by Sara Douglass
|
| List Price: | $7.99 |
| Amazon Price: | $7.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. |
| Average Rating: |  |
| Lowest New Price: | $3.00 |
| Availablitiy: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
|
 |
|
Product Description
The stunning sequel to The Wayfarer Redemption
Axis is a true hero, in every sense of the word. On his shoulders lies the double burden of prophecy and war. Having fulfilled the first part of the prophecy by becoming the StarMan, he now must reunite the three races inhabiting his world.
It is his destiny to lead an army against his evil half-brother, to regain control of Tencendor, once the greatest land in the world.
It is his destiny to be caught between the two women he loves, one the epitome of gentility, beauty, and intelligence, the other a fierce warrior with a cunning wit.
And it is his destiny to be thwarted at every turn by the vicious Goragel, an insane monster bent on destroying all that Axis works to preserve . . .
Enchanter is the riveting sequel to Sara Douglass's spell-binding first novel The Wayfarer Redemption, and winner of the 1996 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel. Sara Douglass has taken America by storm with this powerful tale of love, prophecy, battles, and revenge.
Customers who bought this item also bought
Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Could have been much, much better! (SPOILERS BELOW), 2008-08-01
I am giving this book 3 stars simply because it held my interest and I finished it in a short space of time. And that's partially why I'm so upset after finishing the second book in this series. It had SO much potential! Had the characters been drawn in a more likable, believable way, this book and this series would have been nothing short of fantastic.
As it is written, however, I feel miserably cheated. Faraday and Azhure started out being so similar I felt that you could have easily interchanged their names in any given sentence. They were stereotypical fantasy heroines. However, Azhure grew and gained some depth thanks to some good plotting. It seemed like Ms. Douglass simply forgot about Faraday, and didn't really know how to approach her as Azhure grew in the story. Certainly, I forgot about Faraday. She was mostly an irritation to me as the story progressed. Like another reviewer mentioned: I would have been fine if she had just fallen off a cliff! Her presence annoyed me. I got sick of her perfection, her beauty, her graciousness. Give me some grit!! It further troubled me that Douglass went to great lengths to give Azhure a backbone as a strong heroine, and then turned her into an insecure victim where Axis was concerned. I'm sorry, but a woman like Azhure would not sit by and watch the man she loved go off to another woman. Not even in the thinly plotted explanation Douglass provides about her understanding that Axis "had" to do it because of The Prophecy. One of the most disappointing aspects of the book was how Azhure just wimped out on that. And Faraday too! I mean, c'mon! She just got jilted in a majorly bad way and she is so magnanimous that she just turns the other cheek immediately? Puh-lease.
And Axis...I don't understand why Douglass decided to go to such lengths to develop this man's honor, character, etc. and then have him cheat on Azhure like he did. It was fine that he gave his heart to Azhure...we all understood that. But then Douglass takes that away from the readers and makes them suffer through sex scenes between Axis and Faraday. I'm sorry, but that was a brutal character assassination of Axis. He was better than that and Douglass RUINED him for me. If Douglass wants to include some elements of romance in her novels, then she needs to learn a few of the rules of romantic elements. While its fine to give characters flaws, even serious ones, it is a complete turn off to readers to have the "hero" give his heart to someone and then have him cheat on her willingly. I can't believe another single thing about Axis now. He has lost every shred of credibility with me. I'm sure I'm not alone. Douglass ruined her hero, irreparably for me.
On to the writing elements, Douglass uses odd sentence phrasing to the point where I had to read many sentences multiple times to figure out what it meant. Better grammatical skills would have been nice.
As with The Wayfarer Redemption, the silly names and random capitilizations are annoying to the extreme.
Still, as much as I have just bashed the book for the preceeding reasons, I do like the story. I simply wish that more care had been taken with the characters and their actions.
And finally, I got SO tired of the word PROPHECY. We KNOW THE PROPHECY backwards and forwards at this point. I got super tired of having it mentioned practically on every single page in the book!!!
