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Read The Burning City (2001)

The Burning City (2001)

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Rating
3.38 of 5 Votes: 4
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ISBN
0671036610 (ISBN13: 9780671036614)
Language
English
Publisher
pocket books

The Burning City (2001) - Plot & Excerpts

Wow. This book was very well written by renowned authors in the sense that all words were spelled correctly and sentences came after each other in a logical order. And there were some things even going on, but I couldn't be bothered to follow them. It's like a bunch of women talking something that seems extremely important to them, but you're absolutely baffled by the fact that they even bother to talk about the nonsense. I'm sorry, but all guys probably know the feeling. People are different ;)I think "the story didn't engage me" doesn't even begin to cover what I was feeling while listening this book. So far-far away somewhere near today's Los Angeles some people live and do their everyday stuff - and the authors actually write like that. If other authors would take some time to explain the background and perhaps go into detail why some guys were angry and attacking our protagonists, then Pournelle and Niven simply state: "Some guys were attacking and our protagonist won the encounter. It was difficult, but they found a way." WHAT? Why were they... ? Who are... ? How ... ? Come on, give me something here? That's just ridiculous storytelling, filled with anti-climaxes. Why are you even telling the boring story, if you don't really want to give anything to the reader. Perhaps that's it - the authors themselves were so bloody bored of the whole thing and they have conveyed their annoyance to the readers in such a "masterful" way that I should actually be in awe of their excellence.

This was... ok. I was a bit surprised at all the miscellaneous characters appearing and living out their own independent plotlines until I realized it's a co-authored book with Jerry Pournelle - with the standard human-interest bits chucked in. Also, was expecting a Warlock book - so a let-down. It's in the Warlock universe, but doesn't have him in it. Explains a bit about his backstory, though. Overall, like Ringworld Throne - hard to identify with and follow, but a couple of cool concepts and plot ideas - and the epilogue gives a fascinating look into how these were born and grew in the author's mind. That page alone was worth an extra star.

What do You think about The Burning City (2001)?

Copy of my Launchpad review from 2001:Niven and Pournelle have taken pre-Columbian evidence and legend and woven it into an enthralling fantasy.The plot revolves around Whandall; a member of an ethnic grouping called Lordkin. Three groups live in the city of the title: the Lordkin, who are socially criminal; they exist by stealing what they need, and pass the days in family and gang politics; the kinless, who work hard and build, only to have their possessions 'gathered' by the Lordkin; finally, the Lords, who live in a walled enclave, with riches beyond a Lordkin's dreams.Every several years, the Lordkin are consumed by group madness, and commit mass acts of arson; this is seen as possession by their god.The book is split into several sections detailing Whandall’s childhood in the city, his departure, his life outside the city, and his eventual return.As with Feist’s Magician and others this is a tale of a boy from humble stock being caught up in the last years of a way of life, and being remade as a hero.
—Dave Higgins

Overall I enjoyed this book. It had a really good story line which kept me reading and there were some interesting (in a good way) ideas in the world, in terms of settings and gods in particular. However, I didn't get very attached to any of the characters. The writing style was a bit strange; at times it felt okay as it felt like it could be the way in which the main character thought and spoke but at other times I found myself having to re-read a few sentences to work out what it meant.Definitely worth a read though.
—John

Set in Larry Niven's world of The Magic Goes Away, story follows Whandall Placehold as he grows up in Tep's Town, a city where the fire-god Yangin-Atep rules and alternately protects the city's denizens and allows his followers to go on a massive arson-spree called "the Burning".The characters are well thought out and the plot is very engaging - you really get into the mind of Whandall and feel like you know him. The class structure set up with Lords, Lordkin, and Kinless is interesting and the historical derivation of the structure gets explained as the story progresses. The fantasy plotline is believable, innovative, and keeps you reading. I've read this a couple times and am planning to keep it around for a future read or two.
—Ross

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