For those of you unfamiliar with Sanderson's work I urge you to get acquainted. He operates mainly in the High Fantasy genre and is probably best known for finishing Robert Jordan's epic Wheel of Time series as well as his own, arguably superior Mistborn Trilogy. He is a master at "world creation" and you find yourself drawn to his characters and really caring about their fates. Another skill is his ability to introduce magic systems into his world without making them feel forced or out of place. His story telling is fantastic and he has a very amenable writing style which sucks you in and keeps you enthralled.
Enough of the love-in, what of the two novellas? Having written my last book review in about 1994 this could be an interesting experience.
Well for those of you versed in the Infinity Blade world, Awakening is set between the first two games whereas Redemption is set some time later, though when I don't know. The two have the same main characters and concepts and I lost nothing from not having played the games.
<<SPOILER ALERT>> I've tried not to give too much away but there may be the odd spoiler here.
Infinity Blade: Awakening
The story tell the tale of Siris who at the start of the first book returns to his village having killed the God King, one of a race of "Deathless" who rule as gods. No-one expected him to survive as each generation sends a Sacrifice to the God King and every one has died up until this point. He is quickly asked to leave the village and realizes that his new purpose is to hunt down the remaining Deathless and kill them all, thus freeing his people. He soon discovers that not is all as it seems and, after a chance encounter with a woman named Isa, finds that his path is massively different from what he thought it would be,
Infinity Blade: Redemption
Siris's story continues sometime later with him still coming to terms with the events of Awakening and the subsequent game in between (don't worry though, you don't need to have played the game). Alongside the story of Siris's ongoing escapades we learn more about the God King, the initial creation of the Deathless and the identity (and intentions) of the mysterious Worker.
The Verdict
The books are classic Sanderson; engaging characters, interwoven plot lines and a well conceived story that manages to retain an air of mystery without seeming too far fetched. The stories are really novellas so you'll crack through one in a few hours, yet Sanderson still manages to get the pacing right without rushing anything or getting bogged down.
Considering he is working with other people's creations I think he does a great job at fleshing them out and giving them some depth. Yes I'd rather see these characters in a full story but they are a really enjoyable read for the short time they are with us. The denouement is clever without being preposterous and you are certainly left wanting to know more about the world they inhabit.
I'd love to see Sanderson take these characters further but he has so many irons in the fire at the moment that this is unlikely. Still, I enjoyed these for what they are and they've given me some good ideas for my own stories.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Doctortom
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