World Famous Comics: The Keep of Fire (The Last Rune, Book 2)
The Keep of Fire (The Last Rune, Book 2)
By: Mark Anthony Publisher: Spectra Average Rating: Binding: Mass Market Paperback Label: Spectra Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 608 Publication Date: November 28, 2000 Release Date: November 28, 2000
Product Description: From an exciting new master of fantasy comes the second novel of an epic tale filled with dangerous magic, dark mystery, and unrelenting suspense
The Keep Of Fire
Travis Wilder has returned from the otherworld of Eldh, hoping to settle back into his humdrum life in the mountains of contemporary Colorado. But he soon finds himself stalked by two shadowy organizations, each aware of his incredible journey and each determined to exploit it--whatever the cost to Travis...or to Eldh. Meanwhile, a terrifying new contagion is spreading like wildfire, a disease with no cure, which some are comparing to the Black Plague.
When the disease strikes his closest friend, Travis is drawn back to Eldh, where the same epidemic, known as the Burning Plague, is wreaking another kind of havoc. There, in a realm of gods and monsters, myths and runecraft, Travis and his former companion Grace Beckett--herself from Earth, but now living on Eldh--must solve the riddle of the plague. Where did it come from? What is its purpose? And how can it possibly be stopped...before it completely destroys two coexisting worlds: ancient Eldh and modern Earth.
Getting better with each new installment I am trying to hang in there and read all of the The Last Rune series, although I have to tell you, it's becoming difficult. Book 2 is far better than book one. Mr. Anthony had to spend most of the first book setting the stage and explaining how 2 people from the 21st century suddenly find themselves transported to another place and time. Grace and Travis are back again and this time the action is intense and fun. The story is alittle disjointed and the plot twists are alittle silly, but overall, it's a fun read.
This is not a Stephen Donaldson series by any means, but give the guy a chance, there are 4 more to go. Maybe he just needs to find his pacing.
Grace and Travis are reunited in Eldh along with Durge; our ever faithfull knight, Aryn; our council to the King, Falken Blackhand; the bard, and a cast of many fun and interesting folks. It is alot like watching reruns of the original Star Trek series, where at the beginning of the show, there were always a couple of people you had never seen before and you always knew they were the ones who would be killed, thus setting up the rest of the show.
Grace, Travis and friends are battling a plague, not unlike the black plague on earth. Will they be able to save Eldh before all fall victim to the terrible death? Read and discover for yourself
Better than the first and thats saying alot... This second in the Last Rune series was for me entirely more satisfying than the first. The story has more mystery than the blatant obviousness of the first - though the cover doens't help in that respect too much. Grace is fleshed out a bit more, as she truly needed. Travis's passivity is intensified...but he seems to mature a lot as well...he becomes at least a little more pragmatic. Travis is fast becoming a favourite fantasy character of mine, in spite of, or perhaps due to his reluctance to use the power he possesses and his passiveness. This story reveals the true nature of Melia, explains just who Falken is, gives us insights into Durge, reveals a lovely new character - who like all the others is a little shallow at times in this book - wait until the third to see Lileth shine, Aryn matures a lot too, her arm is barely even mentioned in the book, which seems to have lifted a bit of the 2D aspect she had in the first book - a deformed baroness with no chance of - but therefore guaranteed - love. Like the first book revolved around the Magic Stone - Sinfathisar - the stone of Twilight, this Book revolves around the effects of the Stone of Fire - Krondisar...its a better story, with more purposeful moves made against the enemy in this novel...the first had little at all in that respect until right at the end. Overall, this was a great book that I really enjoyed...try it you should be pleasantly surprised.
A pale successor Beyond the Pale was a well and carefully written book. Its hallmark, in my opinion, was the patience which the author displayed in introducing and fleshing out characters, as well as the meticulous care he spent crafting a strong physical presence that made the word of Eldh tangible and solid. Strong fantasy was mixed with horror, mystery, and intrigue that gave the story a terrific cadence. So strong was the writing, in fact, that some of the clichés (character and plotting) were easily forgiven. Good writing can make even a bad idea sound good.
The Keep of Fire, unfortunately, possesses none of the qualities of the former. It had the distinct feel of a rough draft - as if Beyond the Pale was written in four years, and Keep of Fire was written in four months.
The author, for reasons that puzzle me, chose to skim lightly over material that, if fleshed out, would have made for exciting reading. Case in point: the time spent with the Necromancer. Robert Jordan, in a classic case of overwriting, could have written 500 pages on that alone. Mark Anthony should have, in my opinion, written at least 150. Yet there was barely 1/5 that amount. So much potential! Yet it ended in such disappointment.
I applaud the author for tackling issues that have long been taboo in fantasy: specifically homosexuality. Too often homosexual men have been seen as effete, useless fops. In the real world, we (well, most level headed people) know this is not true. So - kudos.
Unfortunately, I have scratched Mark Anthony off my list of "must read" authors. Successive books came out too rapidly, and I'm not interesting in spending my money just to read what amounts to a rough draft.
(A notable post script: the metaphor "beyond the pale" is considered a moribund metaphor.)
Kind of refreshing, but empty calories Hey, we can't eat broccoli all the time! We need to enjoy something relatively non-nutritive from time to time. This, the 2nd book in the Last Rune series, is the literary equivalent of jalapeno poppers! Lots of dramatic action--the lead characters are constantly imperiled! People are always getting nearly killed. Travis and Grace, the transplants from Earth to the magical realm of Eldh, are remarkably resilient when plopped into a somewhat inconsistent world. (For example, what is the real difference between maddok and coffee? Why even bother? Horses, sheep, bread and clothes are are medieval style. Why create a drink exactly like coffee, (only better) and call it maddok?) These little things can be irritating--almost as irritating as the fairly bad illustrations on the cover. (Can we have the characters depicted to match their descriptions in the book?) Despite all this, I enjoyed the action and energy. The author is not afraid of completely bizarre and unforseen plot twists dropping out of nowhere. Enjoyable, but leaves you wanting something a little more filling.
A little more and a little less I read the first book and was pleased, there were a few missteps I could except as first novelitus, and a few good points that made me interested in reading further into the series. The Keep of Fire, dissapointing, because the same writing missteps from the first novel keep happening. AND because there was an exceptional novel another draft or two away. TOO MUCH having characters inner voices trying to browbeat those main characters, and the 'I should but I can't but I must this isn't me...' TOO LITTLE in having created a supporting character who was sympathetic, and then having him die... and being left with the feeling with a little more developement, the death would have been trully dramatic. I think this writer needs... like one more creative writing lesson... and take that from someone who needs MANY more lessons.
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