Inda

I just finished A Song of Ice and Fire. It's a good read, but the Inda series stands head and shoulders above it. Why? 1. Better World Building--Smith's world is logical and consistent and detailed. Martin's is detailed, but seems overly borrowed from our own. 2. Better Martial writing--Smith makes battles, on land or at sea, come alive and make sense, even to this ignorant female. I'd bet half my income, Smith has studied military history, and she makes me want to study it too. Martin writes of trebuchets, rams, and siege towers, but never seems to live or be more than a general sketch. Putting in a bunch of rape, torture and cannibalism doesn't make combat seem any more real in the Game of Thrones books. 3. Tighter writing--Smith's books aren't short, but she did cut the fluff. Every character who is developed has a purpose and moves the story forward. Contrast that with Martin's approach--He seems to add characters on a whim, and then feel the need to develop them even though they don't move the story. In a good novel, all the plot lines and characters should be moving toward the fulfilling climax. Smith's do. Reading her books, one gets the feeling she knew the entire story before she put pen to paper. In Martin's case, I had the feeling I was reading one story in the beginning of A Game of Thrones, which grew into at least 3 entirely different stories by its end. By the end of A Storm of Crows, I had no idea how many different stories I was supposed to be reading, and some of them stopped being stories and became an exercise in making up heraldry. 4. Goodness--I know we're all supposed to intellectual and modern and to glory in stories where everyone is bad. But, I like books where the protagonists are decent and try to do the right thing even though they mess up. Epics are only epics when they give the reader something to aspire to. The Fox is my favorite character in the Inda series, and he's certainly not good and pure, but he transcends the animal nature. Generally, I'd rather hang with the people in Inda than in Game of Thrones. 5. No incest in Inda. I could have listed this under "goodness," but I find incest pretty disturbing. It's weird, and in the first 2 books in Song of Ice and Fire, there's a fair amount of it. No contest--Sherwood Smith is a better writer and her Inda's books are a joy to read. Perfect for binge reading, and the series is actually complete!

This story began with heavy going-the unusual names, plentiful nick-names along with sur-names which seemed to denote family alliances and historical references confused me until I recalled an old trick I used with Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky;I spent the time to write them down, put them into families and clans until they all made sense. From thereon the book was a delight. Her world-building was marvelous and coherent. I was quickly drawn into the world her young adolescents inhabited and it was an interesting world indeed. Smith can write and I agree with some of the reviews that say her writing is on a higher level than most fantasists. Inda is neither all dark nor all light but-a word of caution- don't fall in love with any of the characters. She leaves plenty of carrots around to keep one guessing. I like the sexual mores of the world and wish our own world made as much sense. Strong writer-strong series.

Sherwood Smith's Inda is such a wonderful book. To begin with, Smith has created a world full of all the details and history that many of us crave and so seldom find. Smith takes the time to do more than simply tell a story. She creates a really vibrant backdrop for the characters to act against and the result is something a cut above most of the fantasy being written today. Inda (his actual name is Indevan-Dal) is the second son of a noble family. Sounds terribly cliché, I know. Inda's lot in life is to be trained by his older brother as the head of defense for the family's castle. The social rules and traditions of his Marlovan heritage demand that his role be completely subordinate to his brother's rule. Inda's family history intensifies this because Inda's father's first wife was slaughtered by a pirate raid. The culture he is growing up in is very martial and based on tradition. The heart of the story is about societal and personal change and the plot is replete with interesting politics and strong statements about social injustice. The characters meet every sort of moral challenge that you can imagine. In fact, this emphasis on morality and ethics reminded me of Janny Wurts' novels, and that is high praise indeed. Inda is a leader. He's not a flashy, self-motivated leader, but the rarest form of leader who is loyal to those who are loyal to him and who doesn't place personal gain ahead of team accomplishment. Smith does a brilliant job of describing how this sort of magnetic personality can be a lighting rod for both good and bad depending on whether he is recognized as an ally or a threat. As a part of the storyline, Inda is separated from his family and home because of crimes he didn't commit. Smith successfully creates some really loathsome characters for us to hate in the forms of the heir to the throne and his uncle, the king's brother. Kudos to Smith who doesn't just tell us they are "bad guys," but who plans and draws them as well as she does the "good guys." I appreciated that Smith skillfully presented some volatile issues (e.g. homosexuality) in a non-advocative fashion whereas some authors prefer to hit us over the head with their views. Her way was to merely present a point of information rather than something we felt the need to take a side on -- a good use of different perspectives. The final highlight of Sherwood Smith's Inda is her ability to realistically depict military themes in a fantasy setting. The concepts of training, practice, education, and development in a martial context are some of the best that I have encountered. I love the way that she depicts soldiers as being made -- not born. My review of The Fox, the next book in the Inda series, will be done soon. Inda was that good.

