The Runelords

A fantasy written by David Farland in 1998
Reviewed edition by TOR from 1998
A paperback has 610 pages
ISBN 0-812-54162-6

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There is almost nothing special about the lands of Rofehavan, a continent strewn with small kingdoms mostly at peace with each other - except for the monarchs of the kingdoms all being Runelords. With the help of magic obtained during the Reaver Wars, a Runelord can take a virtue of a willing donor and make it its own - so it does not come as a surprise that the monarchs are all superhumans with extra endowments of wit, stamina, grace and other qualities, and their castles are homes to hosts of debilitated donors.

Most of the monarchs are at least vaguely aware of the ethical implications of taking a virtue from someone, and thus impose restraints on themselves - restraints that are perhaps more useful to silencing their consciences than anything else. Except for Raj Ahten, a king who seeks to become the Sum Of All Men and sets out to conquer Rofehavan to do just that ...

Review

Perhaps most promising of the book is the very idea of the Runelords being able to suck virtues from others. When I think about it, I find the idea horrifying - most of the suspense I got from reading the book was actually being half eager and half afraid to find out where the author will expand it next. Which is not to say that the rest of the book is bad - it would still stay a decent story, even though the writing is not as smooth as one might wish. Overall, I would rate the book as good.

Rated as good by Ceres on 2000-06-16

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