| Title | : | The Barrow (The Barrow, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1616148918 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781616148911 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 587 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2014 |
To find the Sword, unearth the Barrow. To unearth the Barrow, follow the Map.
When a small crew of scoundrels, would-be heroes, deviants, and ruffians discover a map that they believe will lead them to a fabled sword buried in the barrow of a long-dead wizard, they think they've struck it rich. But their hopes are dashed when the map turns out to be cursed and then is destroyed in a magical ritual. The loss of the map leaves them dreaming of what might have been, until they rediscover the map in a most unusual and unexpected place.
Stjepan Black-Heart, suspected murderer and renegade royal cartographer; Erim, a young woman masquerading as a man; Gilgwyr, brothel owner extraordinaire; Leigh, an exiled magus under an ignominious cloud; Godewyn Red-Hand, mercenary and troublemaker; Arduin Orwain, scion of a noble family brought low by scandal; and Arduin's sister Annwyn, the beautiful cause of that scandal: together they form a cross-section of the Middle Kingdoms of the Known World, brought together by accident and dark design, on a quest that will either get them all in the history books, or get them all killed.
The Barrow (The Barrow, #1) Reviews
-
this heavy tome apparently weighs 1.7 pounds. here's how I would sum up its parts:
0.5 pound Dungeons & Dragons treasure-hunting adventure
+ 0.8 pound dense, George RR Martin-style details
+ 0.2 pound spiky, Joe Abercrombie-style snark
+ 0.2 pound extremely nasty hardcore porn
1.7 pound slab epic fantasy
if you love the so-called "grimdark" subgenre of epic fantasy, then this is probably a 4 or 5 star book for you and you should run out and buy it immediately. run, nerd, run! well I suppose dark epic fantasy appeals to more than just simple nerds like myself. everyone from ex-military chaps to stay-at-home moms appear to love this genre. the combo of sword & sorcery violence and porny graphic sex really brings people together.
I enjoyed the experience and will be reading its sequel, but the book definitely has some issues. what is not at issue is the sincerity of the author's goal: to create a dynamic, lived-in world with thousands of years of complex history and a whole glossary full of intriguing myths, legends, peoples, and places. this is a fascinating although often derivative world where countless adventures can and hopefully will be set. Smylie is a smart, lively author who knows how to craft a fun narrative - one in the form of a very rich multi-course meal. if you want creepy tomb treasure hunts, you'll get them. if you want a lot of detail in your fantasy, you will be satisfied; if you want scenes of warriors battling each other with swords and sarcasm, you will be satisfied. and hey, do you want a hot, cloistered noblewoman bathing and then stroking off her hot, evil younger brother... while she sings a tragic ballad? satisfaction guaranteed! that scene even ends in a facial. Smylie certainly knows both his fantasy and his porn traditions.
now to the flaws. I'm not going to count the constant sex and the rather juvenile nastiness of those sex scenes against the novel because they are obviously central to the author's interests. the book could have been improved in other ways. characterization is mainly okay but unfortunately the hero "Black Heart" is quite annoyingly made out to be a hard, ruthless man when what is mainly shown of him is his soft soft heart made all out of gold. a snobby, tedious knight drains the energy out of the story whenever his too-clichéd close-mindedness appears. modern terms like "rent boys" are used to distracting effect. magic is a big part of this world but there's something off about its infrequent appearance in the story and especially about how on the one hand witches are burned at the stake, and on the other hand magic is apparently taught at colleges. huh? and references to "dead eyes" and jokes about Forbidden Books really shouldn't be repeated upwards of a dozen times each. repetition does not make this heart grow fonder.
all that said, I really did have a lot of fun reading this one. this world is obviously a labor of love by the author, and I rather loved his world too.
ok, I'll close with the sexuality. as should be obvious from the porn-rote facial noted above, this is not a "sensual" fantasy novel in the vein of Kushiel's Dart. this is a dark adventure rife with droolingly explicit sex, usually made as pervy and brutal as possible. oddly enough - and I have crap gaydar so I have no clue if the author is gay - I got sort of an old school queer vibe from the sexuality. not old school like Paul Lynde-style sitcom queeniness, old school like Jean Genet. despite mainly featuring het sex, there's an ambisexuality to it all. and the occasional bit of fervent, panting longing. and a clear enjoyment in depicting demeaning sex. overall I didn't have a problem with the porniness, but then I suppose I don't have a problem reading actual porn either. it was extreme though, even for me. I would say that a climax featuring a chanting woman surrounded by ghouls being graphically pounded by an undead cock that is engorged to bursting with maggots is a bit out of my wheelhouse. yeah you just read that. -
Even though this was dirtier than a frat boys shower mat, it was a SOLID fantasy and I freaking loved it. Watch my full reaction to this book in my reading vlog!
VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/6bwr29jb93w
CHANNEL:
https://www.youtube.com/hollyheartsbooks
Personal rating: 4.5 -
7th grade in South Bend, Indiana was a good year. I felt pretty top of my game, things were easy, people seemed to love me, and me & my best friend Marc had stopped being enemies and had returned to our bromance. I had heard from my cousins that there was this evil game called "Dungeons & Dragons" that they swore they would never play because it was, I suppose, evil. since they preferred games like "tv tag" and "freeze tag" I realized that Dungeons & Dragons must actually be pretty cool and when I told Marc all about it, he agreed. after we had heard that there was a backroom in a bookstore downtown where some older guys played, we knew we had to get in on this. and so we did. that was my one game of D&D and sad to say, I quit about halfway through because I was bored by all the dice rolling and rules I didn't quite understand. but Marc loved it. at one point in the game the Dungeon Master told Marc that in the chamber that he had just entered was a goddess who was temporarily deprived of her powers and needed rescuing... and so what would Marc like to do? Marc promptly said he would like to rape that goddess. this took me a bit aback because I'm not sure I really understood what rape was in the first place. the Dungeon Master heard this, shook his head, then rolled the dice. it came up 2. and then he said something like 'Ok, you have restored her powers and she has returned to the heavens. But she has left you magical twins who will now follow you around and who you have to feed and protect for the rest of your adventure.'
so anyway, I read a blurb that said this book was like a Dungeons & Dragons adventure except with a lot of weird rapey sex. I wonder if it will be like the game Marc and I played. -
4.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum
http://bibliosanctum.blogspot.com/201...
