John Brown (3)Reseñas

You can read my review of this book here: http://www.thegenretraveler.com/fantasy/travel-reads-servant-of-a-dark-god/

Meh

A historical fiction story with a dash of fantasy; a Dutch trapper gets a Native American tattoo designed to make him more attractive to women, but will it work on the one woman he really wants? I liked this story quite a bit; the historical setting was nicely done, although I wish the fantasy element had been a little stronger.

Unfortunately, this book started out slow, and it was very difficult to sustain my interest throughout to the finish. Talen (our 'hero') was an incredibly unsympathetic character and it's difficult to enjoy rooting against a protagonist who isn't supposed to be an anti-hero.½

I couldn't really get into this book. It wasn't so much bad as not good. I didn't really care for the characters, which is always a deal breaker for me. I wasn't pulled in. The plot and world do have their good points and can be quite interesting.½

Hard book to get into. I wasn't all that interested after a couple chapters and stopped reading it. It is still on my shelf for a future try again.

After a slow start, this book takes the reader on a terrific ride. The author introduces an unusual and interesting system of magic. The characters are well drawn and speak with authentic voices. After hurtling to a nail-biting ending, the story leaves lots of room for sequels. I eagerly await the next in this series.

I'm afraid to say I really did not enjoy this book. I waded through the first three chapters from a sense of obligation, and stopped there. It's possible the story picks up later, but without someone else telling me it really is worth it, I wasn't going to invest the time to find out.

The major turn-offs for me were the general gruesome-violent feel to the world (which I know is definitely a matter of personal taste) and the characters. I did not *like* any of the characters that seemed like they would end up as primaries. I dislike reading books were I'm actively rooting against a major character, especially when the feeling I get from the writing is that I should be sympathizing with that character.

So, yes, I probably didn't give this book the chance it deserved, but I'm fine with that when there are so many other lovely things out there to read.

Although the tale appeared interesting, for some reason I could not connect as I normally do with the main character in the book, so it's difficult for me to recommend or say that it is a book I will read twice. It wasn't bad, but an element was definitively missing for me.½

This is a first novel and to some extent you can tell that. It is overly ambitious or complex in the delving of fantasy that it portends. David Drake has been quoted and he too says it is complex. Perhaps that is where I get lost. In the beginning we see the world through the eyes of a young man not quite a full man (college age perhaps) and he has a view of the world that is slightly different from the view we have of the world by the end of the story.

That it changes as we read the book is detrimental to the tale. We do not know up from down because of it. Not only do we not know up from down, the author is doing his best to be unique but as I read this I felt their was similarity to David Farland's Rune series. Brown, the author, cites Farland as a reference, so some of the fantastical elements make sense in that regard. Other's do not. Using the map, long journeys can be done in hours. Communities are designed to support each other in the tale, but they have no reason by terrain or distance to do so. Racism is prevalent throughout, but with such animosity, it is the ante-bellum south and our hero who should know from lynching has a mouth on him.

Too many things are out of place to suspend my disbelief that a good work suffers from it. Where we might have been better led was a tale of a young man coming of age in this world, that was defined for us from the start. Not something we had to grow into a definition of. A world where the play of time is not rushed into three days or even a world that does not resort to a flashback of one day for events that have happened previous to the pacing the hero establishes. A world where the henchmen contribute something instead of waiting for the device of soul supported dreadmen and divines who can blow air and kill regular mortals.

Too many faults to say a great read. Too much childlike motivations in adult characters to say a great read. Once and done.½

The best way to describe this book would be "fine." It isn't bad, and it isn't great. Somewhere in the middle. I liked the overall plot and some of the details (and a nice twist near the beginning), but the main character wasn't very well done and the interesting characters weren't explored enough. If a second one is released I'll read it, but I won't be waiting breathlessly for it.

Hum. Hrm. Where to start? I enjoyed Servant of a Dark God, for the most part. In general, books I enjoy get 3 stars as a baseline rating, to be modified in full- or half-star increments depending on my feelings toward the book. Overall, John Brown's debut novel did enough right to avoid a 2.5-star rating, but not enough to earn 3.5 stars.

What did it do right? First off, there's an interesting magic system. Essentially, the consumption of life-force as a kind of magical power source. Not a brand new concept by any means, but it's handled well, and it's a nice change of pace from generic fantasy magic. The social setting is also interesting, with clans of varying social status, and further clans out on the periphery; not to mention the true rulers back across the ocean—the book taking place on what is essentially colonial territory. There's a nice mix of introspection and action. And a surprise twist near the end that casts earlier events in a new light.

