“The Lord of the Rings: The Art of the Two Towers” by Gary Russel (Houghton Mifflin, 2003)

If you’ve already watched The Two Towers, you will not consider is surprising that the movie won the Oscar for best visual effects.  But should you be in any doubt (which is unlikely), or rather, should you wish to view the evidence again, then The Art of the Two Towers is the book for you.

The second in the series after The Art of the Fellowship of the Ring, this book takes you as close to the movie as possible, except for actually watching the movie in theaters or on DVD.  Filled with beautiful glossy, colorful photographs, paintings, and sketches, one can see how ideas like the tower of Orthanc, the different Orcs, and enemy forces, as well as characters like Gollum initially came to life.  There are many initial sketches and ideas of what they were thought to look like, and then a comparison with the final product that is featured in the movie.

It is a book that deserves to be on the shelf of any avid fan of the trilogy, as well as anyone who has an appreciation for art and color.  The Art of the Two Towers is simply a great book to own.

Originally published on April 21^st, 2003.

Originally published in the Long Beach Union.

“Wizard’s First Rule” by Terry Goodkind (Tor, 1994)

While Goodkind’s first book in his now complete 11-book Sword of Truth series begins with an eerie thorn bush that sends its thorns burrowing beneath your skin as if they were alive,  immediately grabbing the reader’s attention and interest, Wizard’s First Rule is a classic first epic fantasy novel that sets the stage for a good series.

Richard Cypher is your classic, innocent, ordinary  guy who has grown up in a simple family with a relatively simple life.  His mother died when he was younger, but his father has supported him and his brother since then.  Early on, the reader learns that his father died mysteriously, to the point where he may have been murdered.  Then he meets a woman, Kahlan, fleeing for her life from  four men who he helps her to kill.  The woman is very beautiful and Richard is immediately smitten with her.  When Kahlan meets Richard’s good old friend, Zedd, there is a strange connection between them, as if they know who and what each of them are.

It is then that the story begins to unfold.  Zedd is a powerful wizard who has been in hiding for some time.  Kahlan is what is known as a Confessor, a woman with the ability to “touch” someone and make them become obsessed with the Confessor and will do whatever they are told.  And then the decision is made by Zedd that Richard Cypher is to be the Seeker and bearer of the mighty Sword of Truth.  There is an evil man in the far east, Darken Rahl, who is taking over, killing many, and looking to control all the known world.  It is up to Richard, with the help of Kahlan and Zedd, too stop him.

From this description, Wizard’s First Rule seems like any ordinary fantasy series, where Richard is a Frodo-type or a Rand-type from Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series.  And yet there is a startling harshness to this series, it is a gruesome world, there is sex and lust, unlike that of Jordan’s or Tolkien’s worlds.  It shocks the reader, but keeps them reading, wanting to know what will happen next.

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Originally written on December 12th 2007 ©Alex C. Telander.

“A Wizard of Earthsea” by Ursula K. LeGuin (Parnassus Press, 1968)

If you call this a work of classic fantasy, meaning it’s like every other fantasy series with its magic and wizards and made-up worlds, you would be wrong.  If you call this a work of classic fantasy, meaning it’s a great piece of work that set the foundation – like Lord of the Rings­ – for a lot of other series, you would be right.

A Wizard of Earthsea is the first book in the Earthsea series and as all fantasy series should, it begins with a young wizard, Ged, who knows nothing of magic and the ways of being a wizard, other than his innate ability promising him a career as a great wizard.  First he lives with a wise mage, and learns much about the simple things in life and magic and that everything has a cost.  He soon discovers this when he performs a dark spell from a book he shouldn’t have touched.  A deadly shadow is summoned and then banished by his teacher, but Ged knows he will be facing it again.

Ged then travels to the isle of Roke where he spends years becoming a master wizard.  Upon his graduation, he faces the dark shadow once more but is unable to hold against it and flees in terror.  As a renowned wizard now, he travels around the islands, helping those less fortunate, battling dragons and other monsters.  Then once again he faces the shadow and barely survives, fleeing once more.  He returns to his old master, unsure what to do.  The wizened wizard tells him he must face the shadow and in turn face his greatest fear.  And so Ged heads out into the deep sea where none have gone before and there faces the shadow and wages a great battle, finally defeating him.  The book ends with Ged returning to land with his friend, now a true and accomplished wizard with the thousands of islands of Earthsea before him.

What makes LeGuin’s fantasy series more meaningful than most is that all the magic performed here comes at a cost, which the main character has to deal with throughout the book.  It requires time and energy, afterwards one is tired; to create illusions is much easier than to actually change or create matter.  Unlike the world of Harry Potter, here there are rules; not everyone can be a wizard.  Along with this is the magical world of Earthsea with the many islands of different peoples, many of which know little of each other.  And for a wizard to travel from one island to another is a great adventure.  The next book in the series is The Tombs of Atuan.

If you liked this review and are interested in purchasing this book, click here.

Originally written on January 21st, 2007 ©Alex C. Telander.