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Far Called Trilogy #1
In Dark Service
Jacob Carnehan has settled down. He's living a comfortable, quiet life, obeying the law and minding his own business while raising his son Carter ...on those occasions when he isn't having to bail him out of one scrape or another. His days of adventure are - thankfully - long behind him. Carter Carnehan is going out of his mind with boredom. He's bored by his humdrum life, frustrated that his father won't live a little, and longs for the bright lights and excitement of anywhere-but-here. He's longing for an opportunity to escape, and test himself against whatever the world has to offer. Carter is going to get his opportunity. He's caught up in a village fight, kidnapped by slavers and, before he knows it, is swept to another land. A lowly slave, surrounded by technology he doesn't understand, his wish has come true: it's him vs. the world. He can try to escape, he can try to lead his fellow slaves, or he can accept the inevitable and try to make the most of the short, brutal existence remaining to him...unless Jacob gets to him first and, no matter the odds, he intends to. No one kidnaps his son and gets away with it - and if it come to it, he'll force Kings to help him on his way, he'll fight, steal, blackmail and betray his friends in the name of bringing Carter home. Wars will be started. Empires will fall. And the Carnehan family will be reunited, one way or another...
640 pages, Hardcover
First published May 15, 2014
About the author
Stephen Hunt
258 books342 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Stephen Hunt is a British writer living in London. His first fantasy novel, For the Crown and the Dragon, was published in 1994, and introduced a young officer, Taliesin, fighting for the Queen of England in a Napoleonic period alternative reality where the wars of Europe were being fought with sorcery and steampunk weapons (airships, clockwork machine guns, and steam-driven trucks called kettle-blacks). The novel won the 1994 WH Smith Award, and the book reviewer Andrew Darlington used Hunt's novel to coin the phrase Flintlock Fantasy to describe the sub-genre of fantasy set in a Regency or Napoleonic-era period.
Stephen Hunt is a British writer living in London. His first fantasy novel, For the Crown and the Dragon, was published in 1994, and introduced a young officer, Taliesin, fighting for the Queen of England in a Napoleonic period alternative reality where the wars of Europe were being fought with sorcery and steampunk weapons (airships, clockwork machine guns, and steam-driven trucks called kettle-blacks). The novel won the 1994 WH Smith Award, and the book reviewer Andrew Darlington used Hunt's novel to coin the phrase Flintlock Fantasy to describe the sub-genre of fantasy set in a Regency or Napoleonic-era period.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
June 11, 2014
In Dark Service by Stephen Hunt, the first book in the Far Called Trilogy, is a book that dabbles for a long time until the story and characters finally step up in the last third. While that might not sound appealing, I enjoyed the book and will read on when the next part of the series is released. Especially the setting deserve special mention, as it is vast and diverse.
The story revolves around a father, Jacob Carnehan, and his son, Carter. Their quiet live is blasted apart by a raid from air nomads that abduct the able people as slaves. Jacob, who's more than meets the eye, pursues these raiders and he'll stop at nothing to get his son back. But between him and his son lie million of miles, not a distance you can cross even in decades.
Yes, you read that right. There's a reason the series is called Far Called. The world is huge, bigger than any other fantasy world I've read about. While that's a great idea, it doesn't always work, because its proportions boggle the mind and aren't easily grasped. Most of the world isn't mentioned anyway and is nothing more than a distance on a map. What's interesting in the setting are the differences in development of the countries. While we start the journey in a country resembling the frontier of the wild west, there are tales from the Burn, which features warlords fighting with sticks instead of rudimental firearms. The farther we come to the source of the abductions, the more advanced the countries grow, until we see tanks and giant aircrafts.
The main problem of the book are the characters. While Jacob with his dark past is a great character to follow, driven and determined to do anything, his son and the other characters from their hometown are lackluster. Carter and his rival Benner are some of the biggest fools I've seen. That doesn't really make them endearing. They don't even work together after their town has been raided and they and many others have been abducted and sold into slavery. And the reason for their (rather recent) rivalry, or maybe even hatred, is a woman that's the icon of being a bitch. She couldn't be more obvious had she 'bitch' stitched in her forehead for everyone to see. They pale especially in regard to Jacob and that makes their part harder to read, because it's not easy to build a connection to them. They only start going forward in the last third of the book and that helps the whole book enormously.
The last third of the book finally steps up the pace and more players come to the screen, mysteries are revealed and established, and we get a look at what's at stake and who the factions warring over the world are. The characters, especially Carter and Benner, grow up and start to form their own personality. The ending itself is a big fest of action.
While you can't call the book predictable, there are more than a few instances where the next steps or even the outcome is obvious. That decreases the joy of discovery and wonder somewhat.
My biggest gripe with the book is something I can't really talk about without fear of spoilering you. I'll add a spoiler to the end, should you want to know more. Let me just say that a plan is formed that is so obvious there's no chance they'd be the first to try. Which makes the whole plan kinda worthless.
Concluding, I can say that I can recommend the book. You might have to slog through the first half, but I'm glad I stayed with the book to the end. Its setting is interesting and the ending makes me wonder what's to come in the next installments. It's a very solid debut that lacks some flourish and isn't quite smooth on the edges. I'd like to see some more differentiation and personality for the characters in the next books. There's much room to growth. Get the book when you want fantasy different from the medieval-style setting. Its wild west setting works quite well and the books has room for a lot of different settings for the author to explore.
The story revolves around a father, Jacob Carnehan, and his son, Carter. Their quiet live is blasted apart by a raid from air nomads that abduct the able people as slaves. Jacob, who's more than meets the eye, pursues these raiders and he'll stop at nothing to get his son back. But between him and his son lie million of miles, not a distance you can cross even in decades.
Yes, you read that right. There's a reason the series is called Far Called. The world is huge, bigger than any other fantasy world I've read about. While that's a great idea, it doesn't always work, because its proportions boggle the mind and aren't easily grasped. Most of the world isn't mentioned anyway and is nothing more than a distance on a map. What's interesting in the setting are the differences in development of the countries. While we start the journey in a country resembling the frontier of the wild west, there are tales from the Burn, which features warlords fighting with sticks instead of rudimental firearms. The farther we come to the source of the abductions, the more advanced the countries grow, until we see tanks and giant aircrafts.
The main problem of the book are the characters. While Jacob with his dark past is a great character to follow, driven and determined to do anything, his son and the other characters from their hometown are lackluster. Carter and his rival Benner are some of the biggest fools I've seen. That doesn't really make them endearing. They don't even work together after their town has been raided and they and many others have been abducted and sold into slavery. And the reason for their (rather recent) rivalry, or maybe even hatred, is a woman that's the icon of being a bitch. She couldn't be more obvious had she 'bitch' stitched in her forehead for everyone to see. They pale especially in regard to Jacob and that makes their part harder to read, because it's not easy to build a connection to them. They only start going forward in the last third of the book and that helps the whole book enormously.
The last third of the book finally steps up the pace and more players come to the screen, mysteries are revealed and established, and we get a look at what's at stake and who the factions warring over the world are. The characters, especially Carter and Benner, grow up and start to form their own personality. The ending itself is a big fest of action.
While you can't call the book predictable, there are more than a few instances where the next steps or even the outcome is obvious. That decreases the joy of discovery and wonder somewhat.
My biggest gripe with the book is something I can't really talk about without fear of spoilering you. I'll add a spoiler to the end, should you want to know more. Let me just say that a plan is formed that is so obvious there's no chance they'd be the first to try. Which makes the whole plan kinda worthless.
Concluding, I can say that I can recommend the book. You might have to slog through the first half, but I'm glad I stayed with the book to the end. Its setting is interesting and the ending makes me wonder what's to come in the next installments. It's a very solid debut that lacks some flourish and isn't quite smooth on the edges. I'd like to see some more differentiation and personality for the characters in the next books. There's much room to growth. Get the book when you want fantasy different from the medieval-style setting. Its wild west setting works quite well and the books has room for a lot of different settings for the author to explore.
August 20, 2014
Ten pages into this doorstop I knew I was going to be in for a rough ride. This book had some of the hammiest dreadful dialogue I've read in a very long while. Worse yet - I think the author thinks dialogue is one of his strengths.
The most remarkable thing about this novel is that there is not a single original thing in it's 500+ pages. It lurches drunkenly from John Wayne Western to camp Flash Gordon, randomly working in every tired trope that's been done to death in piles of dreary paperback trilogies.
The most remarkable thing about this novel is that there is not a single original thing in it's 500+ pages. It lurches drunkenly from John Wayne Western to camp Flash Gordon, randomly working in every tired trope that's been done to death in piles of dreary paperback trilogies.
May 27, 2014
lots of inventiveness, superb world building and a great finale but occasional clunky writing and way too much padding in the middle with subplots that lack drama as we know we will have to get the above mentioned finale
definitely interested in more as the action starts heating up
definitely interested in more as the action starts heating up
May 17, 2014
Hunt’s latest is like a giant ice cream sundae of all your favourite genre flavours together. Part steampunk thriller, part science fiction epic and a good-sized chunk of action adventure chucked in for good measure. The first hundred pages have a weirdly wonderful Terry Gilliam meets Katshuiro Otomo vibe, like the bastard child of Steamboy, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and even a bit of Spartacus to round things off. I really felt like I was being spoiled for choice. Importantly though no one single flavour in this delightful mélange is overpowering, everything fits together just perfectly.