Indevan-Dal Algara-Vayir is the second son of the Prince and Princess of Choraed Elgaer, destined to become Shield Arm (military leader) for his older brother Tanric. His future seems all laid out for him, down to the girl he'll marry -- until one day when a messenger arrives from the King, summoning Inda to the King's Military Academy. Inda thinks he's prepared for the harsh life at the Academy, as Tanric has always followed the tradition of thrashing his younger brother into obedience, but when he gets there, he finds himself caught up in a confusing tangle of loyalty and treachery. What I was most impressed with in _Inda_ is the worldbuilding. According to the jacket copy, Smith has been writing stories in this world since she was eight, and consequently, it's fantastically deep and rich. Particularly interesting to me was the relationship between men and women. Inda's society is war-oriented, constantly on guard, skirmishing, and occasionally conquering. Though the men are in charge of war and offense, that does not exclude the women, who receive their own kind of training, oriented toward defense rather than offense. Along with the worldbuilding, the characterization is also excellent. Inda himself is the character we spend the most time with and get to know the best, but there are a variety of other viewpoints which enrich our understanding of him and of his friends, family, and enemies. Sometimes I find multiple viewpoints offputting, but here I felt that they really contributed to the depth of the characters. _Inda_ is the first in a trilogy, and I'm already eager for the next books.

Well perhaps that's not quite fair. Ender's Game is a science-fiction classic that's been told and retold, translated all around the world and soon to be destroyed by Hollywood -- but the correlation is there. Inda's self-identification as a "surplus" child, his unlikely selection for advanced military training, his inevitable isolation from all those who he loves and cares about, the demonstration of his remarkable martial skills, the pressure of "saving the world", etc. Despite the similarities, Sherwood Smith weaves an interesting story with these familiar themes and even takes our hero on an interesting side-journey to become a pirate, every little boy's dream-come-true! The writing is well-paced, the characters are satisfactorily developed and believable (if a tad sexually-melodramatic... Is it necessary to make Sponge become THAT surly because he can't get laid?), and the plot is very engaging, though it does become difficult to follow as the conflict develops. I think better maps and more battle diagrams would have helped in that regard, but that's a problem in most fantasy novels I've read. Why describe momentous and detailed battle scenes without giving the reader a visual reference? It just becomes unintelligible, hack-n-slash chaos. Overall I enjoyed the novels and story. It's not ridiculously juicy or epic as has become trendy nowadays, but its a fun read!

This is a romantic fantasy in the vein of, but not surpassing, Zimmer Bradley's Darkover novels. If you like land and sea battles with relationship talks interspersed (together with guidelines about conception, child raising, or love triangles), this might be for you. You need to know that this is a series of four volumes (Inda, The Fox , King's Shield , Treason's Shore ), where each book starts where the previous one left off (mostly with cliffhangers). The overall storyarc doesn't get closed until the very end (but then very neatly). The book follows about a dozen characters from childhood to old age, with rather rapidly changing POVs (sometimes within a sentence). The romantic aspect almost takes over at times, relationships including m/m and f/f, but concentrating firmly on traditional ones. Other reviewers have mentioned a confusion of names and titles: that's true only for the first half of book one and evaporates later. The peculiarities of the described society (instead of contraceptives women have to take conception drugs to become pregnant, resulting - almost - in gender equality) are at first intriguing, but the angle is neglected in the psychologically very traditional love affairs. The then many POVs make the fourth volume bordering on boring, and I had to force myself to go on, browsing through parts full of meaningless dialogue. In the end I found the series memorable, but not overwhelming.

In short, the Inda series is the story of a boy who is exiled from the prestigious Marolven military academy. He is sent to sea. Captured by pirates, he leads a mutiny at the age of 16 and goes on to build his own fleet and then goes on to battle the Brotherhood of Blood that threaten his home, Iasca Leror. After 9 years, he returns home, this time to defend his land from and old enemy, the Venn. The characters the surround Inda are unforgettable, especially Savarend "Fox" Montredavan-An, whose descendents we will see later on in Smith's other books concerning Marlovens. I have never been captivated by any story like this before and I have come to adore Inda as much Smith obviously does when she wrote the book. It's hard to write a review after finishing all four books of this epic series, but Inda is definitely a book/series worth reading, if anyone cares for a good story at all. The depth of Inda's world is intense, enchanting, and addicting. Sherwood's craft of world-building is at its best in Inda.

Whoa. This is not an easy book to read, but it returns the reader's emotional investment manyfold, and is definitely worth sticking with - though there should be a warning about how hazardous it can be to get too attached to the characters. (There's some real gutpunches along the way. I cried.) The story is fascinating - a true tapestry woven from a myriad viewpoints, everything from brief stitches to red threads running through the entire, magnificent thing. The world, too, is incredibly well crated. Seeming at first to be another pseudo-European medieval fantasy land, there are intriguing hints sprinkled at more going on behind the scenes than what is obvious at first glance. And then there's quite a bit more than hints, and the world is just - absolutely unique. In fantasy, that's rare. I love coming across fantasy stories that feel truly new and creative and I'm glad I stuck with <I>Inda</I> through the first third of heavy metaphorical lifting, because it's definitely both new and creative and I'm now eager to dive into the next book in the series.

