Review: Heaven's Needle, by Liane Merciel

Heaven's Needle, by Liane Merciel
Mass Market Paperback: 473 pages
Publisher: Pocket Star Books (Simon & Schuster), ©2011
ISBN: 978-1-4391-5916-3
Copy: My blood, sweat and tears
Review: PeterWilliam

Blurb: Unaware of the danger, two inexperienced Illuminers set out for the village of Carden Vale, at the foot of Duradh Mal, to minister to the people. The warrior Asharre, her face scarred with runes, her heart scarred by loss, is assigned to protect the young clerics. But in Carden Vale they find unspeakable horrors - the first hint of a terrifying ghost story come true.

The Sun Knight Kelland has been set free by the woman he loves, the archer Bitharn, but at the cost of undertaking a mission only he can fulfill. Joined by a Thornlord steeped in the magic of pain, they too make their way to Duradh Mal. There lies the truth behind the rumors of the dead come back to life, flesh ripped from bones, and creatures destroying themselves in a violent frenzy. And if Kelland cannot contain the black magic that has been unleased after six hundred years, an entire world will fall victim to a Mad God's malevolent plague...

Liane Merciel released a well-crafted debut effort (The River Kings' Road) a little over a year ago, also reviewed here. It was a fine effort, in fact an effort that left an indelible imprint which served as a reminder to acquire and read her next work as quickly as reasonably possible. After having just completed the final, and stunning, of four hundred and seventy-three pages, I am rather relieved. Perhaps a fear of the worst prevailed as the approach to this work, but happily it can be said that Merciel suffered no sophmore jinx. Heaven's Needle is everything one might have hoped for, and certainly everything Merciel promised it would be in an earlier review here at Speculative Book Review.

In Heaven's Needle, Merciel brings back a couple of characters from the first book, Kelland and Bitharn, and a host of new characters. The new characters include a Thornlord of Ang'arta, a sigrir warrior woman of the far northern seas, some novices of Celestia, some tragic, if ethically challenged, victims and a Mad God. Based upon the ending of the first book, and the SBR interview with Merciel, it was expected that the next novel of Ithelas was due to take a darker turn - and it sure did that.

Kelland and Bitharn are agents of Celestia. Referred to as the Bright Lady, she is the goddess of sunlight, healing, love and, generally speaking, all things good. While the story briefly introduces many of the gods of this world, only three play a major role. Celestia, Maol and Kliasta. Kliasta, referred to as the Pale Maiden, rules over things such as pain and agony. Maol, the Mad God, is equal parts plague, madness and stomach-pumping vileness.

Kelland and Bitharn join forces with the Thornlord Malentir, a follower of Kliasta and under more ordinary conditions a natural enemy. This unlikeliest of alliances is bound for Duradh Mal, a once powerful fortress now utterly dead, abandoned and corrupt many centuries later. Another party is also involved in the region. From this other party is a character with a great background story, Asharre. Asharre is a sigrir from the North and she has become rather grim of late, and for very good reason. Nothing further will be said of Asharre, other than Merciel has another top-shelf character to work with in the Ithelas world.

The element of horror involved in Heaven's Needle is well rendered. The sense of madness infecting the victims of the Mad God is gut churning and wretched. The loss of connection to reality and the seduction, by confusion, of the individual's free-will is horrifying. As if the things suffered by the victims weren't bad enough, what the victims do to themselves is even worse. As the protagonists reach points of confrontation with evil and madness, the reader may be inclined to put the book down to avoid soul abrasion. It is herein attested to that you will just pick it right back up to find out what happened and if any of it will be permanent or irrevocable.

Stepping back to take in the wider view presented by the totality of the two books, one might be reminded of World War II. Specifically in the context of how several different things must contemporarily occur in order for something so horrifying to take place on such a horrifying scale. These first novels of Ithelas seem to be the staging groundwork for a much larger conflict which lightly percolates beneath the surface...for now.

Heaven's Needle is an excellent work for Merciel. In this particular opinion, Merciel has created something that will certainly be followed, as well as having created a fan. I would like more Ithelas, however I would like it right now...please.

Characters - 9
Plot - 9
Style - 10

Overall - 9/10

REVIEW: Midnight Tides by Steven Erikson

Midnight Tides by Steven Erikson

Publishing Information: Mass-Market Paperback U.S. Edition; 960 pgs
Publisher: Tor Fantasy; 2004 (First Printing) April 2007 (First U.S. Printing)
ISBN 10: 07653-4882-1
ISBN 13: 978-07653-4882-1
Series: Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 5

Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer: Andy

Synopsis (from publisher): “After decades of internecine warfare, the tribes of the Tiste Edur have at last united under the Warlock King of Hiroth. There is peace, but it has been exacted at a terrible price: a pact made with a hidden power whose motives are at best suspect, at worst deadly.

