- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (Jun 13 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0765314835
- ISBN-13: 978-0765314833
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.2 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 635 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,534,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Duncan's storytelling has never been better in this superb fantasy, the first of two books set on a dodecahedral world. Fifteen years after the doge of the walled city of Celebre handed over his four children as hostages to the invading Vigaelians besieging Celebre, the siblings have grown up separately as captives in the land of Vigaelia. One boy, Benard, has become a stonemason of amazing, god-given talent in the city of Kosord. Another boy, Orlando, has become an initiate in the cult of Weru, the god of storm and battle. Frena, who was a babe in arms 15 years earlier, has no memory of the family she was wrenched from, and the revelation of her past history completely changes her life. As for the fourth child, Dantio, he supposedly died early on. How the children of Celebre reunite makes for a captivating, adventure-filled story. Born in Scotland, Duncan (The Jaguar Knights) now lives in Canada. (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
The Vigaelian Werists, followers of the war god, wage a brutal expansionist war on the Florengian face of a dodecahedral world. Fifteen years ago, the doge of the Florengian city Celebre gave up his four children to the Werist bloodlord as hostages to save the rest of the population. Separated and raised among the Vigaelians, the four are at the center of a political maelstrom when their father becomes ill, and a puppet-successor must be chosen. The Werist Hrag dynasty is clearly struggling, their power slipping as they stretch their forces to maintain their hold on Florengia. There are plots against Horold's sister, Saltaja--rumored to be a follower of the goddess of death (whose name is not said) and the real power behind Werist expansion--that are finally gaining critical mass, and the heirs of Celebre are caught in those machinations. Webs of conspiracy and the complex relations of siblings re-meeting after 15 years add density to an entertaining big story that may reach a satisfying, probably bloody conclusion in the promised sequel. Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.3 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fabulous fantasy read, Jun 21 2006
By Karen Miller - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Children of Chaos (Hardcover)
Dave Duncan's a writer you can always rely on to entertain with style, wit and sharp observations of human nature. Children of Chaos is the first volume in a duology, his first work since leaving behind the Tales of the King's Blades (another brilliant fantasy series, the first book is The Gilded Chain, do yourself a favour and read it now!).In a nutshell: 4 children are taken as hostages by an invading army. They are separated for many years, and when they finally meet again they've become very different people. The question Duncan poses is: can these four strangers tied by blood find a way to become a family again and save their true homeland from the ravages of a ruthless enemy? Even though each is horribly scarred, physically and emotionally, by their experiences as hostages in enemy hands?
As you'd expect from Duncan, the book is fast-paced, with deft characterisations and really snappy dialogue. For me, one of the absolute standouts is the world/culture building. In particular the creation of the Werists, warriors who undergo hideous transformations in order to fight, is one of the finest examples of speculative fiction I've read in recent times.
Duncan doesn't write the really huge doorstop fantasies, his books are lean and mean -- but quality oozes from every page. Bottom line is, I live in Australia and I buy Duncan in imported US hardcover -- which costs a bomb. Every penny is hugely well spent.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Duncan never disappoints, Jun 21 2006
By Laura M. Bangerter - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Children of Chaos (Hardcover)
After two years without a new Dave Duncan novel I was really excited for this one to come out. Typical of Duncan, Children of Chaos has interesting characters, fast paced adventure, plot twists, and some stuff to gross you out. The characters are realistic in that they are not perfect and thus not above revenge, greed, and misguided perceptions. There are a few clear bad guys, but you aren't sure whether the main characters are really the good guys. The novel ends at a good spot so that you get some closure but with enough suspense that you wish you had the sequel right now.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hack and slash, Dec 6 2009
By Goddess "Goddess" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Children of Chaos (Mass Market Paperback)
Traditional hack and slash ( sword & sorcerer sub-genre), lots of characters, standard fantasy world map. Author obviously experienced, good writing, fast pace, original social ideologies, some nice twist on the magic in this world, I enjoyed it, but I have a very soft spot for this sub-genre
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