Elizabeth Haydon - Rhapsody

[Banshee16]

Last book question....has anyone read the trilogy that Elizabeth Haydon wrote, with the first book being called "Rhapsody"? How did you find it?

I've been looking for a new series, and there are a few which I've been curious about lately, and this is the last of them.

Banshee

 

[takyris]

Short answer: I didn't care for it.

Longer answer: This read less like epic fantasy than gaming fantasy to me. There were way too many "____ist ____ in the world!" characters. Without going into spoilers, the main group of heroes includes TWO people who are BOTH the best warrior in the world, and the heroine just happens to be the most beautiful woman in the world, but doesn't realize it, and thinks everyone is staring at her because she's hideous, and... ugh.

I don't know if you read Fan Fiction, but this entire novel (which I finished, so that nobody could say that I didn't read it and thus have no right to an opinion) read like one Mary Sue exercise after another. I would be GREATLY shocked if this weren't based on Elizabeth Hayden's pen-and-paper game, and I personally like even my gaming fiction disguised slightly better than that.

(Also, the idea that you can adventure with somebody for several months and never see what they look like under the cloak they're wearing? Um, no.)

(Also also, there's a big shocking twist at the end, which anybody with two brain cells and a pulse will see coming for quite some time.)

This one just bugged me in a big big bad bad way.

What kind of fantasy are you looking for? What else did you like? Are you into humor, gritty, dark, epic-epic, dreamy, what? I can suggest a few series that really worked for me, and a few more that didn't work for me but might work for someone with different taste. I'd have trouble recommending Rhapsody to anybody, though.

 

[GSHamster]

Short answer: I didn't care for it.

Longer answer: This read less like epic fantasy than gaming fantasy to me. There were way too many "____ist ____ in the world!" characters. Without going into spoilers, the main group of heroes includes TWO people who are BOTH the best warrior in the world, and the heroine just happens to be the most beautiful woman in the world, but doesn't realize it, and thinks everyone is staring at her because she's hideous, and... ugh.

I don't know if you read Fan Fiction, but this entire novel (which I finished, so that nobody could say that I didn't read it and thus have no right to an opinion) read like one Mary Sue exercise after another. I would be GREATLY shocked if this weren't based on Elizabeth Hayden's pen-and-paper game, and I personally like even my gaming fiction disguised slightly better than that.

(Also, the idea that you can adventure with somebody for several months and never see what they look like under the cloak they're wearing? Um, no.)

(Also also, there's a big shocking twist at the end, which anybody with two brain cells and a pulse will see coming for quite some time.)

This one just bugged me in a big big bad bad way.

What kind of fantasy are you looking for? What else did you like? Are you into humor, gritty, dark, epic-epic, dreamy, what? I can suggest a few series that really worked for me, and a few more that didn't work for me but might work for someone with different taste. I'd have trouble recommending Rhapsody to anybody, though.

I agree with a lot of what Takyris said, yet for some reason I kind of liked Rhapsody. I'm not really sure why. There are some elements in the series that are relatively unique, and worth working through the rest of the book for.

As well, I think the first novel is the shakiest. The next couple of novels concentrate on the more interesting elements.

So it really depends on what your threshold is. These aren't the best books out there, but they have some interesting ideas and parts.

Now, if you want a series that I unreservedly recommend, check out Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files. Those are really good.

 

[Zog]

Very general Spoilers..... (more Story structure than specifics)




I enjoyed it quite a bit. But it is a very *different* novel. Especially the first one. The others follow more traditional story-telling paths, but the first one in the series is strange. A prologue, which doesn't become relevent for 80+ percent of the book, maybe even not until the second book. The first part, which introduces the characters and setting and villian, which are then left behind as the trio travels with no clear destination, nor purpose other than 'away' and 'keep moving'. This traveling part cover the middle of the book. The end, last third to fourth of the book actually setups the overall plot for the next two books. With, finally, an introduction to What-Is-Going-On and the secondary characters, places and setting which are *actually* relevent.

The main characters are three uniquely talented beings, each with their own problems and agendas, which do not always co-exist well. They make mistakes, misjudgements, and from time to time get their rears handed to them. I would not consider them 'Mary Sues' by any stretch. They are powerful and nigh supreme in their own narrow expertise, and the threat they face is to the survival of the entire world. If that fundamental story structure does not appeal, stay away. There is also, especially in book 2, some strong romance elements. And, throughout, actions and morals which could be considered 'good stupid', as in, risk life, limb and sanity to redeem the evil possesed being, instead of simply cutting a few throats. If those sort of characters and choices annoy you, stay away. Otherwise, enjoy.

 

[takyris]

I agree with a lot of what Takyris said, yet for some reason I kind of liked Rhapsody.

I'll agree with both you and another poster -- while I didn't care for it, it's definitely a matter of taste, and it's good to hear from people on both sides.

The main characters are three uniquely talented beings, each with their own problems and agendas, which do not always co-exist well. They make mistakes, misjudgements, and from time to time get their rears handed to them. I would not consider them 'Mary Sues' by any stretch. They are powerful and nigh supreme in their own narrow expertise, and the threat they face is to the survival of the entire world.

EDIT: Spoilers removed -- can somebody tell me how to slap a spoiler tag in? I tried spoiler with brackets around it, and that didn't work. And I don't want to ruin anybody's reading experience.