⇒ PDF Gratis Children of Chaos Dave Duncan 9780765353818 Books

Children of Chaos Dave Duncan 9780765353818 Books

Download As PDF : Children of Chaos Dave Duncan 9780765353818 Books

Children of Chaos Dave Duncan 9780765353818 Books

This book starts slowly. If this is your first Duncan book, set this aside and get one of the other ones and then come back to this book and its followup. If you like Duncan, do not be put off by the slow start. I do not know why, but these characters are not as easy to warm up to as some of his other characters. Maybe that is an interesting characteristic of this book; these people are all scarred by their pasts and all faced with their worlds falling apart. We do not see them in a state of youthful, pastoral bliss, as is often the case in fantasy novels where we see characters comfortable in their little villages.

There are also a lot of characters introduced in this first book and so it takes a while to really get the feel for the book and people. Some of this first book in the series seems a bit off balance, as in the lengthy scenes where Fabia rides around in a chariot with a personal guard, a character who is a large part of a few pages and then disappears. Who knows. Maybe he will reappear in book two?

But eventually the pieces all fall into place and the ending is quite good.


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Children of Chaos Dave Duncan 9780765353818 Books Reviews

This is the first of a duology, and I'm desperately waiting for book two.

I'm not sure why this world is a dodecahedron, but whatever. Dave Duncan is an accomplished writer and this is a wondrous book filled with reading pleasure. Yeah, you've read the synopses. They don't give a decent hint of the flavorfulness of this book. Buy it, read it, enjoy!

--Jerry
Dave Duncan is one of my favorite authors, yet this one is not a favorite. It is well written and well edited, but the first half of the story is confusing with too many gods, too many supernatural happenings, and too many characters to follow and with far too much introspection and explanation, and not enough conversation. I found myself skipping pages without losing the storyline. The second half is much better with the apparent disparate story lines coming together.
The land is Dodec, with two major races the Vigaelians and the Florengians. The Vigaelians invade and conquer the Florengians. The invaders are cruel and bestial, slaughtering and massacring all in their path. Their warriors are called Werists who can literally become beasts and are unstoppable. The Florengian doge of Celebre surrenders his family as hostages to protect his city his four sons, Dantio, Benard and Orlando, and daughter, Fabia. As the hostages mature, they seem to have god-given powers that eventually allow them to escape and perhaps mount an insurrection.
The story follows the lives of the hostages Orlando becomes a Werist who does not realize what he is; Benard is the most likable and a gifted artist; Dantio is thought dead; and the story of Fabia is confusing. It was while reading about Fabia that I most skipped pages. None of the Vigaelian characters were likable and seemed consistently stupid and violent.
The story seems to come together in the second half, but I found I had to persevere to get there. Don't misunderstand, the story is good and well written, but I am uncomfortable with stupid violence, and inexplicable mysterious powers never fully explained. If this sort of thing doesn't bother you, then enjoy.
Dave Duncan's a writer you can always rely on to entertain with style, wit and sharp observations of human nature. Children of Chaos is the first volume in a duology, his first work since leaving behind the Tales of the King's Blades (another brilliant fantasy series, the first book is The Gilded Chain, do yourself a favour and read it now!).

In a nutshell 4 children are taken as hostages by an invading army. They are separated for many years, and when they finally meet again they've become very different people. The question Duncan poses is can these four strangers tied by blood find a way to become a family again and save their true homeland from the ravages of a ruthless enemy? Even though each is horribly scarred, physically and emotionally, by their experiences as hostages in enemy hands?

As you'd expect from Duncan, the book is fast-paced, with deft characterisations and really snappy dialogue. For me, one of the absolute standouts is the world/culture building. In particular the creation of the Werists, warriors who undergo hideous transformations in order to fight, is one of the finest examples of speculative fiction I've read in recent times.

Duncan doesn't write the really huge doorstop fantasies, his books are lean and mean -- but quality oozes from every page. Bottom line is, I live in Australia and I buy Duncan in imported US hardcover -- which costs a bomb. Every penny is hugely well spent.
Duncan has created a dodecahedral world (impossible by the laws of physics, but this is fantasy) ruled by a pantheon of 13 gods and goddesses. Most people worship at least the 12 "Bright Ones," but some chose to be "henotheists," who dedicate themselves to only one deity, though they acknowledge the existence and power of the others (since the gods take an active role in the world, it's hard to deny). The children of Harg - four sons and a daughter (who's also the mother of the sons) have taken over one face of the dodecahedron and try to take over an adjacent one, relying on the followers of the war/storm god Weru. But they make a mistake when they take the four children of the Doge of Celebre hostage, and a worse one when they try to draft the children of the second face into their Werist army. Most of the story takes place 15 years after the invasion of the second face, and follows the four children - now adult or nearly so - as they begin to move toward each other. I liked this book a lot, and am liking the sequel, MOTHER OF LIES, even better, though I haven't finished it yet.
This book starts slowly. If this is your first Duncan book, set this aside and get one of the other ones and then come back to this book and its followup. If you like Duncan, do not be put off by the slow start. I do not know why, but these characters are not as easy to warm up to as some of his other characters. Maybe that is an interesting characteristic of this book; these people are all scarred by their pasts and all faced with their worlds falling apart. We do not see them in a state of youthful, pastoral bliss, as is often the case in fantasy novels where we see characters comfortable in their little villages.

There are also a lot of characters introduced in this first book and so it takes a while to really get the feel for the book and people. Some of this first book in the series seems a bit off balance, as in the lengthy scenes where Fabia rides around in a chariot with a personal guard, a character who is a large part of a few pages and then disappears. Who knows. Maybe he will reappear in book two?

But eventually the pieces all fall into place and the ending is quite good.