Carter Carnehan has a wanderlust in his heart. He dreams of escaping the pastoral existence of his life in the small town of Northaven. He wants to travel to distant lands and experience everything the infinite world of Pellas has to offer. His father, Jacob, is the polar opposite. He relishes the simple peace that exists in the country of Weyland. Jacob wants nothing more than to live quietly and avoid any form of conflict. When the town is raided unexpectedly, Carter’s wish for excitement is granted, unfortunately not quite in the way he ever imagined.
The Vandian Imperium are an unknown quantity in the country of Weyland. Where do they hail from? Why is their technology so far removed from that of the Weylanders? What do they want with the young men and women of Northaven?
The invasion heralds the beginning of a huge journey for both men of the Carnehan family. I got the distinct impression that book one has just scratched the surface of a much bigger story and there is still much more left to be revealed. One of my favourite things in the book are the myriad little threads that are woven into the plot, everything from political power plays and intrigue, to hidden lives and shady pasts. The biggest unanswered question however – who the heck is the enigmatic character that goes by the name of Sariel and why does he keep appearing randomly in the lives of the Carnehan men?
It’s a damn shame that Hayao Miyazaki has just retired from filmmaking. I reckon In Dark Service would be an ideal candidate for the Studio Ghibli treatment. I’d love to see a visual interpretation of this story. The scope of events is just so huge it would look stunning. Instead, I’ll just have to content myself with the knowledge that this is the first book in a trilogy.
One word of warning however, the book is a big old doorstop stop of a thing. If you’re a weakling like me, and it’s within your power, I would heartily endorse the slightly lighter electronic edition. Put it this way, I won’t have to do any weight training at the gym this week.
This first novel in the Far Called sequence is a splendidly evocative steampunk adventure. It highlights the author’s masterful skill when it comes not only to world building on an epic scale, but also in creating characters who you want to read about. I’ve come to the conclusion, and I’m not embarrassed to admit it, Stephen Hunt’s writing makes me blissfully happy. The raging sentimentalist who lives deep in the dark recesses of my heart adored every page and can’t wait for more. It’s as simple as that.
In Dark Service is published by Gollancz and is available now. Highly recommended. I’m looking forward to book two, Foul Tide’s Turning, already.
Carter Carnehan has a wanderlust in his heart. He dreams of escaping the pastoral existence of his life in the small town of Northaven. He wants to travel to distant lands and experience everything the infinite world of Pellas has to offer. His father, Jacob, is the polar opposite. He relishes the simple peace that exists in the country of Weyland. Jacob wants nothing more than to live quietly and avoid any form of conflict. When the town is raided unexpectedly, Carter’s wish for excitement is granted, unfortunately not quite in the way he ever imagined.
The Vandian Imperium are an unknown quantity in the country of Weyland. Where do they hail from? Why is their technology so far removed from that of the Weylanders? What do they want with the young men and women of Northaven?
The invasion heralds the beginning of a huge journey for both men of the Carnehan family. I got the distinct impression that book one has just scratched the surface of a much bigger story and there is still much more left to be revealed. One of my favourite things in the book are the myriad little threads that are woven into the plot, everything from political power plays and intrigue, to hidden lives and shady pasts. The biggest unanswered question however – who the heck is the enigmatic character that goes by the name of Sariel and why does he keep appearing randomly in the lives of the Carnehan men?
It’s a damn shame that Hayao Miyazaki has just retired from filmmaking. I reckon In Dark Service would be an ideal candidate for the Studio Ghibli treatment. I’d love to see a visual interpretation of this story. The scope of events is just so huge it would look stunning. Instead, I’ll just have to content myself with the knowledge that this is the first book in a trilogy.
One word of warning however, the book is a big old doorstop stop of a thing. If you’re a weakling like me, and it’s within your power, I would heartily endorse the slightly lighter electronic edition. Put it this way, I won’t have to do any weight training at the gym this week.
This first novel in the Far Called sequence is a splendidly evocative steampunk adventure. It highlights the author’s masterful skill when it comes not only to world building on an epic scale, but also in creating characters who you want to read about. I’ve come to the conclusion, and I’m not embarrassed to admit it, Stephen Hunt’s writing makes me blissfully happy. The raging sentimentalist who lives deep in the dark recesses of my heart adored every page and can’t wait for more. It’s as simple as that.
In Dark Service is published by Gollancz and is available now. Highly recommended. I’m looking forward to book two, Foul Tide’s Turning, already.
September 28, 2015
If you’ve seen reviews of this book saying ‘it’s a slog’, ignore them.
I suspect the people who wrote these are not regular readers of speculative/epic fantasy/sci-fi series and lack the patience required to read in these genres. The first chapter is a little slow, but after that, there’s non-stop, hurt-me-more action. Without giving too much away, this review will focus on the characterisation and the world which Mr Hunt has built. The novel sits within the steampunk/speculative fiction universe. I can’t bring myself to call it sci-fi, as the characters, and not the science, are the main point of the book.
The premise of the novel is a that a group of young people are kidnapped by slavers and taken far, far away to work in hellish mines on a volcano. The fathers of the young people then mount a rescue attempt that seems doomed to fail given the sheer vastness of the world of Pellas (hundreds of millions of kilometres), and the vested interests of the empire controlling the mines. Please do not think this is YA fiction. It is NOT. The ‘young people’ are in their 20s, and they –shock horror!- behave as adults would: they have sex, swear and act in ways that are totally self-serving at times. I loved the book, although I would have put a little more swearing in it!
First up, the world of Pellas.
Pellas is world without end, a concept I haven’t encountered in spec. fiction before. It’s a world so vast, cartographers can’t map the boundaries. Nations are not separated by mere distance, but by the kind of time needed in our universe to travel the stars: generations upon untold generations.
It’s also an ‘uneven’ world – the kind of world I love.
By ‘uneven’, I refer to the fact that nations are not all based on medieval Europe, or on Victorian London/Paris. Rather, they are technologically and culturally diverse. Some have electricity, guns, advanced medicine and rocket engines; others are populated by agrarians, hunter gatherers, pastoral city-states. The technological advancement –or not- of nations is as unique as Hunt’s development of Pellas: the more distant your nation is from the stratovolcanoes which spew out ores, the less metal your people have.
The thirst for metals, the empire that controls the lands around the ore-spewing stratovolcanoes, and the vastness of Pellas itself are as much characters in the novel as the ‘real’ point-of-view characters are. The world is delicious and complex.
The other point I will talk about in this review are the characters themselves.
The book is written in third person. There are three main point-of-view characters, Jacob Carnehan, his son, Carter, and their ‘frenemy’, Duncan Landor, the son of a wealthy rural landholder. Duncan’s sister, Willow, is also a POV character, but gets much less air time in the book.
The characters develop slowly, and the character arcs for Duncan, Carter and Willow are far from complete by the end of the novel. Jacob Carnehan undergoes the most dramatic change in the novel –from mild pastor to blood-thirsty gunslinger, and I have to say that I enjoyed him more and more as the novel unfolded. Carter can be annoying – I’m not convinced that ‘trouble follows him’ in the way that everyone else seems to say, as he has a rationale for what he does. He doesn’t develop quite as much as his father, but I did glimpse the beginnings of some changes which I suspect will be developed more in the following books. Duncan goes from spoilt landholders’ son, to house slave then free man of the imperium, and develops loyalty and the ability to care for someone he shouldn’t, but in the end, still manages to be the same self-centred, survivalist prat that he was at the beginning of the story. The minor characters, Kerge, Owen, Khow, Sheplar and Sariel all play their supporting roles well.
Whilst the female characters don’t get much airtime as POV in the novel, those you meet are all strong, kick-arse women. The female antagonist, Helrena Skar, is particularly well-written and much more complex than simply a rich warrior princess used as a plot device to personify cruelty. I suspect Willow will be a main POV character in the next book, just as I suspect that she and Carter will be torn apart after just having found each other.
There is some romance, several tastefully written sex scenes, lots of blood, guts, fighting and desperate chases. There are guns, bows, radio signals, planes, gliders and explosions – in other words, there is a lot of action.
Even better, UK spelling has been used throughout the book – I jump for joy every time I see the word ‘arse’ instead of the weak, insipid ‘ass’ (a donkey-horse cross in my part of the world, not a swear word), and I love the double ‘L’ in travelling. Viva la revolution and keep the English language English.
My main complaint about the book would be Mr Hunt’s paragraph lengths. Some paragraphs extend across more than one page; this is intimidating and off-putting for many readers. I would recommend splitting these up, then those saying the book is a slog would probably change their minds. There were several typos in the book (scapular when it should be ‘scapula’), and the edition I am reading is a clunky, big ‘trade paperback’ - too big to carry around in your handbag. I would have preferred that the publishers release a proper paperback, but then here in Australia we are yoked to the big boy publishing companies who care about making money, and not so much about getting readers’ eyes on deserving authors’ words.
In all, I can’t wait to read the next book and am a little miffed that I will then have to wait until June 2016 (again, this is not the author’s fault but that of the publishing houses), to read the final book.
Lastly, to Stephen Hunt: thank you for writing a book where I found myself caring so much about several of the characters, I was worrying over their fates when I was away from the novel for a week whilst travelling. It’s been a while since a book has done that to me, so you are to be congratulated. I am a very fussy reader and as a fellow published author, hard to please.
I suspect the people who wrote these are not regular readers of speculative/epic fantasy/sci-fi series and lack the patience required to read in these genres. The first chapter is a little slow, but after that, there’s non-stop, hurt-me-more action. Without giving too much away, this review will focus on the characterisation and the world which Mr Hunt has built. The novel sits within the steampunk/speculative fiction universe. I can’t bring myself to call it sci-fi, as the characters, and not the science, are the main point of the book.
