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Stormlord's Exile (2011)

by Glenda Larke(Favorite Author)

3.89 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1841498130 (ISBN13: 9781841498133)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Orbit

series

Watergivers

review 1: This book unfortunately did not meet standards already met by previous stories. There were a whole bunch of new sudden developments that seemed very left field, but that wasn't the issue. The issue was the fact that all of a sudden, in the last fifty or so pages, all the final battles are done, everything is resolved, and now we're good to go, happy ending. They traveled across not just the entire Quartern in the space of one paragraph to the next, but through an entire other country as well. Characters who had solidly maintained one side(The wrong side, but they were consistent), suddenly at the most convenient moment, were jumpin on the bandwagon to finish the book. It left the final sequences very lame and me as the reader with a very unfulfilled feeling. Of course, the... morere was also the opposite issue to the sudden change in loyalties, in that one of the key characters changed sides for convenience about two to three times a book, and while I could see the main bad guy not doing anything about it because it would mean his random freedom from imprisonment, or leverage over the main character, or whatever, there was no reason, none, that she would have still been alive, or even barring that, in any kind of position to make decisions or have authority. 90% of the final book wouldn't have happened , had after the tenth time this person switched sides, someone said "Hey, why don't we take her water as a traitor, OR if you are too soft to do that, imprison her." Most of the time, books don't do that, leave a character alive simply as an easy tool to perpetuate story. You see if more often in a movie. The main character makes some retarded move five minutes in, that then starts the chain of events that lead to the movie. And you the audience are going who in their right mind would make that decision, ever? Oh right, so they could have a movie. This character was very much that. Put on the side when she wasn't needed to betray her current side, and brought out at precise moments to suddenly throw a monkey wrench, with no build up in the story to make it seem planned. So I am sad to say, I finished the series annoyed and disappointed. I had been thoroughly enjoying it up till about halfway through this book. Frustrating, because you can SEE how had things been written out in this way or that, it would have finished strong and just left you wanting more in the world. But, it doesn't. :(
review 2: One of the things Larke does best is fill her novels with lots of characters and settings, weaving them together into this seamless world that the book lover feels just has to exist somewhere because it feels so real. Having spent something like 1400 pages with this series, I feel so invested in this world and what happens with the main characters.Having just imprisoned Taquar, Jasper is now providing rain for the Quatern and surrounding lands with the assistance of Terelle and her waterpainting ability. Terelle soon leaves for Khromatis to fulfill the waterpainting done of her by her great-grandfather Russett, and to ask some of their stormlords to help supply the Quatern. Ryka and Kaneth, reunited at last, are living in the dunes with their son Kedri, fighting against Ravard’s forces and trying to establish peace.Jasper has grown and changed so much. He became a real leader in Stormlord Rising, and in Stormlord’s Exile as Cloudmaster, he’s even more confident and controlled. I liked that he (and Kaneth) viewed their men as men, not bodies that may not come back from battle. That kind of integrity and compassion made me respect him more, and lent credibility when he would weigh options and consider the consequences of his actions. The conflict between Jasper and Ravard (revealed to be his brother, Mica) was a nice touch. It would’ve been so easy to make Ravard a generically evil antagonist, but that familial tie-in with Shale/Jasper, and the clever characterization of Mica/Ravard as not 100% evil because of his love for Ryka, makes you pity him and root for his eventual redemption. Ravard has grown bitter after Ryka’s betrayal, and has become obsessed with defeating Kaneth and claiming Ryka and Kedri as his own once more. Jasper is particularly torn because he knows his brother is a different person, a ruthless leader among the Reduners who must be dealt with. It was a travesty that they should come to this, he and Mica. They had loved one another, supported one another. They had cared. Sunblast you, Mica, why could you listen? (Location 7134)Terelle is traveling to Khromatis, which puts her in the position of introducing us to a new setting. The Alabasters assist to some degree, and we learn more about the conflict between the Basters and the Watergivers. Terelle also acquires some previously unknown family members, including two cousins who prove invaluable as the novel progresses. I loved Umber and wished he had been more prominent! We also learn that in Khromatis, there’s a system of etiquette and rules for waterpainters, which Terelle knew nothing about because Russett wasn’t exactly following them when he manipulated her. Turns out, Russett had some pretty remarkable ulterior motives for drawing her back to her homeland, motives that Terelle isn’t interested in because she wants to go back to the Quatern to be with Jasper.The Kaneth/Ryka/Ravard plot line dragged a little bit, and nothing too remarkable happened. The Laisa/Senya/Taquar plot line wasn’t as prominent either, although Larke inserted a bit of very interesting character development with Laisa. She actually began to feel remorse about Nealrith, realized her daughter was totally bat crap crazy and a really, really awful person, and decided she didn’t want to be with Taquar anymore. She’s still a bad person, but she changes from self-serving, totally evil manipulative villain to selfish, jaded, bitter but wanting to live in peace from now on.All that said, I had two problems with this series.The major one is the Senya/Jasper situation. While I feel that the plot device was well-executed in this case, it’s still my most hated: someone good sleeps with someone evil, the girl gets pregnant and the baby is then used as a chess piece/leverage/raised as evil to eventually ruin everything. This happens in fantasy all the time (Melanie Rawn’s “The Dragon Prince” where the “hero” rapes the villain and Terra Harmony’s “Water” where the villain rapes the heroine), and it really bugs me. In this particular case, Shale was seduced by Senya in Stormlord Rising, so the entire debacle was consensual. HOWEVER, it was way out of character for Shale not to rein it in and kick Senya off him when he’s in love with Terelle and wants to marry her. He’s consistently pushed Senya away and based on the strong character we’d seen to that point, I would’ve been far more likely to believe he could control his bodily urges, rather than succumbing to them and submitting to her seduction. Senya has the baby and basically dumps her on Shale and the nurses, so Shale gets attached to little Amberlynn and loves her, and then they use the baby to manipulate him into doing things he doesn’t want to do. I just really loathe that whole plot device, though I will say that this is not as horrible as the rape-induced ones from the other examples.My second problem was that water-painting became the go-to solution for problem-solving. Lots of ziggers trying to kill them? Terelle paints them all dead before the battle. Can’t get out of the city? Terelle paints them somewhere else so their survival is guaranteed. While I get that Terelle was a main character and this power is rare and therefore valuable, she also became a sort of one trick pony. She had spirit and personality, and some of those aspects were overshadowed by her ability and its implications for Jasper and her newfound family in Khromatis.Larke’s Watergivers series is one of my favorite epic fantasy series to date. She’s skyrocketed to position as one of my favorite authors, right up there with Sanderson, McKinley, Rothfuss and Stiefvater. This series is highly recommended if you like more adult-themed, epic fantasy novels with interesting magic systems and very developed settings and characters. less

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