What did it do not-so-right? The big problem here, I think, is the protagonist, the young boy Talen. The world John Brown has devised needs an "innocent" main character to bring the reader in, a character whose role is to be as perplexed as the reader when confronted with mysteries outside his own knowledge of the world. And indeed, a child is often the best vehicle for this. But it's also become such a cliche that readers like myself practically groan aloud when we open a book, only to discover that "oh look, another young boy who'll mature into his special destiny and save the world/defeat the wizard etc." That's one strike against the book already, but sometimes an author can totally pull it off (see last year's ER book, The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett.) Talen actually compounds the child-as-protagonist problem by being totally unrelatable, and a complete jerk to boot. That's not to say that's he's mean by nature; he's justified in his thinking by his own worldview. But the reader begins to catch on to things long before Talen does, and thus finds himself in the awkward position of rooting against the protagonist. By contrast, chapters told from the perspective of adult characters "in the know" I personally found to be far more enjoyable. Another issue I had with the book was the aforementioned plot twist. Yes, it's interesting, but it also comes very much out of left field, as does the book's Big Bad Guy. At the very least, some foreshadowing would have been nice. Finally, it is a very, very bleak book. Yes, happy ending and all that, and relatively bloodless, but husbands are killed, wives are tortured, children and families devoured. A lot of my favorite authors love putting their characters through the proverbial wringer (Donaldson and Erikson, I'm looking at you) but it seems so much more merciless (and merely plot-servicing) here.

Like I said, I enjoyed it. And in all honesty, I think a lot of readers will really like it. I just had a hard time caring.

Like some other readers, I had a hard time getting in to this book There wasn't much that kept my interest in the beginning, or in the middle. And not so much at the end either. It wasn't a bad story, it's just that I didn't get a connection I usually feel when reading books. I didn't really care what happened, and just kept reading it. I ran across one or two spelling errors (really, should this happen at all?), but it's fewer than other new books I've read lately.

It certainly has the seed of an epic fantasy storyline, and I have a hard time quantifying what it lacked. Perhaps a little more editing, there were a few distracting diversions from the story while a tangent was explained, etc. I think Brown has a lot of potential, I'm just not sure if I'll be interested enough to get the next book in the series.

Disclaimer: I received this book via the Library Thing Early Reviewers program.

John Brown's Servant of a Dark God is a debut fantasy novel that spoils some of its very good elements with some frankly clumsy mistakes and misccues.

The fantasy world Brown posits a hierarchy of magical beings of which mankind sits at the bottom (although there are Gnostic hints this was once not the case) Magical power and talent is tightly and strictly controlled, and those who dare to use such magic are accused of "Slethery", that is to say, witchcraft. And yet there are those who practice and cultivate such arts in secret, both human and inhuman.

Servant of a Dark God focuses on a family in a land recently conquered by overseas invaders, and the dynamics of the rights of the overlord conquerors versus the native population adds to the complexity and depth of the world Brown has created. Characters have confused, divided and conflicting loyalties that shows a depth that many writers with far more experience than Brown never learn or bother to give to their characters and worlds. The magic and arcane aspects of the universe are a bit of a "jump in the deep end", but Brown's ideas are fresh and relatively unique and I liked learning more and more about how it actually worked.

Also, unlike the usual epic fantasy, this novel stays within and provides detail for a relatively narrow geographic area. There was no 1000 mile walks across the countryside. This is a local story, which is a nice change of pace from the usual novels of this type.

I would have highly enjoyed this novel, with all of these interesting elements, except for two major missteps.

First of all, the main character, Talen, was not one drawn well enough to be engaging and interesting enough for my taste. Brown manages to characterize and develop the secondary characters in a much better fashion than Talen, but since this is Talen's story, he gets the lion's share of the action and story. Worse, his story takes far too long to develop. It was a rough slog in the first third of the book, when one of the major mysteries of the novel was who stole Talen's work pants. I stuck it out, and matters improved, but my taste for Talen as a character was permanently ruined by a very weak opening.

Second, Brown is a little too complex and clever for his own good. The obfuscation in the novel can be thick and heavy, and while any writer must balance infodump with telling the reader nothing, I think Brown withheld too much information at certain points, to the determent of the narrative. While puzzling out some of this was a positive to reading the novel, in some cases, it only served as a millstone to the reader.

This book very nearly failed the "100 page test." By contrast, the last 100 pages of the novel were very good.

Overall, though, like some of the best from Sanderson, or Drake, the fantasy here is not of the cookie-cutter epic fantasy type that is eptiomized in the Tough Guide to Fantasyland. I am unsure if I want to continue with subsequent novels in the series, due to not warming up to Talen as a character, but I think I would be inclined to read other novels by this author otherwise in the future.

I really enjoyed Servant of a Dark God, by John Brown, more and more the further I got into the tale. At first, it was somewhat confusing trying to distinguish the different Mokadian Clans and where the Koramites fit into all this, since it was obvious they were second class citizens. And the fact that some people were allowed to use weaves while others weren't took a little while to get completely straight. But then again, who wants a simple story when Brown gave us something different and more complex? Being a fan of the Dune, Hyperion, and Song of Ice and Fire universes, I like complex, complicated storylines. It just took me a little while to get things figured out. For example, The Briar King, a thick book with three sequels, was something I was able to follow from the get-go; the same with The Dragonbone Chair. But aside from that, I really liked where this book went, and see great potential for this universe.½

Servant of a Dark God is John Brown's debut novel. At the end of the novel, I felt very similar to when I read Sanderson's first Mistborn novel. I think this series could go somewhere awesome- but it's going to depend on Brown.
First thing first, I got into it pretty easily. As a moody reader, my interest has to be grabbed pretty much right away. And I had a hard time putting it down at the end, so thumbs up to Mr. Brown for that. There are also some creative and unique elements to the story.
The system of magic took me awhile to grasp, as well as the political situation. I think that's my biggest issue with the story. Even after reading, I'm not entirely sure I understand everything, though most things have been cleared up. The main character could have been more compelling, but the "villain" of the story is definitely one of the better ones out there. Hunger is like an alien forced to add humanity to his viewpoint- it adds to his character a great deal.
Recommended to anyone who likes epic fantasy. The uniqueness of Brown's ideas will hold you- it's not the quest-based usual. Four stars.