The premise of the novel is a that a group of young people are kidnapped by slavers and taken far, far away to work in hellish mines on a volcano. The fathers of the young people then mount a rescue attempt that seems doomed to fail given the sheer vastness of the world of Pellas (hundreds of millions of kilometres), and the vested interests of the empire controlling the mines. Please do not think this is YA fiction. It is NOT. The ‘young people’ are in their 20s, and they –shock horror!- behave as adults would: they have sex, swear and act in ways that are totally self-serving at times. I loved the book, although I would have put a little more swearing in it!
First up, the world of Pellas.
Pellas is world without end, a concept I haven’t encountered in spec. fiction before. It’s a world so vast, cartographers can’t map the boundaries. Nations are not separated by mere distance, but by the kind of time needed in our universe to travel the stars: generations upon untold generations.
It’s also an ‘uneven’ world – the kind of world I love.
By ‘uneven’, I refer to the fact that nations are not all based on medieval Europe, or on Victorian London/Paris. Rather, they are technologically and culturally diverse. Some have electricity, guns, advanced medicine and rocket engines; others are populated by agrarians, hunter gatherers, pastoral city-states. The technological advancement –or not- of nations is as unique as Hunt’s development of Pellas: the more distant your nation is from the stratovolcanoes which spew out ores, the less metal your people have.
The thirst for metals, the empire that controls the lands around the ore-spewing stratovolcanoes, and the vastness of Pellas itself are as much characters in the novel as the ‘real’ point-of-view characters are. The world is delicious and complex.
The other point I will talk about in this review are the characters themselves.
The book is written in third person. There are three main point-of-view characters, Jacob Carnehan, his son, Carter, and their ‘frenemy’, Duncan Landor, the son of a wealthy rural landholder. Duncan’s sister, Willow, is also a POV character, but gets much less air time in the book.
The characters develop slowly, and the character arcs for Duncan, Carter and Willow are far from complete by the end of the novel. Jacob Carnehan undergoes the most dramatic change in the novel –from mild pastor to blood-thirsty gunslinger, and I have to say that I enjoyed him more and more as the novel unfolded. Carter can be annoying – I’m not convinced that ‘trouble follows him’ in the way that everyone else seems to say, as he has a rationale for what he does. He doesn’t develop quite as much as his father, but I did glimpse the beginnings of some changes which I suspect will be developed more in the following books. Duncan goes from spoilt landholders’ son, to house slave then free man of the imperium, and develops loyalty and the ability to care for someone he shouldn’t, but in the end, still manages to be the same self-centred, survivalist prat that he was at the beginning of the story. The minor characters, Kerge, Owen, Khow, Sheplar and Sariel all play their supporting roles well.
Whilst the female characters don’t get much airtime as POV in the novel, those you meet are all strong, kick-arse women. The female antagonist, Helrena Skar, is particularly well-written and much more complex than simply a rich warrior princess used as a plot device to personify cruelty. I suspect Willow will be a main POV character in the next book, just as I suspect that she and Carter will be torn apart after just having found each other.
There is some romance, several tastefully written sex scenes, lots of blood, guts, fighting and desperate chases. There are guns, bows, radio signals, planes, gliders and explosions – in other words, there is a lot of action.
Even better, UK spelling has been used throughout the book – I jump for joy every time I see the word ‘arse’ instead of the weak, insipid ‘ass’ (a donkey-horse cross in my part of the world, not a swear word), and I love the double ‘L’ in travelling. Viva la revolution and keep the English language English.
My main complaint about the book would be Mr Hunt’s paragraph lengths. Some paragraphs extend across more than one page; this is intimidating and off-putting for many readers. I would recommend splitting these up, then those saying the book is a slog would probably change their minds. There were several typos in the book (scapular when it should be ‘scapula’), and the edition I am reading is a clunky, big ‘trade paperback’ - too big to carry around in your handbag. I would have preferred that the publishers release a proper paperback, but then here in Australia we are yoked to the big boy publishing companies who care about making money, and not so much about getting readers’ eyes on deserving authors’ words.
In all, I can’t wait to read the next book and am a little miffed that I will then have to wait until June 2016 (again, this is not the author’s fault but that of the publishing houses), to read the final book.
Lastly, to Stephen Hunt: thank you for writing a book where I found myself caring so much about several of the characters, I was worrying over their fates when I was away from the novel for a week whilst travelling. It’s been a while since a book has done that to me, so you are to be congratulated. I am a very fussy reader and as a fellow published author, hard to please.
June 11, 2017
Mr Hunt's imagination is extensive and original and I like his ability to create Worlds and characters that while not always totally believable are good enough to keep you wanting to know what is going to happen to them. Best to start with his early work if you are new to him.
June 24, 2014
For Carter Carnehan, nothing could be more exciting in his monotonous life than fighting with landowner’s son, Duncan Landor, over a girl. Carter longs for adventures and, in the spirit of ‘be careful what you wish for’, soon gets far more action than he ever dreamed of as slavers literally descend on his town.
In order to bring his son and the other young captives back home, Pastor Jacob Carnehan, must reconnect with his dark past and go on a long and perilous journey.
One of the problems with writers in this genre, is that in their enthusiasm to paint a vivid picture of the world, with all its bizarre creatures and inventive technology, they often forget the people in it. The younger protagonists, on their enforced rite of passage to maturity can be particularly irritating and their blossoming romantic attachments excruciatingly mawkish.
Fortunately, Stephen Hunt crafts his characters with a sure hand. The older protagonists possess all the gravitas and wisdom you would expect, and the younger captives feel the riptide of emotions as they navigate their way to maturity through crisis.
That is not to say that the book is lacking in action. There is plenty of it and a reader will certainly have a sense of being underdressed if they do not have a serviceable firearm to hand.
This is an interesting book because usually crossover books make the transition from young adult to adult fiction. In this case ‘In Dark Service’ is making the transition the other way, comfortably suiting a wide range of reading ages.
I am looking forward to the next book as the tantalising cliffhanger gives all the indications that the many threads of this story will only become more fascinating.
In order to bring his son and the other young captives back home, Pastor Jacob Carnehan, must reconnect with his dark past and go on a long and perilous journey.
One of the problems with writers in this genre, is that in their enthusiasm to paint a vivid picture of the world, with all its bizarre creatures and inventive technology, they often forget the people in it. The younger protagonists, on their enforced rite of passage to maturity can be particularly irritating and their blossoming romantic attachments excruciatingly mawkish.
Fortunately, Stephen Hunt crafts his characters with a sure hand. The older protagonists possess all the gravitas and wisdom you would expect, and the younger captives feel the riptide of emotions as they navigate their way to maturity through crisis.
That is not to say that the book is lacking in action. There is plenty of it and a reader will certainly have a sense of being underdressed if they do not have a serviceable firearm to hand.
This is an interesting book because usually crossover books make the transition from young adult to adult fiction. In this case ‘In Dark Service’ is making the transition the other way, comfortably suiting a wide range of reading ages.
I am looking forward to the next book as the tantalising cliffhanger gives all the indications that the many threads of this story will only become more fascinating.
May 17, 2015
My review of this book?
It is not worth reading. Some good ideas, a fascinating, huge world that would be interesting to explore, but they need to be refreshed and cut down, a lot. Some people seem to think that this is not a predictable story, but I have to say it was very predictable, and while I didn't expect some of the twists, that was only because I was thinking reasonably, and some of the things it threw at you toward the end were just ridiculous.
All of the main characters and important people in the story are men (bar Helrena, really), and any female character who has some sense of personality is either there to die for character development, to further the plot, or to be a love interest-slash-to have sex with one of the male leads.
It is seriously terrible.
P.S. Only one female character doesn't want to have sex with one of the male leads, and this is probably just because she's UNDERAGE.
It is not worth reading. Some good ideas, a fascinating, huge world that would be interesting to explore, but they need to be refreshed and cut down, a lot. Some people seem to think that this is not a predictable story, but I have to say it was very predictable, and while I didn't expect some of the twists, that was only because I was thinking reasonably, and some of the things it threw at you toward the end were just ridiculous.
All of the main characters and important people in the story are men (bar Helrena, really), and any female character who has some sense of personality is either there to die for character development, to further the plot, or to be a love interest-slash-to have sex with one of the male leads.
It is seriously terrible.
P.S. Only one female character doesn't want to have sex with one of the male leads, and this is probably just because she's UNDERAGE.
January 5, 2015
This is not a self-published book. I think I need to keep reminding myself of the fact, because honestly, it felt like one. I thought that the characterization was just terrible, the plot was uninteresting and inconsistently paced and utterly predictable. None of the characters was actually likable, which sometimes can work in a book, but not when it's clear that the author intended that I should like at least a few of them.
I picked this up because I love me some steampunk and I kept reading because at various intervals I thought that the author might do something different and interesting and I just had to be patient. Well, no, the author did not and I feel like I wasted my time reading this young adult-esque drivel. The End.
I picked this up because I love me some steampunk and I kept reading because at various intervals I thought that the author might do something different and interesting and I just had to be patient. Well, no, the author did not and I feel like I wasted my time reading this young adult-esque drivel. The End.
July 23, 2014
received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
fantastic plot line with some really good characters! my daughter is now reading it!
fantastic plot line with some really good characters! my daughter is now reading it!
