REVIEW | The Unremembered by Peter Orullian

This has been one of the harder reviews I've had to write since I started blogging. I put The Unremembered down halfway through as I was having trouble staying focused. Usually when that happens it is before I'm over 300 pages in, but I was going through quite a bit at the time so I chalked it up to that. I did however come back to The Unremembered about a month later and fell right back into it and finished the book liking it well enough. But since then I've struggled with this review, rewriting it multiple times because as I turned to reflect I couldn't nail what I liked about it as much as what I felt I didn't. And this is the result.

The Unremembered is Peter Orullian's very Epic debut. It is Epic in nearly every way. In terms of characters/points of view, battles/skirmishes, plot evasiveness, big magic, along with the scope of the land and its associated cultures. There is also a dark god of a sort who is at the heart of the matter, but little seen. All in all The Unremembered is very reminiscent of Robert Jordan and Eddings so if that is your cup of tea then afternoon tea is ready for you. But if you're expecting much more beyond that than look elsewhere as only a few things differentiate it from its forebears.

The Unremembered starts with a prologue that while straight forward enough still leaves so much, perhaps too much, to the imagination involving a race of god like beings responsible for the creation of the world and many others. There is a casting out of one of the gods who is apparently behind all the evil of the world.  We are then flung thousands of years in the future on the world where evil is spreading in a small village where teenage friends Tahn, Sutter, and Wendra are somehow at the crux of some evil plot.

The dense story does take awhile to grab hold as things are left sketchy for the main characters as they are dragged around. One thing that tends to grate on me in Epic Fantasy is the reliance on keeping the main character out of the loop following around people blindly, which is the case here. The leads are pushed around and bloodied without so much as a word of why for hundreds of pages from their all-knowing wizard leader.

Sometimes I was completely enveloped in the rich and lush world and then I'd get all annoyed because characters kept getting side tracked again and again, which doesn't do much for the core story. Too many flights, too many partings, and predictable meetings. The magic and story are complex and the use of music as magic was interesting, but not well enough explained to fully grasp. Apparently the next volume will go further into it.

The Unremembered does shows promise for what could be a remarkable world and cast, but it isn't there yet and I'm not sure Orullian's goal with the story would get it there. The story seems enmeshed in tropes that it loses itself in. The best part of the novel is the relationships, especially between Tahn and Sutter which is what kept me coming back for more. I give The Unremembered 5 out of 10 hats, but the 14 year-old in me would probably give it an 8 if I hadn't read some Jordan prior. I think I'm just a different reader now and expect different things out of my Fantasy then I did even 5 years ago.

If you are a fan of 80's and 90's Epic Fantasy and still savor for more than The Unremembered is for you. If you're looking for more Sanderson, Abercrombie, or Lynch type Fantasy than try elsewhere.

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VIDEO | Cradle of the Scar by Peter Orullian author of The Unremembered

Peter Orullian is trying to take the Fantasy world by storm. So far he seems off to a good start.  His debut The Unremembered although still two months away from release has already become a juggernaut of pre-publicity buzz, especially with Orullian fanning the flames with all sorts of extra being released on the web.  He was name checked in my interview with Brandon Sanderson months ago. A series of short stories related to the world of The Unremembered in the series known as The Vaults of Heaven has already started to show up with the  "Sacrifice of the First Sheason" being the first out and the second "The Great Defense of Layosah". A gorgeous map of the world is now up as well.  And now Orullian has started a webisode series called "Cradle of the Scar" with a different artist set for each part. Part one was released late last month and here it is for those who haven't caught it yet.




And I'm lucky enough to unveil part 2:




Enjoy.