UPDATED: International Giveaway of THE BARROW running from 2/17 to 2/24, no geographical restrictions
http://bibliosanctum.blogspot.com/201...
Before we begin, I feel I should make it known that this book is not for the faint of heart. If you know you'll feel uncomfortable with things like brutal violence, ear-bendingly foul language, and extremely graphic sex, then you may wish to reconsider having a go at this ... especially when it comes to that last one. In general, I am not the kind to be bothered by lewd and explicit acts in books, and yet there were still certainly no shortages of eyebrow raises from me with this one! Anyway, it was enough that I feel I should say something. Fair warning!
And now with that out of the way, let's get down to the reasons why this book totally rocks. If you're the kind of person who likes the combination of a good adventure story with the dark and gritty aspects of fantasy (of course, keeping in mind the caveats mentioned above) then you'll love The Barrow! Incidentally, this is exactly the kind of mix I enjoy. The fact that it was even darker than I expected was a nice surprise, though I don't know if I would call it full-out grimdark. In an interview, Mark Smylie described the book as more of an "archetypal Dungeons & Dragons adventure as run through the filter of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" ... and well, yes, actually I suppose that description would do nicely!
Furthermore, the book also takes place in the world of Mark Smylie's Artesia graphic novels. I won't deny that an emotional attachment to the setting was a factor for me, but if you are not familiar with the comics, do not fret! This is a brand new self-contained story, no previous knowledge of the world or characters required -- which is actually great for me too, since I'd only read the first volume and it was quite a while ago. However, you can still tell that writing a story within a setting that has already been established works well in the novel's favor; the world-building is phenomenally robust and very deep, with many layers to the descriptions of the people and places.
As the reader, I felt like I was transported right there -- and that is both a wonderful and terrifying experience, considering the type of world we're thrown into, one filled with dark magics, shady politics, and disreputable characters. Scoundrels and perverts lurk at every corner, and if you're really unlucky, you might even run afoul of demonic horrors and evil gods. The main plot is actually quite simple, deceptively so perhaps; on a routine tomb-robbing operation, Stjepan Black-Heart and his crew stumble upon an ancient map which details the final resting place of a long-dead wizard, who was said to have been buried with a priceless legendary sword.
Here's where the adventure narrative comes in. To find the sword, our protagonists must first gather their allies and go forth to locate this tomb. Of course, epic quests are never so easy or straightforward. But even when a curse placed on the map kills one of the essential members of the crew and ends up transcribing itself onto the skin of a young noblewoman, you think that would stop the Black-Heart? Nope! Whether it's wealth, fame, freedom, or absolution, everyone on this journey has a reason to find this fabled Barrow, which makes this story a riveting one filled with secrets and unexpected twists.
Among these colorful personalities, some of the characters are so disturbing it will make you sick to your stomach, while others are so crazy it will make you laugh; but there's definitely no accusing any of them for being boring. Out of everyone, I think I like Erim the best. A young woman masquerading as a man, Erim is Stjepan's protege, and despite her skill with the blade, in many ways she is as sheltered as her mentor is well-traveled. It's ironic that she doesn't find herself to be very interesting, because she was my favorite with her quiet introspection and fierce loyalty. That pretty much also makes her the most honorable of the lot; we're talking about some rather grim and nasty characters here, after all.
This is a book that pulls you in immediately, starting with an explosive intro that sets the tone and mood of the story quite nicely. It also contains possibly one of the most heart-pounding prologues that has ever graced the pages of a fantasy novel, and my head is still reeling from the events at the end of that chapter. However, the pacing of the novel is a bit uneven, which is probably the only quibble I have about this book. After the introduction comes a middle that slows down considerably as the characters travel towards their destination. There are frequent stops along the way, but the good news is that something interesting happens at every one of them. These encounters often added to the depth of the lore and setting, giving me more of a sense of the world's vastness.
But while it took me several days to read the first three-quarters of this book, I think I devoured the last 150 or so pages in one exhilaratingly intense sitting. Everything that happens after they find the Barrow is pure insanity. Also, I just love twists and surprises! It's a climax and conclusion that goes beyond just being an ending, because more importantly it reveals how all the themes and undercurrents of the novel come together. It speaks much about Mark Smylie's skills as a storyteller. He marks his transition to full-length novels with this incredible debut, and I'm glad to hear we will be seeing more from him following The Barrow -
The Barrow proved to be an unusual and enjoyable read. It had the familiar feel of a grimdark epic fantasy tale while also managing to feel like a straight up horror story at times.
On the surface this tale followed a disparate group of adventurers as they indulged in a bit of treasure hunting and grave robbing! Below the surface we got a glimpse of the complicated politics and religions of the Middle Kingdoms.
The characters were a well drawn and interesting bunch. I liked a few of them, but it is fair to say that most were more bad in nature than good. The majority of the adventurers had little in common and it made for interesting conflicts between the various factions. My favourites were Stjepan Black-Heart and Erim as both proved easy to root for most of the time. Pretty much all of the characters were interesting, but the crazed and evil mage Leigh was particularly memorable with his mad ramblings.
The world building was excellent. The Middle Kingdoms was an intriguing place and it felt like there was even more to come as we barely scrapped the surface of the complicated society that was full of political intrigue from the nobility at the courts to the cut throat gangs in the streets. Mark Smylie's world also had a rich history and a detailed mythology behind the various religions that were important to the world. The magic also proved to be pretty cool as we had everything from magical swords and enchanted objects to necromancy.
This was not a book without flaws. Smylie had a tendency to waffle on about the history of his world and that slowed the pace at times, but ultimately that was a fairly minor flaw. Despite having a great time with this read I'd be hesitant to recommend it to my friends without warning them that this is a dark read that is bursting with gory violence, bad language, and some pretty twisted sexual content. I'm not sure I'll ever look at a unicorn horn in the same light again after reading this! I thought the action and the humor balanced out the darker aspects of the tale and I never took any of the happenings all that seriously. The whole story felt like a weird mix of Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastard's series, The Mummy, and Hostel!
