Review: The Caulbearer: Young Tierney by LeeJohn
As far as reviews go, they’re always difficult to write. There’s the need to present one’s thoughts about what you’ve read in a manner that is a) true to your experience of reading the book, b) at least a bit entertaining, and c) in your own unique voice. The most difficult thing to do? Well, that would be a) – especially when the review may turn out to be largely negative.
I’ve always tried to make my reviews as balanced as possible – after all, no novel in existence is perfect; there will always be aspects of the work that don’t hit the expected notes, that veer off the path, that make the reader blink and say either, “What? That didn’t make sense!” or “Oh, come on, that is so stereotypical it makes me feel sick.” One thing that I’ve always tried to remember is that my opinion (and it is just that, an opinion) won’t be shared by anyone else; well, it might, but not for exactly the same reasons. And as such, I shouldn’t be afraid to voice my opinions, especially when authors go to the trouble of sending either electronic copies or physical copies of their novels to me. I s’pose many people may read a certain review and think, “Hell, it’s obvious that that opinion was bought – it’s nice getting free books as bribes, huh?” and I won’t disagree with there definitely being reviewers of that ilk out there, but most of us try to be as fair and honest as possible. After all, if reviews generate purchases, then we have to be honest.
Sometimes, though, as I’m sure everyone knows, honesty can be painful, even when it’s not agreed with. So, with all this in mind, let’s get to the review.
The Caulbearer: Young Tierney is a thriller in the vein of The Da Vinci Code, a tale of an unfolding conspiracy that reveals hidden and potentially explosive facts. What is a ‘caul’, you ask? Well (and I didn’t know this at all – reading this novel is the first time I’ve heard of a ‘caul’), a caul is a covering of skin that an infant human is sometimes born with – it effectively covers the eyes, nose and mouth, and is attached to the infant’s head with loops of skin that hook around the ears. When an infant is seen to be born with a caul, doctors have to first cut incisions in the caul so that the infant can breathe, and then they proceed to remove the caul. Because it occurs so rarely, seeing a baby born with a caul is probably a frightening and inexplicable thing to see, and there seems to be quite a bit of superstition attached to it, and it is this caul around which the story revolves.
I won’t go into details (I don’t want to spoil those who’ll be reading the novel), but the novel follows a family from the time of Nostradamus all the way to our era; there is a prophecy that follows them and which certain members of the family are told about, so that the knowledge of the prophecy is never forgotten, and it is also a prophecy that groups such as the Roman Catholic Church and MI5 will do anything to either stop or find out about. Taken together, this all seems interesting and left me thinking, “Okay, this sounds cool – a pretty cool angle to write a conspiracy-thriller from,” but unfortunately the novel fails in many respects, and to be honest, I really struggled through it.
Lee may have imagined an interesting plot, but the actual writing left a lot to be desired. For example, sometimes a passage would be written in a way that confused me, or that raised questions that were never answered – ‘Within this package is my caul, Vladimir. It is the only way you can prove your identity and the only way the Brotherhood will accept you. Should you be captured along the way, it must be destroyed?’ My first question when I read this was, ‘If the caul isn’t Vladimir’s own caul, how does it prove his identity? Wouldn’t his master’s caul prove his master’s identity?’ Also, ‘the way’ is in italics – earlier in the book, ‘the way’ is in italics because it refers to something specific, but its use in this context is just plain confusing. The question mark at the end of the sentence is plainly something that slipped through during the proofing or editing, and I would have overlooked it, but it’s one of the earliest examples of similar errors throughout the novel.
Another thing that bothered me was how the plot-focus would change, moving from something that didn’t really seem important or inimical to the plot. For example, when the novel needed to focus more on the caulbearers and the reasons they had to remain hidden (and the lengths to which they went to do so), some of the focus shifted to bare-knuckle fighting; a bit too much of the focus, in my opinion. Whereas these scenes could have been used to add more characterization or more of a sense of place, they seemed to only bog down and slow down the narrative. Some things didn’t make sense only because they weren’t explained at all – such as how a family known for being good bare-knuckle fighters can gain a lot of influence and make a lot of money.
Sometimes characters acted very strangely, for example one of the characters closely connected to Young Tierney himself almost drowns, and instead of panicking and fighting, she thinks about sleeping – this would have worked if there was some kind of characteristic unique to her, or some psychological condition that led her to not panic in a situation that could lead to her death, but there was no explanation. I just can’t see someone who realizes that they might drown in the next few seconds wanting or wishing for sleep – wouldn’t there be a panic-fuelled fight for air? To breathe? It just doesn’t make sense.
There are, regrettably, many similar instances in the book and much of the time I was, honestly, incredulous.
