Mention Books Toward The Anvil of the World (Lord Ermenwyr #1)
| Original Title: | The Anvil of the World |
| ISBN: | 0765349078 (ISBN13: 9780765349071) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Lord Ermenwyr #1 |
| Literary Awards: | Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee for Adult Literature (2005) |
Kage Baker
Paperback | Pages: 352 pages Rating: 3.89 | 1886 Users | 169 Reviews
Details Of Books The Anvil of the World (Lord Ermenwyr #1)
| Title | : | The Anvil of the World (Lord Ermenwyr #1) |
| Author | : | Kage Baker |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 352 pages |
| Published | : | December 1st 2004 by Tor Fantasy (first published August 23rd 2003) |
| Categories | : | Fantasy. Fiction. Science Fiction. Steampunk. Science Fiction Fantasy |
Narration Conducive To Books The Anvil of the World (Lord Ermenwyr #1)
Kage Baker's stories and novels of the mysterious organization that controls time travel, The Company, have made her famous in SF. So has her talent for clever dialogue, and pointed social commentary with a light touch.The Anvil of the World is her first fantasy novel, a journey across a fantastic landscape filled with bizarre creatures, human and otherwise. It is the tale of Smith, of the large extended family of Smiths, of the Children of the Sun. They are a race given to blood feuds, and Smith was formerly an extremely successful assassin. Now he has wearied of his work and is trying to retire in another country, to live an honest life in obscurity in spite of all those who have sworn to kill him.
His problems begin when he agrees to be the master of a caravan from the inland city of Troon to the seaside city of Salesh. The caravan is dogged with murder, magic, and the brooding image of the Master of the Mountain, a powerful demon, looking down from his mountain kingdom upon the greenlands and the travelers passing below. In Salesh, Smith becomes an innkeeper, but on the journey he befriended the young Lord Ermenwyr, a decadent demonic half-breed. Each time Ermenwyr turns up, he brings new trouble with him.
The outgrowth of stories Baker has been writing since childhood, as engaging as Tolkien and yet nothing like him, Smith's adventure is certainly the only fantasy on record with a white-uniformed nurse, gourmet cuisine, one hundred and forty-four glass butterflies, and a steamboat. This is a book filled with intrigue, romance, sudden violence, and moments of emotional impact, a cast of charming characters, and echoes of the fantasy tradition from Lord Dunsany and Fritz Leiber to Jack Vance and Roger Zelazny.
Rating Of Books The Anvil of the World (Lord Ermenwyr #1)
Ratings: 3.89 From 1886 Users | 169 ReviewsNotice Of Books The Anvil of the World (Lord Ermenwyr #1)
This is a really fun book that plays with fantasy tropes, without falling into fantasy cliches. While there is a fancy noble (Lord Ermenwyr) as a supporting character, the main character is a working man, Smith. We meet him as he plans to lead a caravan from the plains to the sea. The novel consists of three novellas, following the life of Smith. Each story takes place about a year after the last one ended. They are very funny, and feel a lot like "In the Company of Ogres," by A. Lee Martinez,I've hit the "Kage Baker" section of my book shelf tonight, so I'm just going to sing her praises as I add her books to this catalog.Basically Anvil of the World is great because it contains everything that's wonderful about Baker: she's funny, highly imaginative, a clear writer who can break out the style when need be (as in the case of Anvil of the World, where she goes a little bit old school fantasy in her tone), and, most importantly, she can write a novel with a moral message while at the
During my regular trawl through the Kindle Store, the sequels to this book popped up. After buying them, I thought that I might as well buy this as well so that I could re-read it in preparation for the sequels.I must have read this book when it first came out, and it remains the only Kage Baker book that I've read to date, despite buying the entire Company series as those books came out - go figure.It's still as gloriously deadpan as I remembered, made up of three segments featuring the
The funniest, most intelligent fantasy I've read in ages! I'd love to meet Lord Ermenwyr sometime. (This is also an absolutely excellent book to read aloud with a lover before bed. Not because it's necessarily erotic--it's not, though there are some deliciously sexy characters--but because it's just so wittily written that it'd a delight to share.)
I enjoyed this charming, well-constructed fantasy novel. I read that the author, Kage Baker, worked in theatre, and her style speaks of a theatrical eye. Most obvious, the book is in three acts, but also all the characters are types: matron, harlequin, ingenue... yet for all that they are fully fleshed and unique. The first act finds our hero, Smith, taking a job as a caravan master as a way to escape his previous life. The travelers on the journey are a motley group, running from or to
This book has three parts. It went from good to great to oh-my-god amazing. I am awed that Baker was able to make the last section as profound as she made it. There is no pretense to this book, no grasping, no overwrought tropes. It's not perfection incarnate or anything, but it's damned good.
2nd read 11/14/08: Very fun book to read. The subversive humorous touches and surprises are very enjoyable.I highly recommend that you read this book's prequel "The House of the Stag" first. If you do, this book will make a lot more sense and the humor and allusions will be richer (more obvious).Note: The House of the Stag was published in 2008 but it is about Lord Ermenwyr's parents and sets up "the world" of this book so many things will be much more clear to you. The House of the Stag is more
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