Jacqueline Carey's The Sundering

Before you read this review, I make you this promise: I will not in any way reveal the plot beyond the first eight pages of Volume I. So feel free to read this post all the way through; I won't spoil a thing. If you want to know more before you buy the first book, click on either book cover to visit Amazon.com and read sample chapters.

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The Sundering / Jacqueline Carey / Tor Books

Volume I: Banewreaker
431 pages; ISBN: 9780765305213 (hardcover)
512 pages; ISBN: 9780765344298 (paperback)

Volume II: Godslayer
349 pages; ISBN: 9780765312396 (hardcover)
404 pages; ISBN: 9780765350985 (paperback)

What if the battle between good and evil were not as simple as it appears?

In Jacqueline Carey's magnificent two-volume series, The Sundering, the reader is forced to wonder. There are two sides to every story, after all, and even the bad guys can have the best of intentions...

The action takes place in the fictional world of Urulat, and the first few pages of the prologue describe the creation of the world, delving immediately into the underlying themes of the series. Urulat was created by the death of the one World God, who died in giving life to the seven gods of creation. This is the original sundering--from the one sprang forth the many. But with the separate powers of creation came also the power to disagree, and thus derives the heart of the story.

The first-born creator--Haomane, God of Thought--tries to force our hero--Satoris, God of the Quickening (a.k.a. sexual reproduction)--to remove his Gift from the race of humanity. But Satoris refuses to comply with his brother's demand, and for good reason. Humanity is the only race in which Thought is coupled with Life. To remove the Quickening from humanity would be to forever separate the one from the other, with potentially dire consequences.

Angered by this show of disobedience--and failing to understand his brother's reasoning--Haomane sunders the world, both literally and figuratively, splitting the land of the gods off from the rest of the continent so that the people are left alone, separated from the divine. Only Satoris remains.

But here's the kicker: Haomane blames the sundering on Satoris. According to Haomane's appointed prophets, only when Satoris is defeated will the lands of Urulat be made whole once more, and the people finally reunited with their gods. Thus does the war--and our story--begin.

The novels are beautifully written, complete with profoundly moving characters and a two-shot-latte-addictive plot that will keep you turning page after page even when you should have gone to bed hours ago. (My boyfriend looked at the cover of Banewreaker and said it didn't look like something he would enjoy. "Not enough action," he said. I admit I pushed him--cajoled, entreated, begged--until he opened the book to a random page. Then he flipped to another... and another... "Okay," he said. "It's good." Was I right about the action? "On every page," he said. "Are you happy now?" Yes. Very.)

But even beyond this, these books are filled with meaning--raising questions that will tug at you long after you've finished the books.

These two novels are rich with the subtle yet persistent exploration of our own human sundering--the ways in which we try to separate our rationality from our animal instincts, for example, or to separate the divine from our "lowly," mundane existence. But each separation is the beginning of opposition, the beginning of good and evil. What would life be like if we understood ourselves to be whole beings, at once both rational and physical, both earthly and divine?

Modern science is discovering that our rationality is, in fact, inextricably linked to our animal urges, and that our physical bodies also seem to be linked to a higher power we have yet to understand. But where science is still unwilling to tread, these books pick up the torch, moving beyond "Is it true?" to ask the more startling, and more enlightening question: "What does this mean to our most fundamental assumptions--about the world around us, and about the very nature of humanity?"

Even if you have never before read a "fantasy" novel, these books are not to be missed. Pick up a copy of Banewreaker--Volume I of The Sundering--and read the first page or two. You won't be able to put it down. (My mother had never read a fantasy novel before I told her about this series, and from the very first page she couldn't put them down either.) This isn't mere genre fiction; this is the very height of literature, philosophy, anthropology, and pulse-pounding entertainment all combined into a gripping read you won't soon forget. It just doesn't get better than this.

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Post author:
EM Sky is an author of both fantasy and science fiction, sharing her writing journey with an international readership on her blog, Straight from the Barrel... the ink barrel, that is. She also publishes monthly book reviews in her free newsletter, Wet Ink... For an ever-growing library of excerpts, visit her website at Mind Unbound.

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Both volumes of The Sundering, by Jacqueline Carey, are available now at Amazon.com and other fine booksellers everywhere.

 

Comments

[Steve Sherlock]

Thanks for sharing this. Other than Tolkien, I don't think I have read much fantasy but you show there are good reasons to do so. My list of things to read is getting really long.

[EM Sky]

LOL! I hear that a lot: "I haven't read much fantasy besides Tolkein." It's really a wonderful genre, with a broad spectrum of authors, themes and styles. I love reading (and writing!) in the fantasy realm--it gives an author so much leeway in exploring the possibilities of human culture and behavior.

If you do pick up "Banewreaker," be sure to let me know what you think!

[Steve Sherlock]

Actually, there was at least one other. Philip Pullman did a trilogy called "His Dark Materials". My daughters loved it as it had a female heroine. The topic was multi level and one layer was around the church; the breaking away of the angels, dust, etc. So seemingly in the same subject ballpark. Anyway, the first book of the trilogy, "The Golden Compass" was the only book that caused me to almost miss my train station. I ride the commuter rail into Boston and coming home, I was so engrossed by the book, that not once, but twice (over a span of a couple of years)(yes, I occasionally re-read good books) I almost did not get off at Franklin. This was the only book that has done that in the 10+ years riding the rail.

But maybe "Banewrecker" will be the second? I will let you know either way.

[EM Sky]

Wonderful! I'd love to know whether you feel the same way about "Banewreaker." In the meantime, I'll look for "The Golden Compass." Thanks for the tip!

[Dwayne Melancon]

Excellent review, EM! Now, thanks to you, I think my stack of "candidate books" will increase by 2.

I second Steve's recommendation of "His Dark Materials" - and the Audible audiobook version is *very* well done (great voice casting). It's very riveting (and there are some bizarre characters in the books, too).

[EM Sky]

Dwayne - Wow, you too, huh? I'll pick up the first volume this weekend!

[Karen Wallace]

Hi EM! My two teens and I are all dedicated fantasy readers - and we're always on the lookout for new authors to get our teeth into.

You've got me with this review - these book are on the definite list for my next bookshop foray (hopefully they will have them here in Aus, otherwise I'll have to do the month long wait for them to come via Amazon...)

Thanks for a great review! (And for not giving away the story:)

[EM]

You're very welcome! I'm always on the lookout for great books, myself. I'm currently reading one I had to order from England, so I know what you mean about overseas delays. But I never let difficult geography interfere with my reading habit--sounds like you don't either!

If you're interested in receiving a new review each month, there's a link on my blog to sign up for my free newsletter: http://blog.mindunbound.com . Come visit--the more, the merrier! :)