All in all this was a weird, but fun read. The ending was fairly conclusive, but also left plenty of intriguing possibilities for a sequel.
Rating: 4 stars
Audio Note: This was narrated by Michael Page who gave a fantastic performance. He seemed a perfect fit for the story. -
Well, this isn't too bad. It's going to be sort of a been there, done that got the t-shirt for some of you, it was for me.
Of late "gritty" and "dark" fantasy has become all the "rage". So the shelves are now running over with books that have covers in shades of gray, dark brown and ochre red. They often have one or more characters in worn leathers with savage looking swords and maybe some magic user types.
This is one of those and like a few other books I've picked up lately when you open the book it all but screams "I'M DARK! I'M GRITTY! I'M PERVERSE! I DEAL WITH NASTY YUCKY STUFF!" At every chance we get descriptions dirt, dung, blood (and bloody dung) and also phallic symbols. The book is full of phallic symbols. The characters wear armored codpieces with large "phalluses" (phallusi???) on the front.
Just be ready, Mark Smylie really wants you to get how dark, gritty and perverse the book is.
It's odd then that he takes sooooo looonnnggg to move from all this introduction into the actual plot and story. This is another where, by the time we got "on the quest" I was so bored it was hard to care.
Look, if you want try this. I see a lot of people like it. For me a fantasy about a quest into a Barrow to search for a long lost magic sword ought to start at a run and never slow down. This one opens with the "traditional" action scene to draw the reader in and then wanders around trying to get us familiar with the world.
So, decide for yourself. I don't think I'll be following the series. -
5/19/14 -I got a chance to interview Mark Smylie and ask him about the sexual nature of the story, his take on some of the more controversial scenes, and more. Read it at
Fantasy Review Barn
You know those prologues that are long info dumps full of information that won’t have anything to do with the story until the halfway point of the book; at which point you have inevitably forgotten the characters introduced within and therefore miss the important revelation until after you reread the fucking book completely? Don’t you hate those? Wouldn’t it be better if the prologue was a kick ass adventure in its own right; introducing the stories main characters within their natural setting and actually setting the tone for the book rather than the author wanking about how cleverly they hid important clues?
The Barrow had a prologue that grabbed me quick and held on tight, it has been a while since I was invested in a story so fast. No easing in, no foreplay what-so-ever. We meet a crew raiding some ancient ruins, get a quick rundown of a few important people, and watch everything go to hell on them. Some manage to escape, they head back to the city, and then the story actually gets its start. By the time I actually saw the words Chapter One I was in love, and everything kept moving the right way from there.
Oh this book ain’t going to be for everyone. Did you think my first paragraph of the review was a bit crude? Then turn back now, because it was nursery school talk compared to what you may read in The Barrow. Rough and creative uses of the more colorful aspects of the English language are only the beginning of the hedonism within. Sexual depravity is a major theme, sexual acts are described in heavy detail and are guaranteed to make a reader either blush or just toss the book away in disgust. But for me it fit the gritty nature of the book perfectly; men and women driven by passion, lusts, and their own agendas.
But this isn’t a cheap dark fantasy relying on shock value and sex to keep a few teenage boys interested in what lies within the pages. This is a debut that stands out for its complexity and intelligence. I have been known to accuse a book of not knowing what kind of story it wants to tell but this did something different; The Barrow knew damn well what kind of a story it was but refused to tell the reader until the end. Oh, the basics are easy enough to follow; treasure hunters look for a famed sword in dangerous places. But as we are told early on, “never get distracted by the obvious bright bauble.” I could read this one again right now; I know there are threads I want to follow from start to finish all over again.
A lot of names drop in this book, and it takes some skill to make them all stand out. Being dark fiction (and I guarantee GRIMDARK will be thrown around quite a bit) one would expect the characters to be a who’s who list of stock characters and tropes, yet this is one more thing Smylie does absolutely right. Almost no one here fits the standard grimdark archetype, yet we still get the varied cast of dubious ruffians. A man called Black Heart who can casually let someone die; yet takes great pains to ensure his crew’s families are taken care of. A young girl presenting as a man; her role in the tale defined by her deeds rather than her gender or any fear of discovery. There is an evil wizard, or is he? Guess all you want, it will come through at the end.
Best of all is that as great as this book started (which I will rave about for quite some time), it ended even better. No let down; just escalating action and twists and turns and stuff I want to go back and read all over. Everything I thought I knew was wrong, up to and including the entire purpose of the trip for almost everyone involved. As climaxes go it is one of the best I have read (well…, no never mind, not going there).
I love getting everything I hoped for in a new book.
5 stars
Review copy provided by the publisher. -
This books is full of disgusting, perverted, miscreants, who would just as soon cut you as not if you got in their way. It's full of fighting, fu..um..having vigorous sexual intercourse, and, devil-worshiping all through it. One should be ashamed to enjoy the likes of The Barrow.
So I stayed-up to finish it last night.
Wish I could go have a beer with Erim and Blackheart to see if they would include me on their next misadventure. Awesome read. Well done Mr. Smylie. You're a sick b@$+@rd, but well done. ;) -
I'm gonna end up DNF-ing this one. It could have been interesting but it's really not for me.
-
Better than I expected and better than the ratings make it seem.
http://abitterdraft.com/2014/04/the-b...
At first glance at the cover and blurb for Mark Smylie’s prose debut The Barrow, you’ll notice that something sets it apart from a significant portion of recent fantasy. There are no warring states, no fight for the throne. There is no greater evil or battle between light and dark. The Barrow, at its heart, is a treasure hunt – an adventure. Sure, it’s got fae and curses, a band of anti-heroes, and a very Dungeons and Dragons-esque feel, but didn’t feel like the kind of bland story you might expect.
Stjepan Black-Heart and his crew have found a map that will supposedly lead them to an ancient barrow, where they hope to find an equally ancient sword worth an unimaginable sum of money. Among Black-Heart’s crew are Erim, a woman disguised as a man, a very sly brothel owned by the name of Gilgwyr, the archetypal mad magician Leigh, mercenary and all-around bastard Godewyn Red-Hand, and the Orwain siblings Arduin and Annwyn, whose family’s reputation lies in ruins thanks to the latter’s scandal. The characters all fill their roles remarkably well for what they are, though several of them aren’t what they seem as is revealed by the politicking and continually unexpected twists that Smylie has created. They weren’t necessarily characters to write home about, but they fit the story.
