Wednesday 17 November 2010

One for 2011? ‘The Unremembered’ – Peter Orullian

Because the reading isn’t going as quickly as it normally does so I thought it could be cool to look at what I might be reading next year...

I found mention of this over at Aidan’s site and the cover art immediately piqued my interest. Seriously, check it out. Isn’t that gorgeous? There’s the kind of picture that I wouldn’t mind having on my living room wall. Unfortunately, the blurb doesn’t have quite the same affect...

The gods, makers of worlds, seek to create balance—between matter and energy; and between mortals who strive toward the transcendent, and the natural perils they must tame or overcome. But one of the gods fashions a world filled with hellish creatures far too powerful to allow balance; he is condemned to live for eternity with his most hateful creations in that world’s distant Bourne, restrained by a magical veil kept vital by the power of song.

Millennia pass, awareness of the hidden danger fades to legend, and both song and veil weaken. And the most remote cities are laid waste by fell, nightmarish troops escaped from the Bourne. Some people dismiss the attacks as mere rumor. Instead of standing against the real threat, they persecute those with the knowledge, magic and power to fight these abominations, denying the inevitability of war and annihilation. And the evil from the Bourne swells….

The troubles of the world seem far from the Hollows where Tahn Junell struggles to remember his lost childhood and to understand words he feels compelled to utter each time he draws his bow. Trouble arrives when two strangers—an enigmatic man wearing the sigil of the feared Order of Sheason and a beautiful woman of the legendary Far—come, to take Tahn, his sister and his two best friends on a dangerous, secret journey. Tahn knows neither why nor where they will go. He knows only that terrible forces have been unleashed upon mankind and he has been called to stand up and face that which most daunts him—his own forgotten secrets and the darkness that would destroy him and his world.

So, looks like we’ve got a case of ‘boy with a mysterious past has to save the world from evil’ going on here... The question then is not so much whether we’re getting something original here, more of a case of whether Orullian is going to be able to give us something fresh using the same old ingredients... I still find myself in the mood for a good ol’ quest story every now and then; I wouldn’t say ‘The Unremembered’ ranks as a highly anticipated release but I will check it out. Look out for this one in April next year (from Tor).

11 comments:

sayonaraML said...

There is nothing quite like seeing a striking cover and reading a decent blurb and getting to the bottom to see "look for this in April". Really? How about dropping that nugget at the top and saving me a read?

Anonymous said...

I'm kind of excited about this one, but I'm also leery about the kind of tired boy-with-a-mysterious-past routine. I hope it impresses!!

Walter Rhein said...

You're spot on. The cover is awesome but the blurb took way too much time to say what it said. I found myself kind of nodding off as I read it (which is a bad sign for a blurb). Also, "Unremembered" isn't a very good title really...although maybe it will surprise us! I'll be looking forward to your review!

Graeme Flory said...

David - Well, erm... I did say right at the top that this was one for 2011... Point noted though, next time I do one of these posts I'll pop the publication date at the top.

Sarah/Walter - I'm in the mood for a big fat epic fantasy but, at the same time, I'm after something fresh as well. I'm not sure if 'The Unremembered' will deliver on this score but I'll give it a shot anyway :o)

Erik Lundqvist said...

This pretty much makes it a no no for me 'Some people dismiss the attacks as mere rumor. Instead of standing against the real threat, they persecute those with the knowledge, magic and power to fight these abominations, denying the inevitability of war and annihilation.'

Anonymous said...

The blurb reads like Wheel of Time; but cover blurbs often do not do the book credit. I tend to read the first chapter instead of blurbs in order get an impression of the book. Blurbs are not necessarily written by the author, or are they? Maybe the publisher even made it sound as much like WoT in order to catch clients.

Graeme Flory said...

That struck me as well. Tor do have a great big 'WOT shaped hole' to fill in and they can't pin it all on Brandon Sanderson. I don't think the author does write the blurb so I wouldn't be surprised if this was what was happening here...

GunMetalBlue said...

I'm excited about this one. Hope it is good too! Next year a huge hole is gonna need to be filled over at TOR after the final WOT book comes out. We need some heavy hitters.

Love the cover though.

For a second Graeme, I thought you had your hands on this already, I was prepared to be jealous. LOL!

Anonymous said...

WOW. how frickin original. it's 2010 and we are still writng about BOYS WITH PROPHICIES! I mean come on, we have enough of that shit with brandon 'MAGIC' sanderson. that shit belongs in the generic YA fantasy ghetto of ruin. guess adult fantasy still needs to flush all of the crap out before it get more of the interesting stuff.

cook,erikson,weeks,abercrombie,lynch,enge,durham,etc

sanderson,orullian=come on guys, GIVE IT UP.

The Fantasizer said...

I like this cover alot!
The cover ensures my reading interest.

AntonisM. said...

That blurb is so full of cliche I'm simply astonished! I bet it would have a hard time passing even 10% of "The Fantasy Novelist's Exam" here:

http://fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com/2010/11/fantasy-novelists-exam.html

I think the gorgeous cover is marred by the indifference that blurb causes. As an appetizer this one is rather bland. Let's hope that I'm totally wrong and this is actually something fresh and interesting.