The General’s Legacy: Part One: Inheritance by new author Adrian Hilder is just the ticket for those of us who love well-written fantasy with real people, rich settings, solid plot. I’ve lost my tolerance for books that hit on one or two of the five cylinders – plot, people, setting, style, emotion – but miss the rest. Inheritance is a wonderful surprise, full of rich characters, vivid descriptions, fast-moving plot, good dialogue and a balance of suspense, magic, romance, determination, fear, loathing.
Setting
Have you noticed many new books completely skip the setting? Reading them vs. reading Hilder’s Inheritance is like watching today’s miserable kids’ cartoons vs. the richly detailed Disney or Bugs Bunny cartoons from the 1940s-60s. Hilder makes us feel the rich spring air, the steep mountain paths and old castle towers by spending just the right amount of time staging the scene. We can easily feel our legs turn to mush along with Cory when he runs up and down the 5 towers, can feel the heat from the fire and smell the nasty odors from the tanneries polluting the lake.
Recently I read yet another Modesitt story that had way too much detail, too many words describing soggy breakfasts or dusty roads. In Modesitt’s novels I read the words but don’t feel them, don’t smell the horses or feel the rain. In comparison Hilder hits just the right balance. Too much time on setting and we forget the story, too little and it’s gray instead of color.
Plot
Hilder starts the book off 15 years ago at the General’s climatic battle to save the country of Valendro from bloodthirsty neighbor Nearhon and starts every chapter with a synopsis of battles that the General won over his long career. Now the General is dead and grandson Cory must pick up and go on.
The plot is complex with plenty of action, some romance and leavened by orchestra concerts and Council meetings. Again Hilder balances the need for action with the fact that action is most vivid when it contrasts with the daily routine. We are alongside Cory and his brothers as they work with their father, the King, to govern Valendro during peacetime when the biggest conflict is which city should get the road upgrade first. We are still with Cory when he confronts the deadliest enemy.
There are a couple small plot questions that related to the magic, such as why the Nearhon wizard Magnar didn’t strike sooner, but nothing bothersome. I don’t look for detailed discussions of the magic systems in fantasy novels, suffice it that the magic exists, that it has some limitations and costs, that it can be reasonably consistent. Hilder delivers this.
Character
Most of the main characters are multi-dimensional, well-developed. I found the ladies sufficient but not quite as interesting as the men. For example, Julia’s father has not been able to win arguments with her, but we don’t see her as quite that strong of a person. Don’t get me wrong, Julia is well developed, just not quite as thoroughly. We get hints that there is far more to Julia than a pretty face, music and horses. I’m hoping book 2 shows more of her character.
The enemy wizard Magnar doesn’t appear in the novel many times, but when we does we notice and we remember! He’s not a cardboard villain, but a person obsessed with magic and exploring its depth and breadth all while walking a tight rope with the king of Nearhon.
Style
Hilder does a bang up job telling the story through side vignettes and dialogue. Some dialogue is internal, as when Sebastian wrestles with his frustration at not knowing much about diplomacy or Cory struggles to not be overwhelmed with his responsibility.
The pacing is also solid. We go fast, then slow down a bit, then speed up zoom zoom! A few places I had to go back to re-read to make sure I inferred correctly what happened because Hilder tended to skid right through some major plot events.
Emotion
I like books that make you feel. Authors do this in part by creating characters that feel like real people, like friends you want to meet, and partly by the dialogue and plot. The vivid setting and scene staging help too. This was the most emotional book I read since Naomi Novik’s Uprooted (see review here), and like Uprooted, Inheritance has the horrible sense that failure meant that everything failed, a dash of romance, determination, and the characters’ fierce joy in accomplishing what they must.
Overall
I enjoyed Inheritance and look forward to reading the second book, The Whiteland King. I rarely give 5 stars but will do so with Inheritance. Solid writing, first rate characterization, fun plot, vivid setting rate a 5 from me!
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