Banewreaker

I've been meaning to read Jacqueline Carey's The Sundering for years, yet I never got my hands on the novels. Running out of reading material during my latest hiking trip, I found both volumes at a used bookstore in Golden, British Columbia. Feeling that the universe was probably telling me something, I bought them and began reading Banewreaker immediately.

As you know, I'm a huge Kushiel fan. I know it's extremely unfair, but I will always judge anything written by Carey against that benchmark. Which is why I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. Although it's a totally different beast, it just can't compare with the Kushiel novels and I couldn't get over that fact. For that reason, your mileage may vary.

Here's the blurb:

Following the triumphant success of her Kushiel series (Kushiel's Dart, Kushiel's Chosen, Kushiel's Avatar), Jacqueline Carey now turns her hand to another startling fable, an epic tale of gods waging war in their bid to control an entire universe and the mortals they use as chess pieces in a most deadly game.

Once, the Seven Shapers dwelled in accord. First-born among them was Haomane, Lord-of-Thought and with his brother and sister gods, the Seven drew upon of the power of the Souma, claimed a race of beings for their own and began Shaping the world to their will.

But Haomane saw the ways of this new world and was displeased. For in his younger brother Satoris, once called the Sower, Haomane thought too prideful and in his gift, the quickening of the flesh too freely to the races...and to that of Man in particular. Haomane asked Satoris to withdraw his Gift from Men but he refused. And so began the Shapers' War.

Eons have passed. The war that ensued Sundered the very world. Haomane and his siblings lay to one end of a vast ocean unable to touch their creations, Satoris and the races of the world on the other. Satoris has been broken and left adrift among the peoples of the world and is reviled, with most of the races believing that it was he alone who caused the rift and depriving them of the balm of the Seven. He sits in Darkhaven, controlling his own dominion--seeking not victory but neither vengeance.

But still Haomane is not content. Through Haomane's whispers in the minds and hearts of the races of the world come a prophecy that if Satoris were defeated, the world could be made whole and all would bask in the light of the Souma again. And the few who stay by Satoris are viewed as the ultimate evil. And so the races come together to defeat Satoris, a being who helped engender them all but who is caught in his elder brother's warp.

Strong storytelling with evocative, compelling, and unforgettable characters, Banewreaker ultimately asks the question:

If all that is considered good considers you evil, are you?

The Sundering duology was meant to be some sort of deconstruction of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Hard to say how well the author managed to do that until I've read the second installment, Godslayer. But it's interesting to explore Carey's take on the Good vs Evil trope. It's rather rare that we get the bad guys' perspective. In a nutshell, Banewreaker is about what if Sauron wasn't as bad as everyone claimed he was?

What ultimately prevents this novel from gaining traction is the characterization. The Kushiel novels are told from a first-person narrative and everything unfolds through the eyes of a single protagonist. The problem with Banewreaker is that there are too many POVs. I understand that several perspectives from both sides are necessary to form a somewhat cohesive whole, yet the size of the book makes it impossible to make all of them three-dimensional characters and that hurts the tale in a myriad ways. A few, such as Tanaros Blacksword and Cerelinde, are well-drawn and to a certain extent take center stage. And yet, the bulk of the story is made up of the supporting cast's POVs and most of those show little depth. This lack makes it hard to root for them and I found myself skimming certain sequences the more I read. Many protagonists, chief among them Ushahin Dreamspinner, would have benefited from more exposition, but that would have hindered the momentum of the tale. Still, all the ingredients were there for a memorable cast. It's just that not enough "air time" was given to each of them.

As always, Jacqueline Carey's excellent prose makes for a nice reading experience. Having said that, it's not quite enough to make Banewreaker a completely satisfying read. The author's revisionist take on Tolkien's mythology and characters is interesting, but the execution is a little subpar and it makes it hard to maintain interest in all the storylines.

A part of me wants to know how it's going to end, but I'm not sure I can find it in me to go through another novel in which I don't really care what happens to about half of the protagonists. Time will tell if I'll one day give it a shot. . .

The final verdict: 7/10

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