Official Review: The Warm Lands by Francis W. Porretto
Posted: 15 Jul 2020, 08:54
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Warm Lands" by Francis W. Porretto.]
The Warm Lands, written by Francis W. Porretto, is a magical fantasy novel set in a world similar to medieval Europe, in which sorcerous energy – mana – flows underground and drives all life. The story centers on a gentle-hearted sorcerer and his lady love who are thrust into both power and peril in order to protect their loved ones and the world.
Gregor, a skilled sorcerer who was removed from his home following a tragic, scarring event, travels across a barren wasteland in search of magical knowledge. At the edge of the desert, he happens upon a town where he witnesses a young woman being brutally beaten in public for the crime of witchcraft after undergoing a virgin pregnancy. The townsfolk leave the young woman for dead, but Gregor finds he cannot abandon her and comes to her aid. In showing kindness to the wounded stranger who was abandoned by all others, he is noticed by Laella, a townswoman who previously had experienced the same virgin conception and was likewise punished for it. Gregor and Laella fall in love, and he takes her with him as he continues his journey.
It soon becomes clear that Laella is much more than either of them had realized. Her own magical skill becomes apparent, and Gregor agrees to train her in sorcery. As she trains, she learns of the hidden world of intrigue among high-ranking sorcerers, and they both become privy to secrets that place them in grave danger. They will need to enlist the help of mighty and far-flung friends if they are to battle the forces that endanger the world… and survive.
The world the author creates is imaginative and unique. In many books of its genre, mana is a force which sorcerers wield but which apparently has no beginning and no end; Porretto chooses instead to handle mana as a life energy that requires both source and destination and which must abide by strict rules. This choice has many implications for the characters living in the world he fashions, and Porretto handles these masterfully, closing most of the possible loopholes before the reader even has time to register them.
As the story unfolds, the chapters alternate between actual description, told in the third person, and snippets of dialogue between two people who are unnamed through most of the book. The two speakers, clearly conversing at some point in the future, discuss the events told by the remainder of the story, dropping references to the ultimate outcome along the way. Although none of these references could really be called a “spoiler”, it did for me take some of the mystery out of the plot; based on the conversation, I knew ahead of time that such-and-such an event would take place or that so-and-so would ultimately be killed, though the details were kept hidden. This strategy might pique the curiosity of some readers to learn how the foretold events would come to pass. I think I would have preferred to discover the entire story organically as I went along.
My only real complaint about the book was in the pacing. The beginning was intricately detailed, with discussions not only of the events and destinations but also of the travel between them. Despite this, I didn’t find it to move slowly, but rather found it immersive and enriching. The ending, by contrast, felt hurried to me. The bulk of the concluding events took only two or three pages, and while the ending as a whole was satisfying, I wouldn’t have minded it lasting a little bit longer. I wish the author had spent as much time on the events of the last quarter of the book, where most of the intrigue occurs, as he did on the rest.
Sex was discussed only intermittently and in veiled terms, and there was no content to bar the book being read by an older teenager. There was no profane language throughout the entire book and very few errors.
The Warm Lands earns a score of 4 out of 4 for its unique take on a trope used often but rarely as creatively, as well as for its imaginative world, precise writing, and loveable characters. It would most appeal to adult readers who are fans of medieval fantasy and magic.
******
The Warm Lands
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Warm Lands, written by Francis W. Porretto, is a magical fantasy novel set in a world similar to medieval Europe, in which sorcerous energy – mana – flows underground and drives all life. The story centers on a gentle-hearted sorcerer and his lady love who are thrust into both power and peril in order to protect their loved ones and the world.
Gregor, a skilled sorcerer who was removed from his home following a tragic, scarring event, travels across a barren wasteland in search of magical knowledge. At the edge of the desert, he happens upon a town where he witnesses a young woman being brutally beaten in public for the crime of witchcraft after undergoing a virgin pregnancy. The townsfolk leave the young woman for dead, but Gregor finds he cannot abandon her and comes to her aid. In showing kindness to the wounded stranger who was abandoned by all others, he is noticed by Laella, a townswoman who previously had experienced the same virgin conception and was likewise punished for it. Gregor and Laella fall in love, and he takes her with him as he continues his journey.
It soon becomes clear that Laella is much more than either of them had realized. Her own magical skill becomes apparent, and Gregor agrees to train her in sorcery. As she trains, she learns of the hidden world of intrigue among high-ranking sorcerers, and they both become privy to secrets that place them in grave danger. They will need to enlist the help of mighty and far-flung friends if they are to battle the forces that endanger the world… and survive.
The world the author creates is imaginative and unique. In many books of its genre, mana is a force which sorcerers wield but which apparently has no beginning and no end; Porretto chooses instead to handle mana as a life energy that requires both source and destination and which must abide by strict rules. This choice has many implications for the characters living in the world he fashions, and Porretto handles these masterfully, closing most of the possible loopholes before the reader even has time to register them.
As the story unfolds, the chapters alternate between actual description, told in the third person, and snippets of dialogue between two people who are unnamed through most of the book. The two speakers, clearly conversing at some point in the future, discuss the events told by the remainder of the story, dropping references to the ultimate outcome along the way. Although none of these references could really be called a “spoiler”, it did for me take some of the mystery out of the plot; based on the conversation, I knew ahead of time that such-and-such an event would take place or that so-and-so would ultimately be killed, though the details were kept hidden. This strategy might pique the curiosity of some readers to learn how the foretold events would come to pass. I think I would have preferred to discover the entire story organically as I went along.
My only real complaint about the book was in the pacing. The beginning was intricately detailed, with discussions not only of the events and destinations but also of the travel between them. Despite this, I didn’t find it to move slowly, but rather found it immersive and enriching. The ending, by contrast, felt hurried to me. The bulk of the concluding events took only two or three pages, and while the ending as a whole was satisfying, I wouldn’t have minded it lasting a little bit longer. I wish the author had spent as much time on the events of the last quarter of the book, where most of the intrigue occurs, as he did on the rest.
Sex was discussed only intermittently and in veiled terms, and there was no content to bar the book being read by an older teenager. There was no profane language throughout the entire book and very few errors.
The Warm Lands earns a score of 4 out of 4 for its unique take on a trope used often but rarely as creatively, as well as for its imaginative world, precise writing, and loveable characters. It would most appeal to adult readers who are fans of medieval fantasy and magic.
******
The Warm Lands
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon