[LMQ]≡ Download The Other Lands Acacia Book 2 David Anthony Durham 9780385523325 Books

The Other Lands Acacia Book 2 David Anthony Durham 9780385523325 Books

Download As PDF : The Other Lands Acacia Book 2 David Anthony Durham 9780385523325 Books

The Other Lands Acacia Book 2 David Anthony Durham 9780385523325 Books

If you read Durham's first novel in the Acacia series (simply titled "Acacia"), then nothing in this book will really be a surprise to you, ranging from the plot to the way Durham does exposition. To his credit, the author does try to offer a "What Came Before" section to any potential readers who haven't read the first book, but the series is obscure enough that it's rather unlikely that a large number of readers are reading this book without reading the first in the series.

"The Other Lands" continues 9 years after where we left off in "Acacia", with Corinn Akaran in control of the Acacian Empire, and her siblings serving her while off on their own adventures. However, as Corinn is not someone to simply let a potential issue (like the relationship with the mysterious Lothun Aklun and Auldek in the Other Lands) sit there, she decides to send Dariel (her younger brother) as an ambassador along with the League (the sea-going traders and merchants who manage the horrifying trade in "Quota", namely child slaves). At that point, things begin to spiral out of control, leading to the events that will take place in the Third Book, as well as uncovering most of the mysteries surrounding the Other Lands and the backstory of the Acacian Empire.

One improvement I really liked in "The Other Lands" is that the story is significantly character-driven, to a greater degree than Acacia. The entire bad sequence of events that takes place in the book is set in motion by the stupidity and arrogance of a particular group of people, and the other characters are left to deal with the consequences. Corinn really comes into her own here, and arguably outshines both her siblings as a viewpoint character.

One issue, which also plagued "Acacia", is that at times Durham gets very heavy on the exposition on his world - and since the story takes place almost entirely from the viewpoints of different characters, the voices of those characters gets drowned out by the voice of Durham the Historian and Worldbuilder. That personally did not bother me too much (I'm a fan of World-Building in fantasy, and always eager to learn more about a fictional fantasy society), but I can easily see it being a problem for people who do not want to sit through several pages talking about why the Auldek are the way they are.

Nonetheless, it is a good sequel to "Acacia". Just as importantly, it avoids the problem that middle books usually have, of being essentially "sandwiched" between important events in a series. "The Other Lands" manages to both set up the next book in the series, as well as convey important information and developments on its own right. I recommend both it and the series to potential fantasy readers.


Tags : The Other Lands (Acacia, Book 2) [David Anthony Durham] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>“David Anthony Durham has serious chops. I can’t wait to read whatever he writes next. </b> <b>—George R. R. Martin</b> David Anthony Durham’s gripping Acacia Trilogy continues with an epic novel where loyalties are tested,David Anthony Durham,The Other Lands (Acacia, Book 2),Doubleday,0385523327,Fantasy fiction.,American Science Fiction And Fantasy,Fantasy,Fantasy - Epic,Fantasy fiction,Fiction,Fiction - Fantasy,Fiction Fantasy Epic,Fiction Fantasy General,Fiction Science Fiction General

The Other Lands Acacia Book 2 David Anthony Durham 9780385523325 Books Reviews

NOTE This review assumes you have read book one of this trilogy.

I concluded my review of the first volume in the trilogy, "The War with the Mein," this way "the ending of this book is so perfect in its way that I almost wish the author had simply left things as they were." But of course a trilogy it is, and so it goes on. And it goes on very well indeed.

Another nine years have passed by the time readers convene for "The Other Lands." Queen Corinn now rules Acacia, and her two living sibs, Mena and Dariel, are in her service. We begin with Mena fighting "foulthings" (i.e., monsters created as a result of events in the previous book), while Dariel is sent on a mission to the Other Lands of the title.

Mr. Durham avoids the midbook trap, and in a clever way. He creates suspense out of the setups. By the end, nothing's resolved; but he'll take your breath away as he gets his pieces in place. As in the first book the three sibs separate (the three surviving Acacian royals are never seen all together), and the book meanders into multiple POV's, often with mini-cliff hangers at the ends of the chapters. You'll meet a few new characters, too.

