Empire of the East (Bks. 1-3: The Broken Lands, The Black Mountains, and Ardneh's World)
List Price: $18.95
Price: $12.89
You Save: $6.06 (32%)
What amazes me here... are the number of excellent reviews that this trilogy has received here on amazon. One five star adulation after another. What the heck??? Were we reading the same set of novellas?
The Empire of the East has to be one of the most poorly written published work that I have ever attempted to read. I kept putting the book down, coming back here to trash it on amazon, encountered one great review after another, thought I was missing something, and finally picked up the book again. I have to say though that this is just terrrrrrible.
The story, the writing, the characters, everything feels like its written on a level so far below average that it is stunning. The author allows insane events to occur for no other reason than to hurry along a plot that seems to be pasted together as the story were written.
Basically it follows a single farm boy and his transition to greatness. The opening pages are of his parents having been destroyed by maurading soldiers. Rolf then heads out on his own, meets a magician, goes on a secret journey finds a machine, and suddenly becomes a focal point of the resistance movement. Its pretty sad how all this comes to pass. Sad as in cliched writing.
Thank god these pages move by so fast. I tried very hard to like it. But this is just nothing other than a horrible dated mess. ]
Finally got another copy
Read this book years ago, 1st book was stolen from car, wanted to re-read the book, bought another, that disappeared also.
Science fantasy, in a far future magic exist but also old technology.
Read and enjoy figuring out what the villians are.
Exciting trilogy
Empire of the East is a must for any fantasy reader. I read it many years ago, and recall that one blurb on the book says it's better than Lord of the Rings. It isn't quite that good, but it is enjoyable. Empire of the East is actually a trilogy; the first and third books are good but not great, the second (The Black Mountains)is terrific. Saberhagen is a great writer and I also suggest his Swords series.
Read these books about 15 years ago
I have to review this book mostly because of the large negative review. I read this back when I was in high school which was over 15 years ago. It was probably the most compelling fantasy story I'd ever read at that time.
I do think this was created for young adults but what the negative reviewer failed to notice is that these books were written between 1968 and 1973 which was a good time before I think "anything" became cliched. Fred saberhagen was a fantasy writer in a time when fantasy hadnt even taken root in even the alternative crowd.
For it's time I trully think this book is a masterpiece. I completely recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy along with most of the other books he's written. To this day Fred Saberhagen is the author I remember more then any other. My personal belief is that he's up there with the greats of fantasy writing.
Empire of the East
Fred Saberhagen is an icon in the world of fantasy and science fiction writing. Some of the first sci-fi I read was his work. His style has evolved since the fist book in this trilogy, the Broken Lands.
The Broken Lands tells the story of Rolf, a farm boy whose family is murdered by the Eastern Empire army that has conquered his homeland. Rolf, while searching for his missing little sister. In his journey he joins the small resistance and gets swept into the search for the Elephant, a mythical beast prophesied to help free them.
The Elephant is part of the Old World. The story revolves around the fact that the world of technology was destroyed and the world of magic arose. The Elephant is a relic of the old world that still works, a nuclear powered tank that has remained hidden in a secure bunker for thousands of years. Apparently, technology from the Old World is far advanced of what we have today.
Rolf and his allies defeat the local Satrap of the East, but in the process, they lose the Elephant and all it's power. The book ends with the resistance preparing for a larger war against the Empire.
This first book has a fast pace, but leaves a lot of the details unexplained. It is a little unbelievable, but the pacing and characters are good, so it is a pleasant read. Luckily the next two books are much better.
In the Black Mountain, the Eastern Empire's local lord is Som the Dead. He is an undead sorcerer that has been given control over the Western lands. In this book, you see just how evil the East is. It is full of political infighting and deceit.
The story is told from Rolf's point of view as well as Chup, a former Satrap of the East who was captured by the resistance in the last book. Rolf and the resistance go up against Som and his demon minion, Zapranoth. In this book you see more of the technology and get a better idea of the fall of the Old World. The characters are much better defined and written. There is plenty of action, which I like.
This story is also about redemption. Chup turns from the path of evil and defects to the Western armies. To be honest, I like Chup's character the best. Chup has an iron code of honor and a blunt honesty that is admirable. He turns out to be the hero that defeats Zapranoth.
In Ardneh's World, we meet the Emperor of the East, an immortal named John Ominor. He has command of the most powerful wizards and demons on the planet. We also meet Ardneh, the Godlike being indirectly supporting the West. This book is the ultimate confrontation between the two.
The power of the east is anchored in the might of the demon Orcus, the most powerful being in existence. The story tells of the creation of magic and demons by the Old World.
There was a great nuclear war in the past. The scientists of the Old World developed a technology against nuclear war that changed the rules of physics. This change caused advanced technology to stop working and brought into being the powers of magic. Orcus was created by a nuclear explosion that went off at the same time that the rules changed. Any act of violence that happened at that exact moment created a demon. The more violent and powerful the act, the more powerful the demon. But the rules of magic were not fixed, and have slowly been sliding back to where science works again.
Which is where Ardneh comes in. Ardneh is a self aware computer designed to reverse the change and allow science to come back into ascendancy. Ardneh is a benevolent being who stands for all that was good from the Old World. He has set his course against the Empire of the East and all the evil that supports it.
Rolf is recruited by Ardneh to assist in the final battle against Orcus and the Eastern Armies. The story ends with the rules being partially reversed and Orcus is turned back into the nuclear explosion that birthed him. But the rules did not totally reverse. They are now equal. Science and magic powers coexist in the New World.
This story is a prequel to Fred's massively successful fantasy series The Books of Swords. It tells the back story of Ardeh and Draffut that figure so much in that series.
