Berg, Carol: Flesh and Spirit
Flesh and Spirit
Author: Carol Berg
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Pages: 408
Final Thoughts: Love it, as I knew I would. Wish it weren't 8 months until the conclusion is released!
Well I'm not sure if I've gushed much about her here, but anyone who's talked with me for more than two minutes about books and authors I love will promptly have all eight (now nine) of Carol's books highly recommended to them. So you can imagine my anticipation for this latest release.
Carol lives a little over an hour away from me, so I went to meet her at a signing a few months ago, and will be visiting again for a reading and signing at the Tattered Cover up on Colfax in three weeks. She's lovely, and is obviously fond of Valen, this book's main character - for good reason.
In this new story, Berg introduces us to a nation divided by a three-way civil war. Valen, runaway son of a prestigious family in the Pureblood magical caste, has deserted the army he was serving and, injured beyond his ability to run any further, takes refuge in a monastery. Though he's been anything but reverent for his entire life, he decides to join the holy men - at least until winter passes and traveling becomes easier. Before long, his past catches up to him and his present starts making impossible demands of him.
I'm not going to say a whole lot more about the plot, because if I do I'll just tell the whole thing and none of us wants that.
Flesh and Spirit continues all the trends I love about Carol's writing: compelling first person voice, a well-developed culture that pervades the writing without overpowering with heavy-handed world-building, religious themes running throughout, and a cohesive supporting cast. And, of course, shocking twists that I never see coming.
Yeah, when I made a point of paying attention, I found a fair share of adverbs and 'to be' verbs and all sorts of things we're allegedly not supposed to do, but it's a mark of Carol's skill and the quality of her storytelling that I only noticed when I was trying to do so.
An only slightly random thought: one of the reasons I like first person narratives is that when they are done well, the reader is every bit as surprised as the viewpoint character when the twists are revealed. The element of surprise often works much better, in my opinion.
Incidentally, you can find an excerpt of the first chapter here. Go read it! Go buy the book!
Flesh and Spirit comes highly recommended, and I'll be watching out for Breath and Bone early next year.
Book #16