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Liked It “This is the fourth book of KJ Parker's that I've read. The first, after the Engineer trilogy, which I thought was absolutely amazing. This one was pretty good for me. It still showcases the great handle that Ms. Parker has on character. I think that for me though, this was a great example of...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Just like the Parker's others books... The writing is far from perfect, but the plot moves you right along. I think I read this in just over 2 days, and it wouldn't have taken half of long of silly things like work and school hadn't gotten in the way.”
Audra W wrote this review Tuesday, September 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Great story but stop reading about 5 pages before the actual end of the book. There's no reason to ruin a perfectly ambiguous ending with an explanatory (and unsatisfactory) summary.”
Russ_gaidin wrote this review Thursday, June 25 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A somewhat bizarre story of 5 men, who were soldiers together, in a medieval setting. The last of the five retires from the army, years after the others have been demobbed, with plans to get the group together, buy an island, and live together happily ever after. Needless to say, it doesn't work out that way. The characters all have different personalities, which don't necessarily mean that they would ever get along, let alone be an elite fighting force together. I'm not panning this book, as it was very well written, with lots of plot twists and turns. It's just that it left me vaguely unsatisfied, particularly with the ending. I was browsing the library, when I came across this book, which piqued my curiosity. I would definitely suggest that you read it, as you may enjoy it more than I did.”
Acur81 wrote this review Wednesday, March 18 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“This is the fourth book of KJ Parker's that I've read. The first, after the Engineer trilogy, which I thought was absolutely amazing. This one was pretty good for me. It still showcases the great handle that Ms. Parker has on character. I think that for me though, this was a great example of how a publisher can ruin a story for a reader. I thought the cover was amazing, but the catch phrase on the front, "The war is never over," along with the cover-page summary, made me think that the story was going to be something totally different than what it actually was. So, the whole time I was looking for things that just weren't there. Even with just the story though, I felt like it could have used just a little "more". Maybe another 100-200 pages to help develop things a bit more, and somewhat of a better ending too. On the whole, I think I still enjoyed it enough that I'm not upset that I bought the thing. Just wish that the experience would have been a bit better.”
WriterDan wrote this review Tuesday, December 2 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“It's a fantasy novel but without any fantasy, Parker writes in a style that is absolutely realistic.
Neil Hollands wrote this review Tuesday, August 26 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This is the tale of a company of line-breakers who survive a war against all odds but can't quite find a way to get themselves "home" from their violent past.
The five men try to go to an island to settle down and farm, taking arranged wives just before they leave. But everything that can go wrong does and the men aren't sure how to relate to each other after the war. Their wives, rightfully feeling neglected, add more discontent to the mix.
Two things I loved about this book: the marvelous interactions between the characters, and the rich detail about doing everyday jobs. Somehow Parker writes about things like building and mining without becoming dreary.
My only caveat was the extreme behavior of one of the wives, Menin. She has a strong bearing on the plot in the end, and it didn't seem necessary. The story should not have been about her.”
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