A good read that has a few flaws.

books:


	• Devices and Desires (Engineer Trilogy) K. J. Parker Orbit, 2007 - 672 pages average customer review:based on 12 reviews view larger image
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Not Bad, But Not Good

I saw this particular title in my local bookstore a few times and thought it looked interesting. I read the short summary on the back and decided to give it a try. Now the way the summary makes it sound is that this trilogy is all about deception, love, and betrayal. Two of those things are definitely prominent throughout the story; deception and betrayal. The love bit seems to be non-existent however. Anyway, what really drags this entire series down is the fact that there is so much emphasis on the mechanical side of things in the story and not the characters. To me a good story needs good characters, but I quickly found myself not caring about any of the characters and what happened to them. You could tell that the author did quite a bit of research before writing this as well, for the story goes into such gross depth on the mechanisms that it sometimes felt like I was reading a textbook instead of a fantasy novel. Aside from all of that though, the story does have its good points as well. The story is very deep and involves many characters, and like I said earlier, involves lots of deception and betrayal. However, the few interesting and exciting parts of the trilogy are heavily weighed down by the boring and redundant descriptive passages about machines, but if you like mechanisms and wouldn't mind spending a large amount of time reading lengthy descriptive passages, then these would definitely be for you. However, if you're just a casual fantasy reader then you could easily pass this series up.

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Well Within Tolerance

I knew from the first chapter that this book was going to be a good read. The writing is superb and Parker's attention to detail is impressive without being sentimental. The cultures are all expertly crafted -- the Mezentines with their obsessive perfection and their technological monopoly are about as far from a traditional fantasy civilization as you can get and the way that Parker portrays the Vadani and Eremains makes them stand out as well.

The characters all have their own very intriguing conflicts and dilemmas. Valens, for example, spends most of his energy writing to a girl who he met once even though he knows such action is detrimental to his country and his person. Zianni agrees with the morals that his country is built upon, violates them anyway and then proceeds to go through a dizzying array of betrayals and machinations just so he can be with his family. How each character handles the moral dilemmas they are presented with is a fascinating thing to behold.

The only thing that keeps me from giving this book five stars (and it was a difficult decision) is that I think that some of the characterizations are a bit muddled. Zianni Vaatzes is the supreme example. Throughout the book, you read constantly that he is doing all of this so that he can be with his wife and daughter and given his brilliance one can only assume that his actions will help him achieve just that even if it does not immediately seem that way, but for all of this we are not given even one scrap of memory of his family. We are constantly told what his motivations are, but never, ever shown. This highlights a larger problem with the characters, even though we are given more personal background on many of them -- they lack passion. The characters rarely have a passionate reaction to anything and if they do, they do it in a very rational way. If they were not so different from traditional fantasy characters, then I have a feeling that they would come off as one dimensional -- all cool calculation and reasonable thought, no passion or impulsiveness.

My only other complaint is that some of the technical jargon is a bit much at time. We get it; the author has studied the technicalities of metalworking. This does not mean that it is entertaining to read about in a fantasy novel.

This book's greatest strength is that it differs from typical fantasy a good deal and this strength helps mask some of its flaws. All in all, a great beginning to what looks to be an incredible series.

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A good read that has a few flaws.

Devices and Desires was a rather quick read for me. I would say, overall, that I enjoyed the book. However, the author has a tendency for writing long-winded plotlines that have little bearing on the main story or anything else in the book. I would find myself asking "why am I reading this?" or "Get to the point." Also there were quite a few times I thought sections ( spanning many pages ) could have been better written into a few paragraphs.

The only other criticism I might have falls to the fact that I really couldn't find myself getting into many of the main characters. It was not that I couldn't understand their motivations or even grudgingly agree with them... more like it seemed they were actors in a play given bad lines and directing. My favorite character had to be Valens whose walk into the grey area of ruling and politics was fun to read and strangely my least favorite character was Ziani, who I felt was not done well enough to justify his lofty position as main character. If you have already read the book the monologue at the end was just a little too pat and illogical for me to swallow. I can't be more specific I am afraid without giving away spoilers and I am loathe to do that.

But I do recommend the book just don't be expecting greatness in it.

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Great Book

Great book. Couldn't put it down.

Caveat: I am an engineer, so a fantasy novel about what happens when an uber-engineer goes bad was very appealing.

Very English sense of humor in the book.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3

When an engineer is sentenced to death for a petty transgression of guild law, he flees the city, leaving behind his wife and daughter. Forced into exile, he seeks a terrible vengeance -- one that will leave a trail of death and destruction in its wake. But he will not be able to achieve this by himself. He must draw up his plans using the blood of others...

In a compelling tale of intrigue and injustice, K. J. Parker's embittered hero takes up arms against his enemies, using the only weapons he has left to him: his ingenuity and his passion -- his devices and desires.

"A richly textured and emotionally complex fantasy...Highly recommended."
--- Library Journal (Starred Review)

"When so many fantasy sagas are tired, warmed-over affairs, a writer like K.J. Parker is more of a hurricane than a breath of fresh air."
--- Dreamwatch

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