The Sundering

Author: Carey, Jacqueline
This series goes for the high style, flowery mythos of The Silmarillion but crossed with the more personal story of The Lord of the Rings. This is not just the usual classic epic fantasy ripping off Tolkien’s Middle Earth, featuring hard-to-pronounce names, young heroes who rise from the bowels of obscurity into world-changing prominence, magical lands and magical objects, a clutch of non-human races including dwarves, elves, dragons, and the like. Well, actually, The Sundering includes all of the above, but it’s all got a very interesting twist on the whole “let’s band together and defeat the dark lord” thing. The twist here is that Carey is writing Sauron’s Tale, not Frodo’s. This is the story from the “bad guys’” perspective, except that the bad guys are not really the classical bad guys, but have rather been propagandized as evil by the good side. It’s an interesting twist on the whole good vs. evil paradigm. The whole thing comes off as a tragic tale where the misunderstood younger brother gets the short end of the stick, and when he rises up to restore order to the world, gets cast down as a doomed villain. Carey excels at writing rich, complex characters and developing elaborate and lush landscapes. She does so here with The Sundering, creating a lovechild between Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Keshie’s Dart.

Booklists having this book

shadow

Best of the Tolkien Clones

Tolkien is considered the founding father of the modern epic fantasy. Thus, it’s no surprise that many fantasy epics give a heavy nod to Tolkien, through some of the plot... Read more

Other books by Carey, Jacqueline

shadow

Kushiel's Dart

A lot of novels on this list are either children's stories or young adult. While they make for great stories, there are some great coming of age stories that feature... Read more

Kushiel's Chosen

Fantasy-roman. Read more

Kushiel's Avatar

Fantasy-roman. Read more

Banewreaker

Fantasy. Read more

Godslayer

One thousand years after pledging himself to the dark god Satoris, Lord Tanaros works to defend the citadel of Darkhaven from a human uprising, a situation that is complicated by... Read more

The Sundering

This series goes for the high style, flowery mythos of The Silmarillion but crossed with the more personal story of The Lord of the Rings. This is not just the... Read more

Kushiel's Scion

Imriel de la Courcel's birth parents are history's most reviled traitors, but his adoptive parents, the Comtesse Phedre and the warrior-priest Joscelin, are Terre d'Ange's greatest champions. Stolen, tortured and... Read more

Kushiel's Justice

From Jacqueline Carey, New York Times bestselling author of Kushiel's Scion, comes the second adventure in the Imriel trilogy. Imriel de la Courcel's blood parents are history's most reviled traitors,... Read more

Kushiel's Mercy

Having learned a lesson about thwarting the will of the gods, Imriel and Sidonie publicly confess their affair, only to see the country boil over in turmoil. Younger generations, infatuated... Read more

Naamah's Kiss

Once there were great magicians born to the Maghuin Dhonn; the folk of the Brown Bear, the oldest tribe in Alba. But generations ago, the greatest of them all broke... Read more

Naamah's Curse

Jacqueline Carey, New York Times bestselling author of the Kushiel's Legacy series, delivers book two in her new lushly imagined trilogy featuring daughter of Alba, Moirin. NAAMAH'S CURSE Far from... Read more

Naamah's Blessing

Returning to Terre d'Ange, Moirin finds the royal family broken. Wracked by unrelenting grief at the loss of his wife, Queen Jehanne, King Daniel is unable to rule. Prince Thierry,... Read more

Kushiel's Dart

Comparisons to George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series abound when discussing Kushiel's Dart, but this novel isn't what you would think of as typical fantasy;... Read more

Miranda And Caliban

A lovely girl grows up in isolation where her father, a powerful magus, has spirited them to in order to keep them safe. We all know the tale of Prospero\'s... Read more

Kushiel's Chosen

Following hard on the heels of Kushiel's Dart, Jacqueline Carey's spectacular debut novel, comes Kushiel's Chosen, the second in the glittering and riveting Kushiel's Legacy Trilogy. Phèdre nó Delaunay has... Read more

Kushiel's Avatar

A decade of peace has passed in Terre D'Ange, the country founded by the god Elua. Since the world's most famous courtesan saved her queen from assassination, Phèdre n? Delauny... Read more

News

shadow
This site is using cookies!