The author has an interesting approach to action scenes. Often he spends more time showing you what the characters are thinking, hinting at how things are going to turn out, and then spending far less time describing the action. Sometimes the action is shown through the eyes of someone else, too. The last few scenes, which prepare you for the events to take place in "Sacred Band," the third volume (already out) are brilliantly done, and the last chapter (i.e., the very last of the setups) comes as a perfect surprise.
Durham is one of those authors who you wait a long time for-- it would be very difficult to find something wrong with his writing. Durham's world-building skills are superlative and his descriptive powers are unique and in-depth without being overwhelming and pedantic.

For example, the topic of "The Quota," [the involuntary donation of a child at the behest of the empire, who will be shipped off to a country beyond the "known world"] was seriously starting to gross me out in the first book. I was beginning to feel like the author had just invented a topic so viscerally repulsive that the reader just HAD to pay attention. And then I realized he was actually drawing on our own history. The act of shipping unsuspecting victims off to a completely foreign land HAS been done before, in the form of American slavery. Durham does a spectacular job of depicting the life of a slave in this second volume. These slaves are sent off with the consent of their own empire (if not their immediate family) to appease the demands and avarice of a foreign power. One of the dominant threads in Durham's story is that this "Quota" is non-negotiable if the ruling family (the 4 protagonists in the book) hopes to retain power. Naturally such a draconian system is diametrically opposed to any concept of self-determination and freedom. Durham is a master at depicting the difficulties that ensue when ideology and politics collide.

It really surprises me that I find Durham's books so perfect. In general, I need lots of humor and sarcasm to get me through a couple hundred pages (Abercrombie and Martin come to mind). With Durham, the fine writing and compelling (and mysterious) story line are more than enough to keep me reading way past my bedtime. Durham isn't about humor and verbal jousting. His four main characters are fighting for their political dynasty (and frequently their lives) and their behaviour is commensurately serious and intense. That said, Durham is a master at depicting characters who are driven without seeming pompous and unconvincing.

Fantastic second (middle, I believe) book in a trilogy. Don't start reading this series if you have anything important happening in your life, these books are just too hard to put down.
If you read Durham's first novel in the Acacia series (simply titled "Acacia"), then nothing in this book will really be a surprise to you, ranging from the plot to the way Durham does exposition. To his credit, the author does try to offer a "What Came Before" section to any potential readers who haven't read the first book, but the series is obscure enough that it's rather unlikely that a large number of readers are reading this book without reading the first in the series.

"The Other Lands" continues 9 years after where we left off in "Acacia", with Corinn Akaran in control of the Acacian Empire, and her siblings serving her while off on their own adventures. However, as Corinn is not someone to simply let a potential issue (like the relationship with the mysterious Lothun Aklun and Auldek in the Other Lands) sit there, she decides to send Dariel (her younger brother) as an ambassador along with the League (the sea-going traders and merchants who manage the horrifying trade in "Quota", namely child slaves). At that point, things begin to spiral out of control, leading to the events that will take place in the Third Book, as well as uncovering most of the mysteries surrounding the Other Lands and the backstory of the Acacian Empire.

One improvement I really liked in "The Other Lands" is that the story is significantly character-driven, to a greater degree than Acacia. The entire bad sequence of events that takes place in the book is set in motion by the stupidity and arrogance of a particular group of people, and the other characters are left to deal with the consequences. Corinn really comes into her own here, and arguably outshines both her siblings as a viewpoint character.

One issue, which also plagued "Acacia", is that at times Durham gets very heavy on the exposition on his world - and since the story takes place almost entirely from the viewpoints of different characters, the voices of those characters gets drowned out by the voice of Durham the Historian and Worldbuilder. That personally did not bother me too much (I'm a fan of World-Building in fantasy, and always eager to learn more about a fictional fantasy society), but I can easily see it being a problem for people who do not want to sit through several pages talking about why the Auldek are the way they are.

Nonetheless, it is a good sequel to "Acacia". Just as importantly, it avoids the problem that middle books usually have, of being essentially "sandwiched" between important events in a series. "The Other Lands" manages to both set up the next book in the series, as well as convey important information and developments on its own right. I recommend both it and the series to potential fantasy readers.