Williams, Sean: The Hanging Mountains (Books of the Cataclysm: Three)
The Hanging Mountains: Books of the Cataclysm: Three
Writer: Sean Williams
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 474 (ARC)
Disclaimer: received ARC from Pyr Books
So let's be real: I both dreaded and looked forward to reading this book. I'm no stranger to Sean Williams's name, as he's co-wrote a handful of Star Wars books and fortunately for him, I wasn't turned off by his particular titles (sadly, there are SW titles penned by writers that I don't think I could ever stomach reading their original work). And when I saw his Cataclysm series in the Pyr catalogue, I was uber-impressed with the gorgeous covers, and the story looked interesting too. And I promptly decided to wait for the trade paperbacks.
So why did I dread reading this particular title so much? Because I was waiting on the trade paperbacks. When Pyr dropped The Hanging Mountains in my lap, I wanted to cry. I'm a completionist at heart, and I'm so anal that reading a book out of its serial order gives me hives. Okay, so maybe that's an exaggeration, but I'm very anal about reading books (and watching tv/movies) in chronological order. No joke.
So I put off this particular ARC. And then finally, I decided to make it a challenge: just how much *could* I enjoy a book that's #3 in a four-book cycle, without having read the previous two in the series? And just how well could Williams pull off such a thing?
I must say: he pulled it off beautifully. And 100 pages into this book, I promptly ordered the first two so I could read them at my convenience.
That's right, at my convenience. Not because I was confused, but because I was so hooked I wanted to read more.
I don't know about most readers, but I for one don't particularly mind picking up a fantasy or SF title and just being dropped into the world, with little to no explanation of what's going on and how things work. Usually, provided I enjoy the prose, I sit back with the knowledge that the writer will explain it eventually, and everything will be fine.
Starting The Hanging Mountains was quite the similar experience, except that I had no guarantee that the author would explain things, especially since all the explanation had been done in books one and two.
But I liked the prose. The world intrigued me. And Williams wastes little time getting the ball rolling by introducing new threats and conflicts and getting his characters into trouble. And much to my surprise, he did explain a few things along the way. The fun thing will be learning if said information was stuff he's been withholding until this book, or stuff he's glossing over for the sake of the reader who may be picking the book up out of sequence, like me.
Not to say Williams holds the reader's hand. He mentions events of the previous books with a certain amount of gloss, only going over them if its absolutely essential to the story. And that I appreciate, because I know that if I really want all the details, I can go back to books one and two.
And there's little to complain about here. No doubt, I recognized some fantasy tropes, but there was enough in here different that grabbed my attention. All the details of the world-building, of the Realms, that was fascinating. And the hints as to where the twins came from (a world similar to our own, I'm guessing) and who the main cast might be also intrigued me. Williams's use of setting painted an excellent picture, and I had no trouble finding my way through this world. I loved the different cultures of the foresters and the Panic, though I kept picturing the latter as more insectile in appearance, and so was confused by the latter descriptions. I think that's my own fault, not the writer's. Though I was curious about the foresters, who I thought claimed were half-human rather than human, and I kept wondering what else they were. Though that may have been a mis-read on my part, as I cannot find the section in the book that made me think so.
And what's interesting to me is my perception of the characters. The good guys--Skender, Chu, Sal, and Shilly--all read as young to me, yet some manner of their behavior spoke of them as older, so I had difficulty placing their ages. I think part of my problem, aside from the obvious fact I haven't read the first two books, is that I tend to read noble heros as naively innocent, and since naive innocence is something I associate with children and/or younger characters, it may just be me. At any rate, I enjoyed the relationships, particularly Chu and Skender's.
The book definitely operates as a stand-alone, though I'm not sure how many readers would want to brave reading this title before getting all the necessary background from the first two books. I will say it seems to have its own thread of story while connecting to the overall scheme from the first two books and easily leading into the fourth. But it's a good read: as far as fantasy goes, it's not so heavy that I feel like I'm clawing for air every time I stop reading (as I do with Martin or Carey), and it's not so light that I forget about it as soon as I close the book. The world-building and story feels solid, and Williams blends the right amount of familiar with strange into his fantasy to keep me interested. It's an easy series to recommend, especially to anyone who enjoys fantasy. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the first two books***, as well as the fourth.
But not just yet. Next up: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
***For anyone interested in starting the series from the beginning, here's the order and the links:
1) Books of the Cataclysm: One: The Crooked Letter
2) Books of the Cataclysm: Two: The Blood Debt