March 19, 2021
The first book in the very aptly named Far-Called Sequence, In Dark Service is a very interesting blend of steampunk and flintlock fantasy, with a not insignificant helping of science fiction on the side.
First thing’s first, it’s got one of the most unique ideas for a world I’ve ever come across in the form of Pellas, a practically endless expanse of land. Despite the fact some of the world’s societies have reached and surpassed the Industrial Revolution in terms of technology, no one has yet to map the fantastically huge extents. For a little bit of perspective, at one point in the story two of the main characters are separated by 1.5 million miles, which is estimated to be about 400 years of walking. Bear in mind that 1.5 million miles is only a small portion of the known world, and it’s repeatedly acknowledged by multiple characters that humanity has little hope of exploring the whole of Pellas.
This sets the stage for the central conflict. Jacob and Carter Carnehan, a father and son duo who live in the quaint, countryside town of Northaven, have their lives destroyed when the latter is snatched by a band of inhuman slavers. Carter soon finds himself an unbelievable distance away from everything he’s ever known, at the mercy of a technologically advanced empire that’s so distant from his hometown he’s never even heard of it. Back in Northaven, Jacob sets out to save his son, but finds the whole ordeal far more complicated than he previously assumed.
The world of Pellas is a dark one, though the mention of slavery has probably already hinted at that. The empire of Vandia, which serves as the book’s main adversary, has engaged in wide-scale enslavement to fuel itself, and believes its many millions of slaves to be less than human. Add to this a slew of cynical, bloodthirsty characters who absolutely do not shy away from punishing their slaves in the most extreme manner, and you’ve got a very intense, very unsettling story. I would even go as far as suggesting this book could also be categorised as Grimdark, because even something as brutal as on-page torture is confronted here.
There’s a fair amount of worldbuilding going on behind the story, with multiple fantastical races being described, including the canine ‘dog-riders’, the stripe-skinned ‘gads’, and the lizard-like ‘skels’. As for the geographical worldbuilding, the huge scope of the planet means there are nations visited that exist almost on opposite ends of the spectrum of civilization. The empire of Vandia, for example, has hi-tech airships, and seems to have a medical understanding advanced enough to heal cancer. The kingdom of Weyland, from which Jacob and Carter hail, more closely resembles the traditional feudal fantasy kingdom, with flintlock weaponry being about as modern as they’ve gotten. It made for interesting reading to have characters from two completely different cultures clash.
Another important aspect of the book is its flawed characters. In Jacob Carnehan, the book has its ‘peaceful man with a dark past’ trope, and in Carter there’s a definite ‘coming of age’ arc where he’s forced to face a world many degrees more violent than his countryside childhood. Whilst Jacob was far more competent, and more interesting to read about, Carter experienced a definite dose of character development, and went from being an immature boy who mooned over a girl and wanted only to escape his small-town life, to a man more willing to take on the responsibilities of his enslaved countrymen and to set aside his childish selfishness.
The only major issue I had with this book was its sometimes-jarring pacing. Jacob and Carter were the two chief perspectives, and at times the cuts between them would be strange and jolting. For example, Jacob might be in the midst of an action-packed battle, and the story will cut away to Carter and follow him for most of a chapter, where a number of days seems to pass. The perspective then shifts back to Jacob mid-action, not even a minute after we last left him. Sometimes it was difficult to remember what Jacob had been doing before the perspective cut away from him. Also in regards to pacing, the first 1/2-2/3 of the book were relatively slow, which can be off-putting for some but never bothered me as it was time spent establishing the characters, setting, and conflict.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable book; enjoyable enough to merit the immediate purchase of its two sequels.
First thing’s first, it’s got one of the most unique ideas for a world I’ve ever come across in the form of Pellas, a practically endless expanse of land. Despite the fact some of the world’s societies have reached and surpassed the Industrial Revolution in terms of technology, no one has yet to map the fantastically huge extents. For a little bit of perspective, at one point in the story two of the main characters are separated by 1.5 million miles, which is estimated to be about 400 years of walking. Bear in mind that 1.5 million miles is only a small portion of the known world, and it’s repeatedly acknowledged by multiple characters that humanity has little hope of exploring the whole of Pellas.
This sets the stage for the central conflict. Jacob and Carter Carnehan, a father and son duo who live in the quaint, countryside town of Northaven, have their lives destroyed when the latter is snatched by a band of inhuman slavers. Carter soon finds himself an unbelievable distance away from everything he’s ever known, at the mercy of a technologically advanced empire that’s so distant from his hometown he’s never even heard of it. Back in Northaven, Jacob sets out to save his son, but finds the whole ordeal far more complicated than he previously assumed.
The world of Pellas is a dark one, though the mention of slavery has probably already hinted at that. The empire of Vandia, which serves as the book’s main adversary, has engaged in wide-scale enslavement to fuel itself, and believes its many millions of slaves to be less than human. Add to this a slew of cynical, bloodthirsty characters who absolutely do not shy away from punishing their slaves in the most extreme manner, and you’ve got a very intense, very unsettling story. I would even go as far as suggesting this book could also be categorised as Grimdark, because even something as brutal as on-page torture is confronted here.
There’s a fair amount of worldbuilding going on behind the story, with multiple fantastical races being described, including the canine ‘dog-riders’, the stripe-skinned ‘gads’, and the lizard-like ‘skels’. As for the geographical worldbuilding, the huge scope of the planet means there are nations visited that exist almost on opposite ends of the spectrum of civilization. The empire of Vandia, for example, has hi-tech airships, and seems to have a medical understanding advanced enough to heal cancer. The kingdom of Weyland, from which Jacob and Carter hail, more closely resembles the traditional feudal fantasy kingdom, with flintlock weaponry being about as modern as they’ve gotten. It made for interesting reading to have characters from two completely different cultures clash.
Another important aspect of the book is its flawed characters. In Jacob Carnehan, the book has its ‘peaceful man with a dark past’ trope, and in Carter there’s a definite ‘coming of age’ arc where he’s forced to face a world many degrees more violent than his countryside childhood. Whilst Jacob was far more competent, and more interesting to read about, Carter experienced a definite dose of character development, and went from being an immature boy who mooned over a girl and wanted only to escape his small-town life, to a man more willing to take on the responsibilities of his enslaved countrymen and to set aside his childish selfishness.
The only major issue I had with this book was its sometimes-jarring pacing. Jacob and Carter were the two chief perspectives, and at times the cuts between them would be strange and jolting. For example, Jacob might be in the midst of an action-packed battle, and the story will cut away to Carter and follow him for most of a chapter, where a number of days seems to pass. The perspective then shifts back to Jacob mid-action, not even a minute after we last left him. Sometimes it was difficult to remember what Jacob had been doing before the perspective cut away from him. Also in regards to pacing, the first 1/2-2/3 of the book were relatively slow, which can be off-putting for some but never bothered me as it was time spent establishing the characters, setting, and conflict.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable book; enjoyable enough to merit the immediate purchase of its two sequels.
January 27, 2020
Maybe I'm late with my review (considering the publishing date), but better late than never!
I was strolling in a bookstore that sells older publications and or overstock from general bookstores when I was attracted to the cover and to my luck it was the first out of three not knowing what I was up for (the books were sealed do no chance to read).
The first pages I was like, what the fish am I reading? The book was in the fantasy section and I expected something very different and I could not get any recognition with what I've read on fantasy before. I really tried to understand the world building as in when, where and how all is connected.
At some point I started reading reviews and got to know "steampunk"; never heard about that before at all! Then it made sense and I did enjoy the first hundred or so pages.
Unlike Stephen King, Stephen Hunt is not 'telling' the story to me and that's a change. The dialogues are long, lingering and not in collaquial language, which prevents the characters coming alive.
From page hundred or so till page 402 isn't much happening, well, a lot but it could have been narrowed down a lot.
But at the end of the book, only then the fantasy part comes loose and the story ends with a blast giving me the feeling 'what the fish did I just read' in the most positive sense of the word! I was blown away and I can't wait to get hold on the second book.
4 stars (because I can't give 3.5) for the overall composition of the book. It would have been more if I really could enjoy the characters and to clearer see their personalities, habits and their unique way of speaking. I hope this will improve in the second book!
I was strolling in a bookstore that sells older publications and or overstock from general bookstores when I was attracted to the cover and to my luck it was the first out of three not knowing what I was up for (the books were sealed do no chance to read).
The first pages I was like, what the fish am I reading? The book was in the fantasy section and I expected something very different and I could not get any recognition with what I've read on fantasy before. I really tried to understand the world building as in when, where and how all is connected.
At some point I started reading reviews and got to know "steampunk"; never heard about that before at all! Then it made sense and I did enjoy the first hundred or so pages.
Unlike Stephen King, Stephen Hunt is not 'telling' the story to me and that's a change. The dialogues are long, lingering and not in collaquial language, which prevents the characters coming alive.
From page hundred or so till page 402 isn't much happening, well, a lot but it could have been narrowed down a lot.
But at the end of the book, only then the fantasy part comes loose and the story ends with a blast giving me the feeling 'what the fish did I just read' in the most positive sense of the word! I was blown away and I can't wait to get hold on the second book.
4 stars (because I can't give 3.5) for the overall composition of the book. It would have been more if I really could enjoy the characters and to clearer see their personalities, habits and their unique way of speaking. I hope this will improve in the second book!