Though the nicknames like Black-Heart and Red-Hand are pulpy and stereotypical, they’re part of an incredibly detailed world. The Barrow contains one of the most well-drawn and vivid worlds that I’ve read recently, though it wasn’t without its issues. Sometimes the story was bogged down by superfluous names. As soon as I began the prologue, names were dropped left and right – “War of the Throne Thief”, “The Sun Court”, you get the picture. Everything has a name. The bakery that a character briefly stopped at? Name. Any book the mad magician or Black-Heart consult? Name. That tree over there? You bet, it’s got a name. After finishing the prologue, I thought to myself, “Surely this book would benefit from some kind of glossary…” as I flipped to the back of the book and found just that. It was very helpful in understanding the world and its history. I think the previous wars and other historical events were important for the worldbuilding, but the names of stores the gang pass by are irrelevant and do more harm than help.
Skim through the reviews for The Barrow and you’ll see a large division between those who liked it and those who didn’t. In fact, the majority of negative reviews you’ll read come from people who were uncomfortable with the graphic detail of the (very) erotic and bizarre sex scenes. Many also share my feeling that there was a bit too much irrelevant information to digest, but the majority of said poor ratings were based on the over-the-top sex. The thing is, most of the violence and sex served a purpose. Sure, it did get pretty weird, but they weren’t tossed in the book simply for the edginess.
If you like your fantasy dark, your characters darker, and your worlds deep (dark) and full of terrors*, Mark Smylie’s debut The Barrow will have you by the teeth by the end of one of the most exciting prologues I’ve read and it will hold on all the way through the equally impressive finale. -
I didn't enjoy this much. Part of it is my fault. I used to love fantasy, but over the years that seems to have faded away. Not in any condescending "oh I only read REAL literature now" way, but my tastes have definitely changed, and it's been a good long while since I really enjoyed a fantasy novel. I still find myself jonesing for a good one every now and then, but that craving doesn't get satisfied much these days. So take that into account.
But I'm not taking all of the blame. I did have some actual problems with this book. Firstly, I was totally lost in the world, and I don't mean in a good way. Right from the get-go, I felt bombarded with long lists of names, dates, places, events, gods and goddesses, races, gangs, guilds, factions. Smylie presents the reader with a very detailed, fully formed world that has a long and complicated history, but he seems to want to throw it at you all at once. I had no way of telling what was important - things I NEEDED to know - and what was just general flavour, and the result was I absorbed none of it. To give a brief example - at one point a group of adventurers enters a new region, and Smylie describes the two major rivers of the region, their prominence compared to other rivers in the country at large, their exact length, their current names and the names past peoples gave them, and several of the settlements located on said two rivers. At some point, said band of adventurers crossed both rivers (I think?) without any trouble, and the story moved on. And there's never a break or any letup, each new page brings a flood of new information to pile on top of the old.
The second problem was that I didn't really like any of the characters. There's a mercenary woman who dresses as a man for reasons that were unexplained by the time I decided to call it quits (the 60% mark), a fairly reprehensible brothel owner who I think was meant to come across as a loveable rogue, a dashing cartographer who bears the nickname Black-Heart though he seems no worse than a dozen other characters we meet, and a noble family where all the brothers seem to want to fuck their only sister. Speaking of which, there is a lot of fucking in this book. I didn't care much about that either way, but it gets a little R Scott Bakkery at times. But hey, if you want a graphic and detailed description of a prostitute getting fucked by an evil priestess with a giant dildo made of unicorn horn this might be the book you've been waiting for.
I enjoyed the first Artesia series, the comic series that this book is a prequel too, and I think in graphic novel form a lot of the flaws I detailed above are lessened, so maybe I'll stick with those. Also, standard disclaimer, I didn't finish this so it's possible it suddenly becomes awesome in the last two fifths. I have a feeling I might have liked this more a few years ago, so if you are big into traditional adventure quest fantasy, you might want to check this out. I was mostly kinda confused and bored with it though. -
Oh this book. Where to begin? Well, I tried, I truly did. For a book that would go on endlessly about the most random and irrelevant topics then not even give a background or understanding of the characters. And they could have been an amazing set of characters if we could have been given a chance to know them, to care for them and understand them. Rather than feeling detached and confused. I can sympathize and adore the most heartless characters but I need the author to let me know who they are and the frustrating part was I wanted to! But that didn't happen.
And then the sexual content, please understand I am perfectly okay with sex in a book, BUT to have a 6 page description of how this guy blackmails other men into giving him fellatio..... no, not necessary. I get it, completely understood after the first paragraph. Some of the sex in this book was really out there (you don't even want to know what happened with the unicorn horn) It felt like the author was going for shock value with all the crazy sex scenes but it didn't work it felt contrived.
This book had such great potential. I wish it would have went in ANY direction but it was like reading in circles and I couldn't take it any longer.
I couldn't finish the book. I think this is the second book in my life I've given up on. -
A treasure hunting expedition goes horribly wrong when Stjepan Black-Heart steals from the Nameless cults. Violence and horror befalls the group in one of the most thrilling prologues I've ever read. The survivors escape with an even bigger prize than they had ever expected: a map to the Barrow, wherein lies a priceless sword. The journey to the barrow is dangerous and the barrow itself is more so, but Black-Heart and his people are willing—only, the pesky map gets cursed and is lost in the process of trying to decipher it. But when it reappears in the most unexpected of places, things really start to get dark and crazy as the anti-heroes embark on their deadly adventure.
First of all, I love the Black-Heart. Well, I love all the characters, mainly because none of them are particularly likable. Let's just say that I will be inviting none of them over for dinner. Anyway, Black-Heart I am fond of because at first, he is introduced as the dark, emotionless badass that rarely cracks a smile, but soon enough, you learn that he is actually the well-educated royal cartographer who is known well by those above and below the law. I love that the story remains entirely centred on Black-Heart and this map, even as more and more fascinating tidbits are revealed about him.