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 better fantasy than most I have read!, 2008-07-29
Good series, good writing, imaginative characters, and NOT a chick book. Appeals to ALL. Main male and female characters share equal footing in the series and concentrate on one or the other at the beginning--though still well done. Not all sex like some are and a great story line. I can see now why she is the most popular fantasy writer in Australia! I got hooked while recovering from Iraq war wounds not being able to concentrate on TV noise, needing a 'restful' past time to entertain...and I still am ordering the rest of the series! (addendum: The rest of the series is not as good as the first couple books, but still kept me entertained...all except for the last one...ugh ending. But still fun.)
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Confirmation of the Lover, 2008-07-20
Enchanter (1996) is the second novel in The Wayfarer Redemption series, following BattleAxe (AKA The Wayfarer Redemption in the USA). In the previous volume, Axis -- BattleAxe of the Axe-Wielders of the Seneschal -- discovered the details of his birth and then learned of his parents. He went out from Gorkenfort to meet his father and to be trained as an Icarii enchanter.
The surviving Axe-Wielders, the commander of Gorkenfort -- Lord Margariz -- and hundreds of the garrison followed Axis into the ice and snow. Everyone else abandoned Gorkenfort while the skraelings pursued Axis and his men toward the north. Faraday fled south with Borneheld -- Duke of Ichtar -- despite her love of Axis.
In this novel, Gorgrael the Destroyer tears apart Faraday's bedroom in Gorkenfort, breathing in her scent. She is his key for the destruction of Axis. Gorgrael has a traitor in place to bring Faraday to him so that he can shred her, thus distracting the Starman through his love.
Axis spends his time in Talon Spike thinking of Faraday and learning Songs of the Star Dance. StarDrifter and MorningStar -- his Icarii father and grandmother -- are amazed at his speed of learning. After only one singing, Axis is able to repeat each Song perfectly.
Azhure is also at Talon Spike and finds herself being courted by StarDrifter. Yet Azhure loves Axis, although she knows that he is vowed to Faraday. She wins a magnificent bow from SpikeFeather -- a leader of the Icarii Strike Force -- and a set of arrows fletched with his own blue-dyed feathers. She begins training as an archer.
Belial and Margariz await Axis at Sigholt, an ancient fortification near the site of a drained lake. They discover the source of the lake and open the blockage to allow the hot springs to flow again. With the renewed flow of water, the filling lake melts the unnatural snow and ice and is soon surrounded by greenery. As the water flows into the moat, a bridge suddenly appears from nowhere.
Ho'Demi -- chief of the Ravensbund -- leads twenty thousand of his people to the south and joins Borneheld at Jervois Landing. He has left more of his people in the icelands along the Icebear Coast and worries about their vulnerability to the skraelings. Still, his people must follow the Prophecy and fight the Destroyer.
Faraday grows closer to Yr -- a Sentinel -- and spiritwalks into the Sacred Glade. And she becomes known and beloved by almost everyone in Carlon. But she begins to be irritated by Timozel -- her champion -- who seems always to side with Borneheld rather than herself.
In this story, Gorgrael sulks in his Ice Fortress, yearning for the Lover to shred. Borneheld sulks in Jervois Landing, hating the traitors and incompetents who have abandoned him. Timozel sulks in Carlon, dreaming his vision and craving his destiny. Brother-Leader Jayme sulks in the Tower of the Seneschal, wondering why Axis has betrayed him.
Meanwhile, Axis takes command of the Icarii Strike Force and integrates them into his army. He has them train with his Axe-Wielders and foot soldiers in hand-to-hand combat both to further their skills and to promote a sense of comradeship. Then he sends them out to scout the surrounding hills.
Azhure trains a force of mounted archers and leads them on patrols. They work closely with the Strike Force in search and destroy missions against the skraelings. Eventually, Azhure becomes a high commander within the Starman's army.
Borneheld asks for a parlay with Axis and then they reluctantly sign a treaty to avoid attacking each other throughout the winter. The enemy forces are too strong to waste their strength on fighting each other. Naturally, both are looking forward to resuming their conflict the following spring.
Borneheld has constructed a web of canals across the approaches to Jervois Landing. The skraelings fear running water and skirt the canals. As they are separated and channeled, the defenders attack from strongpoints. Borneheld's troops are holding against the multitude of skraelings.
Then the Iceworms arrive. These creatures are barely slowed by the canals and certainly don't fear running water. They are also very large and vulnerable only through the eyes. After crossing the water, they can vomit skraelings into the human defenses.
