Heart of the Mountain (6) (Saga of the Forgotten Wa

I grabbed this as I do whenever I see a Correia for review. That is, automatically. And of course, I expected gripping conflict, intense combats, and immediate immersion.

Many long pages in, even with the aid of the prologue, I was flummoxed. All the names (Hindi) seemed to have at least four syllables, human and Greater-Than-human interactions entailed endless courtesies and ceremonial deferences. Individuals exhibited relationships, powers, and interwoven histories that had me scanning back and forth constantly to place and identify actors by name and rank. There also seemed to be at least one Deus ex Machina per page. Just like an interminable Hindi epic tale, in fact. Meh.

But then, as the threat of impending end-of-the-world conflict built, interspersed with interpersonal, cultural, and political subplots, actors began to sort out. And when actual conflict began, the formerly unseen enemy revealed as stark horrors, Correia’s command of grand strategies, segueing into heroic individual and unit combats, manifested itself. Bloody strivings, heart-rending sacrifices, majestic clashes between otherworldly presences and humanity, a harking back to a world’s human introduction, persisted for chapter after chapter of impossible-to-pause-reading.

Don’t make my mistake and try this as a stand-alone read. Buy the entire series!