I'm writing this having literally just put this book down. Whisper Of Waves by Phillip Athans is the first book of The Watercourse Trilogy, a trio of novels set in the Forgotten Realms shared world, of which I am very fond. While there are lots of novels set in that world, few really change the world to much degree. Every now and then though comes a series that is referred to as an RSE, or Realms Shaking Event. These books (they are usually a trilogy) detail something major happening, that impacts the world and changes it forever. This book is the start of just such an event.
The book is written in dozens of short chapters (none are longer than 8 pages), that flow in chronological order, and they cover a period of nearly 40 years. It is an interesting way to write a novel, and I've certainly never read another book structured in this manner. The trilogy as a whole details one mans efforts to build a canal to link the seas of the continent of Faerûn, as there is no route by which a ship might travel from the land-locked Sea of Fallen Stars to the outer seas and oceans. This first novel though builds the groundwork for the books to come, and it is not until the last chapter that work begins on the great project itself, described as "a hole in the ground, forty miles long, and a thousand feet wide."
The man in question is Ivar Devorast, an engineering prodigy. Ivar is arguably the single most arrogant character I have ever read about, yet his utter conviction in his superiority is borne out because he is right. He really is smarter than everyone else around him, especially his friend Willem Korvan who is another engineer who graduated at the same time. Both men end up in the city of Innarlith, a small trade port of little importance. Ivar working for a shipwright who appreciates his apprentices amazing intellect, and Willem working for the city's Master Builder and quickly finding himself not up to the task.
And so he comes to rely on Ivar, bringing him plans and ideas which Ivar draws up into immaculate blueprints, wanting nothing in return. For Ivar solving a problem is it's own reward, a view completely lost on Willem, who relentlessly works to advance himself into high society, slowly but surely growing more resentful of Ivar, whom he must rely upon to keep his world from collapsing.
For his part Ivar doesn't care about such things, he lives in a hovel. His inventions and plans could make him a very rich man, but he doesn't want any of that, he simply wants to build the things he can imagine, or have others build them. That they are built is what drives him, his need to prove that the incredible things he draws can be made real.
There are other characters of course, an ambitious wizard by the name of Marek who seeks to rule from behind the throne of Innarlith, several scheming senators, a pair of wily women (both of whom are wrapped up in Willem's affairs in one way or another), Ivar's two dwarven stonemason friends (Vrengarl & Hrothgar) and Willem's overbearing mother too!
The book is very well written, with characters who are consistently portrayed. I found myself having a lot in common with the authors depiction of Ivar, to the extent that I often knew what he was going to say before reading it, because it is precisely what I'd have said in a similar circumstance. It shouldn't be any surprise that this book gets a 5/5 rating from me, and I am now eagerly looking forward to Lies Of Light, the second book in the trilogy. Damn shame it's not out until September 2006!
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