Now I hear you asking, “Why did you carry on reading, then?” Well, the plot itself, the foundation-plot or major plot, kept me reading – it was interesting enough that I wanted to know what would happen next, and that I can only congratulate Lee for. The concept of the Caulbearer is interesting, as is the concept of a family who knows the special significance of a caul (the Tierney clan, in the novel), and also to Lee’s credit, towards the end of the book there was some very clever placing of red-herrings and an ending that I didn’t see coming at all, which definitely went a long way to helping me to decide that I would, in fact, like to read the rest of the series. I was left interested and curious enough, and that, too, I can congratulate Lee on. Yes, the book does have many flaws, but in the end the story pulled me through.
So, would I recommend that you read the book? Definitely! I did say that this review is my opinion of what I’ve read, and I’ve stated the reasons why I have the opinion I do – when you read the book, you may disagree completely; it’s one of the reasons I’ll never say ‘Don’t read this book’, because even though you may be reading this review to help you decide what to read next, the decision is ultimately yours.
I’ll give this book a strong 6 / 10, and I’m looking forward to reading the next two novels. 
To order the book, click here for Amazon US, here to order from Book Depository, and if you’re in South Africa, clisk here to order from Loot.
If you want more info on Lee and his work, head on over to the blog here, and to get a preview of the book, check this out.
Until next time,
Be EPIC!
Review: The Profession by Steven Pressfield
Even though I read this book some months ago, it’s a book that continues to impress me, and is never far from my thoughts.
I’ve only ever read Gate’s of Fire, and I was expecting basically the sme kind of read – dramatic, emotional, heartfelt, with viceral and hard-hitting battle-scenes and a deep understanding of battle itself and the warrior ethos. I didn’t get exactly what I wanted, but that wasn’t a problem at all. You see, The Profession isn’t the same kind of book, or read, at all; it is similar, yes, but different in important respects.
Where Gates of Fire is the personal (and yes, fictional) account of someone who witnessed one of the most intense (physically and emotionally) battles that has ever taken place, The Profession is the kind of book (even though it, too, is fictional) that reminds me of Mark Bowen’s Black Hawk Down. Why? Well, even though I know it’s fictional (and it takes place some years from now) it lulled me into believing that I was reading the personal account of a mercenary who had really, trully experienced everything that happens in the novel. It was as if I was reading a documentarY the likes of which we see on the History Channel – a personal, and very real account, a memoir, perhaps, of events that actually took place and included living, breathing people.
The effect of this ‘style’ of the novel is pretty damned intense – and scary, too, when taking into account the story’s implications and the author’s vision. I’m sure many readers probably shook there heads in stunned amazement many times while reading this book, as I did, thinking, ‘How the hell did it come to this? How did we let this happen?’ and the realizing, ‘Wait, none of this is true.’ And then the belated thought: ‘YET.’ Just for this accomplishment The Profession is a stand-out novel, juggling that sense of reality so well that I was convinced I was reading a true account; but this isn’t the only reason I enjoyed the book so much.
Steven brings an intense character-focus into this book, too, as he did in Gates of Fire; the main character is a likeable guy who does what he’s good at, not really for a sense of enjoyment or for material gain or social standing, but because he feels that he is exactly where he should and must be – a warrior. His is a noble and honourable and ultimately tragic profession, and he knows this, understands it deep within himself, and as such his motives are pure (soppy as that may sound) and yes, noble, too. He’s made mistakes, he’s not perfect in any way, but he understands the core of who he is and tries to remain true to that even as he is forced onto a path that causes him deep pain. I don’t know if I’m a ‘warrior’, and hopefully I’ll never be forced to find out, but I could sympathize with him, could put myself in his shoes, and experience that warrior-sense, at least for a limited time.
Another reason why this book stands out is that even though some of the technology in the book doesn’t yet exist (at least, in the forms it appears as in the novel), there is a feeling of complete and utter authenticty to it; even the reasons for the existence of many and varied mercenary companies makes sense and, I’ll dare say it, sounds almost prophetic. There’s nothing way-out-there about the tech – it is scary and terrifying and the situations and ‘history’ leading up to the events in the book (as well as the events throughout the book) seem nightmarishly plausible.
Where Gates of Fire made me cheer (even though I knew that there was going to be a slaughter at the end), The Profession is a book that builds momentum in different, and more plausible, and therefor hard-hitting, ways – I was left hoping that Steven’s vision doesn’t come true, although there already seems to be hints and portents enough that may make his vision (or at least the important, world-situation aspects of it) unavoidable.
This is the kind of book that excited me on many levels and has had me thinking about and looking at events around the world differently, and closer that I usually did. It’s a warning, but it’s also an adventure, and a sensitive vision of what warfare and being a warrior means.
