Child of a Mad God: A Tale of the Coven (The Coven, 1)

First let me start off by saying, do not compare this series to Drizzt, the demon wars Saga, or any of his other series! This is the start to a new epic and as such should be given a clean, fresh slate to be enjoyed and reviewed from. Do I think it's on the same level as Drizzt? I'll leave that up to you. It is a completely different animal than his other books and I respect that and actually finished the book in just a few sittings. I'm looking forward to Aoleyn's story continuing. This one ends with a lot of questions to be answered and things are about to get crazy for these characters. I don't like spoiling anything in reviews, so I will keep away from giving too much away. The power in this novel comes from crystals that only the witches in the Coven have access and ability to use. The story follows Aoleyn throughout her early years trying to earn her place in that Coven and follows a traveler: Talmadge. The song of Usgar is very strong in Aoleyn and the journey she takes is a daring and dangerous one. The twos paths cross in a violent and life-changing way. I won't give anymore away about the story but if you are a fan of fantasy, this novel is one you need to try. I will be picking up the second one upon it's release.

I've read most of his books, some trilogy's several times but this book could have been better. There was WAY to much rape going on (against minors that are both slaves and fellow tribeswomen) that we didn't need to hear about...so much so that you'd think he hated women cause of how they are treated in general throughout the entire thing. Also, his side story with Tal took up way to much of the book for his brief stay towards the end. I also felt mislead because the last 100 pages was about something else with nothing to do with the main story...like it was just stuck in there cause it didn't fit anyplace else. I didn't bother reading it and didn't care what it was about. I thought I still had that much of the story left when I hit the epilogue. I will be getting the next book but I sure hope it improves cause so far it's the book I liked the least that he has penned.

Couldn't wait for a new series from R.A. Salvatore, and it does not disappoint. New characters are interesting and engaging.

Love the main character. Plot keeps you interested and the world is very well built already making this easy to read through, especially if you've read previous novels in the same general universe.

Fair warning: this is the first book of this author that I've read. I found all the different characters to be compelling and well-fleshed out, the magic crystal systems (and the societies) the come from them to be intriguing. I am definitely looking forward to the next book.

gotta love RAS

Got the book at 6:35pm around that time

RA Salvatore was the writer who, many moons ago, managed to get me into the fantasy genre after I had struggled for a while to do so. I had been itching to get back into his works after several years of being away from them, and, having seen on his Twitter account that he had published a new book, decided to give this one a try. Unlike the Drizzt books he is so well known for, "Child" takes place in Salvatore's original world of Corona. It centers around the immense Loch Beag and the civilizations which inhabit it: namely, the lake folk who dwell around the waters (and who bear misshapen heads due to some peculiar beliefs about how to gain more intelligence), and the Usgar, a fierce tribe of raiders and pillagers who live atop the mountains near the lake folk and who have witches which utilize the magical powers of crystals.

The story has a dual narrative, following two characters. In the first storyline, you have Talmadge, a traveler who goes to the loch in order to trade pearls with the natives, which he then sells to the civilized world. Talmadge is struggling with the previous lost of his family due to disease, and struggles with a betrayal at the beginning of the book and a burgeoning relationship with a warrior woman known as Khotai. In the second, and arguably primary, storyline, you have Aeolyn, a woman born among the Usgar tribes who lost her parents at a young age. Aeolyn is being raised to utilize the crystals, and, as expected, turns out to be able to exceed even the most elderly of witches at a young age. Over time, Aeolyn becomes disillusioned by her people's cruelty to the lake folk, and soon begins to use the crystal's powers to achieve her maximum potential.

Salvatore always does a good job making any world he deals with come alive without info dumping on you, and "Child" is no different. From the bumpy-headed lake folk to the dreaded Usgar to the various creatures that dwell within these lands (including the infamous fossa), you get a real feeling for the world you're diving into. The Usgar and their nastiness are especially well realized, and it should be noted this book pulls no punches with how cruel a civilization can get. Seriously, the Usgar make the Dothraki seem like the Centauri (and if you understood what I just wrote, give yourself a star). Lake folk women are captured and kept as sex slaves for the men; slaves who escape are brutalized; and those who reach an old age are killed outright. Even Usgar women who hold position in the coven are reminded that their place is to serve the men, least they get a beating. (And before you dye your hair purple and scream "PATRIARCHY!", the Usgar women aren't all that nice to each other - in fact, the Usgar women are probably worse to the female slaves than the men are.)

I was hooked from beginning to end, and enjoyed my time reading it. True, Aeolyn felt a bit too much like the typical strong-independent-woman-don't-need-no-man character you see so much in fantasy and sci-fi these days, but she's not entirely unrelatable. (Also amusing how some reviewers have said Salvatore is trying to break into feminism with this book - if you read his other books, a lot of his female characters are basically like Aeolyn - heck even Khotai is strong and resilient, to the point of saving a male character in one scene.) There's also an amusing moment where the Usgar, who live in a primitive world of tents and huts, for some reason cry out battle commands regarding doors and door hinges (then later on Aeolyn ponders what a "city" is). I'll also admit one of the most jarring parts to me was the ending. No, there's no cliffhanger - it just sorta... ends. It feels like there's a chapter or two missing. I can't give too much away without spoilers, but it left me going, "Wait, that's how we're finishing it?" It brought back flashbacks of the ending to the second "Matrix" movie. Okay, granted, it didn't make me mad or anything, but I agree with other reviewers that it sorta makes the first book feel like a giant prologue to the second book. However, one thing I'll say about Salvatore is for me he's for fantasy what Richard Laymon is for horror-thriller: no matter what faults his works might have (and don't get me wrong, ALL writers have a fault or two), his work is still a heck of a fun read, and that's all I can really ask for.

Overall, really enjoyed this work, and I'm curious about how the second book is going to go.

Excellent book. Salvatore's Corona world is a great place and I just want to know more! Compelling characters and an interesting story. Was sad when i put it down. Mostly because I have to wait for the sequel now!

The man, the myth, the legend does it again.