A coming of age tale set in a military society, this is one of my favourite fantasies of 2007. Fast-paced action combines with subtle characterisation. Evolving friendships combine with politics and betrayal. This is a book of extraordinary scope. It's written in a slightly unconventional narrative style, with a roving point of view, so that you discover what each person present in a scene is thinking - a style that actually works well once you get used to it, bringing to life not only the main characters but the villains and the minor characters as well, so that you get a picture of the whole of a society dedicated to conquest. Great writing always immerses you in another world, and here Sherwood Smith has succeeded in creating a complex and convincing world that drags you in completely. At the end of this book you may find yourself using Marlovian hand gestures and Academy slang. This is world-creation to match that of Martha Wells or Lois McMaster Bujold.

an excellent book started reading and could not put it down enjoyed every last word. Can't wait to start the next book

Inda non è un libro che si può prendere così alla leggera. Per essere un fantasy, infatti, è davvero faticoso - come Herbert, l'autore di Dune, Sherwood Smith non rinuncia a calare il lettore nel vivo del suo mondo senza troppe spiegazioni. Convenzioni per i nomi e per le condizioni culturali e ambientali vengono sparate dritte negli occhi di chi si avventura nel romanzo, così, spietatamente. Teoricamente, si tratta di un low fantasy, però ci sono delle stranissime regole magiche che di "low" non hanno nulla, e che modificano parecchio i rapporti e le vite dei personaggi (che ci sono abituati), ma che potrebbero confondere il lettore (che abituato non è). Lo smarrimento iniziale è un difetto? Forse. Ma in questo genere è un compagno di avventure familiare, anzi, rende interessante il processo di scoperta. Un ulteriore elemento importante, che va a condizionare parecchio l'effettiva possibilità di goderselo è che questo è uno dei rari libri che al giorno d'oggi è ancora scritto in terza persona onniscente. Vale a dire, il punto di vista salta da un personaggio all'altro. È fatto con criterio, ma richiede di ri-abituarsi a questo stile molto amato da Dickens e Tolstoj - e la Sherwood non è priva di sbavature come questi due mostri. La trama di questo libro, primo di una serie, ha alcuni elementi che ricordano il caro vecchio Ender's Game, ma tanto per essere chiari *non* sto parlando del suo famoso mega-trucco, solo l'ambientazione di giovinezza in un corpo militare. Pur parlando dell'infanzia di una lunga serie di personaggi, non è uno YA. È un libro che va amato e letto con calma, e bisogna consentire ai personaggi la loro crescita. Il lettore non ha tempo di crescere, deve usare tutto il cervello da subito :) Difetti? Di veri e propri, e non influenzati dai gusti, posso trovarne solo uno: la motivazione ad agire e a comportarsi in un certo modo di un paio di personaggi piuttosto importanti nella trama è leggermente troppo data per scontata, e questo viene esacerbato dal punto di vista onniscente, che finisce per dirti "è così e basta" invece di sviluppare tali motivazioni o rivelarle in momenti clou o climax.

Inda, jüngerer Sohn aus adligem Haus, folgt seinem geradlinig vorgezeichneten Lebensweg im Schatten seines erbberechtigten älteren Bruders und wird in die Militärakademie aufgenommen. Hier findet er unter Gleichaltrigen Akzeptanz, freundet sich unwissentlich mit einem der Prinzen an, und zieht mehr Aufmerksamkeit auf sich, als manchen Parteien am Hof lieb ist. Als ahnungsloses Opfer einer heimtückischen Intrige steht er vor der grausamen Wahl, sich entweder unschuldig für den Tod eines Kameraden bestrafen (und mundtot machen)zu lassen - oder seine Heimat und alles, was ihm lieb und teuer ist, hinter sich zu lassen, einschließlich seines adligen Namens mit allen Privilegien und Pflichten. Inda ahnt nicht, wohin ihn seine Entscheidung führen wird. Selten findet man eine so farbenprächtige, reich detailliert geschilderte High-Fantasy-Novelle zu lesen, insbesondere seit der Massentrend zu paranormaler Fantasy geht. Umso bemerkenswerter ist, wie hier in eher gemächlichem Tempo eine bis ins Kleinste durchdachte Welt erschaffen wird, vom Aspekt her feudal, etwas asiatisch anmutend, von den Tönen eher leise, ohne spektakuläre Magie, apokalyptische Schlachten oder reißerische Gewalt- oder Sexszenen. Gerade daran liegt der besondere Reiz der Erzählung: mit vertrauten Stilelementen wird eine dichte Handlung erschaffen, die lebensecht bis in jede Einzelheit wirkt und einen nicht mehr losläßt. Zwar sind die Details der Namensgebung, wie bereits von anderen Rezensenten erwähnt, eher verwirrend, können aber nicht verhindern, daß man in die Geschichte geradezu hineingesogen wird und das Buch nicht mehr aus der Hand legen mag. Manchmal erinnert es ein wenig an Robin Hobb oder Mercedes Lackey, hat aber seinen ganz eigenen unverwechselbaren Stil, angelegt als Reifungsgeschichte, mit hinzukommenden dynastischen und politischen Entwicklungen. Fazit: Wunderschön geschrieben, unbedingt lesenswert, trotz der verwirrenden Namensgebung 5 Sterne wert.

Was a decent enough book however they don't have the rest of the series available here. They removed them from amazon to try and force people through their own.