June 29, 2023
"I can't offer your shades of right today, only a choice between wrongs"
Ok, where to start with this one? I'll start with first impressions because at first I thought the world was imaginative, but the characters seemed to be fairly standard fantasy archetypes, although Sariel was lots of fun.
It turned out to be a lot more than that.
The world is huge and has its own science (gravity gets weaker the further into the air you get, and it's strongest of you tunnel underground), and the story is a rich, sprawling thing of plots and character development. You find yourself sympathising with welding different, and even opposite, viewpoints and sides through the narrative... Though there are some clearly 'big evil' characters, the point-of-view characters show a whole range of shades of grey.
The plot concerns slavery and corruption, and though it doesn't shy at away from gruesome aspects and moral questions, it's still essentially a rescue quest mixed with a bit of 'coming of age' drama. This is the first in a trilogy so I can't speak to how all the plot points eventually wrap up, but it's satisfying ending for the first part and I'm keen to read more.
Ok, where to start with this one? I'll start with first impressions because at first I thought the world was imaginative, but the characters seemed to be fairly standard fantasy archetypes, although Sariel was lots of fun.
It turned out to be a lot more than that.
The world is huge and has its own science (gravity gets weaker the further into the air you get, and it's strongest of you tunnel underground), and the story is a rich, sprawling thing of plots and character development. You find yourself sympathising with welding different, and even opposite, viewpoints and sides through the narrative... Though there are some clearly 'big evil' characters, the point-of-view characters show a whole range of shades of grey.
The plot concerns slavery and corruption, and though it doesn't shy at away from gruesome aspects and moral questions, it's still essentially a rescue quest mixed with a bit of 'coming of age' drama. This is the first in a trilogy so I can't speak to how all the plot points eventually wrap up, but it's satisfying ending for the first part and I'm keen to read more.
June 19, 2014
So: what to make of this large tome of science-fictional romp? Stephen shows both his love of the genre and that he can write a page-turner, albeit with some stutters along the way.
In Dark Service is a tale that happily mixes up historical precedence with science-fictional steampunk technology, throws in a dash of sword and sorcery Fantasy and then finishes with a flourish and a nod to the pulp fiction of Flash Gordon and the Golden Age.
It is good to read of a world that is a bit more than the usual setting, and I liked the point that one of the key features of this novel is the planet itself. The sheer size of Pellas reminded me of Dune’s Arrakis or even Jack Vance’s Big Planet in its scale. By building a world too big to traverse in your lifetime, this also creates an enormous blank canvas upon which the cast (and the writer) can play. As in the best planetary romances, Pellas is filled with different places and settings, groups and societies, all a little beyond the usual. There’s glimpses of an intriguing backstory too that suggests that Pellas has a long history. I am hoping that much of this will develop further as the tale expands.
However, being the first part of a trilogy, it does take its time setting up in this one. In the beginning, all is rather Gone with the Wind as we are introduced to the two key families in this generational tale. The Carnehans – Father (both actual and religious) Jacob Carnehan, wayward librarian son, Carter, and wife Mary introduce us to the bucolic lifestyle of Northhaven in the Kingdom of Weyland. There too are the second of our main families, the rich land-owning family of Benner Landor, his (also wayward) son, Duncan, daughter Willow and Duncan’s beau, Adella Cheyenne.
So far, so idyllistic. It doesn’t take long though before this is upturned by the arrival of Vanadian sky-pirates, who attack the village and capture many of them for slaves.
Jacob, with the finances of Benner and the help of local constable Wiggins set off in pursuit, determined to recapture the hostages. Alien gask Khow, whose son Kerge has also been captured, also goes along having an ability to somehow track his son.
However, the world of Pellas is so vast that they lose pace and the slaves end up thousands of miles away working as slaves for the Vanadians, eking a barely subsistence lifestyle as slave miners and under constant threat of death mining valuable minerals from stratovolcanic ejecta. Here the Princess Helrena and her young daughter Cassandra rule a strict slave society which the villagers find difficult to adjust to.
Much of this plot so far takes up the first two-thirds of the book. After quite a brisk start, it must be said that the middle part of the book suffers a little as we find our heroes try to travel/escape. Repetitive misery does little to project the tale forward, though we do get glimpses of a wider, more technological world – strange menhirs, Vandis, the capital city of the Vandians and their Empire.
By contrast to the idyllic Southern gentility of Northhaven, the Empire of the Vanadians seems to be based on a rather Romanesque emperor model. We discover that the sky-pirates are part of a complex and harsh society, where people’s positions of power are always under threat, rather like the Roman political system. The captive slaves are the bottom of this social structure, used to mine stratovolcanic ejecta in order to obtain rare elements otherwise unobtainable (I am resisting the urge to type ‘unobtainium’ here, though the idea’s tempting.) It is the trade in such minerals that keep the forever-quarrelling political factions of the Vandians cooperating with each other, albeit reluctantly.
Nevertheless, when things finally kick off properly, the ending is a rip-roaring blast and soon picks up the momentum that was threatened to be lost in the middle.
In Dark Places is an enjoyable book that should be applauded for its attempt to mix genres up a little into something a little different, even if, in places, the actual execution can be variable. Some readers may find its execution rather frustrating in that for every point of brilliance there is a counterbalancing clunk (see the ‘that’s what we call… a tank’ speech).
There were aspects of the novel that were a little less convincing, once I thought more about it. I felt that a world this size that has few resources to speak of, having had all its resources extracted from the rocks felt rather implausible, to my mind. Similarly, for a society that has rockets and can use antigravity, there must be easier or more efficient ways to extract resources than the methods shown here – off planet, if not on.
Some of the other events that occur also show missteps in places, all of which threatened to draw the reader out of the narrative. Of the most important, the characterisation was most variable. Some of the characterisation is rather clichéd and basic, if not bordering on the sketchy. Some of their actions are also ineffectual, if not just plain dumb. For example, I was not convinced that two of our characters would spend their time brawling with each other, even whilst under alien restraint, although movies like Flash Gordon (1980) may prove me wrong. Alternatively the character of hobo-esque Sariel is an intriguing one, and one I’d like to read more about.
There’s also the issue of the nature of coincidence, which can happen often – rather too often – for some reader’s liking. On such a large and complex world the chances of some of the events happening are mind-boggling statistically, although I’m sure the mathematically-minded Gask would appreciate it.
Nevertheless, on balance, the energy and scale of the work outweighed the dingbats. There’s a lot here to like. Despite my reservations, I enjoyed it on the whole as a rather pleasing homage to 1930’s pulp-fiction. It’s not perfect, but there’s enough here to like to continue with the series.
In Dark Service is a tale that happily mixes up historical precedence with science-fictional steampunk technology, throws in a dash of sword and sorcery Fantasy and then finishes with a flourish and a nod to the pulp fiction of Flash Gordon and the Golden Age.
It is good to read of a world that is a bit more than the usual setting, and I liked the point that one of the key features of this novel is the planet itself. The sheer size of Pellas reminded me of Dune’s Arrakis or even Jack Vance’s Big Planet in its scale. By building a world too big to traverse in your lifetime, this also creates an enormous blank canvas upon which the cast (and the writer) can play. As in the best planetary romances, Pellas is filled with different places and settings, groups and societies, all a little beyond the usual. There’s glimpses of an intriguing backstory too that suggests that Pellas has a long history. I am hoping that much of this will develop further as the tale expands.
However, being the first part of a trilogy, it does take its time setting up in this one. In the beginning, all is rather Gone with the Wind as we are introduced to the two key families in this generational tale. The Carnehans – Father (both actual and religious) Jacob Carnehan, wayward librarian son, Carter, and wife Mary introduce us to the bucolic lifestyle of Northhaven in the Kingdom of Weyland. There too are the second of our main families, the rich land-owning family of Benner Landor, his (also wayward) son, Duncan, daughter Willow and Duncan’s beau, Adella Cheyenne.
So far, so idyllistic. It doesn’t take long though before this is upturned by the arrival of Vanadian sky-pirates, who attack the village and capture many of them for slaves.
Jacob, with the finances of Benner and the help of local constable Wiggins set off in pursuit, determined to recapture the hostages. Alien gask Khow, whose son Kerge has also been captured, also goes along having an ability to somehow track his son.
However, the world of Pellas is so vast that they lose pace and the slaves end up thousands of miles away working as slaves for the Vanadians, eking a barely subsistence lifestyle as slave miners and under constant threat of death mining valuable minerals from stratovolcanic ejecta. Here the Princess Helrena and her young daughter Cassandra rule a strict slave society which the villagers find difficult to adjust to.
Much of this plot so far takes up the first two-thirds of the book. After quite a brisk start, it must be said that the middle part of the book suffers a little as we find our heroes try to travel/escape. Repetitive misery does little to project the tale forward, though we do get glimpses of a wider, more technological world – strange menhirs, Vandis, the capital city of the Vandians and their Empire.
By contrast to the idyllic Southern gentility of Northhaven, the Empire of the Vanadians seems to be based on a rather Romanesque emperor model. We discover that the sky-pirates are part of a complex and harsh society, where people’s positions of power are always under threat, rather like the Roman political system. The captive slaves are the bottom of this social structure, used to mine stratovolcanic ejecta in order to obtain rare elements otherwise unobtainable (I am resisting the urge to type ‘unobtainium’ here, though the idea’s tempting.) It is the trade in such minerals that keep the forever-quarrelling political factions of the Vandians cooperating with each other, albeit reluctantly.
Nevertheless, when things finally kick off properly, the ending is a rip-roaring blast and soon picks up the momentum that was threatened to be lost in the middle.
