only 264pages long (I had this in mind when writing the review and then copied the page-count from Amazon without really giving it much thought); plus, prior to The Ten Thousand I read the massive Bonehunters, which has 850+ pages (and that in trade paperback form and[b] I admit that the prolonged experience still weighs down on me).[/b][/quote]
Are you sure it wasn't the book? :P

[Sheep the Evicted]

Well i just finished reading it.

The book had a pretty slow beginning (or rather the bit after the first chapter) and there was precious little humor to balance any of the frequent, often extremely brutal, scenes.

Also the feminists will have a field day with this book - every single women you read about has either been raped, is in very real and imminent danger of getting raped or she's a whore - though the levels of violence are so high that even the pretty men are in very real and imminent danger of getting raped and butchered.

I also thought, like most people, the ending was crap - though i could see it happening, for all its cliché glory, from a mile off.

On the other hand Kearney's depiction of the battle scenes was everything it was cracked up to be and the writing was definitely poetic and lyrical - though i'm not sure i prefer it that way. Also unlike most of the detractors here i really cared bout the characters, not nearly as much as i did about the main players in the Chain of Dogs, but i still cared.

In the end i thought it was just too dark and i thought he could have further explored the whole human - alien - Gods and their Curse thing - added maybe more of a sense of wonder to the grim reality of it. Anyhow it still gets a 7.5 out of me - i finished in in two sitting's, the readability was pretty high.