A good read, though not great. The story has an epic tone, so I suspect forthcoming sequels. There are sufficient interesting concepts to keep the reader's attention, but there's some frustrating lack of detail in world-building which leads to tedious exposition in untimely places. Overall, it's well-written and a solid debut novel.

Servant of a Dark God
John Brown
Tor Books (2009), Hardcover, 448 pages

Nightstand Novel?

As a debut novel Servant of a Dark God is an extraordinarily ambitious undertaking. At 442 pages, plus appendices, it has the bulk and complexity to turn ones’ brain to powder if it fails to engage. It’s not strictly Fantasy, though there are elements of Magics. It is strong Speculative Fiction but not constrained by genre limits. It is a reality construct unto itself which takes what it needs from where it finds it.

The Universe is well constructed; with form and shading, multiple Cultural Contexts .

The interactions between the various factions are colored by their perceptions of themselves, each other, and these may vary widely, and are excellent source of tension and interaction. There are racial, tribal, classist and religious elements – some of which can interact or overlap with ease, some which seem to be absolutely immutable this Universe/Societal structure. A society with a history of wars – some in which our factions are united against others in order to prevail – some where they’ve faced defeat and disgrace.

Interpersonal interactions along family/clan/tribal lines have apparently predictable patterns, but as the story develops we see that not all the patterns are as rigid nor are things ever entirely as they initially seem – for the characters and reader both. There is a great deal of interplay in the weaving of the different stories. There are subtle interplays of politics and region, warrior and farm worker, healer and orphaned child. There is pleasure of seeing how the players change as they see more of their own bigger picture.

The story develops solidly, not at break-neck pace, nor leaving threads hanging behind for too long. As the scale of the story becomes apparent, the breadth and depth appear. The book stands on its own feet very well, without any great gaping plot holes or hanks of thread that go nowhere, but it’s easy to imagine that there’s a LOT more story to tell. Servant of a Dark God is, in fact, the first of a three book contract with Tor. John Brown has created an artful construct and I’m looking forward to seeing where he takes us next.

To answer my opening question; is it a nightstand novel? Only if you don’t care to sleep. I did, in fact, read it at one sitting, into the wee small hours of morning – and find the recliner a far superior place to do that.½

A great first book. I think the world this author created is very unique. I loved the slow build of plot. I was not told what was happening, I discovered it. The story was told from many different characters, but it was obvious that Talen would be the hero of this story. I loved the viewpoint of the monster, Hunger, and his inner struggle with who he had been and what he is now. I was satisfied with the conclusion and look forward to a continuation of this story if there is one.

Servant of a Dark God
By John Brown
(Publisher TOR, Tom Doherty Associates, New York)
Advance Uncorrected Proof

Review by Debra Louise Scott

I began reading the first few pages with a sigh. Great. Another pseudo-medieval-fantasy-society with a cutesy sibling rivalry opening. I’m a big sci-fi/fantasy buff, but I get frustrated with repetitive scenarios. By the second chapter the characters had caught my interest. The third chapter compelled me to keep reading as it became clear this dealt with issues that are near and dear to my own heart.

Once it gets going, the story weaves an intriguing and multi-faceted parable. Prejudices, suspicions, stereotypes, mythologies, and secret societies weave in and out of each other. The ruling class infers upon itself deity status and tyranny with the acquiescence of the country. Unusual disappearances incite a resurgence of suspicion on the existence of a secret society credited with all manner of inhumane, depraved and supernatural practices. An inquisition begins as suspects are rounded up with little to convict them but rumor. No one thinks of the possibility that something else, even darker, may be at large.

I found the developments chilling, as I realized how closely they resembled periods of our own history, when neighbor turned against neighbor because a cow stopped giving milk, or because on old woman developed a wart on her nose. A time when town politicians could implicate their opponents and detractors and send them to the burning stake. A time when someone you grew up with would no longer talk to you, because it might put their own family in danger. A time when it wasn’t safe to disagree and very dangerous to be different.

Interwoven with the hysteria that ensues is a mythological tale that unfolds in diabolically small pieces, unseen by a village too wrapped up in blaming each other to recognize the larger picture. What if the myths were true?

Somewhere towards the end of the book, I could no longer put it down, and found it haunting my dreams. I encourage you to wade through the opening and enjoy discovering, then rediscovering the characters as little by little they reveal and redefine themselves.

(By the way, I’m glad my advance proof didn’t have any cover art. Had I received it with the current artwork I would rejected it. )