SF Signal: REVIEW: The War of the Flowers by Tad Williams

REVIEW: The War of the Flowers by Tad Williams

REVIEW SUMMARY: Strong start, but overall a mediocre book.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Crossover fantasy in which down-and-out thirty-something Theo Vilmos steps into the world of Faerie and must save our mortal world.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Clear, easy-to-read writing; doesn't take itself too seriously; the land of Faerie is interestingly urbanized.
CONS: Very Longwinded - could easily have been half the length; not enough happens and when it does, it's predictable; one-dimensional characters (except Applecore, the faerie with an attitude).
BOTTOM LINE: Mediocre fantasy.

I had high hopes for this book. It's billed as a single-volume fantasy (it's 680 pages long) which meant I didn't have to commit to a series and the idea sounded interesting.

Theo Vilmos is a thirty-something flower delivery guy who's spare time is spent between his girlfriend (who is pregnant with his child) and a garage band. He hasn't done much with his life, maybe because he doesn't seem to fit in. When things take a turn for the worse (in fact, Part One is downright depressing), Theo retreats to a cabin in the woods with his guitar and an old book written by his mother's uncle, Eamonn Dowd. Dowd's book talks about a supposedly imaginary world called Faerie, which is populated with magical creatures and one fantastic city called "The City". Theo thinks it's all a bunch of malrky until an unexpected visit from a miniature faerie named Applecore. When he is soon visited by an inhuman bounty hunter, Theo escapes to Faerie. There he learns that the ruling families, all named after flowers, will soon be at war. Theo also learns that some nefarious upper crusties are seeking him out and they are planning the destruction of our mortal world. Of course, it's up to Theo to save our world.

I should note that I am not a huge fan of fantasy. Still, the idea seemed interesting. I was in the mood for a fish-out-of-water story, I guess. I hoped for a magical adventure into paces unknown. I guess I was hoping for the same thrill I got reading Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.

Unfortunately, The War of the Flowers did not deliver. The story started strongly enough - the first 100 pages were enjoyably depressing and were the best in the book. But when Theo crossed over to Faerie, things took a turn for the worse and kept declining. Sure, occasional passages held my interest, but mostly the story was dragged out where not much happened. There were also way too many descriptive passages that, I think, were meant to paint the magical setting but instead felt like needless padding. However, the different types of creatures were imaginative. And the land of Faerie wasn't all mountains and castles - it was urbanized. It had cars, trains and power plants! Still, this book would have been better at half the length.

The writing style was easily accessible, which is good. Like I said, the first 100 pages were the best and I would put them in the 4 star range. And, to his credit, Williams doesn't take himself too seriously; he sprinkles humorous mortal-world observations throughout the book. Characterizations, I think, could have been handled better. Theo's plight was well done, but he wasn't a very likable hero. Also, Theo had no idea why he was being sought after until well into the last half of the book. What was he running from all this time? Other characters fell flat, with the exception of the faerie named Applecore. Applecore was foul-mouthed and tough and hugely enjoyable. Or, maybe that was just by comparison with the flat characters around her.

All in all, I would say this book was just mediocre.