Joshua Palmatier

Well of Sorrows

One’s enjoyment of Well of Sorrows, by Benjamin Tate (pen name of Joshua Palmatier) will depend greatly on two issues: one’s patience for slowly developing stories and the amount of “fantasy” one is looking for in a fantasy novel. But by all means, give this book a try. It turned out to be one of my top ten fantasy reads of the year, though having been released in 2010 it can’t go on my official list for 2011. It can, however, go on my “Why do I start reading compelling series before they are completed; will I never learn?” list.

The story’s opening setting is Portstown, a “New World” colony still riven by old “Family” feuds from the mother kingdom across the ocean. In short order, things fall apart and after a quickly quelled riot (starkly, realistically violent and well-handled), the out-of-favor Families end up on a forced emigration, forming a wagon train heading out into the unexplored/unsettled plains. With them are the main characters — a young boy named Colin; his fiancée, Karen; his parents; and Walter, the local Lord’s son and representative, who has been brutally beating and tormenting Colin for some time back in Portstown. We follow their movement across new lands, past a geographic obstacle known as the Escarpment, and then we watch their first contact on the upper plains with several groups: first the Alvritshai, led by a young heir to one of their Houses, Aeren; then the Dwarren, and finally the horrifying Shadows.

After a surprisingly dark turn, the book skips ahead several decades to a transformed Colin, one now able to wield a form of magic associated with the titular Well, magic which has basically allowed him not to age but which has also come at some cost and possible threat to his humanity. Many of the characters from the first 200 pages are long gone (a real risk on Page’s part), though the Alvritshai being a long-lived race, Aeren is still alive and eventually becomes Colin’s close companion, blooming into a major character in his own right. The rest of the novel, another 300 pages or so, deals with two eventually intertwined issues: the hostile and combustible relations between the three races — humans, Dwarren, and Alvritshai — and the growing threat of the Shadows and Wraiths to all three races. A threat that few beside Colin seem willing to give credence to and a threat that Colin, thanks to his use of magic, is uniquely positioned to do something about, though not without personal cost.

That’s not a lot of detail, but I really don’t want to give much of the plot away. As mentioned above, you’ll need to be a patient reader for this one. This is a novel that really takes its time, unfolding slowly yet engrossingly. In its pacing, its level of detail, its quiet use of magic, Well of Sorrows reminded me a lot of some of Robin Hobb’s work (not in any derivative sense), which for me is great praise. I was pulled into the story from the start and while I recognized its slowness, I reveled in the pace rather than chafed at it. Not once did I feel the urge to skim or skip ahead; not once did I bemoan the lack of a stronger-minded editor. It was a long, slow book and it was just as long and slow as it needed to be. I wouldn’t be shocked to find some people, maybe even a lot, thinking it too slow, but definitely give it some time to see if its pace wins you over.

The other possible issue for some fantasy fans is the delayed arrival of the “fantasy” aspect and the relatively restrained amount of “fantasy.” Until one meets the Shadows, almost 200 pages in, it may as well be an alternative historical novel retelling the story of Jamestown (not literally or exactly, just the basic idea) and then the story of the Oregon Trail. Even then, and even with Colin’s transformation into one who can wield powerful magic, the fantastic elements remain light. The Dwarren are obviously dwarf-like (smaller of stature, living underground), but they are not dwarves. The Alvritshai have Elvish aspects (taller than humans, longer-lived), but they are not elves. Tate has taken the racial tropes and put his own spin on them, making them feel wholly original and separate and their placement in the New World setting increases that sense of originality. Colin’s magic is a bit vague (purposely so, I’d say, as more gets explained in book two), but what we see is relatively unique, involving not just some potency against the shadows (the more common sort of fantasy magic), but observation and eventually manipulation of time, albeit it in quite constrained fashion.

Eventually the magic gets ramped up, we get a battle or two, but a lot of the story deals with political intrigue and maneuvering. The major goal turns out to be the prevention of a battle rather than leading us to the same old climactic battle scene, and the magic-user mostly tries his best to avoid using magic. It’s a light, restrained overlay of fantasy and a refreshingly enjoyable approach.

The characters are mostly well drawn and if there isn’t a lot of change in them, I’d say it’s not for lack of good characterization but mostly due to the slow pace. What does change, though, are the relationships among characters, again at a slow but realistic pace. The cultural details are plentiful and make the different races and characters feel fully formed and realistic, as do their interactions with each other. Finally, while there aren’t a lot of lines you’ll linger over for their stylistic panache, the prose is smooth, precise, and mostly effortless with some nice descriptive lines throughout. Dialogue is probably the weakest aspect of the novel; it isn’t bad, but it doesn’t crackle.

The main storyline is resolved, but ends with an obvious lead into the next book, Leaves of Flame, due out in January 2012. While this second book isn’t quite as good as Well of Sorrows (there are more pacing issues), it’s still quite strong and the latter third just as good. If you start Well of Sorrows now, you can pick up Leaves of Flame when it’s released right after the holidays. Both are highly recommended. According to his website, book three will be entitled Breath of Heaven. I wish I already had it in hand. —Bill Capossere

Leaves of Flame

Leaves of Flame is the follow-up to Well of Sorrows by Benjamin Tate (pen name of Joshua Palmatier) and while it isn’t quite as good as its predecessor, since Well of Sorrows was one of my favorite reads last year, that’s a pretty high bar to meet. The sequel has more issues in terms of pacing and organization, but still remains a good novel and its latter third or so is especially strong. And it certainly avoids the dreaded “bridge book” syndrome.