List Price:
Price: $12.89
You Save: $6.06 (32%)
Description
The classic trilogy returned to print! In the distant future, society has crumbled. Dark forces now rule the land, keeping all humans under their oppressive thumbs. Determined to regain their freedom, a small band of plans to overthrow an army of thousands ... with the help of one incredible weapon.Customer Reviews
Im in shock that this was allowed to be publishedWhat amazes me here... are the number of excellent reviews that this trilogy has received here on amazon. One five star adulation after another. What the heck??? Were we reading the same set of novellas?
The Empire of the East has to be one of the most poorly written published work that I have ever attempted to read. I kept putting the book down, coming back here to trash it on amazon, encountered one great review after another, thought I was missing something, and finally picked up the book again. I have to say though that this is just terrrrrrible.
The story, the writing, the characters, everything feels like its written on a level so far below average that it is stunning. The author allows insane events to occur for no other reason than to hurry along a plot that seems to be pasted together as the story were written.
Basically it follows a single farm boy and his transition to greatness. The opening pages are of his parents having been destroyed by maurading soldiers. Rolf then heads out on his own, meets a magician, goes on a secret journey finds a machine, and suddenly becomes a focal point of the resistance movement. Its pretty sad how all this comes to pass. Sad as in cliched writing.
Thank god these pages move by so fast. I tried very hard to like it. But this is just nothing other than a horrible dated mess. ]
Finally got another copy
Read this book years ago, 1st book was stolen from car, wanted to re-read the book, bought another, that disappeared also.
Science fantasy, in a far future magic exist but also old technology.
Read and enjoy figuring out what the villians are.
Exciting trilogy
Empire of the East is a must for any fantasy reader. I read it many years ago, and recall that one blurb on the book says it's better than Lord of the Rings. It isn't quite that good, but it is enjoyable. Empire of the East is actually a trilogy; the first and third books are good but not great, the second (The Black Mountains)is terrific. Saberhagen is a great writer and I also suggest his Swords series.
Read these books about 15 years ago
I have to review this book mostly because of the large negative review. I read this back when I was in high school which was over 15 years ago. It was probably the most compelling fantasy story I'd ever read at that time.
I do think this was created for young adults but what the negative reviewer failed to notice is that these books were written between 1968 and 1973 which was a good time before I think "anything" became cliched. Fred saberhagen was a fantasy writer in a time when fantasy hadnt even taken root in even the alternative crowd.
For it's time I trully think this book is a masterpiece. I completely recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy along with most of the other books he's written. To this day Fred Saberhagen is the author I remember more then any other. My personal belief is that he's up there with the greats of fantasy writing.
Empire of the East
Fred Saberhagen is an icon in the world of fantasy and science fiction writing. Some of the first sci-fi I read was his work. His style has evolved since the fist book in this trilogy, the Broken Lands.
The Broken Lands tells the story of Rolf, a farm boy whose family is murdered by the Eastern Empire army that has conquered his homeland. Rolf, while searching for his missing little sister. In his journey he joins the small resistance and gets swept into the search for the Elephant, a mythical beast prophesied to help free them.
The Elephant is part of the Old World. The story revolves around the fact that the world of technology was destroyed and the world of magic arose. The Elephant is a relic of the old world that still works, a nuclear powered tank that has remained hidden in a secure bunker for thousands of years. Apparently, technology from the Old World is far advanced of what we have today.
Rolf and his allies defeat the local Satrap of the East, but in the process, they lose the Elephant and all it's power. The book ends with the resistance preparing for a larger war against the Empire.
This first book has a fast pace, but leaves a lot of the details unexplained. It is a little unbelievable, but the pacing and characters are good, so it is a pleasant read. Luckily the next two books are much better.
In the Black Mountain, the Eastern Empire's local lord is Som the Dead. He is an undead sorcerer that has been given control over the Western lands. In this book, you see just how evil the East is. It is full of political infighting and deceit.
The story is told from Rolf's point of view as well as Chup, a former Satrap of the East who was captured by the resistance in the last book. Rolf and the resistance go up against Som and his demon minion, Zapranoth. In this book you see more of the technology and get a better idea of the fall of the Old World. The characters are much better defined and written. There is plenty of action, which I like.
This story is also about redemption. Chup turns from the path of evil and defects to the Western armies. To be honest, I like Chup's character the best. Chup has an iron code of honor and a blunt honesty that is admirable. He turns out to be the hero that defeats Zapranoth.
In Ardneh's World, we meet the Emperor of the East, an immortal named John Ominor. He has command of the most powerful wizards and demons on the planet. We also meet Ardneh, the Godlike being indirectly supporting the West. This book is the ultimate confrontation between the two.
The power of the east is anchored in the might of the demon Orcus, the most powerful being in existence. The story tells of the creation of magic and demons by the Old World.
There was a great nuclear war in the past. The scientists of the Old World developed a technology against nuclear war that changed the rules of physics. This change caused advanced technology to stop working and brought into being the powers of magic. Orcus was created by a nuclear explosion that went off at the same time that the rules changed. Any act of violence that happened at that exact moment created a demon. The more violent and powerful the act, the more powerful the demon. But the rules of magic were not fixed, and have slowly been sliding back to where science works again.
Which is where Ardneh comes in. Ardneh is a self aware computer designed to reverse the change and allow science to come back into ascendancy. Ardneh is a benevolent being who stands for all that was good from the Old World. He has set his course against the Empire of the East and all the evil that supports it.
Rolf is recruited by Ardneh to assist in the final battle against Orcus and the Eastern Armies. The story ends with the rules being partially reversed and Orcus is turned back into the nuclear explosion that birthed him. But the rules did not totally reverse. They are now equal. Science and magic powers coexist in the New World.
This story is a prequel to Fred's massively successful fantasy series The Books of Swords. It tells the back story of Ardeh and Draffut that figure so much in that series.