8 / 10
To order your copies of The Profession, click here for Amazon US, here for Amazon UK, and for readers in South Africa, here’s the link for Exclusive Books. For more info on Steven and his work, head on over to his website here.
Until next time,
BE EPIC!
Christopher Paolini Giveaway Winner!
That’s right, it’s time to announce the winner of the set of Inheritance Cycle novels – Eragon, Eldest and Brisingr!
Don’t forget, Inheritance, the final book in the Cycle, is available right now, so get to you closest Exclusive Books and grab your copy!
Without further ado, let’s get to announcing the winner!
Remember, there were entries on the blog as well as pre-order entries in-store, and I’ll be using Random.org to draw the winner.
There were a total of 33 entries, (combining blog-entries and in-store pre-orders), and the winner is……!!!!!
Mr Van der Schyff, who pre-ordered the book in-store! Congratulations!! Your copy of Inheritance is waiting for you at Exclusive Books Kolonnade, as well as the copies of Eragon, Eldest and Brisingr that you’ve won.
We had a total of 33 entries for this giveaway and we thank each and every one of you for taking the time to take a chance; hopefully the success of this giveaway will lead to many more.
Until next time,
BE EPIC!
Review: Heaven’s Shadow by David S. Goyer and Michael Cassutt
When I first heard about Heaven’s Shadow I was extremely excited – who wouldn’t be, with a clever title like that, with a novel coming from the writer who brought us amazing new takes on Batman alongside Christopher Nolan? And more, it was Sci-Fi – a welcome break from all the Fantasy I had been reading.
Unfortunately the book didn’t live up to the hype I allowed it to gain in my mind – it’s not a terrible novel, but it is a novel that could have been so much better.
What’s wrong with it? Well, it seemed to me that I was reading a mash-up between Rendezvous with Rama, Rama II, Armageddon (the big-spectacle movie), and Apollo 13 (also the movie).
I say that because the formula seemed so similar – the first section of the book introduces the major characters, much as the major personalities were introduced in Armageddon: the introductions are pulled off well and the characters themselves are immediately interesting and entertaining (especially an astronaut who has had to raise a teenage daughter, I mean that in itself would make for an interesting novel!), but once the action starts the characters take their places a bit too nicely and fittingly; there just didn’t seem much room for surprise.
The action and storyline does a lot to save the book – but also led me to call to mind novels such as the first two Rama books and the movies I mentioned. There are some very well-done surprises in store for the reader, which I really enjoyed because I just didn’t see them coming, and where the characters go and what they go through held my attention and was actually pretty cool, but having read the Rama novels, I was able to make the connections, and then it just didn’t seem so cool anymore.
Like I said before, it wasn’t terrible, or even bad, or even mediocre – it was basically a re-treading of territory I’ve already enjoyed, and I was expecting something new and fresh and inventive. Now, having said that, I realize that there will be plenty of people who, in fact, haven’t read Arthur C. Clarke’s Rama Cycle, and you will probably enjoy this novel – forgetting the similarities between Heaven’s Shadow and the Rama Cycle, the book really is great: the characters take shape quickly and fully, the action is what you’d come to expect from Goyer (with a dash of JJ Abrams), the science was okay (and by okay I mean interesting enough that it didn’t steal the show but kept me wondering), the SF-aspect was interesting and begged many questions (especially as to where this trilogy might be heading), and the style of the writing is fast-paced and attention-holding.
I would aim this book at readers who haven’t yet read much SF – it’s light enough (in terms of subject matter and science) that it won’t break their heads and entertaining and quick enough to keep them turning the pages until they’re done; one of my friends who doesn’t read a lot of SF summed it up nicely by telling me that it wasn’t amazing or incredible but that she couldn’t put it down. I do think, though, that well-read SF-readers (people who’ve read Hamilton, Asher, Reynolds, Ballantyne, Egan, Clarke and the like) won’t be really impressed by the book – in fact, they might even agree with me when I say that Heaven’s Shadow is more Hollywood-SF than novel-SF. (Not surprising, when I remember that the trilogy has already been optioned by Warner Brothers…)
I’ll definitely be back for the next two books, though – it’s just the kind of read that will be quick, entertaining and serves as a nice break when wanting to take a break from a particular non-SF genre.
7 / 10
To order your copies of Heaven’s Shadow, click here for Amazon US, here for Amazon UK, and to order online in South Africa click here for Exclusive Books. You’ll also be able to order the book in-store – stock should be arriving any time now from the UK, brought to us thanks to Pan Macmillan SA.
Until next time,
Be EPIC!
