Well. I finally got around to reading The Unwilling Warlord, and I must say that, despite the world of Ethshar being mildly interesting, the book is disappointment. It builds up nice and well in the first 2⁄3 of the book, but in the last 1⁄3, when you expect it to unfold and flourish in some interesting, surprising, revealing manner, Watt-Evans instead decides to pursue the lamest, boringest plot possible, all the while insulting the reader’s intelligence.
For the last 1⁄3 of the book, Watt-Evans attempts to make the eventual reasons for Vond’s undoing a “mystery”. He suggests that Sterren knows the answer, but the reader is not told what it is. When the end finally arrives, it is a disapointing anti-climax as Watt-Evans chooses the most non-eventful possible outcome that has been blatantly obvious all the while.
He employs an exceedingly lame plot device where Vond is so stupid he just doesn’t see it coming. The author neither takes the opportunity to explain what the Calling is, nor does he have Sterren take Vond down in a more interesting manner, such as having Sterren go to the Towers of Lumeth and turning them off, or something.
Yes, the writing has some positive traits such as Eliezer described, but overall it’s much lamer and more amateurish than I expected. Given the recommendation, I would have expected this to be much better fiction than it turns out it is.
I have the benefit of having read other books in the series before reading The Unwilling Warlord, but even in Warlord Watt-Evans makes the reason for Vond’s undoing explicit early on (the time when Sterren queries Vond about “nightmare’s” when hiring him). If you missed this, you skimmed too much or just plain forgot it. The only “mystery” about Vond succumbing to it is that Vond’s too high on his new-found power to put two and two together.
There’re actually about 9 paragraphs towards the middle of chapter 15 (less than half way through the book) that make very explicit exactly what is happening to Vond in the last 1⁄3 of the novel. And this further on makes it even more clear: “There was one other possibility, one that he had seen almost immediately as the inevitable solution. He considered it as he opened the barracks door. It was a solution that would take care of itself, eventually, but which he could either hurry or hinder. Vond thought he was free of the Calling, but if Sterren understood the situation correctly, Vond was missing a vital point.”
Why would Sterren waste time and risk himself by trying to shut off the Lumeth power source (when he isn’t actually sure it’s the Towers anyway) when he knows how things are going to work out, and wouldn’t have a clue on how to shut off the Towers?
The explanation for the Calling takes place over half a dozen books later, in the current serial on the ethshar website. The simple fact is that no one present in Warlord knows what the Calling actually is, and Watt-Evans isn’t about to act the omniscient narrator when his actual narrator is Sterren.
You might find his more mainstream fantasy more to your taste (ie. The Obsidian Chronicles).
Well. I finally got around to reading The Unwilling Warlord, and I must say that, despite the world of Ethshar being mildly interesting, the book is disappointment. It builds up nice and well in the first 2⁄3 of the book, but in the last 1⁄3, when you expect it to unfold and flourish in some interesting, surprising, revealing manner, Watt-Evans instead decides to pursue the lamest, boringest plot possible, all the while insulting the reader’s intelligence.
For the last 1⁄3 of the book, Watt-Evans attempts to make the eventual reasons for Vond’s undoing a “mystery”. He suggests that Sterren knows the answer, but the reader is not told what it is. When the end finally arrives, it is a disapointing anti-climax as Watt-Evans chooses the most non-eventful possible outcome that has been blatantly obvious all the while.
He employs an exceedingly lame plot device where Vond is so stupid he just doesn’t see it coming. The author neither takes the opportunity to explain what the Calling is, nor does he have Sterren take Vond down in a more interesting manner, such as having Sterren go to the Towers of Lumeth and turning them off, or something.
Yes, the writing has some positive traits such as Eliezer described, but overall it’s much lamer and more amateurish than I expected. Given the recommendation, I would have expected this to be much better fiction than it turns out it is.
I have the benefit of having read other books in the series before reading The Unwilling Warlord, but even in Warlord Watt-Evans makes the reason for Vond’s undoing explicit early on (the time when Sterren queries Vond about “nightmare’s” when hiring him). If you missed this, you skimmed too much or just plain forgot it. The only “mystery” about Vond succumbing to it is that Vond’s too high on his new-found power to put two and two together.
There’re actually about 9 paragraphs towards the middle of chapter 15 (less than half way through the book) that make very explicit exactly what is happening to Vond in the last 1⁄3 of the novel. And this further on makes it even more clear: “There was one other possibility, one that he had seen almost immediately as the inevitable solution. He considered it as he opened the barracks door. It was a solution that would take care of itself, eventually, but which he could either hurry or hinder. Vond thought he was free of the Calling, but if Sterren understood the situation correctly, Vond was missing a vital point.”
Why would Sterren waste time and risk himself by trying to shut off the Lumeth power source (when he isn’t actually sure it’s the Towers anyway) when he knows how things are going to work out, and wouldn’t have a clue on how to shut off the Towers?
The explanation for the Calling takes place over half a dozen books later, in the current serial on the ethshar website. The simple fact is that no one present in Warlord knows what the Calling actually is, and Watt-Evans isn’t about to act the omniscient narrator when his actual narrator is Sterren.
You might find his more mainstream fantasy more to your taste (ie. The Obsidian Chronicles).