Review - Acacia: The War with the Mein by David Anthony Durham

Crazy enough, I actually originally planned on giving this series a pass. There's just so much time and so little to read... or something like that.

But then I read this review of the entire trilogy from a reviewer I highly trust and I decided I should give it a go after all. I'm so glad I didn't stick to the original plan.

Acacia [US] [UK] follows the Akaran family, the ruling family of the nation that is Acacia. King Leodan is a devoted and loving father to his four children, Aliver, Corinn, Mena, and Dariel. As noble and even likable as King Leodan is, his conquering nation has many enemies and holds a number of dark secrets which began generations earlier.

One of these nations is that of the Meins. Lead by Hanish Mein and his two brothers, the Meins have been harboring a hatred for the Acacians and their dark secrets for as long as they have been banished to the desolate wasteland that is the far north of the Known World.

Acacia unfolds very gradually as we get to know each of the Akaran children intimately along with Leodan, his chancellor, Hanish Mein, and even a few others. As each has their own point of view chapter, you may begin to see why many complain of the slow start that this book is known for.

Personally, I think the slow burn worth it because you feel a deep connection to each of the children especially and once the story really gets going your joy and anguish for these characters is only enhanced.* I've also only been a father for a couple years and I really felt the deep connection that King Leodan had with his children and only hope that my kid (soon to be kids) feel the same about me some day.

*Note: This is also coming from a huge fan of authors such as Susanna Clarke, John Marco, and Janny Wurts, who likes themselves some words.

However, if a slow start is not for you, you'll be happy to know that Mr. Durham has cut out 14,000 words of this volume in the newest release.

This series has been favorably compared to George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series and I think that is valid. Both deal with young characters, lots of political intrigue, vast scope, and low on magic. I have to admit that Mena is just as cool as Arya in a lot of ways, not the least of which is the fact that she's a sword-wielding noble's daughter.

The characters grow up about midway through the novel, but the similarities are still there. There's betrayal, reverse betrayal, and some twists and turns that not only come out of nowhere, but make you feel like you should have seen it all along. That's just good writing.

The one big and highly favorable comparison I can make is that at a certain point I was so involved with one pov, I'd flip pages to see when we'd go back to that one, only to get just as involved in the next pov. That's a very good thing.

If you're dying for something to read while we wait for George, Acacia just may be the perfect interlude. I can't believe how close I was to passing on this series, what a huge mistake that would have been. Acacia is exactly the kind of epic fantasy I love.

4.5 out of 5 Stars (Very Highly Recommended!)

The Acacia Trilogy
Acacia: The War with the Mein (Book 1)
The Other Lands (Book 2)
The Sacred Band (Book 3)

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher

Bona Fide: Weekly Roundup #28

Hello and welcome to a new issue of my weekly roundup. This is the last one week before my holiday, and every year, the same thing happens. Since I work as a programmer, as soon as people get wind of my holiday, I receive a lot of urgent requests that all need to be done before I leave on Friday afternoon. So I spent more time at work this week than I would have liked--that is the reason for this shorter roundup. Enough talking. Enjoy reading.....

Weird

If you read fantasy and/or science fiction you meet a lot of weird life forms. Most of the time we forget that our planet is also home to some of those weird life forms...



Books

I'm nearly finished with the German edition of Acacia by David Anthony Durham. If I follow my list, the next book should be The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. Redick. For more information just read John Ottinger's review of The Red Wolf Conspiracy or Robert Thompson's review of the The Red Wolf Conspiracy. But yesterday I received my copy of Twelve by Jasper Kent. For more information checkout Robert Thompson's review of Twelve or Dave Brendon's review of Twelve. And to be honest I am favoring Twelve. Vampires in old Russia are hard to beat... I will let you know me decision in my next roundup.

Blogosphere

Would you like to have a visual overview about new and forthcoming fantasy books combined with additional information? Then I recommend to visit Fantasy Literature - New and forthcoming fantasy novels. Click the link and you will understand why I spoke about a visual overview...

In case you want a brief monthly overview of what's new on the scene, then have a look at Fantasy Book Critic - Spotlight on July 2009 Books. Older spotlights are still available and worth digging through.

Movies

In the past roundups I presented you a lot of dark and/or action orientated movies. I think now the time has come to show you something more on the funny side--even if we have to wait until November for the release of Planet 51. Hmm, that title reminds me of Area 51... I don't want to keep you waiting any longer. Here's the trailer...




Quote

This week I chose a quote in memory of all people who need way too much time to explain something...

"The shortest distance between two points is always under construction."

Noelie Alito

Bona Fide: Weekly Roundup #27

Hello and welcome to a new issue of my weekly roundup. I sweated a lot this week.
It was definitely too warm and muggy for me. OK, no more complaining. Enjoy reading....

Books

When I started to create my summer reading list, I had a look at the dust covered back rows of my bookshelf. There I found a German edition of Acacia, by David Anthony Durham, and added it to my list. In September The Other Land, book two of the Acacia trilogy, will be released. Today I finished Fallen by Tim Lebbon. Two persons on long and interesting journey--an unexpected ending. As usual, instead of following the reading order of my list, I decided to read Acacia next. In case you have not yet read it, maybe the following reviews will convince you:
Fantasy Book Critic: Acacia review, OF Blog of the Fallen: Acacia review, Dave Brendon's Fantasy & Sci -Fi Weblog: Acacia review, Grasping for the Wind: Acacia review,

This month The Price of Spring , the fourth and final volume of Daniel Abraham's Long Price Quartet will be released. Book one, A Shadow in Summer, is on my summer reading list. Daniel Abraham continues to write epic fantasy -- recently he spoke about his new five volume series - The Dagger & The Coin. Adam from The Wertzone and Aidan from A Dribble of Ink gathered detailed information.

Blogosphere

Maybe you read that Blood Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski won the The David Gemmell
Legend Award for 2009 -- but until now we still didn't know the voting order for the rest of the books. On Thursday, 2nd of July, The Top 20 were posted. Have a look. Maybe you'll find some books that interest you..

It is July. That means half of 2009 is already gone. Several blogger started to post their top five reads so far. This is the link to the top five reads from James at Speculative Horizons, with plenty of links in case you are interested.
I have one top read and several books that I greatly enjoyed, not in any particular order.

- Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
Followed by
- Terror by Dan Simmons
- Nights of Villjamur by Mark Charan Newton
- The Painted Man by Peter V. Brett
- Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
- Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
- The Affinity Bridge by George Mann

What is your top read so far? I Look forward to your comments.

Movies

Did you like Independence Day and The Day after Tomorrow but just aren't interested by Transformers? But would you like to be entertained by another disaster movie? Then you should have a look at the trailer of the upcoming movie by Roland Emmerich: 2012

I know what I will be doing in November 2009...

Since I watched Underworld: Rise of the Lycans I'm not opposed to watching another
vampire movie -- as long as it contains some action. A combination of science fiction
and vampires would be nice. Unfortunately we have to wait until January 2010 for
the release of Daybreakers. In 2019 a plague has transformed almost every
human into vampires... In the meantime, have a look at the HD trailer of Daybreakers:

Quote of the Week

This week you get two quotes which express my preference for one vegetable - CABBAGE !
I must admit that my family does not understand my obsession with this particular vegetable .

"Cabbage: A familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as a man's head."
Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914)

"Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond;
cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education."
Mark Twain (1835 -1910)