To the south, the expansionist kingdom of Lether, eager to fulfill its long prophesized renaissance as an empire reborn, has enslaved with rapacious hunger all its less-civilized neighbors. All, that is, save one – the Tiste Edur. And it must only be a matter of time before they, too, fall --either beneath the suffocating weight of gold or by slaughter at the edge of a sword. Or so destiny has decreed. Yet, as the two sides gather for a pivotal treaty neither truly wants, ancient forces are awakening. For the impending struggle between these two peoples is but a pale reflection of a far more profound, primal battle – a confrontation charged with the still raw wound of an old betrayal and the craving for revenge at its seething heart.”

Just when we began to believe that the Malazan Universe could not get any larger, Steven Erikson expanded it once again. When Erikson thinks epic fantasy, Erikson thinks big. The Malazan world, already spanning three continents through the first four books, has revealed yet another – this being a continent far to the east – a continent that has been isolated from the rest of the world for seemingly thousands of years. We’ve gotten clues about this other civilization from the few characters that have been aware of these distant peoples on this remote landmass.

Midnight Tides, the fifth book in the series written by Erikson (the world’s co-creator Ian C. Esslemont also contributes) is a tale about two vastly different cultures. The Letherii, from whom the continent gets its name are humans and not so different from our own Western Culture. They are a materialist society with the weakness of greed and the institution of debt deeply ingrained into their way of life. For the Letherii, its business and profit that keep the world turning. Erikson continually amazes as his character Tehol even pontificates to his manservant Bugg about the virtues of free-market societies versus more collectivist societies at one point in the book. This is one way that Erikson keeps his series fresh – he finds new themes and influences from unexpected places. In this case, its economics.

The Letherii are also an imperialist culture built on conquest, and to the north lay the one culture on the continent they have yet to conquer – the Tiste Edur, a mysterious race we’ve caught glimpses of in earlier books. The Tiste Edur are everything the Letherii are not – they are subtle in conversation, elegant in battle, and often governed by their own pride rather than their greed. Still, there is a dark taint that is infecting the Tiste Edur from the outside, as they are becoming pawns of an ancient and deadly presence.

Neither of these two factions are admirable. While the Letherii seek to subordinate their neighbors, the Tiste Edur are often motivated by bloodlust and false conceptions of glory. In Erikson’s books it often seems that all factions are corrupt, and its only to individuals we can relate – as there are no causes worth fighting for. However, this book introduces some of the most endearing individual characters yet. Tehol and his manservant Bugg are two loveable entrepreneurs whose banter and bickering is like that of a long married couple. Here Erikson showcases his ability to inject humor into what is often a stark and gloomy series. The Tiste Edur Trull is perhaps my favorite character in the series yet as he becomes a dissident amidst the corruption of his people. As far as characters go, these are some of the best in the series I’ve encountered to this point.

Erikson’s plots have often been hard to criticize because of the serialized nature of his novels. Its not clear which elements are simply extraneous and which will be resolved in later volumes. His books are so dense and filled with so many characters and plot turns, I wonder about the necessity of it all. But still, as a reader of Erikson you suspend your concern until later books, in the hope that each piece of the puzzle will play its part and at the end the entire vision will be clear. Nevertheless, this being the closest thing to a standalone in the series, and knowing that we will never see some of these characters again, Erikson may be showing some weaknesses here. There are certain characters and scenes in this book that are simply unnecessary and the book would not have been much different without them.

The writing style may not be for everyone. Erikson is often reluctant to clarify information that other authors would offer generously. Erikson makes you work as a reader for everything, which fans of the series see as a virtue rather than a vice. Those unwilling to suspend their confusion however will find Erikson’s work convoluted and obfuscated, while Erickson supporters will consider it all part of an intricately woven tapestry.

For fans of the series though, this is a worthy addition. Erickson’s ability to create two new cultures from scratch is staggering. The book offers some of the best explanations of the magic system yet, and The Crippled God, the principle antagonist of the series, is more menacing than ever. In the end, it’s all more than enough to keep me reading Malazan.

Plot……….7

Characters……9

Style………8

Overall…….8/10