Fan of Smylie’s Artesia might be disappointed that she does not make an appearance beyond fleeting images in dreams and memories. This is the Black-Heart’s story and Smylie tells it well, without having to rely on Stejpan's sister, and expanding on the world he's already built in the stunning Artesia graphic novels.
As mentioned, this is an adventure story, complete with a fellowship in search of treasure. But Smylie makes it clear that these people are not in the least bit interested in saving the world or being heroes. They are in this for the treasure and some of them just might stab a man in the back to get it.
The Barrow does suffer from an over indulgence of tell, rather than show and often feels like a historical tour of the Known Worlds as Black-Heart and his crew make their way toward their goal. While I appreciate the wealth of knowledge and have always loved Smylie’s world, having so much within the book itself can be overwhelming. However, being a fan of Artesia, I did enjoy the mentions of deities and magical events that I was already familiar with. Smylie’s mythology is immense, with rich stories that go well beyond myth, since magic is very real and does play a significant role in The Barrow.
Technically speaking, the long sentences and paragraphs are problematic, as well as the point of view changes that occur within each chapter. However, I am very impressed with Smylie’s transition from graphic novels, where images tell most of the story, to novel format where words have to paint those pictures. I think, with lessons learned from this book and background lore already given, Smylie will be able to tighten up the writing to focus more closely on the plot.
As others have already pointed out, this book does contain a lot of sexually explicit content. Personally speaking, I’m a big girl and in my maturity, I’ve grown more comfortable with dealing with sexuality in its many forms. As a society, we have a long way to go when it comes to sexual maturity and moving beyond the oppressive Victorian sensibilities that plague us. Anyway, The Barrow does contain a lot of sex, especially within the first hundred plus pages or so, and some of it is quite perverse. One might argue that it comes off as mere titillation and I would agree that perhaps it goes on too long—but no more so than the violence or any other aspect of the story that Smylie spells out in detail as he weaves us into his world. I consider it important to the lore and, considering Smylie’s vast mythology, am not really surprised by it as such debauchery is not unheard of within the actual mythologies of the real world. Shall we take a walk through one of my favourites, Greco-Roman mythology, and see how often rape (sometimes in animal form) are attributed to Zeus? And consider, in turn, the debauchery common to the Romans in their time.
Now, all that said, I was ultimately disappointed that the female characters were most often and unsurprisingly the victims of these acts and the only woman who comes out of the story reasonably unscathed, sexually, is Erim, who is disguised as a man.
I was quite fond of Erim though. Another intriguing and completely atypical character in a book that is a dark and unique gem within the fantasy genre.
See more reviews at
The BiblioSanctum -
As soon as I saw the cover and read the synopsis, I knew that The Barrow was going to be one of my "must read next!" books. I'd been on a kind of self-imposed fantasy hiatus for a while after finishing "The Wheel of Time" and the newest of the "Song of Ice and Fire" series, along with Joe Abercrombie's books, and was waiting for the right book to pull me back into my favorite genre. And holy crap! What a good choice this was!
As for a proper review...honestly there's not a lot I can say about The Barrow that hasn't already been said by previous reviewers. The opening narrative is definitely powerful, and certainly sets the tone, if not quite the pace, for the rest of the novel. This is definitely a brutal novel, "gritty fantasy" as a Goodreads friend would say, and you may find yourself checking for bloodstains, mudstains, or other more dubious stains, as the tale unfolds. There is some humor to be found, both dark and witty, but this book mostly plays it straight and simple; hard people living in hard times. And as for the salaciousness...yes, it's there, and yes, it's pretty potent stuff. I'm hardly a prudish reader, and yet, like other reviewers, there were definitely some scenes that made me raise an eyebrow. This would have made an EXCELLENT soft-core saga back in the heydey of Cinemax's late night shows!
This is a pretty lengthy tale, but fortunately there's a myriad of characters to follow which helps move the story along. Most of the chapters follow a single perspective, switching to another perspective in the next chapter, while some chapters tend to jump to several perspectives without much warning. It's not enough to be confusing, but it does cause a bit of a break in the spell as you switch gears mentally. While some characters get pretty short shrift (I'm talking about you Leigh), others have a great share of the spotlight (Stjepan and Erim especially). Which is fortunate, as both of these characters are worth following, and are ultimately both sides of a very interesting coin. Erim is essentially a stand-in for us, the readers, as the world at large is a mystery to her, and she is learning it as she goes. Stjepan is the seasoned vet, who is basically a walking encyclopedia (read: exposition machine) who knows virtually everyone and has been virtually everywhere, but it works well with who his character is and what he does for a living.
For those of you who like a full and rich world in which to immerse yourselves, this is the book for you. With all of the various cultures, religions, kingdoms, people of interest, and world events that get described quite regularly, this is one gets pretty dense. It's all really fascinating, and helps to explain why some of the people or places are how they, but be prepared...there is a LOT of world building. It definitely helps give a "you are there" feel to the book, as everything feels very "lived in". To enhance that "you are there" feel, we do get a lot, and I mean A LOT, of travelling scenes as the characters make their way to the titular Barrow. There's a lot of ground to cover, figuratively and literally, and so our characters tend to do a lot of making camp, breaking camp, and heading to the next camp.
All said, this is epic fantasy at its meanest and horniest. If you like how the "Game of Thrones" series is handled on HBO, you'll probably really dig this book as well. I certainly hope that Mr. Smylie decides to do more novels in this same universe. It wouldn't even need the same characters, though I wouldn't mind another trek with Stjepan and Erim either. -
I just can't go on. Why torment myself with a book that I will not like more than ok anyway...
Reasons for DNFing it:
I read 200 pages, from those pages all I remember is...someone died. They thought about F**'ing, they f***ed, a LOT of erect peens, honestly I was swimming in erect peens. I read romance but here were more. Incest. Perversions and more erect peens. I guess it was meant to be all dark and gritty and yes it was but all I can think of is that damn, so many erect peens. I want a story. -
Writing 4/5
Imagination 5/5
Plot 4.5/5
Setting 5/5
Characters 4/5
Overall enjoyment 4.5/5
Summing up for experienced fantasy readers I would say that this book is a combination of Malazan Books of the Fallen by
Steven Erikson in terms of world building and
Joe Abercrombie in terms of grittiness; and, in both world building and grittiness, Mark Smylie is as good as both those huge names and goes even further with elements of provocative sexuality. This book is a major investment as it will immerse you in an unbelievably huge new world with a massive cast of characters to get to know.
