02 April, 2014

Review - The Master of Whitestorm by Janny Wurts


EDIT #1: Sorry for the weird coloring here. For some reason when I copy and paste lately, this is how it goes. I've contacted Alec to help me fix it because I know only the basics of html (and blogger usually hates that too).

EDIT #2: The problem described in Edit #1 has been fixed, but you probably didn't need this edit to tell you that.


I've begun to realize that reading fantasy** has given me a superpower. It's not generally considered a superpower per se, but it IS a power I've received from my reading ventures. And maybe it's not necessarily a power, but it is a skill and really that's all superpowers are right? Cool skills. 

**Quite possibly reading fiction in general, but I like to think it's just fantasy

Fine, okay, but Batman's a superhero and has no superpower ... so maybe it fits in there, somewhere.

Does this have a point? Why would you ask?

That superpower (sticking with it!) is that of perception. Rarely have I seen it better displayed than in The Master of White Storm by Janny Wurts. <

The power of perception (alliteration makes it a power) is prominently on display here as Korendir begins his plan of escape as a galley slave, rowing for his Mhurga slave masters.

Not only is it all but unforeseen for slaves to escape the Mhurga, if one does escape, that slave is hunted down along with his or her family and all killed or made to suffer. In essence, you have to be crazy to mess with them.

It's through his perception that Korendir sees holes in his slavers' characters and in their routines and he exploits them after years of preparation and careful study.

It's amazing what being perceptive can do for you. Through reading, I have personally become more perceptive. I walk into a room and I notice things that others wouldn't normally notice. I can spot characters in movies and point them out in older or newer shows they are in without the use of IMDB (a highly lucrative power I have).

Most importantly, and something that has been pointed out in studies and articles, perception helps to give you empathy. If there is anything the world needs more of, it's empathy.

Korendir is a character with a world of empathy and that's what makes him such a strong and wonderful character. Janny Wurts understands exactly what that means and I've noticed that this is a powerful trait in many of my favorite characters she writes. They understand other people and will do anything to prevent others from suffering. Anything they have they will give to alleviate that suffering.

Wurts weaves a powerful tale as Korendir comes into his power and takes on task after task because that is the kind of person he is. He could sit back and enjoy his life, but he doesn't. I took away a powerful lesson. It's nice to think about what life would be to relax and take it easy. To have your every need taken care of. But how can you do so with so many people out there in need?

The Master of Whitestorm is a stand-alone book, filled with adventure after adventure. It's much more straight-forward than say The Wars of Light and Shadow, but that's a given since 450 pages can't contain the depth and complexity of an 11 volume (circa 800 pages per book) series. This is an excellent entry point into the works of Janny Wurts just like To Ride Hell's Chasm, which I reviewed earlier.

4.5 out 5 Stars (highly recommended)

Note: The Master of Whitestorm was recently re-released in ebook format and it is also under production for an audiobook, so that's great news for you headphone jockeys out there.

5 comments:

Bob/Sally said...

Try copying the review to a blank notepad first, and then copy from there to blogger. That drops all the formatting, leaving just clean text.

Bryce L. said...

That usually works for me too, but not today. I don't know what's up.

ediFanoB said...

Hi Bryce,

I have had a look at the page source code.
This is definitely a formatting problem.

Please go to your post and switch to html format.
Try to find all lines starting with span style="background: white;

This code define the background of your text.

Please remove this code and do not forget to remove the /span which define the end of the code.

Try it with span style="background: white;" **Quite possibly
reading fiction in general, but I like to think it's just fantasy /span

Please remove
span style="background: white;"
/span

Attention! I had to remove the "<" and the ">".
after that you should see your text as expected.

If you are not sure what to do, then drop me a mail including the html code of your post.

Best regards,
ediFanoB

Bryce L. said...

That was the trick edi! Thanks a ton man!!

ediFanoB said...

Hi Bryce,

glad I could help. That is the way how it should work in the book blogger community. You have a problem? Then ask. There will be someone who will try to support.

Have a great weekend,
Edi