- Hardcover: 592 pages
- Publisher: Doubleday (Jun 12 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0385506066
- ISBN-13: 978-0385506069
- Product Dimensions: 16.7 x 3.7 x 24.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 939 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #324,838 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In this sprawling and vividly imagined fantasy, historical novelist Durham (Pride of Carthage) chronicles the downfall and reinvention of the Akaran Dynasty, whose empire, called Acacia, was built on conquest, slaving and drug trade. The Acacian empire, encompassing "The Known World," is hated by its subjugated peoples, especially the Mein, who 22 generations earlier were exiled to the icy northland. Having sent an assassin to kill the Acacian king, Leodan, the rebel chieftain, Hanish Mein, declares war on the empire. As Acacia falls, Leodan's treasonous but conflicted chancellor, Thaddeus Clegg, spirits the king's four children to safety. When the Mein's rule proves even more tyrannical than the old, the former chancellor seeks to reunite the now adult Akaran heirs—the oldest son Aliver (once heir to the throne), the beautiful elder daughter Corinn, their younger sister, Mena, and youngest brother, Dariel—to lead a war to regain the empire. Durham has created a richly detailed alternate reality leavened with a dollop of magic and populated by complicated personalities grappling with issues of freedom and oppression. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* The outwardly idyllic life of widower Leodan Arkan, ruler of the Known World, and his four children belies the underlying darkness of drug and slave trafficking that supports the kingdom's prosperity. Meanwhile, in the frigid north the long-exiled Mein are planning the war they inaugurate by assassinating Leodan at a public gathering. The tension is palpable as the enemy forces make their move. Rampant intrigue and treachery place the lives of the Arkan children in great danger, and they are spirited away—scattered to the four winds—in hopes of keeping them safe. None of the four knows where the others are, and each has to discover his or her own destiny. But all are determined to avenge their father and restore the Acacian Empire. Durham has created a viable, vital world, his plotting is impeccable, and his characters are diverse in race and multidimensional in personality. A full-bodied history of events leading up to the situation portrayed and a well-conceived mythology are woven into the narrative, giving it even greater substance. Fortunately indeed, this is just the blockbuster beginning of the War with the Mein. Estes, Sally
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most helpful customer reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A for "Acacia",
By
This review is from: Acacia: The Acacia Trilogy, Book One (Mass Market Paperback)
A for "Acacia" by David Anthony DurhamThe pacing of the novel is fantastic. No wasted space, all interesting. Durham makes good use of events happening off-scene for dramatic effect, and he fills in the blanks that he skipped over extremely well. The world building is where this novel shines. You learn it bit by bit and you always get the feeling there is some other mystery still be to be revealed. A definite recommendation in the epic fantasy genre. If you have problems with swearing, sex, and violence, get this instead of GRRM's A Game of Thrones (although I would still point out that Martin's novels are some of the best fiction out there).
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent worldbuilding,
By
This review is from: Acacia: The Acacia Trilogy, Book One (Mass Market Paperback)
I really liked the world of Acacia and the political structure built by Durham. The Acacian Empire is not benevolent although the people in it a highly likable... good book
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.9 out of 5 stars (116 customer reviews) 43 of 45 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Richly Imagined Characters and World,
By Scott Masterton - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Acacia: The Acacia Trilogy, Book One: The War with the Mein (Hardcover)
Will Durant said: "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within". It was true of Rome and is equally true of David Anthony Durham's mythical land of Accia.'Acacia' is Durham's first professional trip into the world of fantasy...and what a trip it is. The story follows the lives of four royal children raised by a father that has insulated them from all the darkness in the world. The Empire is built upon slavery and trade in a highly addictive opiate called Mist. The children see none of this and are spoonfed idealistic stories about the nobility of their family line and the Divine right by which their family rules. Their idealistic, loving but deeply flawed father is eventually assassinated in a successful attempt at overthrowing the dynasty that has been in place for generations. Each of the Akaron Children is secreted to different corners of the Empire where they develop new skills and more importantly, new perceptions of the world that once had been theirs to rule. The lessons here are numerous. Good and evil are a shell game; concepts that become more and more "muddy" as each of the children sees the beauty as well as the darkness in cultures not their own. These newly developed abilities, perceptions and allies may collectively return them to power, but more importantly, balance a world filled with inequaties (much like our own). Moral pitfalls fill this novel and it becomes clear how difficult it is to juggle idealism and the power to transform those ideals into reality. This is the 'Heroes Journey' in true Joseph Campbell fashion. Filled with political meanings and starkly human motivations, 'Acacia' could very well join Frank Herbert's 'Dune' as one of the most influential novels in Fantasy/Science Fiction. The book is fleshed out by Durham's mastery of the language and one cannot help but compare this book favorably to George R.R. Martin's Fire and Ice series. Like Martin, Durham is not afraid to create a fantasy world with real grit and meaning. There are many lessons for our time in this book and it's easy to tell that Durham's previous novels were historical in nature and it's difficult not to draw parallels between the current state of affairs in the world and this story. This is a dynamite novel (in any genre) and if Durham is able to hold true to his vision in the future 'Acacia' books this is well on it's way to becoming classic literature. I can hardly wait for book two! 51 of 58 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Great start, woeful middle, who knows about the end,
