Tears of a Heart

An excellent fantasy read! The author paints pictures with his words, the descriptions of the scenery and incredible detail remind you of Rothfuss's work! I read this book in one sitting and loved every bit of it, though it did end abruptly. I hope the sequel is out soon!

Tears of a Heart by Chase Blackwood starts with Kirin, an adolescent about to go through his peoples coming of age rituals. It’s quite a slow start and seems a bit of an information dump at times but it gives you a good insight into who the main character is at the time. Kirin, is given his new name, Aeden, just before he leaves for his third and final trial and that’s the name he goes by for the rest of the book. Aeden returns to his home after completing his third trial to find that his whole life has been destroyed.

And so the story really begins. I’m not quite sure where it’s going or what the real purpose is. As far as I can tell there is no epic quest to save the world or find a lost artefact or whatever. Which actually intrigues me, I want to know what it’s all about. Who is Aeden? What’s his destiny? From things said early on in the book there are a few mysteries surrounding him that we’ve not yet had any answers to. There’s also this mysterious annalist whose point of view we’re given at times. I’m not sure where in the time line these parts take place, he seems to be looking for information about Aeden while knowing a lot more than those of us reading the book know. Nor do I know what his motives are. I’m sure we’ll find out more about him as the series progresses.

I enjoyed this book. I found it a little slow and drawn out at the start, it didn’t yank me right in and took me a while to get into it. But it’s far from the first book I’ve struggled with initially. There were also parts where it seemed to get a little bogged down in details. But the characters are likeable, believable and well fleshed out with their individual quirks and personalities. Aeden goes through a hell of a lot in a fairly short space of time and is forced to grow up quickly but still retains a lot of the same traits he has when we first meet him, his experiences don’t change him beyond all recognition. Or they haven’t so far. The description of the world and scenes and the language used is fantastic. It’s effective, generally not so much that there’s nothing left to the imagination but enough that you get a real feel for the world and for the conditions the characters find themselves in.

Once again I’ve broken my promise to myself not to start a series until all the books are written and published. I will be reading the next in this series when it’s available.

Several reviewers have commented on a similarity between this story and the work of Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Name of the Wind. While I agree that both authors have a similar method of revealing the past history of their protagonists via future characters and one could make the silly argument that Kvothe (from Rothfuss' work) and Svothe (a nation in Blackwood's world) are similar, I would generally disagree that the comparison lasts beyond those surface elements. In general, Rothfuss is a more refined writer, with a more colorful narrative and much longer books.

Having said that, let's talk about Tears of a Heart itself. Quite simply, the book was interesting, enjoyable and well worth the read. True, some criticism could be drawn on the way the story is revealed by the future character, the annalist, who is hunting information on the world's preeminent magician, as being confusing and somewhat hard to follow. I believe that perseverance through the book pays off with a moderate to medium reward and makes the ambiguity disappear enough to allow the reader's sense of gratification to come to full fruition by the end of the book. The transition from childhood barbarian to teenage monk to political figurehead of the rebellion to stone killer definitely makes for an intriguing plot line with the promise of more to come.

Ultimately a successful debut and well worth a follow up book.

Really enjoyed the story and cannot wait to see more form Chase Blackwood