Magic manuscripts and beastly Harras' (Barbed Coil - Jones J.V.)

Member Name: Kepler

Product:	Barbed Coil - Jones J.V.
Date:	27/04/04 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Plenty of action, Descriptive writing

Disadvantages: Hurried ending, Some poor characterisation

Tessa McCamfrey has always been one to avoid meaningful relationships and as she drives through the Californian mountains she knows that she is ultimately driving away from her life. When she takes a route off road towards the Cleveland National Forest she discovers the remains of a bank robbery and before her lie numerous safety deposit boxes, their contents strewn across the ground. Amongst the piles of paper she spots a single golden ring which on closer inspection is beautifully crafted and laden with an intricate design. This however is no ordinary ring, as she slips it onto her finger the ring pierces her with one of its barbs and she is immediately transported to another time and place.

She doesn?t know it but she finds herself in the port city of Bay?Zell located in the province of Rhaize. Bay?Zell is a dangerous and foreboding place and she soon finds herself in trouble when two men start harassing her. Fortunately for Tessa a handsome mercenary Lord Ravis of Burano, causes the men to flee and he takes her under his wing. Very quickly she learns more about the place in which she arrived and finds herself caught up in a struggle for power as a kingdom wracked with inner turmoil seeks to invade another to settle its problems at home. All the time she finds her path dogged by strange creatures who are hell bent on killing her. Tessa?s only hope is to master a strange and unexpected gift, which gives her the power to wield magic. But is there time for her to attain the understanding and wisdom it took others an age to master? She soon discovers that it is not only her own safety she will need to protect but the safety of a whole kingdom.

Normally I avoid books that base themselves on the heavily cliched ?someone from our world travels to another for a fantasy adventure? story but somehow this book seemed different. I came acros
s it quite by accident; I wasn?t familiar with J.V.Jones?s previous work but the synopsis intrigued me and I took the plunge. After reading the book I came away with somewhat mixed feelings. ?The Barbed Coil? put simply is a fast paced fantasy adventure novel and differs little from most of the books published in this genre. The plot is multi-layered and there are several distinct stories which run alongside each other. This means that the pace of this novel is pretty much flat out right from the start and there is rarely time to pause and think about what?s happening. As the end of the book draws close however, we are no nearer to any sort of resolution and then in one small chapter all the stories collide to form a hurried resolution. Now I like a happy ending as much as the next person and it is often most satisfying when our hero/heroine finally achieves what they set out to do. Unfortunately Jones crams far to much happily-ever-after into one tiny chapter right at the end and it does really start to feel false as she spoon feeds you one happy ending after the other.

The characters in the book are also a bit hit and miss and while some are heavily cliched, others are an absolute joy. The main characters in the book such as Tessa, Ravis and Emith are slightly wooden and their actions are often somewhat predictable. Where the story comes alive is the portrayal of the large cast of minor characters. In amongst this lot we have some very entertaining and believable characters including the Harras. The Harras are an evil group of marauding beasts who are hand picked by the invading King to perform his dirty work. Jones?s portrayal of these blood thirsty beasts has to be commended and she paints them extremely vividly as they maraud through Rhaize killing and plundering as they go. The best parts of the book though, occurred when Jo
nes descended from the omniscient viewpoint down into the mind of the invading King who wore the Barbed Coil. His struggle to maintain a grip on his sanity and wage war at the same time made for some great reading as we truly come to appreciate his plight.

In what has become quite a crowded and competitive genre any new writer must bring something different if their book is to stand out from the rest. Jones achieves this with a new system of magic based on patterns and shapes displayed on manuscripts. I have read quite a lot of fantasy novels and Jones? system of magic was not one that I have come across before and it was certainly a refreshing change. As well as the new system of magic Jones also brings a style of writing that is laden with heavy description and a use of very abstract words. Her more than ample vocabulary helps to bring to life the scenes she creates and her writing is certainly up there with some of the best. With a little more refinement this could have been a truly sensational book. As it is Jones struggles to bring together her ideas which is clearly emphasised by her hurried resolution in the final chapter. After the reading ?The Barbed Coil? though I am looking forward to more of her work and Jones is definitely one of those authors who is capable of producing something really amazing.

If you are a fan of the fantasy genre then you won?t be disappointed by this book. It has action, adventure and magic in plentiful doses and the characters are easy to identify with even if they are a little wooden. For readers who rarely delve into the fantasy genre you will find little here to arouse your interest and you would be better off giving this a miss. I would probably have given this 3 and a half stars but as I can?t I?ll be generous and give it four; based on the new system of magic and for Jones?s superb portrayal of
the tortured king.

This book is available from amazon.co.uk for £9.25 including P&P

Paperback 688 pages (October 1, 1998)
Publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 1857235681

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