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Farlander

Written by Colin Buchanan

Average Score: 69(7)

The Heart of the World is a land in strife. For fifty years the Holy Empire of Mann, an empire and religion born from a nihilistic urban cult, has been conquering nation after nation. Their leader, Holy Matriarch Sasheen, ruthlessly maintains control through her Diplomats, priests trained as subtle predators. The Mercian Free Ports are the only confederacy yet to fall. Their only land link to the southern continent, a long and narrow isthmus, is protected by the city of Bar-Khos. For ten years now, the great southern walls of Bar-Khos have been besieged by the Imperial Fourth Army. Ash is a member of an elite group of assassins, the R shun - who offer protection through the threat of vendetta. Forced by his ailing health to take on an apprentice, he chooses Nico, a young man living in the besieged city of Bar-Khos. At the time, Nico is hungry, desperate, and alone in a city that finds itself teetering on the brink. When the Holy Matriarch's son deliberately murders a woman under the protection of the R shun; he forces the sect to seek his life in retribution. As Ash and his young apprentice set out to fulfil the R shun orders - their journey takes them into the heart of the conflict between the Empire and the Free Ports ...into bloodshed and death.

Book Details

Fantasy
Hardcover, 384 Pages
Published by Tor Books on March 01, 2010
ISBN-10 0230744818
ISBN-13 978-0230744813

Reviews


Library Journal | Jackie Cassada
Review Rating: 80
Strong storytelling underpins this grim fantasy debut...
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SFX | Guy Haley
Review Rating: 80
It's a four-star story with five-star characters, set in a three-star world.
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Strange Horizons | C. B. Harvey
Review Rating: 80
Farlander is a book that, because its subject matter reflects contemporary concerns with how the world deals with fundamentalism, resonates long after the final page.
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The Wertzone | Adam Whitehead
Review Rating: 80
...a solid, engaging opening novel in a new fantasy series which initially appears to be playing it safe before throwing the readers some pretty big curveballs...
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Fantasy Literature | Stefan Raets
Review Rating: 65
Occasionally the final execution isn't as polished as it could be, but its fascinating new fantasy world and occasional flashes of great writing indicate that you might want to keep an eye on where Col Buchanan is taking this story.
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Publishers Weekly
Review Rating: 60
The inclusion of gunpowder and airships nod to recent steampunk trends, though many of the standard epic fantasy elements remain.
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sffworld.com | Mark Yon
Review Rating: 40
I do think there's a good book in here trying to get out, but there's a lot to put up with in order to enjoy.
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