Bitterwood, by James Maxey, was originally published in 2007 by Solaris Books. Its Kindle version -- which I got for free via a bargain e-book mailing list -- was released in 2013. And this book seems to have seen a few different covers over its lifespan, with this being the best of the lot:
Okay, pretty cool cover, right? Though my Kindle copy came with a decidedly less epic cover:
Not quite as exciting. In fact, I'd go so far as to call it bland, but I might cut it a tiny bit of slack due to it being self-published and the author probably not having the resources to pay a professional artist or designer to whip up a professional-grade cover. And yes, the old adage of "don't judge a book by its cover" comes into play, but still... covers are meant to catch a potential reader's eye, and this second cover just doesn't do it for me.
Bitterwood is going to be an interesting case here. It differs greatly from Revealing Eden and Hamlet's Father in that, as far as I can tell, it has not sparked massive controversy online or even been the topic of much discussion. The website ImpishIdea did a partial sporking of it back in 2009 but only got as far as Chapter 4... a sporking that seems to have gotten the attention of the author himself. Oh dear... am I opening myself up to a potential visit from the very author who's work I'm critiquing? We shall see...
Also, Bitterwood is different in that I've already done a complete read-through of it. So unlike Revealing Eden, where most of the revelations were as new to me as they were to the blog readers, I'm diving into Bitterwood for the second time here. I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum as I go.
Being less-known and less controversial than the other two books I've sporked, Bitterwood has better ratings on review sites than its predecessors -- a 3.9-star rating on Amazon and a 3.57-star rating on Goodreads. Of course, it takes a LOT to get a bad rating on either of these sites, and for all it's flaws Bitterwood isn't a TERRIBLE book. It's definitely not good, but it at least won't make your eyes bleed or drive you to hurling your Kindle across the room in a wild rage...
Also worth noting is that not only did Orson Scott Card give a favorable review of this book, stating that it was a "magnificent hero story," but author James Maxey attended Card's Literary Boot Camp while a fledgling writer. That's ominous...
The blurb for the Kindle version of the book reads thusly:
Dragons rule the world, united under their powerful dragon-king. Humans struggle to survive as slaves, pets, and prey. One man, the mysterious Bitterwood, strikes at dragons from the shadows, fighting a long, lonely war of resistance. When Bitterwood is blamed for the death of the dragon-king's son, the dragons launch a full-scale campaign to rid the world of the legendary dragon-slayer -- even if they must kill all mankind to do so.
BITTERWOOD can be read as a stand-alone novel or as the beginning a four book epic saga exploring the full war between dragons and mankind. All four books, plus a prequel short story, can be found in the omnibus BITTERWOOD: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION.
Yeah, that typo was present on Amazon too. Editors -- they're not just a good idea, they're literary law!
The ImpishIdea spork of the book seems to be of the physical copy, as they give a somewhat different blurb on their website, which I quote here:
It is a time when powerful dragons reign supreme and humans are forced to work as slaves, driven to support the kingdom of the tyrannical ruler King Albekizan.
However, there is one name whispered among the dragon that strikes fear into the very hearts and minds of those who would oppress the human race. Bitterwood. The last dragon hunter, a man who refuses to yield to the will of the dragons. A legend who is about to return, his arrow nocked and ready, his heart full of fiery vengeance...
Bitterwood plans to bring the dragons to their knees. But wil he bring the remnants of the human race down with him?
I've preserved the typo because I'm not sure if it's an error made in the printing of the book or an error on the website's part. Either way, editing, people. Do it. Seriously.
ImpishIdea also points out that the summary here is loaded with the usual stock fantasy cliches -- an evil ruler, an oppressed people, a one-man army of a hero who's humanity's last hope, a revenge plot, etc. Cliches don't necessarily render a book dead in the water, especially if something clever is done to subvert or utilize them, but in all honesty it's not looking too good for Bitterwood about now...
I take that back -- the book does do something notable partway through to try to subvert the usual bog-standard fantasy premise. But it's a twist that feels incredibly stupid to me. I'll explain further when we get there.
Buckle up, folks. And be vewwy, vewwy quiet... we're hunting dragons!
Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this book---this sounds like it's going to be interesting, for better or worse.
ReplyDeleteIt'll be interesting indeed... ;)
DeleteI know "excessive use of apostrophes in names and such" is a famous trope in fantasy, but has "excessive use of hyphens" ever been as much of a thing? Reading the Kindle version description and staring at the term "dragon-king" has me thinking like... Would any fantasy author also use "human-king" in casual usage like that? And if dragons rule, then that's just the king.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the other blurb you provide from presumably the physical copy doesn't have that "dragon-king" issue - which way does the actual book itself go? Maybe it's just an issue of whoever wrote the blurb and not the author - or maybe it is the author.
It's been a couple years since I first read this book, so I'm not sure. I guess we'll find out as we go along...
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