Review: Wit'ch Fire

Wit'ch Fire (The Banned and the Banished #1) by James Clemens - ✮✮✮.5

This is a book I really enjoyed when I was about 10 or so - so much so that I literally broke the book in half reading it so often! Recently I got a new copy, so I was able to re-read it and, hopefully, read the rest of the series too, if I can get my hands on them. This review is more spoilery than usual. You have been warned.

Cover/Blurb

This kind of complex high fantasy story is worlds away from the stuff I usually read, but my younger self loved it, and I was drawn like a moth to a flame to the fiery cover, complete with dragons and celtic twirly decoration. I feel as though the blurb (of my edition, at least) doesn't mention the characters enough to draw you in: all it talks about are the "mages", and the past, which, I think aren't as important as the characters and the present story that the book focusses on.

Characters

Because there are so many characters in this book, it's kind of hard to get to know all of them equally. I love Elena, our protagonist, because even with all the shit she goes through in basically just one day, she's still a very open and kind and imaginative character. Though some of her actions are a bit childish, she is only thirteen, and I found myself feeling very protective and fond of her by the end. It will be interesting, and perhaps bittersweet, to see her turn into the person that the 'author' describes.

I also like Er'ril - his character, having been alive for 5 centuries, is very different to Elena: he's cynical and world-weary. I'm excited to see how his relationship, as a mentor and elder-brother type figure to Elena develops.

Finally, I really like Fardale and Tol'chuk, because they're both very noble and brave characters, though in different ways. Mogweed is also intriguing as he harbours so much resentment towards his brother and it colours his worldview immensely. It's strange being inside his head, rather than Fardale's, because he's a much less sympathetic character.

This is a very long section, but I also want to mention the villains, Greshym and Rookwood, who are also extremely interesting. It's a shame that Rookwood is no longer around, because his 'origin story' was incredible! I'm sure, though, that we'll get to see more of Greshym's descent into evil in the coming books.

Ending

I actually like this ending, considering it's only the end of 1/5 books. It's certainly well-rounded and ties up a fair few things - so much so that I didn't read the sequel for like 10 years after first reading this! However, I also think it primes the reader for what's to come: Clemens even mentions the group's plans. The climax of the book is also really great, as is most of the stuff leading up to it when all the characters start to meet up. It was obvious to me that all these individual parties would eventually find one another - as was prophesied - so when it happened it was very satisfying.

Other Thoughts

I really like the author's technique of having really three books within one: first, the text is treated as an outlawed university text. Within that, there are author's notes (not the real author, but the fictional one) and within that is the story that the fictional writer is telling. It really helps to add an atmosphere and give you a sense of what this fantasy worlds is like, not just during the 'resent' story, but in the future, and, through flashbacks, the past. I really enjoy learning about history like that. (So someone explain to me why I've never gotten past the foreword to Lord of the Rings?!)

However, I'm not a fan of Clemens' use of apostrophes to make species and character names sound more fantasy. Every time I read Nee'lahn, Og're or Elv'in, I was jolted out of the story a little because I'm not used to so many apostrophes. But maybe that's just me.