In Dark Places is an enjoyable book that should be applauded for its attempt to mix genres up a little into something a little different, even if, in places, the actual execution can be variable. Some readers may find its execution rather frustrating in that for every point of brilliance there is a counterbalancing clunk (see the ‘that’s what we call… a tank’ speech).
There were aspects of the novel that were a little less convincing, once I thought more about it. I felt that a world this size that has few resources to speak of, having had all its resources extracted from the rocks felt rather implausible, to my mind. Similarly, for a society that has rockets and can use antigravity, there must be easier or more efficient ways to extract resources than the methods shown here – off planet, if not on.
Some of the other events that occur also show missteps in places, all of which threatened to draw the reader out of the narrative. Of the most important, the characterisation was most variable. Some of the characterisation is rather clichéd and basic, if not bordering on the sketchy. Some of their actions are also ineffectual, if not just plain dumb. For example, I was not convinced that two of our characters would spend their time brawling with each other, even whilst under alien restraint, although movies like Flash Gordon (1980) may prove me wrong. Alternatively the character of hobo-esque Sariel is an intriguing one, and one I’d like to read more about.
There’s also the issue of the nature of coincidence, which can happen often – rather too often – for some reader’s liking. On such a large and complex world the chances of some of the events happening are mind-boggling statistically, although I’m sure the mathematically-minded Gask would appreciate it.
Nevertheless, on balance, the energy and scale of the work outweighed the dingbats. There’s a lot here to like. Despite my reservations, I enjoyed it on the whole as a rather pleasing homage to 1930’s pulp-fiction. It’s not perfect, but there’s enough here to like to continue with the series.
January 21, 2019
I like Stephen's work. I particularly enjoyed the wanton pulpiness and genre mashing adventuring of the Jackellian sequence.
But this...
It feels weirdly paced. It's way too long and not well edited. Like an early draft.
Look, he won't win a pulitzer prize but who cares. He writes good advntures with fun world building. That's enough for me. But this, it needed more time in the oven. The middle is way too long and the end feels rushed.
The book could stand to cut 150 pages easily.
I will press ahead with the sequels, but only because I committed to buying them already.
I'd certainly like to revist Jackals though.
But this...
It feels weirdly paced. It's way too long and not well edited. Like an early draft.
Look, he won't win a pulitzer prize but who cares. He writes good advntures with fun world building. That's enough for me. But this, it needed more time in the oven. The middle is way too long and the end feels rushed.
The book could stand to cut 150 pages easily.
I will press ahead with the sequels, but only because I committed to buying them already.
I'd certainly like to revist Jackals though.
October 5, 2017
Published 2014. I enjoy Stephen Hunt. This is a great start to the Far Called series.
May 20, 2016
Holy wow this book is fantastic! I was sucked in from the first page, the world building is truly incredible, there's such detail, and the imagination used to create it! It gave my own imagination a bit of a workout! It's an extensive world and I'm hoping we get to see more of it in the next book. There were so many different elements to it, there's an old worldy feel, I got a bit of a western feel in the beginning and then there's a steampunk element. I was blown away by all the different inventions, the sky ships, the sky mining and everything.
I loved how there were all these different things going on, one kingdom is very different from the more futuristic Vandians, I guess what I'm trying to explain is that there's different development in different Kingdoms/nations which was fascinating. The world is the biggest fantasy world I've read, the proportions are immense. There's such intricate and rich politics going on that match the complex plot. There's so much going on under the surface so there's lots of twists and turns and shocking surprises as more and more is revealed about how the two Kingdoms work and what's been going on.
Some people might not get on with the writing, in the beginning, there are some action packed bits, but for the most part it is a bit slow, establishing the characters and the wold and so on, and then towards the end of the book the pace really picks up and then there's plenty of action all the time. So some people may give up before the book has really got started. The other problem people may have is that the writing is quite clunky/dense, in the beginning it's a bit of a slog, but as the action and the pace picks up, the writing gets easier to read. So if you just stick with it you'll be well rewarded, but those are the couple of things that might turn some people away.
Jacob was an interesting character, on the surface he appeared to be just a pastor, but he actually had a far darker past that I'm very interested in learning more about. I loved Willow, she was beautifully sarcastic and she may just be my favourite character. Carter, well, he interested me but mostly because at one point all the action was happening in his parts, he was an okay character, he saved others, he was hell bent on an incredibly stupid plan to escape and he was totally reckless but despite his faults he did save a lot of people. Duncan I really didn't like. He was quite a pathetic character to be honest, totally blind, and at the very end of the book I'm like "great he's going to be an idiot and turn on his own people" and because of Game of Thrones I now freely, when confronted with characters like that, say "I hope you get killed off soon".
In the book you kind of see every scale on the spectrum of human behaviour. You have Adella, the manipulator who will do anything to survive. You've got characters that are all about helping others. There's such a variety of characters with such a variety of personalities and behaviours. There's those you root for and those you're just like "I really hope you get what's coming to you".
In Dark Service has a mixture of things, it's humorous, it's heart breaking, it's shocking, it's brutal, there's mystery, complex politics. There's parts that will make you so angry on the characters behalf and parts were you just want to smack some characters in the face. I enjoyed the Wild West element a hell of a lot as it's very different from the usual fantasy books. In Dark Service is a very original read, and I'm excited to see what happens next to our characters.
I loved how there were all these different things going on, one kingdom is very different from the more futuristic Vandians, I guess what I'm trying to explain is that there's different development in different Kingdoms/nations which was fascinating. The world is the biggest fantasy world I've read, the proportions are immense. There's such intricate and rich politics going on that match the complex plot. There's so much going on under the surface so there's lots of twists and turns and shocking surprises as more and more is revealed about how the two Kingdoms work and what's been going on.
Some people might not get on with the writing, in the beginning, there are some action packed bits, but for the most part it is a bit slow, establishing the characters and the wold and so on, and then towards the end of the book the pace really picks up and then there's plenty of action all the time. So some people may give up before the book has really got started. The other problem people may have is that the writing is quite clunky/dense, in the beginning it's a bit of a slog, but as the action and the pace picks up, the writing gets easier to read. So if you just stick with it you'll be well rewarded, but those are the couple of things that might turn some people away.
Jacob was an interesting character, on the surface he appeared to be just a pastor, but he actually had a far darker past that I'm very interested in learning more about. I loved Willow, she was beautifully sarcastic and she may just be my favourite character. Carter, well, he interested me but mostly because at one point all the action was happening in his parts, he was an okay character, he saved others, he was hell bent on an incredibly stupid plan to escape and he was totally reckless but despite his faults he did save a lot of people. Duncan I really didn't like. He was quite a pathetic character to be honest, totally blind, and at the very end of the book I'm like "great he's going to be an idiot and turn on his own people" and because of Game of Thrones I now freely, when confronted with characters like that, say "I hope you get killed off soon".
In the book you kind of see every scale on the spectrum of human behaviour. You have Adella, the manipulator who will do anything to survive. You've got characters that are all about helping others. There's such a variety of characters with such a variety of personalities and behaviours. There's those you root for and those you're just like "I really hope you get what's coming to you".
In Dark Service has a mixture of things, it's humorous, it's heart breaking, it's shocking, it's brutal, there's mystery, complex politics. There's parts that will make you so angry on the characters behalf and parts were you just want to smack some characters in the face. I enjoyed the Wild West element a hell of a lot as it's very different from the usual fantasy books. In Dark Service is a very original read, and I'm excited to see what happens next to our characters.
October 9, 2019
I bought this doorstep of a book in August 2015. I forget why I chose it, perhaps as holiday reading, but like many books, on my TBR, that never happened. It was on my list of 75+ books for this year, so I have finally waded through it. My thoughts? In short, probably not worth the effort unless you are a committed Steampunk fan.
Perhaps I bought it as an attempt to get the Steampunk genre more, but if so, this one failed.
But first, let's look at the positives: the setting of this book is vast and filled with many imaginative ideas. Most of those ideas are actually probably not original to this work, but the world building mixes and matches borrowed ideas from such a vast range of literature that the world of Pellas feels rich and conveys the impression of vastness that allows one area to be at the tech level of the wild west and another nation, thousands upon thousands of miles away can have anti gravity technology and other vast and almost magical levels of tech development. There are humans but also intelligent non humans on this world, and all kinds of interesting things.
the size of the world, however, is challenging to straight sci-fi fans, who will note that the immensity of the world makes it of stellar proportions, dwarfing even gas giants like the planet Jupiter. Indeed this world may not even have an end, so don't try to think of this as sci-fi at all. Instead, think of Narnia - a world so different from our own that our notions of the physics of worlds don't apply. (Nevertheless the pedant in me wonders why the book references compass points like North and South if the world is really endless and thus without poles).
In this vast landscape, a group of young people (adults, but young adults in their early 20s) are kidnapped to serve as slaves in floating mines. The father of one of them, Jacob Carnehan, who has a mysterious past, but who has lived peacably as a pastor for many years, sets out to rescue them, revealing that he is something of an action hero en route.
Despite the huge setting and the myriad of possibilities this setting offers, there is a certain predictability to the whole thing. Also it is really very very slow, and quite overwritten. Dialogue is often stilted and then includes colloquialisms that pull you out of the setting: "shut your cakehole!" Paragraphs can be huge, at least once lasting well over a whole page. We have lots of internal monologue and soul searching and other stuff that really slows things down so that after a third of the book, really you are barely into the story. It is only the last third of the book where pace picks up a bit, and leads to an action packed finale, which may or may not be worth the wait, depending on your tolerance for such things.
