Across the Face of the World

by Russell Kirkpatrick

Book Overview

From a tiny snowbound village, five men and women are about to embark on a journey that will change their lives -and the destiny of their world. For two thousand years, since he was cast out from Dona... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316003417
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Orbit
• Length: 701 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 1.5" x 4.1"

Customer Reviews

A great quest/adventure...with some fantasy components.

'Across the Face of the World' is the first book in a trilogy by Russell Kirkpatrick. I picked this book up in my local library while browsing for something 'fantasy' to read. The cover really intrigued me...five riders on horseback, set against a huge full moon...so I decided to try it. I must admit to some concerns after I got home and found several reviewers had given it a rather low rating. However I decided to give it a chance...with the result that I really liked this book...it had many qualities that made it an exceptionally good adventure (with a touch of fantasy thrown in). First and foremost, this is the tale of Leith and the circumstances that turn his quiet world upside down...thus beginning the grand quest (the book title is very appropriate). But unlike many of the other reviewers, I didn't find the story telling dragged out and boring. Granted, there was quiet times between 'events', however, I found these moments very interesting as they were used to develop many of the characters. And at the same time, they gave a lot of significant detail and background on the land (which is huge) and its inhabitants (of which there are many and varied). Also there are several wonderful and extremely detailed maps...very useful in following the exploits of our heroes. If only more authors would be so kind as to include maps for their world building tales I'd be very happy. In addition, there is a useful glossary at the back of the book to explain many unusual places, locales and groups etc. About the only complaint I have with the story is at campsites, where the travelers get into telling prolonged tales of the lore of the land (regarding Gods and their world building etc.). These diversions seemed to me to be less important than the main story, adding length to an already fairly long book (671 pages). However this is a minor concern when discussing this terrific, epic tale. Conclusion: The beginning of a epic and noble quest. Well written with pacing that I would describe as being close to perfect. I look forward to book II. 4 1/2 Stars. Ray Nicholson

Good Read

Fast Shipping. Great service. Book starts off slow but it picks up quickly. I will the entire series. Finished the first three books already. Thank you.

Unexpected

I picked this book up in the airport to read while waiting for my next plane. I selected it mostly for the cover, and the fact that there were many copies of it, implying that they expected to sell a lot of them. Usually I base my choices on a lot more than that, but it isn't as if an airport bookstore gives you that luxury. I have read some of the other reviews here and I do agree with the some of the reactions people have had. The characters are not as strong as I have experienced in other novels. Though I think that, while slow to come, there is promise of greater background for some of them, and more understanding of the motivation of others. I agree also that there is great great amount of detail of the world it takes place in. But, that is something I enjoy so it's a plus for me. The thing that grabbed me however, was that this book had a couple of moments where the suspense had a physical manifestation in me. I have read many books where I cannot stop turning the pages to find out what happens next. This was different. My heart started beating faster, my muscles tensed, I felt like I could not function normally until the conflict was resolved. I was very surprised by this. Only once before has a book made me feel an emotion so strongly that I have physically reacted to it, and in that case I knew the author well and knew they were capable of creating a world I truly felt I was a part of. Feeling something like that, especially unexpectedly, certainly makes me want to continue reading the series.

I was surprised to find such lukewarm reviews here

I bought this book at Borders without looking at any reviews here first. I'm glad I did. The reviews here talk about slow pacing and not a lot of character growth. I can only attest to the second one. I hope that the lack of growth is because the world is being set up. I can see through the foreshadowing that Leith will be doing the growing, as is typical of most fantasy lit. However, I think there is room for other characters to grow as well: Stella towards or away from Leith, Farr as he continues to discover himself. Thus far, we've really been seeing the opening moves of the grand chess match that is coming. There is a endgame here, but at the beginning we have to get a few across the board first. I know it's tough, once you get through the 671st page of the **first** book of the trilogy, to even contemplate looking at the interview provided at the end. But doing so provides a good deal of Kirkpatrick's thinking and ideas about storytelling. He talks about his reasons for his deliberate pacing. I guess I happen to be a fan of Romantic Literature; I tend not to mind Dickens spending pages describing a character, or Cooper taking a long wordy paragraph to describe the copse of trees, or to read a sentence with about five too many commas or semi-colons in it, as this one has. One other reviewer said that this book could have been a 300 pager. Yes absolutely it could have, but that would have, in my opinion, left it squarely near the bottom of the derivative fantasy stories, most of the Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms stuff. And don't get me wrong, I LOVE Dragonlance and the Realms, but only because they are braincandy and require little or no work. I can just be swept along. This novel requires some effort on your part. SPOILER I enjoyed the fact that Kirkpatrick was not afraid to kill off a character that I thought was going to be a series long romantic entanglement for Leith and Stella. It speaks to Kirkpatrick's storytelling that he is unafraid to let the story go where it needs to. In the end, Kirkpatrick is building a world while telling a story. At the beginning of Chris Moeller's Iron Empires Volume 1: Faith Conquers (Iron Empires), the introduction by Mike Carey says, "Beware the Map!!!" He goes on to explain that, when you see a map, "the writer is trying to pull off the hardest trick of all--not just tell a story, but to create a world to make you believe in, and care about, the whole package" I found, with effort on my part, Kirkpatrick was able to make me believe in and, more importantly, care about his story. Hope this helps you decide.

fascinating but unusual quest fantasy

In a remote small village in the Kingdom of Faltha, teenager Leith lives with his mother Indrett and his crippled brother Hal. Mahnum, his father, has not been home for over two years. To their initial pleasant surprise, Mahnum comes home only to tell his wife and two children that he just escaped form two years of imprisonment and they must travel to the capital Instruere to warn the king. He explains that neighboring Dhauria led by the alleged Undying Man infamously known as the Destroyer has begun his nefarious scheme to avenge his exile from Dona Mihst by the Most High with an invasion of Faltha. However, before they can begin their journey, warriors abduct Indrett and Mahnum before burning down their home with the two children inside. However the village chieftain Haufuth saves the lads and arranges for everyone to assume they died in the inferno. The trio meets with elderly farmer Kurr to discuss whether to rescue the parents or warn the king. Hal insists the rescue is the way to go because kidnapping a Dharia warrior to take with them to the capital is the proof they need to convince the throne. Stella a female teen joins the heroic group as they begin their quest. This is a quest book but quite different in many ways than most fantasy sagas as much of the tale occurs on the mundane plane rather than the otherworldly realm. Readers will feel they are part of the traveling team as the vivid descriptions of the geography are some of the best around although the pace is slower than most quest thrillers as Russell Kirkpatrick insures realism supersedes non stop action. Each of the prime cast members especially the teens are fully developed and show signs of maturing change during the trek. The first book in The Fire of Heaven trilogy is a fascinating opening gamut that sets the stage for the rest of the saga. Harriet Klausner