The world is expertly detailed and immense. To me, this book strikes of older epic fantasy in that the setting is often more of a focus than the characters. The maps and glossary come in handy because there are so many characters and places that without a reader could become confused quickly. I thought the author did a great job of introducing everything and it was rare I needed to consult either of the former but they are there which is nice and many will rely on them. This being said, there is no lack of character building and interestingly my favorite character is Erim, who receives the least time but that is probably the reason for my fascination. She seems very complex and mysterious. Another main character who was deeply drawn was Stjepan, although I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to pronounce the name. Fortunately, most of the names and places were easy enough to remember.
The plot was multi-layered and complex which, although this was a quest type story, it felt very fresh and it was enjoyable figuring out its complexities. It caused me to think; a lot, which some readers might find difficult but I found pleasurable. The lore and history are woven tightly into the plot and there is so that it could make up its own book. I thought it was wonderfully delivered as well. Sometimes in fantasy, lore can be placed a bit awkwardly but not here. If you love lore, as do I, this book has some of the richest I have ever read. The ending was excellent and sets up for what could be an even better second book.
Sometimes I read reviews critical of some perceived philosophy in a book, an authors motives, or what they believe are the authors personal beliefs. Those reviews annoy me so I try to avoid them. Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion and people read into things in different ways but I think a review should be about what specifically a reviewer liked, what excited them, and what they didn't like rather than their interpretation of the book. I'm not interested in a reviewers abstract interpretation of a story. If you tell me what you like and what you didn't, I will use that along with the description and blurbs to decide whether to read it or not. I mention this because there is so much going on in this book that it is inevitable that some reviews are going to get into a verbose rendering of what this book is about. I loved this book for its fantastical elements, excellent story lines, and the beautiful world the author has created. I had fun reading it.
This is also a book that, because of its dark themes and adult subjects, will certainly provoke controversy and with that negative reviews based on that. If you're an adult who's prone to offense, I can say with confidence you will find something in this book to be offended about. People will complain about the violence, cussing, sex, deaths, etc. If you don't enjoy books which have the those elements on a regular basis, then save yourself the grief and time and skip this. You will be unable to objectively rate this book. This is a book for adult fantasy fans that can handle adult material and are not so easily offended. Even though this book is obviously edgy, I don't think that was its primary purpose. I got the impression the author is a lover of fantasy and wanted to create a highly unique world with realistic characters and a great plot that would be fun to read. Perhaps some of the scenes were a little over the top but that really just added to the atmosphere of this world. I was troubled at times but I enjoy reading troubling events. It provokes emotions and I learn more about myself in the process.
I hope this book gets the recognition it deserves because I rank it with
George R.R. Martin, as well as the authors I already mentioned, Steven Erickson and Joe Abercrombie, in terms of quality, grittiness, and epic world building. If you enjoy grimdark, and those 3 authors, this is a must-read book. If you love epic fantasy, and even if you're not a fan of grimdark, try this anyway for its epic scope and classic questing for a lost relic storyline. I think you will be amazed at what Mark Smylie has done here. I know I am. -
Somehow, some way, Smylie did the incredible. He made all of the book’s flaws its many incredible strengths, and that’s what makes The Barrow so wonderful. This novel is intense, and gritty, and uncomfortable, and full of blood, cursing, and sex, with characters that are both wonderful and disgusting in the same breath. It is a book with an epic, well-realized, fantastic world so beautifully done, but also just as broken and battered as the people who inhabit it. The Barrow is a book of contrasts, and it is those contrasts that make me love it so much. Flawed, yet beautiful. The Barrow will probably go on my 2014 favorites list. It hit all the right notes.
Read my full review here:
http://www.bookwormblues.net/2014/03/... -
A fantastic read! A very explicit read! Would love to get my hands on the graphics...
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This was an unexpected, excellent read.
Very few fantasy books are as explicit in the situations they describe as The Barrow. Its content is often highly sexualized, its violence rarely less than gory and brutal, the plot resolves fast often with major characters dead.
And yet for all that it doesn't rely on cheap gimmicks to deliver its thrills. The plot is robust, detailed and intricate so that each of the other elements fit right into it rather than be there to fill the pages; this isn't grimdark for its own sake, it's a well written fantasy novel with interesting, sometimes tragic characters trapped into doing what they do to the end.
There is rich world building (I'm told there are other books, albeit not written in the same style but taking place in the same setting) and although they sometimes feel a bit too much like exposition, they are distributed through the novel's pages to avoid boring the reader.
I gave this one 4.5/5. I'd gladly read more if the series is continued in the future. -
If I was being facile (moi? jamais!), I might describe The Barrow as the HBO adaptation of a D&D module -- one of those longer ones, that is, with multiple sections intended to fill a whole campaign.
The book opens with a raid on a lost temple that, essentially, is the story of the cover of the 1st Edition AD&D Player's Handbook, if everything had gone very, very badly. But Stjepan Black-Heart and the other survivors come out with a map that should lead them to the barrow of a long-dead wizard-king in search of a magic sword. What could possibly go wrong?
(If you think the answer is anything other than "pretty much everything", then you're probably reading the wrong book.)
The world is dense and rich and textured; the characters are well-drawn and flawed in interesting ways; the story is grim and violent and dark and occasionally sexy and I, for one, found it compelling and can't wait for the upcoming sequel.
(And yes, it does end on a bit of a cliffhanger ...) -
I think this is, by far, the most sexually-graphic fantasy novel I've ever read. Also, there are plenty of beheadings, blood & guts. Alright, that said, I - being nothing but a wretched human being - love this sort of vileness so I am compelled to rate "The Barrow" five disgusting & filthy stars.
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1.5* there were parts that were ok. The plot and characters just didn't interest me and the world was built around listing a lot of complicated names with no synergy. A lot of off center sex trying to cover up for the rest.
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A strong prologue and finish saved it somewhat, but unfortunately that left 3/4ths of the book to go through.