There are also coincidences in the book that feel contrived, and plot elements that could have been thought through some more. Some things are just too convenient, and the ideas can be strongly reminiscent of other works.
Editing was generally good, but a few howlers got through, and one wonders if that was because, given the length of this work, maybe even the editors might have skimmed it a little!
This is one for my "wish I hadn't bothered" pile, but your mileage may vary. Steampunk fans may forgive the pacing and dialogue issues for the benefit of a huge and unusual setting. Non steampunk readers will probably be better served with a different introduction to the genre.
Perhaps I bought it as an attempt to get the Steampunk genre more, but if so, this one failed.
But first, let's look at the positives: the setting of this book is vast and filled with many imaginative ideas. Most of those ideas are actually probably not original to this work, but the world building mixes and matches borrowed ideas from such a vast range of literature that the world of Pellas feels rich and conveys the impression of vastness that allows one area to be at the tech level of the wild west and another nation, thousands upon thousands of miles away can have anti gravity technology and other vast and almost magical levels of tech development. There are humans but also intelligent non humans on this world, and all kinds of interesting things.
the size of the world, however, is challenging to straight sci-fi fans, who will note that the immensity of the world makes it of stellar proportions, dwarfing even gas giants like the planet Jupiter. Indeed this world may not even have an end, so don't try to think of this as sci-fi at all. Instead, think of Narnia - a world so different from our own that our notions of the physics of worlds don't apply. (Nevertheless the pedant in me wonders why the book references compass points like North and South if the world is really endless and thus without poles).
In this vast landscape, a group of young people (adults, but young adults in their early 20s) are kidnapped to serve as slaves in floating mines. The father of one of them, Jacob Carnehan, who has a mysterious past, but who has lived peacably as a pastor for many years, sets out to rescue them, revealing that he is something of an action hero en route.
Despite the huge setting and the myriad of possibilities this setting offers, there is a certain predictability to the whole thing. Also it is really very very slow, and quite overwritten. Dialogue is often stilted and then includes colloquialisms that pull you out of the setting: "shut your cakehole!" Paragraphs can be huge, at least once lasting well over a whole page. We have lots of internal monologue and soul searching and other stuff that really slows things down so that after a third of the book, really you are barely into the story. It is only the last third of the book where pace picks up a bit, and leads to an action packed finale, which may or may not be worth the wait, depending on your tolerance for such things.
There are also coincidences in the book that feel contrived, and plot elements that could have been thought through some more. Some things are just too convenient, and the ideas can be strongly reminiscent of other works.
Editing was generally good, but a few howlers got through, and one wonders if that was because, given the length of this work, maybe even the editors might have skimmed it a little!
This is one for my "wish I hadn't bothered" pile, but your mileage may vary. Steampunk fans may forgive the pacing and dialogue issues for the benefit of a huge and unusual setting. Non steampunk readers will probably be better served with a different introduction to the genre.
October 25, 2015
When you are barely twenty pages into a book and you are thinking to yourself, 'This is really not very good', it is a bad sign. Exactly why, it is difficult to say. Clearly it is something about the writing style. Perhaps it was the dialogues between the characters which seemed to be overly contrived and stilted, seemingly striving to give voice to the different personalities but just leaving them feel like sock puppets designed to impart information to the reader. First impressions are so important in a book, and when they give a slightly odd taste in your mouth, that tends to linger through the rest of the book.
The stilted dialogue continues through the rest of the book, as does the mediocre characterisation where several of people just seem to be either very like each other, or to be stereotypical cut outs with no real depth to them, clearly identified as backdrop selfish landowner number 3, plucky older sergeant number 2, etc... There is some effort invested to make the world an additional and unique character in the story, and in many ways it is the most important one. On the one hand, Hunt presents an idea with some interest about a world of near infinite size, but which is so ancient that it has been largely stripped of all mineral wealth. On the other, this does not really make much sense in any logical way. How does the sun rise and set? Why is their tectonic movement and a molten core, when the world is not spherical? The fact the maps in the front of the book are largely useless and in some cases either incorrect or in disagreement with Hunt's writing just made me wonder why he bothered with them at all.
I am not very familiar with the whole steampunk genre, which this purportedly falls into, and I thought this might be a good taster, and based on some of the reviews this is one of the better new books in that field. If this is really true, then I can happily ignore the rest of the genre. The whole thing was very meh, and the exciting plot twists and revelations were obvious from miles away. While the action and pace picked up at the end at the whole thing became a bit more exciting (but not in any way surprising), and fortunately enough of the story was wrapped up that I feel quite happy with reading this as a singleton novel and have no particular desire to bother with the rest of this series.
Not terrible, but without anything to make it stand it out and about as original as a boy with a sword and a birthmark and an evil overlord... Yawn.
The stilted dialogue continues through the rest of the book, as does the mediocre characterisation where several of people just seem to be either very like each other, or to be stereotypical cut outs with no real depth to them, clearly identified as backdrop selfish landowner number 3, plucky older sergeant number 2, etc... There is some effort invested to make the world an additional and unique character in the story, and in many ways it is the most important one. On the one hand, Hunt presents an idea with some interest about a world of near infinite size, but which is so ancient that it has been largely stripped of all mineral wealth. On the other, this does not really make much sense in any logical way. How does the sun rise and set? Why is their tectonic movement and a molten core, when the world is not spherical? The fact the maps in the front of the book are largely useless and in some cases either incorrect or in disagreement with Hunt's writing just made me wonder why he bothered with them at all.
I am not very familiar with the whole steampunk genre, which this purportedly falls into, and I thought this might be a good taster, and based on some of the reviews this is one of the better new books in that field. If this is really true, then I can happily ignore the rest of the genre. The whole thing was very meh, and the exciting plot twists and revelations were obvious from miles away. While the action and pace picked up at the end at the whole thing became a bit more exciting (but not in any way surprising), and fortunately enough of the story was wrapped up that I feel quite happy with reading this as a singleton novel and have no particular desire to bother with the rest of this series.
Not terrible, but without anything to make it stand it out and about as original as a boy with a sword and a birthmark and an evil overlord... Yawn.
September 9, 2016
This is a hard one to write about.
In part I feel it's due to the book's cover. Although we're told not to, the books are often judged by the cover and the back blurb. In this case, both evoked in me reminiscence to Alex Marshall's "A crown for Cold Silver" (which I loved), as well as Abercrombie's "Best Served Cold". Possibly an unfair comparison, but one that's hard not to draw.
With the comparison come expectations, and Hunt struggles to fulfill them. I'll be frank: it takes the 566-page book about 200 pages to get good prior to this there's set-up and foreshadowing, and oblique hints as to the mysterious past of Jacob Carnehan, one of the 2 main protagonists, but not a whole lot happens to actually draw the reader in. The story is cliche, the pacing is quite atrocious.
And yet, almost as soon as the lingering mystery is revealed, the story ramps up. Plot develops, supernatural elements are thrown in, and a very neat dynamic is set up that'll likely go on through the series, as one of the likeable characters is made the PoV of the "bad guys", with perfectly good reasons for doing what he's doing. Hunt manages to craft a very interesting world, and his political, and philosophical dilemmas are complex and engaging. The ending is explosive, and the set-up for the sequel is comparable to that of the "Crown for Cold Silver". And yet...
And yet I cannot recommend this book. The first 150 pages are a collection of tired tropes and the veneer of awesomeness that comes from having a fantasy book revolving around airships is stripped by realization that the Ketty Jay series have done it before, but better. The pacing was simply atrocious, with way too much exposition and internal monologues. The story does change, and becomes drastically better-- but being honest, I'm hesitant to say someone ought to put up with the incredibly slow beginning. But the payoff IS solid.
In part I feel it's due to the book's cover. Although we're told not to, the books are often judged by the cover and the back blurb. In this case, both evoked in me reminiscence to Alex Marshall's "A crown for Cold Silver" (which I loved), as well as Abercrombie's "Best Served Cold". Possibly an unfair comparison, but one that's hard not to draw.
With the comparison come expectations, and Hunt struggles to fulfill them. I'll be frank: it takes the 566-page book about 200 pages to get good prior to this there's set-up and foreshadowing, and oblique hints as to the mysterious past of Jacob Carnehan, one of the 2 main protagonists, but not a whole lot happens to actually draw the reader in. The story is cliche, the pacing is quite atrocious.
And yet, almost as soon as the lingering mystery is revealed, the story ramps up. Plot develops, supernatural elements are thrown in, and a very neat dynamic is set up that'll likely go on through the series, as one of the likeable characters is made the PoV of the "bad guys", with perfectly good reasons for doing what he's doing. Hunt manages to craft a very interesting world, and his political, and philosophical dilemmas are complex and engaging. The ending is explosive, and the set-up for the sequel is comparable to that of the "Crown for Cold Silver". And yet...
And yet I cannot recommend this book. The first 150 pages are a collection of tired tropes and the veneer of awesomeness that comes from having a fantasy book revolving around airships is stripped by realization that the Ketty Jay series have done it before, but better. The pacing was simply atrocious, with way too much exposition and internal monologues. The story does change, and becomes drastically better-- but being honest, I'm hesitant to say someone ought to put up with the incredibly slow beginning. But the payoff IS solid.
