I have to admit being disappointed in Geoff Ryman's The Warrior Who Carried Life. Unlike much of his later work, especially The King's Last Song, I very much felt The Warrior Who Carried Life demonstrated a writer finding their way in their art. There were long passages which were clumsy in execution, too much exposition, in my opinion, and a lack of deep character development. Dialogue often had speech qualifiers which were indicative of a novice, which for me, as an editor as well as a writer, was a bit cringe-worthy.

The elements of the fantastic were almost too fantastic, in that Ryman failed to work a deft trail from the known to the unknown for the reader, or put another way failed to fully realize the complex and eldtritch world of the alien creatures known as the Galu, and the magic-steeped humans who are subjugated by them. Even the element which sets the world aright, the Flower, wasn't fully realized, a nebulous concept both to the characters and the reader. The same could be said of the Galu themselves. One comes away with an impression of black worms inhabiting humans, but in other passages that concept is contradicted. Or perhaps this reader was too obtuse. There is always that possibility.

Along with the overall narrative of good versus evil, he obliquely explores the concepts of transgender identity, albeit with a not-so-deft hand.

Environmental detail is sparse, which further alienated this reader, because it created a feeling of disconnect, of watching a film on green screen which as yet hadn't had background filled in with CGI.

The Warrior Who Carried Life isn't a bad novel. But neither is it a great one. Read as you wish. Your mileage may vary. And that is the beauty of art. ( )

Recently reprinted and reviewed here.

Book Info: Genre: Fantasy (Epic/Mythological)
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: fans of mythology, epic fantasy
Trigger Warnings: torture, mutilation, killing, mass murder, slavery, murder of children, cannibalism
Animal Abuse: Several dogs are killed

My Thoughts: This book was originally released in 1986, and was re-released earlier this year by ChiZine. This is a very strange story, designed in homage to both the creation mythology of the Bible and of the epic of Gilgamesh, among other things. It's long-term, sweeping nature is sometimes a bit hard to follow, but in the end, it is very much worth it. I do recommend that if you read this book, you take the time to focus and concentrate on the story. I read most of it in short bits and pieces and that made it a bit hard to follow.

While there wasn't a lot of it, I really liked the part of the book written from Galo's point of view. Everything to him is strange, including pain and water and cold and light. It was fascinating, and I can guess that the section was short due to the very strangeness that the author had to inhabit to write it.

There is plenty of bitter with a bit of sweet. The Wordy Beast (which I think was a griffin) was really neat. There is a great deal of metaphor is vagueness in this, which leaves the reader to interpret things as she likes. I think a lot of people will enjoy this, especially if they like mythology and epic fantasy.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from ChiZine in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: To defeat her enemies . . . she must make them immortal.

Only men are allowed into the wells of vision. Cara’s mother defies this edict and is killed, but not before returning with a vision of terrible and wonderful things that are to come . . . and all because of five-year-old Cara.

Years later, evil destroys the rest of Cara’s family. In a rage, Cara uses magic to transform herself into a male warrior. But she finds that to defeat her enemies, she must break the cycle of violence, not continue it.

As Cara’s mother’s vision of destiny is fulfilled, the wonderful follows the terrible, and a quest for revenge becomes a quest for eternal life. ( )

I was really loving the first third, and then it kind of got into this Capitalized Mythology mode, with the Flower and the Tree and the Apple and so on...apparently it's a retelling of the Epic of Gilgamesh, so I get what he was doing, but it was kinda boring. I liked the part with actual people before they became gods. ( )

A great story, filled with Ryman's characteristic detailed observations about the nuances of people's lives. A twist on typical transformation stories, and, as with Air, or Have Not Have (http://www.librarything.com/catalog/1...) what seems to be an interesting and engaging story transforms, towards the end, into something much stranger and wonder-/awe-ful.

Gender-bending is at the heart of the story and yet, at the same time, is beautifully understated. The protagonist transforms herself into a (male) warrior to seek revenge. ( )