Most of the reviews highlight the sex issue (it's a bit beyond my threshold), but I kind of figured that going in. The real back-breaker for me however, was the pacing issues. After the introductions, the cast goes on a long trek stopping at various points. You'd think it'd be a great time to do some nice characterization, but you don't really understand the characters any better at the end. Instead, the dialogue seems to follow a pattern of Erim asking a question, Stjepan giving an excessively long explanation of who/where/what are related, rinse-repeat. I felt like I was reading a tour guide. This goes on for so much of the book that I'm guessing the number of name-drops (most of which are never readdressed) is well over 100.
This is set in the same realm as the author's comic series so fans might appreciate that, but for me it came off as a headache. -
Read The Barrow by Mark Smylie and not quite sure what to think of it yet. On one hand, I didn't really have fun with the book. Plot was your average dungeon crawl adventure that everyone who has ever played a pen & paper like D&D or similar even just once has experienced to some degree or seen or read enough stories and movies with the same plot.
They get a treasure map at the beginning, try to set up the crew in the next 200 pages, which also develops the world and society they find themselves in, religion, magic, upper class, lower class, history and all, and then they start their adventure. Classic stuff.
I have to mention that the worldbuilding is clunky though, too much useless information that makes it hard to remember the essential stuff. Too many names, too many people who are only mentioned once. You get a good general impression on things but I doubt most people can remember most or even any of the gods or leaders. So, bloated, could have cut a lot of fat.
Most of the characters are deeply unlikeable and really unpleasant people, there are twists you see a mile coming and then an ending that comes a bit out of nowhere, since a) unreliable narrators and b) it comes out of the left field and you don’t really have a chance of figuring that out. And least I didn’t see that coming and seeing I predicted pretty much everything else, yeah, dunno. It is also full with unnecessarily disturbing sex scenes that are only there to shock people.
Yet I did finish the book and am probably going to check out the sequel. More in the spoilers: Beware I do spoil a lot.
Spoiler (highlight to show):
What you probably heard about this book is that it is rather gritty and full of uncomfortable sex scenes. A book that is often described as mature. Well, it your baseline for mature is simply fucked up sex scenes like a demon/priestess (was not too clear on that one) using a unicorn horn as a strap-on to fuck a prostitute in front of a large crowd or when an undead corpse is pounding a woman with a dick that is infested with maggots while they are surrounded by ghouls then yeah, sure, it's mature.
Although, I admit, the deep allegorical and symbolic meanings of these acts were a bit lost on me. Rather seemed to be shock for shocks sake. As if it tried really, really hard to be gritty.
The rest of the story, the twists, are negated by the characters who were, for the vast majority, just plain unlikeable.
The book jumps with its POVs so, we see the perspective of many characters, but the problem is, I really, really wish we didn't. Okay, the roll-call:
The, for the most part, main character is Stjepan Black-Heart, whose name is both, stupid like a care bear villain and oddly unfitting. I do not know if that was intentionally ironic, that pretty much the only character who has even a shred of decency is the one who is titled Black-Heart even though pretty much every other character is way, way, waaaaaaay worse than him. His good points is that he cares at least a bit for people, as much as the situation allows to, as in, he mourns fallen comrades, respects other cultures and peoples, doesn't really discriminate, is open, friendly and polite to people, doesn't rape anyone in the book nor does anything allude to the fact that he raped people in the past (which is, unfortunately, a rarity) and he doesn't backstab people unless they backstab him first. That said, otherwise, he is rather generic, what with a dead sister and mother whom background, being well educated and smart. He is not all good or noble, since he also lies to everyone and is also willing to exploit people to get what he wants but he tries to not be a total dick about it.
Then comes Erim, a young woman who is posing as a man and my favorite character in the book. Another non rapist (2 of 3), interesting perspective in the world, decent person, but we don't really learn all that much about her except that she maybe comes from a background of abuse and that she is a pretty good swords(wo)man. Then there is the subplot with her thinking that she is perverted because of a bit of a longing towards a few sexual acts at the beginning of the book, which made me initially think she had been cursed, blessed or marked by one of the two sex goddesses or something but ultimately not.
That's about it with the likeable people, really. Other characters include an insane and evil warlock who kills innocent people for imagined slights, a man who rapes his abused and disgraced sister and who has led an extensive campaign of abuse against her, a brothel owner who extorts sexual acts by desperate people coming to him, and as said, he is the owner of a flourishing brothel in a really decadent city and society, so, yeah, rapist and human trafficker and whatnot, a group of lawful stupid knights led by a noble lawful stupid lord, who is the brother to the two siblings mentioned above (he also seems to want to fuck his own sister and is also abusive towards her albeit in a different and non-sexual way) who are all poster children as to why knighthood is such a flawed structure in the first place.
Think Kingsguard rather than the Mountain. Not people trapped by their vows like Jaime but rather people who are judgmental, oppressive and "honorable". Their one redeeming fact is that they are not rapists and how sad is that? (3 of 3 but I count that whole group as one as they are basically a single person, the lord. The other knights are interchangeable and unsurprising to exactly no one, die like flies throughout the quest.) They are still assholes and unlikeable though. Lastly, a group of rapist cutthroat mercenaries who are, well, rapist cutthroat mercenaries.
Does it come as a surprise that every single person in the latter group attempts a backstab against the group at one point or another? Did it really surprise anyone that the brothel owner was working for evil? Heck, even the book itself points out that anyone who was surprised that the evil crazy mage turned out to be an evil crazy mage is a moron.
I admit, the brothel owner was initially interesting to follow, more so than the others, simply because his actions and intrigue was interesting but that stopped pretty soon as they left the city since he stopped doing that kind of thing and just became another member of the party.
I left out the sister who was abused, who is also the sister of the noble lord-knight and is 99% of the book a victim without anything to do or say and it was quite a depressing read as one knows that there is no way, no way in hell this book ends without her getting raped at least once more or at least engages in some sort of dubious sexual action. And it doesn’t. She gets two more scenes, alongside an ending that comes out of nowhere where it turns out that she IS a witch, studied magic and sorcery in books, turns the whole ritual around and becomes some sort of demi-goddess/sorceress supreme or whatever.
