[DLC]⇒ [PDF] Flesh and Fire Book One of The Vineart War Laura Anne Gilman 9781439101414 Books

Flesh and Fire Book One of The Vineart War Laura Anne Gilman 9781439101414 Books

Download As PDF : Flesh and Fire Book One of The Vineart War Laura Anne Gilman 9781439101414 Books

Flesh and Fire Book One of The Vineart War Laura Anne Gilman 9781439101414 Books

This review is based on an "Uncorrected Proofs - Special Advance Reader's Edition - Not For Sale" copy provides as part of the Amazon Vine program.

You know going in that this is a Book One, so the end isn't a surprise, but it's definitely a cliff hanger. And we have to wait until October 2010 for Book Two.

The world is interesting. The magic is unique. Laura Anne Gilman weaves an interesting story full of characters you grow to love, and a world full of intrigue.

Jerzy is a slave who work in Master Vineart Malech's vineyard. Malech is a mage, and it turns out Jerzy is too. That's how it works there, those with the vine magic are drawn to the vineyards they can do the most good. The story brings Jerzy out of the vineyard and back in again, as he learns the magic, and tries to help Malech understand the turmoil in the world.

I really enjoyed this book, and can't wait for the next one.


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Flesh and Fire Book One of The Vineart War Laura Anne Gilman 9781439101414 Books Reviews

I can’t confess experience regarding Laura Anne Gilman’s other works as I’m typically completely uninterested in urban and supernatural fantasy but was more than a little intrigued by the premise of her high fantasy debut in the form of the Vineart Wars Trilogy every time I’ve encountered it. Knowing that it boasted one of the more unique magic systems in fantasy, I figured I’d give Flesh & Fire a read and ordered the hard cover.

Now that I’ve completed the journey that is young slave Jerzy’s meteoric rise from humble field worker to mage, I’m left with a confused palate; probably not the best reaction to a work centered on wine.

First let’s talk about the good- because there is much in this category. The magic system is clever, interesting and very well presented. This fact is clear in just the first couple pages. Gilman has created a method of spell casting and the mythology behind it that belongs in league with Brandon Sanderson’s efforts, which, in case you’re wondering, is about as highly praised as it gets. It’s no secret that she centers it around the power of the grape and then in turn the wine said grapes produce but what isn’t known until you actually read the book is just how efficiently and eligantly she delivers on this concept.

This takes me into my next point of praise- the prose itself. If there’s one thing I cannot tolerate it’s a poorly written book regardless of how great the characters may be, how grand the setting or how engaging the story. I’ve been completely appalled by pieces that seem to earn great acclaim for their story (Daniel Abraham’s The Dragon’s Path and Raymond E. Feist’s Magician Apprentice to name a few) on account of the fact that the vocabulary and structure were simply too amateur to allow me to get lost in the narrative. No such concerns with Gilman. Her style, if forced to find comparison, is mildly reminiscent of Kate Elliot’s earlier fantasy efforts (if that means anything to you).

Lastly the class system and setting are fairly unique. The reader is presented with spell practitioners who just so happen to run vineyards and keep slaves (Vinearts), pastoral-figures called Washers and a nobility system headed by Princes. Couple this with the feel of what is a Latin American or perhaps even Mediterranean vibe and the potential for some really unique fantasy storytelling begins to manifest. However, and sad to say, that’s about where the plus side begins to wane on this book.

The list of cons in Flesh & Fire is pretty extensive and perhaps kicks off with what may be the most grievous of them all- this is a single character’s story from start to finish. If you fail to connect with Jerzy (or, to a lesser extent, his master Malech), there is no sense wasting another minute on another page. Unlike say, GRRM, who provides dozens of character viewpoints to weave his tale of fantasy magic and war, Gilman is handing you page after page of a single character’s development, often in excruciating detail at that.

This leads directly to the next area of concern- pacing. The book starts with some fantastic action. Then about 3/4 through it surprises with another wonderful action sequence where the hero is put to the test against an aquatic menace straight out of Clash of the Titans. The negative in this is that it’s just enough to provide the reader with a sense of what was possible here. The author can write action, she can control the flow on a pretty grand scale and she’s got creatures sure to delight even the most jaded fantasy reader who claims to have seen it all. However, aside from perhaps a dozen pages total, the entire tome is nothing more than the minute-by-minute account of Jerzy’s metamorphosis.

