The Age of Discovery — (2005-2007) Publisher: In a world where strong enough talent can engender magic, the family of the Royal Cartographer stands in a unique position. For these bold relations not only draw the maps, but also explore uncharted territories, expanding and updating the existing knowledge about the world. Only sometimes, drawing a new land can be enough to bring it into being. And when tragedy strikes the family, the tormented dreams of one young woman feed back to the Royal Cartographer himself, sending him slowly mad. And maybe also creating a new land where those dreams have become a tangible reality...   
 A Secret Atlas
A Secret Atlas has its flaws, but overall makes for a solidly enjoyable read, especially as it generally (with some exceptions) improves as one moves through it.
The story begins in Nalenyr, one of the "Nine Principalities", the divided remnants of an empire that along with much of the known world was brought to near ruin centuries earlier in the Great Cataclysm. The novel focuses most of its attention on the Anturasi family, whose patriarch Qiro has the Talent (capital T intentional) of mapmaking. His charts have for years allowed Nalenyr to amass wealth and now his two grandsons (whose father Qiro may or may not have purposely sent to his death on an exploration mission) are each sent on a long and vital mission of exploration. One takes ship to expand Nalenyr's knowledge of the world, the oceans, the best shipping routes for trade. The other goes overland, partially to map out new or rediscovered routes, partially to find a particularly talented inventor, partially to find caches of magical weapons that seemingly are being plundered from the wastes where the Wild Magic of the Cataclysm causes strange things (an understatement) to occur. Their sister stays behind and becomes involved in family dynamics and political intrigue. Meanwhile, Cyron, the prince of Nalenyr must deal with politics both internal and external, especially an overly aggressive prince seeking to reunite the Empire by the sword, as opposed to Cyron's preferred method of trade. Toss in various spies, monsters, magical chaos storms, a bureaucracy more concerned with its existence than the state's, assassins, echoes of European exploration/Chinese empires/South American civilizations and a few other items and one gets a sense of the book's complexity.
Not all of this is successful. At times the history comes across as a bit vague or jargony (throw a whole bunch of fantasy-esque vocab at the reader without much specificity or vividness: Grand Cataclysm, Age of Black Ice, etc). One major subplot I would argue is wholly predictable for the reader and should have been so for the characters involved as well, making their obtuseness a bit hard to believe. And another seems a bit contrived towards the end. Another problem is that the book starts off slowly, not in the good "let a complex tale slowly unfold" way but in a "I can see where this is going and why are we taking so long to get there way?" And characters tend to get lost in the mishmash so that none really stand out strongly. Stackpole, however, is not averse to killing off major characters, so perhaps this problem will sort itself out as we are left with fewer to focus on.
On the positive side, the story in general is interesting enough in its basic premise and its several strands that the above plot flaws are tolerable. And the characters are mostly, though not all, interesting enough that we want to know more about them. The several-stranded structure, typical of long fantasy epics, is handled well, even if it does rely a bit too heavily on the shift-to-a-new-setting/perspective-at-a-dramatic-moment structure. Most positively, for the most part the story improves in pace and interest as it goes on.
The meshing of various histories- Chinese, European, South American empires-with the fantasy setting works as well, though at times it's a bit clumsy, at other times one wishes he did more with it.
Overall, Atlas isn't a great book, but it has a relatively unique germ of an idea with its focus on exploration and its echoes of past cross-cultural empires and if its success in character and plot is somewhat uneven, it ends up being a solid start to a longer work and one which I'll continue to follow. Recommended.
—Bill Capossere
Cartomancy
It's not uncommon for the second book in a fantasy trilogy to suffer the middle-book syndrome — a transition novel that doesn't live up to the quality of the preceding volume but is essential in appreciating the third. Thankfully, that isn't the case with Cartomancy, the sequel to A Secret Atlas.
In fact, Cartomancy is more exciting because Michael Stackpole planted the seeds in the first novel and what you get here is all the action and excitement. Moreover, Stackpole has not only mastered the art of integrating various characters and plots, but knows when to end his chapters, whetting the readers' appetites and leaving them wanting more.
Another element going for Stackpole is that while this is undeniably traditional epic fantasy, he infuses it with new elements as well as presenting us with complicated and three-dimensional characters. It doesn't hurt that Stackpole's writing is easy to get and his chapters strike that fine balance between long enough to give enough details but brief enough that your attention doesn't waver.
Cartomancy was very much an enjoyable read but readers be warned, this is a trilogy and you will be left hanging at a crucial moment. Stackpole does for traditional fantasy what great comic writers do for comics: he gives us enough action all throughout, but he ends the beat at a juncture where you can't wait for the next issue to come out. —Charles Tan
FanLit thanks Charles Tan from Bibliophile Stalker for contributing this guest review.
The New World
Retaining the suspense and excitement of the previous book, The New World brings to a close the epic The Age of Discovery series. Michael A. Stackpole's characterization and sense of timing remain his strengths, as well as his ability to deliver the unexpected to readers.
The New World features lots of action and combat scenes, as well as the usual elements of epic fantasy including honor, betrayal, and a climactic battle. The novel kept me on the edge of my seat, and Stackpole's use of language is quite compelling. The ending is a bit indulgent, but not to the point that it ruins an otherwise kinetic trilogy.
Cartomancy, the second book in the series, was superior in my opinion, but The New World is nonetheless a fun and enjoyable read. This could easily be the blockbuster action flick of the fantasy genre. —Charles Tan
FanLit thanks Charles Tan from Bibliophile Stalker for contributing this guest review. |
Michael A. Stackpole has won awards in the realms of podcasting, game designer, computer game design, screenwriting, editing, graphic novel writing and novel writing. He lives in Arizona and frequently travels the United States attending conventions and teaching writing workshops. He also writes Star Wars and Battletech sci/fi novels. Learn more at Michael A. Stackpole's website.
At the Queen’s Command
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