By Troy Vitullo - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Acacia: The Acacia Trilogy, Book One: The War with the Mein (Hardcover)
I agree a lot with M. Borchelt's review. However I have to say the first third of this book was the best first third of a book I've read in a long long time. Great action, wonderful character development, excellent details that help the reader visualize scenes and conversations in ways that other authors haven't touched.With such a deep knowledge of human character then, how could the book degenerate into such pap? Every one of the four main characters who were written so insightfully as children become cardboard cutouts of various comic book/fantasy/romance characters by the end of the second third of the book. By that point, any cliffhangers become meaningless because I was truly hoping he would kill them off and start over. By the last third, even the (mostly) well-written villains become automotons. The plot has similar problems. It advances well and quickly in the first third of the book, begins faltering in the second third, and then becomes just a repetition of the same formula by the third piece. At this point each chapter becomes almost the same in format. It starts with few pages discussing where the plot is, maybe drawing some history into it, or else just focusing on a vapid character's obsessive and/or meandering thoughts, then it proceeds to the expected piece of action or dialog that shoves the plot onto the next step. The action in the first third of the book is exquisite. It's realistically written, hard-edged to the point that when one fairly ludicrous fight comes along (man vs giant) I was swept right along with it and believed it. By the middle third the action is humdrum; people severing limbs with sabers, for instance, or one person taking on four and not receiving a scratch. A main character trains in sword-work and becomes a master in weeks (if not days ... it's hard to tell how he advances time). Things like that completely sever my suspension of disbelief. This book had so much potential. 19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Brilliant Departure!,
By Phyllis Rhodes - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Acacia: The Acacia Trilogy, Book One: The War with the Mein (Hardcover)
Acacia: Book One: The War With the Mein is David Anthony Durham's "debut" of sorts into the fantasy genre. He creates a world rich with myths, legends, history, culture, and differing races striving to co-exist in Acacia, the designated center of the The Known World. This first book, The War With The Mein, opens with a Mein assassin journeying from the arctic ice lands of the North on a mission to avenge his people who felt they were denied their place as rulers of the The Known World and banished to the ice lands centuries before. Upon the successful assassination of the King of Acacia; three of the four sheltered, pampered child heirs escape capture, scattered to differing parts of the kingdom under assumed identities. The Mein easily topple the sleeping Acacian capital and control the kingdom. Hanish Mein, handsome brother of the self-sacrificing assassin, occupies the palace and vows to capture the remaining Acacian heirs (preferably alive) to complete a blood oath to release the Mein's spiritual ancestors.In the meantime, the heirs, separated during their flight from capture, mature in differing ways in disparate cultures over the next decade. The oldest son, Aliver, trains with the Talayans on the desert plains and enlists the aid of the mystical Santooth to avenge his father. The beautiful elder sister, Corinn, a prisoner in her own palace, becomes the concubine/lover of Hanish Mein. Third to the throne, Mena, is raised as a virginal priestess in a land that worships a sea Eagle and practices child sacrifice, and the youngest son, Dariel, is raised a swashbuckling pirate buccaneer. Durham leans on his historical fiction background and blends a numerous, yet full bodied, cast filled with resonating histories, each contributing purposefully to the multi-layered plot and sub-plots. Much of the book establishes the complex histories, secrets, interrelationships of the Acacian people, their allies, enemies, and subjects. It also provides a detailed backdrop on the alliances, motives, and betrayals of court members and key figures with such deep conviction that initially, it is very difficult to sort the `good' from the `bad' guys. I enjoyed the book and enjoyed how The Known World parallels reality in that there are multiple races that mimic reality. The reader will recognize a touch of ancient Nordic, African, and Arabian traditions and cultures that borrow from the Celtics and Aztecs. His creativity sparked in the creation of a feared group, The Leaguemen, a sea-faring group who specialize in the production and distribution of "the mist" and opiate-like drug that has stupefied most of Acacia into submission. The nations of Acacia struggle with slavery, war, greed, jealousy, drug addiction, and other social ills that have plagued mankind from creation. I am not sure if all of his "old" fans will embrace this novel; but there is no doubt that he will pick up new fans with this release. I'm looking forward to Book Two! Reviewed by Phyllis APOOO BookClub Nubian Circle Book Club |
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