Even this could be forgivable if the abundance of exposition didn’t remind constantly that this is the start of a trilogy. Rather than fill pages by having us follow other characters/ races/ cultures or perspectives, Gilman goes the unfortunate route of simply explaining the minutia of life for one character. The sense that we’re purposely being strung along so that would could have been told in a single book needs to be stretched across three of them is never forgettable for even a moment. Even the end, which starts to feel like we’re getting somewhere, ends up leaving the reader unfulfilled and disappointed at the lack of resolve.

Lastly, and perhaps this is more of a personal complaint than anything else, I was disappointed with Gilman’s instance upon keeping the universe “realistic”. Giant grubs, animated stone dragons and sea monsters, as described within, could have made this an incredibly intriguing world- perhaps as much so as Tolkien's Middle Earth without copying anything. As it stands, though, everything is explained away as simply the result of magic being cast by another (very human) Vineart. A shame, really.

All in all, it’s rather difficult to recommend Flesh & Fire. A majority of the book is dry and plodding. There is potential scattered about (and what wonderful potential it is) but never is thorough or lasting enough to keep the reader’s attention away from the daily grind. I personally will not be reading the two followup books (Weight of Stone & The Shattered Vine) to complete the trilogy. Though if they offered the Cliff Notes version of the tale minus all the filler, I’d probably have to consider that.
First book in this trilogy which should have been only one short story. Too many characters that go nowhere in the last book!
I didn't enjoy the story line with the vine yards. May just be me. But this one wasn't my cup of tea.
This is clearly the beginning of a trilogy, and moves at a measured pace. But the characters and setting are both intriguing, and the sharp dialogue makes it all work. Recommended.
Some of the language is difficult to follow
This book was so unexpected. New magic is really hard to find. Nothing against our current world that builds on the `Tolkien-esque' magic-verse-its just nice to get something new. And when it comes accompanied by solid world-building and sublime & descriptive writing, you can't ask for more. I am very much looking forward to subsequent books in this series. My only complaint about this (as well as other series books) is that it is not a stand-alone book; the ending makes it clear that there is much more to follow.
If I have any criticism about the book its that it cut off a bit too abruptly--that's the only thing that kept it from garnering a 5-star review from me.
My first exposure to Laura Anne Gilman, Flesh and Fire (2009) is the first of a series. Some series come about when a book receives a warm welcome from the reading public. Flesh and Fire shows Gilman planned this series from the start as she uses book one to paint her alternative world with broad strokes while introducing us to characters and conflicts.

The protagonist is a young man risen from slavery to become a wine master (Vineart), but an impending conflict which threatens the world he barely has become exposed to interferes with his normal elevation.

Gilman's writing is clean, her descriptions make us comfortable in these strange surroundings, and her story is developed with a patience that may put off some readers especially in the early chapters where Jerzy is learning the ropes that tie magic and wine.

I'm ready for Book Two.
The magic of these books arises from the deep exploration of the magic of the close relationship between the wine and winemaker (vine and vineart). We come to understand why the people who make the vina are well and truly set aside from the rest of humanity. Based on "real" world wine-making but taking it to levels undreamt of in our shared reality. This book follows the journey of a vine slave as he is pulled from the fields to become a vineart apprentice. His entire success is built upon the relationship he's already developed with the soil and the vines.
This review is based on an "Uncorrected Proofs - Special Advance Reader's Edition - Not For Sale" copy provides as part of the Vine program.

You know going in that this is a Book One, so the end isn't a surprise, but it's definitely a cliff hanger. And we have to wait until October 2010 for Book Two.

The world is interesting. The magic is unique. Laura Anne Gilman weaves an interesting story full of characters you grow to love, and a world full of intrigue.

Jerzy is a slave who work in Master Vineart Malech's vineyard. Malech is a mage, and it turns out Jerzy is too. That's how it works there, those with the vine magic are drawn to the vineyards they can do the most good. The story brings Jerzy out of the vineyard and back in again, as he learns the magic, and tries to help Malech understand the turmoil in the world.

I really enjoyed this book, and can't wait for the next one.