All I can say is, good for her, although one is never too clear how much left is really her since we never really got to know her, just the facade she tells us she had been putting on. I just feel sorry for her maids, who all died partly because of her and partly because of that fucked up witch-hunt happy society. Never got why it was heresy when a woman attempted magic but they were happy to have a magic university in town, as magic plays a prominent role in society. Seems to me, you either tolerate magic or you don’t, but whatever, decadent and patriarchal societies are hypocritical, news at 11.
The good part is that everyone in the latter group dies, making the Erim, Black-Heart and the sister the only survivors, well, them and the mercenary. Pretty sure the sister is out of the story completely or maybe she appears in the comics, I don’t know. Could be interesting to see her do her stuff but she pretty much said she wants to remain in isolation.
So, yeah, had a lot of trouble with the book and its characters, but I still am interested in Erim and what she will do with the sword and stuff, so, I might check out the next book. That said, can’t really recommend it to anyone except if you are looking for this kind of grim dark with a cast of really unlikeable characters, with really the sole exception being Erim and there is not all that much to her except being the likeable person pretty much by default.
It’s hard to like the sister since she isn’t really much of a character. As said, 99% of the book she is a victim, with zero agency or chance of even a bit of happiness, with the threat of another rape hanging over her, then she gets apparently mindfucked by the map and controlled, and then, bam, she had been putting on an act for every scene we had with her, so, all of that was useless and we get to “know” her for all of a few pages before she fucks off at the end of the book, after having raped Black-Heart and being raped/having sex with an undead corpse (one would assume she didn’t want that or was mind-controlled or something but she did say she was putting on a show so who knows) so, yeah. Good for her having escaped that hellhole of a city and her asshole family but now she gets to chill with ghouls in a cursed barrow so, success is relative there.
Overall, it does have a happy ending, really. All the assholes save the mercenary are dead, girl is free of her family and society, Black-Heart got what he was there for (and boy, did they try to make the “’Things are never what they seem. Never get distracted by the bright bauble.’” thing into a catchphrase. So much so, you stop believing anything as there is nothing stopping to author to come back and say, this was also a trick, the truth is X ad infinitum) and Erim was alive and got a kick-ass sword out of it. Not sure where the bittersweet ending comes from.
Oh, one “twist” that I called bullshit on was that they revealed that the guy who forced his sister into oral sex at the beginning had second thoughts on the whole necromancy thing and had a change of heart on which is hard to believe, seeing that, well, he has been described as evil through and through.
So, if you don’t mind explicit and messed up sex scenes for the sake of shock value, like to explore a decadent society and follow a group made up of stupid and evil people, and excessive, hard to follow world-building with too much pointless information on the world, religion and history then yeah, check it out.
Everyone else, yeah, there is better stuff out there.
That is not to say that I can't follow villain protagonists or hate smut in books, it's just that both need to have a point and have appealing stuff besides their amoral actions. Here, the character were just props doing bad stuff, and you don't really get a feel for most of them at the end of the book beyond their initial impression.
I saw people compare this with GRRM because of grimdark but nothing could be further from the truth. There is no comparison, really. Yeah, GRRM's books also have villains, sex and rape and all, but there is a reason the Mountain and Ramsay Bolton are not POV characters while Cersei, Jaime and Theon are. There is a difference between being a villain and being a vile, psychotic piece of shit. The former are interesting to follow, for their unique perspective the latter not so much.
2.5/5
Sorry for the ramble. -
I enjoyed this story at the beginning but it got much darker towards the end. It may have taken me most of the year but I did finish this story. I confess I didn't read the last 5%.
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http://guninactone.wordpress.com/2014...
Thank you Prometheus Books and edelweis for this advance copy for review.
I just could not finish this one. I thought the premise of this fantasy sounded great. I don’t think I’m particularly prudish in my reading nor am I all that squeamish about violence. I don’t go seeking extremely violent books, nor do I read erotica, but some gore and some kinky sex aren’t going to turn me off a book.
I can say without a doubt I’m a feminist and I really don’t have the time or interest in reading misogynistic violent fantasies. So this is where The Barrow lost me and lost me early.
Erim-our young woman masquerading as a man and following Stjepan the fearless leader-is in a cave used for blood magic and sacrifice.
The statue they have found has nipples that are “two large spikes jutting out from its chest, and behind the brazier its long thin phalli emerged from its lap like a thick curved spear. Given the broadness of the idol -- it was probably twenty feet wide at its base-- the thinness of the phalli struck her as almost comical; but the bronze phalli had to be almost eight feet long, curving upward over the brazier to a sharp, barbed head.”
So naturally Erim “stared at the phallic spear. She couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to be suspended spread-eagled in the air and lower onto that evil-looking tip. Which hole would they use as their entry point? Would it feel good at first, then turn to pain?”
Really? Ick. So we go on, Erim definitely having more kinky sex thoughts and feeling ashamed of her wickedness...
But as I read on and read Erim thinking “But there were none but the Damned that would take the likes of her, so the temple priests had assured her when she was young and they had played with her in the dark.”
WTAF. So she’s basically a survivor of sexual molestation which makes her want to be impaled on an 8 foot spear for her turn ons?
The next character we follow is Gilgwyr, “brothel owner extraordinaire”. Okay, so he owns a brothel, fine, not going to turn me off a book. He does go on for pages and pages about the joy of his “freshly sucked cock”--way more than I needed, but hey, I’m a woman, maybe this is totally appropriate to the male mind. Where Gilgwyr lost me and I gave up on the Barrow was this image:
“his beautiful Palatian acrobat getting the wildest, hardest ride of her short, sweet life from a rutting, bellowing golden bull.”
And with that, I’m out.
Anyone with an opinion on this? -
Started this last night, not sure if its worth the time to read it. Felt like I was reading a book 2, especially with the way its written.
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I'm sorry...I just couldnt....it was soooo slow. Filthy and wonderful in the ways of other things, but so terribly slow...DNF, I couldn't bring myself to want to pick it back up and finish it.
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First be forewarned there be much demons & sexual escapades. Great characters driven by hidden agendas. A devious protagonist leading a band of harlots, cutthroats & Wizards to their doom or victory?
Read and you will be rewarded!