September 19, 2014
After all this time I finaly finish this brick of a book. I'm not a big fan of huge book, but I have read every Stephen Hunt book to date. So I was glad to be able to read a new serie from him. I have to say I quite enjoy this new world, but at the same time I didn't fall in love with the story like his other book. The pace of this book often felt like a rollercoaster to me. It usually went from being slow to picking up and then going back in a slow format, over and over again. This rollercoaster lasted the whole book for me. Yet it still manage to keep me entertain throught all those pages, even thought at times it felt a bit like a chore.
The plot was good enough to be interresting, but it often came out bland. I didn't feel any emotion by anything that happen and no twist manage to really surprise me. As for the character, I can said that for the first time in a long time, not one character manage to connect to me. To be honest, I found most of them to be selfish, especially the father and his son. As for the women character I found them lackluster. Still I kind of love Cassandra. I the start of the book I kind enjoy the Jacob character, yet as the story progress I started to kind of loathe him. The only good thing about his character is the story connected to him was better than to the other part. Ducan is the only character that I found manage to really change and I'm curious where he's going.
I do have to said that it feels good to read a story about a father and his son as main character. Changes from what I'm reading.
Even tought it's not the best book I have read from him, I can't wait to see what the sequel will bring.
The plot was good enough to be interresting, but it often came out bland. I didn't feel any emotion by anything that happen and no twist manage to really surprise me. As for the character, I can said that for the first time in a long time, not one character manage to connect to me. To be honest, I found most of them to be selfish, especially the father and his son. As for the women character I found them lackluster. Still I kind of love Cassandra. I the start of the book I kind enjoy the Jacob character, yet as the story progress I started to kind of loathe him. The only good thing about his character is the story connected to him was better than to the other part. Ducan is the only character that I found manage to really change and I'm curious where he's going.
I do have to said that it feels good to read a story about a father and his son as main character. Changes from what I'm reading.
Even tought it's not the best book I have read from him, I can't wait to see what the sequel will bring.
September 27, 2014
I'm tempted to use words like trope, nous or meme in this review but then I'd have to look them up. Yes, it's British, although Hunt was born in Canada and does the occasional con north of the 49th. I haven't met him but I have read his steampunk novels set in the Kingdom of Jackals. This isn't on a par with any of them but it's not bad.
Arguments could be made that is one of the most cynical fantasies ever. And there are apparently two more to come in this series. It's like he sat down with his agent or Gollancz, his latest publisher, and together they drew up a list of semi-standard characters, hooks and motifs, chose a few that haven't been totally overused, at least in their minds, and then went to town on them.
Funnily enough it mostly works. Unless, that is, it was just summer and a bench off the beach suited the material. It is massive, however, and there are some massive bloopers that almost spoil the read. They aren't an abundance of the usual typos either. No, these are characters' names getting mixed up or, in no less than (at least) three cases, changing in mid book. Plus, the badge or bible in the breast pocket, which a master marksman couldn't help but hit because he always aims for the heart, was a mite much, I have to say.
Do a few Jakelians prior to picking up "In Dark Service" is my best advice. But keep in mind next time a beach read beckons.
Arguments could be made that is one of the most cynical fantasies ever. And there are apparently two more to come in this series. It's like he sat down with his agent or Gollancz, his latest publisher, and together they drew up a list of semi-standard characters, hooks and motifs, chose a few that haven't been totally overused, at least in their minds, and then went to town on them.
Funnily enough it mostly works. Unless, that is, it was just summer and a bench off the beach suited the material. It is massive, however, and there are some massive bloopers that almost spoil the read. They aren't an abundance of the usual typos either. No, these are characters' names getting mixed up or, in no less than (at least) three cases, changing in mid book. Plus, the badge or bible in the breast pocket, which a master marksman couldn't help but hit because he always aims for the heart, was a mite much, I have to say.
Do a few Jakelians prior to picking up "In Dark Service" is my best advice. But keep in mind next time a beach read beckons.
May 17, 2016
What an amazing world!
I'm new to Steampunk so this was a little out of my comfort zone however, it was thoroughly enjoyable.
I saw this book everywhere I went. With an eye catching cover and well written blurb, this was a book I was keen to read. The plot is also one of my favourites: a father with a dark and mysterious past goes on a quest against impossible odds to save his son who's captured by slavers.
The story also follows the torment that his son (Carter) goes through. Not holding back, there was allot of peril where I wondered if his time was up, but he was a smart kid, bored one day and then slave the next. This experience will change his life forever.
I really enjoyed reading the raid near the beginning of the book and then the transformation of Jacob as he turns back into the person her was in order to find his son.
The story was very well written and caught my attention throughout. I also thoroughly enjoyed the ending as I rooted for Jacob to get his son and everyone back home.
I do feel a glossary would have been beneficial, as this was the first time I've read a Steampunk novel, I did become very confused with some of the terminology.
But this is a great novel and I'm keen to read other work by this author.
I'm new to Steampunk so this was a little out of my comfort zone however, it was thoroughly enjoyable.
I saw this book everywhere I went. With an eye catching cover and well written blurb, this was a book I was keen to read. The plot is also one of my favourites: a father with a dark and mysterious past goes on a quest against impossible odds to save his son who's captured by slavers.
The story also follows the torment that his son (Carter) goes through. Not holding back, there was allot of peril where I wondered if his time was up, but he was a smart kid, bored one day and then slave the next. This experience will change his life forever.
I really enjoyed reading the raid near the beginning of the book and then the transformation of Jacob as he turns back into the person her was in order to find his son.
The story was very well written and caught my attention throughout. I also thoroughly enjoyed the ending as I rooted for Jacob to get his son and everyone back home.
I do feel a glossary would have been beneficial, as this was the first time I've read a Steampunk novel, I did become very confused with some of the terminology.
But this is a great novel and I'm keen to read other work by this author.
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
June 17, 2015Nah. Setting aside at page 58 (halfway through chapter 2) because while things are finally happening (in contrast to chapter 1, which was mostly fathers and sons whinging about each other) I am finding myself skimming the action. Partly because it's quite blocky - there was one page without paragraph breaks at all - but mostly because I just don't care about either Jacob or Carter. Which is in the end why I'm setting it down, because while the back summary promises me kidnappings, slavers, adventures towards freedom, it's going to be those two and it's probably going to be in the slightly rambly too-long style the book's had so far, and I'm not particularly interested. (I am mildly interested in Willow, but not enough to stick with the rest of these annoying blokes.)
Shame, because it's such a pretty cover.
Shame, because it's such a pretty cover.
July 10, 2015
I really enjoyed most of Stephen Hunt's Jackelian novels but wasn't so sure when I first saw this in bookshops. The steampunk world of the earlier books was a fun look at a Dickensian-Verne world, here is more straightforward fantasy. The book does start a little slowly but gradually Hunt increases the tension, as readers of the earlier books will recognise. By the time you get near to the end, Hunt has managed to bring all the threads and characters together in a satisfying climax. As this is the first in a trilogy, not all threads are finished and new ones are opened at the end, but there is a satisfying end to the book bringing one main story to an end.
I look forward to reading the next volumes.
I look forward to reading the next volumes.
January 4, 2017
It's not often that I don't finish a book, but this was truly awful. Clunky characterisation, single dimensional male characters and non-dimensional female (lack of) characters. God knows how this got published, it really didn't deserve to be.
I read about a third of it, then skipped a bit and read some more, and it didn't get any better. I didn't need to read what happened in the bit I missed - I guessed what was coming and yes, it didn't deviate. All I can say is thank goodness I didn't buy it, I can return it to the library. I might put a note inside suggesting that people don't bother borrowing it!!
I read about a third of it, then skipped a bit and read some more, and it didn't get any better. I didn't need to read what happened in the bit I missed - I guessed what was coming and yes, it didn't deviate. All I can say is thank goodness I didn't buy it, I can return it to the library. I might put a note inside suggesting that people don't bother borrowing it!!
November 25, 2014
I won this book in the Goodreads Giveaway. This first novel in the Far Called sequence is a splendidly evocative steam punk adventure. It highlights the author’s masterful skill when it comes not only to world building on an epic scale, but also in creating characters who you want to read about. I've come to the conclusion, and I’m not embarrassed to admit it, Stephen Hunt’s writing makes me blissfully happy. The raging sentimentalist who lives deep in the dark recesses of my heart adored every page and can’t wait for more. It’s as simple as that. Highly Recommended.
July 4, 2014
I won this book in First Reads...
Now when I first read the blurb I didn't realise that it would be set in the olden times and it was a new fantasy world created by Stephen Hunt. I found it hard to follow the characters and it took a while to actually get into the real story. The book is relatively huge and it did take me a good few weeks to finish. But other than that, I think that the book was written well in terms of the whole historical fantasy world of it's own. The whole book has an unusual setting and keeps you captured into the storyline.
Now when I first read the blurb I didn't realise that it would be set in the olden times and it was a new fantasy world created by Stephen Hunt. I found it hard to follow the characters and it took a while to actually get into the real story. The book is relatively huge and it did take me a good few weeks to finish. But other than that, I think that the book was written well in terms of the whole historical fantasy world of it's own. The whole book has an unusual setting and keeps you captured into the storyline.
August 16, 2016
An enjoyable science fiction/fantasy novel. Stephen Hunt combines enough classic fantasy elements (a quest, revenge, prophecy) with enough innovation to keep you interested. The book is let down by a few trite elements (a completely unbelievable love interest) and some poor dialogue, but not so much that I regretted spending the time on it. The story works to a satisfactory conclusion while leaving enough room to develop the story into another volume.
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