This tale continues the war against the forces of the Destroyer, but also introduces new elements that complicate the plot. Axis and his allies gain new strengths, but Gorgrael always seems to be much stronger than their forces. The future still seems bleak for Axis and Tencendor.
The final confrontation between Gorgrael and Axis will occur in Starman, the last volume of this trilogy. Most of the plotlines will be resolved in this sequel. Yet the story will continue in the next trilogy.
Recommended for Douglass fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of epic fantasy, political intrigue, and high romance.
-Arthur W. Jordin
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
A solid continuation to the story, 2008-02-06
Enchanter by Sara Douglass is the second book in the Wayfarer Redemption series. The first book is titled The Wayfarer Redemption: Book One (Wayfarer Redemption) in the United States, but was originally titled Battle Axe in Australia. The third book is titled Starman (The Axis Trilogy, Bk 3) with the fourth being titled Sinner (Wayfarer Redemption). This series would best be described at High Fantasy as it has many elements that most fantasy fans expect to see; magic, large battles, political underpinnings, monsters, and different races.
The plot of this book is largely a carry-over from the first book. There is still the threat of Gorgrael mounting a large attack, however that seems to be a secondary storyline for this novel. The prophecy that was discussed in the first book is again in play in this novel, in fact I get the sense that the prophecy may very well carry-over to the entire six book series. Other plot lines that are discussed in this novel are a certain characters background (sorry to be so vague, but anything further would be a spoiler). The confrontation between Axis and his half brother. Axis' quest to unite a nation that had been torn apart for hundreds of years. There is also the more defined obligatory love triangle between Axis, Faraday and Azhure. There are numerous subplots scattered throughout the book as well, such as Faraday's exploration into the realm of the Mother. For a 498 page book, Ms. Douglass certainly packs a lot into this book.
The characters in this novel are largely the same as with the first book. There are, of course, a couple additions to the cast to further the story. Returning characters are; Axis, Faraday, Azhure, Borneheld, and many more. I was slightly disappointed with Faraday's role in this novel. I was looking forward to reading more about her and watching her develop. However, Faraday's role in this book is largely limited to spot appearances and not much real development aside from that involving the Mother and the grove. This makes her come across as very one dimensional, yet it is quite obvious that she will have a larger role to play in the overall story. I was pleased with the development of Axis. From the first novel to this novel he seems to have really come into his own as a solid character. However, his growth - at times - feels a little rushed and almost contrived. There are really several really interesting characters in this book yet that is almost a double edged sword. With so many interesting characters, Ms. Douglass can not focus on one or two characters when she has a cast of a dozen or more `main' characters. Additionally, characters can, at times, get lost in the shuffle and as a reader it is hard to keep twelve or more characters, in different places, separate and know what each of them is doing, and why they are doing it. I am of the opinion that if the main characters were pared down a little it would enable the remaining characters to be more fleshed out and feel more solid.
The couple more critical comments I have with this book are:
While this is a very good book, and I enjoyed reading it. There seems to be excess explanation, dialogue, and descriptions when they are not really needed. There are a couple times in this novel that Ms. Douglass relies on dialogue to `explain' things to the reader and to `launch' the story forward. This excess seems to really bog down the story at times and is very different from the fast moving pace of other sections of the book.
Secondly, as I mentioned above, there are simply too many characters in this book. It is hard to separate them when there are that many and keep things straight. Don't get me wrong, I like a variety of characters, and there is certainly that in this book, but the adage too much of a good thing can ruin it almost applies here.
I do like the overall story, and where the plots seem to be going. Ms. Douglass writes, for the most part, a fluid easy to read prose. It is easy to visualize her vision. This is a very good fantasy story and as I mentioned at the start, it has something that should please almost any fan of the genre. I am curious to see where things lead in future installments of this series. This is a certainly a series that I can see myself recommending.
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Press Continue Button, 2007-03-14
While the second novel is just as good as the first one it seemed to be lacking a bit of energy that was put into it's prequel. While the plot is good some of the New characters you want to beat over the head with a rock. The only real appealing thing is the cover art by Luis Royo - that man can draw!
Price is accurate as of the date/time indicated. Prices and product availability are subject to change. Any price displayed on the Amazon website at the time of purchase will govern the sale of this product.
|
Store Categories
|