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FREE FICTION | Peter Orullian's Sacrifice of the First Sheason

Tor.com has been on quite a roll late with its short fiction program. This week brings us a (longish) short story by Peter Orullian. Some of you may remember me gushing on about the cover by Kekai Kotaki for his debut The Unremembered. "Sacrifice of the First Sheason" also features art by Kotaki and is the first of three stories that Tor.com will publish placed in the world of The Unremembered with Orullian doing another nine on his on site all of which are supposed to stand on their own, but lead into some of the mysteries revealed in the series. Many of the stories will take place before the events of The Unremembered as "Sacrifice of the First Sheason" does. Here is the first part:

Deep in the Divide Mountains, wind and thunder shook conifers that towered a hundred strides tall. Rain fell hard, battering the village of Estem Salo and leaving it awash in the sound of rushing waters. Lightning struck every few moments, flashing the world beyond Palamon Dal Solaas’ window in stark, momentary relief before darkness reclaimed the heights around his home. Beside him, Solera slept soundly, nestled into the crook of his arm. But he could not sleep, finding the tempest in the heavens too disquieting. So, when Palamon first heard the pounding at his door over the tumult of the storm, he had a sense of foreboding about the late night caller. Who would brave these storms at this hour?

The heavy beating at his door came again, faster this time, more insistent. Quickly but carefully he freed his arm from beneath his slumbering companion and hurried to the door. He could imagine only a member of the council coming to him at this hour. He’d seen them in private chambers often lately; perhaps this visit was related to these new secrets. His visitor would likely be Dossolum, the Voice of the Council, who’d been struggling to maintain balance as the Founders labored to complete their formation of this world.

The rest of the story can be read here or heard here. The story shows promise for the world and I'll definitely check out the others to see how everything progresses.

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A Fantasy Debut to Watch for in 2011 [Updated with final cover]

Two things brought this book to my attention. I recently received the Tor Winter 2011 catalog and the cover immediately caught my eye. I had to flip through the catalog that instant to find out what book this belonged to and didn't have to go far. Right on page 1 was The Unremembered by Peter Orullian. Tor obviously has high hopes for the series. The second connection was Brandon Sanderson mentioning the author in our interview with Orullian's book sitting on his nightstand. Tor hasn't released the final cover in color, but here is a picture of the catalog cover, which shows off this lush image.

Cover art by Kekai Kotaki

UPDATE: Art impressario of Tor Irene Gallo offered to send me the final color version, which I couldn't pass up. So feast your eyes.

Just...drool..ummm...Wow! The art is by Kekai Kotaki who is best known for his work with Gears of War, Guild Wars, Magic the Gathering, and a few books covers such as the recent Shadow Prowler. All around he is producing gorgeous work with a bright future ahead of him.  The cover for The Unremembered is breath taking in its depth and detail. Click to embiggen. It is worth it. Now on to the book itself, which doesn't sound too shabby either.

The Unremembered is Peter Orullian's debut novel although he has published a few short stories in various anthologies the last few years. The series is named The Vault of Heaven, which brings a lot of things to mind. Definitely something on an Epic scale. The Unremembered will be released in April 2011. I know that is a long time, but it certainly could be a strong Epic Fantasy debut. Next year is ramping up to be one of the most competitive years for Fantasy with new books by Abercrombie, Rothfuss, Lynch, Morgan, Abraham, and Grossman. There are also sequels to a number of my 2010 debut favorites coming out, but I always like to make time for debut authors so I'll definitely be one of the first in line to check out The Unremembered. Here is the description to taunt you with:

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.

And a bit more from the author's site:

When the First Ones framed the World, they appointed one among them to create adversity and contrariness to harrow the lives of men. But the One became scornful and dark in his work, so that the Council branded him Quietus and exiled him and the dark races he’d created. The Framers sealed them all beyond the Bourne and abandoned the young World, leaving it with but a small hope of redemption.

That hope may come through the choices of a stripling boy, Tahn Junell, in a time when the use of the Will (the energy that exists in all matter) has become a crime, and the Bourne has begun to let loose its secrets. As Quietus’ creations descend into the land with dark indignation, Tahn and his friends (thus far held safe in the Hollows—their home) are chased out.

But a Renderer of the Will and a creature of myth have come to guide them through a world now rife with political turmoil, rumors of war, an insidious human trade, and the dark creations that hunt them. Tahn and his companions race to see if the restoration to him of all his own dark secrets will end his unnatural life or prove him their one last hope.

The author also has an early book trailer up on his site, plus maps, and a few illustrations of the characters. The series is planned to be a trilogy at this point with books released a year apart.

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I just love this cover...