Musings on the Written Word

Friday, December 28, 2007

The Highwayman

Book 16/25

R.A. Salvatore's The Highwayman

(You know you're behind on posting reviews when you have a brain freeze trying to remember your login information. *~*)

I just want to begin by stating I will NOT be meeting my goal of 25 books, this year. This was the last book I finished this year, and I should have posted the review back in October. Since then, I've been slowly wading through Tad Williams' Shadowmarch, but I'm still a good 200 pages from completing that book. Had Real Life not decided to throw me a curve ball, things might have gone differently. Oh, well. Does it count that I read a lot of textbooks and non-fiction books and banged out a 4.0 for my fall semester?

Anyway, onto the review. I haven't read any of Mr. Salvatore's work before; this was another of the books that my father recommended. I'm afraid Mr. Salvatore doesn't get any points for originality (let's face it, this is a retelling of Robin Hood), but it was still a pleasant read. I'm not familiar with the Corona-verse, but it falls neatly into your typical Medieval-type world where the Church is just beginning to leave its footprint, and smaller towns and villages find themselves being squashed into kingdoms ruled by men with visions of power dancing before their eyes. The caste system is in effect, to some degree, and the pagans are being ousted, as much as possible.

Really, though, the most interesting part of the entire book was the description of the sword's making. It was a little difficult to follow the steps (and the concept of millions of folds of metal), but it leant the sword a "personality" and life, without turning it into some gawdy singing trinket. I haven't come across any other stories that have gone into such detail, changing the sword from a tool into a kind of magical force.

The time bouncing was annoying, as usual, and I don't think it really contributed to anything. The Highwayman is introduced and portrayed as a rogue mercenary, and then you're dumped years before his conception in a different country, entirely. I can see where the introduction may have been intended to sweep readers into the action, but it didn't follow through. You're given a character who then, basically, falls off the surface of the world, not reappearing for decades. By the time he returns, you've already forgotten the initial carriage ride - or, like me, you flip through pages trying to figure out where it fits in the new timeline. I think Mr. Salvatore would have been better off sticking to a normal chronology, rather than trying to "open with a bang."

This will be the last post of 2007. I have no idea what I'll be setting as a goal for 2008 (besides the four books currently sitting on my desk, courtesy of Christmas). My reading ability is hanging in the balance with a number of other things, and it may be another week or two before I find out how things are going to fall out. Ideally, I'll aim for 25 again, as I didn't meet it this year.

Posted by Andria :: 11:45 AM :: 0 comments