The sequel picks up decades after the events of Well of Sorrows, though we’re still with our main character from book one — Colin — thanks to the time-related magic he employs, making him relatively ageless physically. And, thanks to the fact that the Alvritshai race is extremely long-lived, his closest companion from the first book, Aeren, returns as a major character, though somewhat older and now burdened by responsibilities of lordship and family. This leap forward in time allows some major events to have transpired in between the books and this happens not just this once but a few times early on as the reader leaps ahead years and decades with Colin. This does take some getting used to, but eventually the story settles into a more typically straightforward and constrained chronology. And although it was a bit abrupt at times, I found myself liking how Tate used the time jumps to let major events happen offstage and set the stage for more urgent plot points.

The three humanoid species — the Alvritshai, the Dwarren, and humans — have co-existed since the events of Well of Sorrows in a relatively productive if at times uneasy peace. Early on, they had to deal with attacks by the Shadows and their creations the Wraiths, but Colin finds a means of protecting the three lands from the threat (his creation of said protection is one of those offstage events, though we do see it employed). Unfortunately, the protection lasts for less time than he’d planned on as the Shadows seem to have found a way to weaken his wards. He must figure out what the Shadows have done and also what they plan before the protection breaks down completely and the three lands are overrun.

Well of Sorrows was, as I said in my review of that novel, a deliciously slow unfolding of story. Slow for sure, but never problematically so, with no lagging moments or scenes. Leaves of Flame, after the early jumping around in time, is also slow to develop, but less effectively so. The pace isn’t as smooth or effortless and there are definitely times where the novel lags here and there. A judicious paring of 50-70 pages would have done wonders for it, I think. No large-scale editing of storylines, no slicing out of dozens of pages in a row — none of the separate storylines lagged quite that much — but several pages here and there at various points in each of the storylines, and especially in one or two, would have strengthened the book.

There are, in fact, a lot more storylines here. We follow Colin on several excursions as the consistent main character, but at times we also follow Aeren when they are separated; Aeren’s wife; Aeren’s son; Lotaern, the head of the Alvritshai religion; the Dwarren clans; a civilian refugee; a Legion officer, and a few others. We even get a point of view from the Wraiths’ side of things. At various times each of these storylines feel a bit overlong or overly detailed and the movement between them isn’t always handled smoothly, but things settle down toward the latter third and the book really comes into its own, becoming much more urgent and compelling and focused.

Magic plays a stronger role in Leaves of Flame than in Well of Sorrows, and I missed some of the Western/Colonial feel of book one. Leaves is much more firmly ensconced in the traditional fantasy structure in many ways: there is a quest; a lengthy, somewhat fraught journey; an abandoned yet horrific underground area; a climactic battle scene; magical weapons; etc. They’re all handled well, they don’t feel clichéd as one reads them, but the novel also doesn’t have quite the same level of fresh appeal that Well of Sorrows had. That said, the underground journey scene is handled in original fashion and is quite strong, one of the highlights of the novel.

Colin is more desperate in many parts of the novel, but a bit oddly removed as a character at times. The same holds true for Aeren, Lotaern, Aeren’s wife and son, and many others. The villains are especially a bit pallid and prop-like. The most interesting characters are probably one of the Dwarren, whom we don’t meet for several hundred pages, and two humans fleeing the Shadow army, but again we only meet them in the latter part of the book. Perhaps the most intriguing character is a female Wraith, whom we see far too briefly (she’ll obviously be playing a larger role in book three).

The quest itself — actually two of them — felt a bit perfunctory, almost as if we’re tossed it because it’s a fantasy and so a quest journey is expected. And there’s a bit of a head-scratching lack of insight on Colin’s part with regard to a relatively major aspect of the threat.

That threat, though, when it becomes much more concrete, really forces the action toward the end and the novel picks up steam in lots of ways: action, character, sharpness of detail, suspense.

Reading through the above, one might reasonably guess I didn’t enjoy Leaves of Flame or found it too disappointing. But that’s actually not true at all. Despite the issues with pacing and some character issues, I greatly enjoyed reading it save for the few parts the story lagged a bit. I read it in a day, most of it in two sittings, which gives some sense of that enjoyment. If I pick up a book and keep putting it down, I’ve got big problems with it. If I knock it off in one or two sittings, not so much. Leaves of Flame ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but rather than feel cheated, I simply wanted to keep going. Had book three, tentatively titled Breath of Heaven, been available for download on my Kindle at 3:00 a.m., I would absolutely have downloaded it and simply kept going. Leaves of Flame isn’t as good as Well of Sorrows, lacks a bit of that first book’s originality and freshness, and thus is somewhat disappointing. But it’s a good read in its own right and does what any good second book should: ends with me wanting more and as soon as possible. The series remains highly recommended. —Bill Capossere