A Man Betrayed (The Book of Words #2)
Published November 1996 by Aspect Fantasy (first published April 1996), Paperback 598 pages
At Castle Harvell demented Prince Kylock grabs the reins of power and hate by murdering his father. Harvell's two young refugees are torn apart by the storms of war:
Headstrong young Melliandra is captured by brutal slavers and Jack, whose wild power works miracles, falls prey to a smuggler's lying charms and a woman's seductive schemes. Meanwhile, in the distant stronghold of Bren, Kylock's betrothed, beautiful, mad Catherine, dabbles with darkest sorceries.
A knight's shattered destiny is about to lead from death-sport pits to the blood-strewn creation of an empire--and a wondrous epic of grandeur and magic continues...
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
The epic fantasy continues.
The story continues as it did in book one, bouncing back and forth between the main characters' story lines. Though this book had more of a build to it's own climax, it still has all the earmarks of building up to something much, much bigger. This slow building process is a bit frustrating at times because it makes the book progress at a snails pace. It makes you really need to invest the time into the book with the hopes that it won't disappoint when you finally get to the end of the third book.
The characters are still great and I became I bit more invested in some of them. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't more character building than there was. Most of the book was spend furthering the plot. Jack remains my favorite character. I just wish more time was spent on his character.
If you enjoy "epic" fantasy novels than this is shaping up to be a good one. Looking forward to seeing how it all turns out in the last book.
Rating: really liked it
Magic, prophecies, human trafficking, politics, and the human heart in conflict with itself highlight the middle installment of Jones’
The Book of Words series.
A Man Betrayed continues the stories of Jack, Melli, and Tawl as they head towards their destiny all the while Kylock forges a northern empire.
Jones continued her mixture of classical fantasy tropes and darker elements with the heroic journey and the set up for a stab in the back featured in falling the titular character. While Melli’s human trafficking journey to Bren and eventually meeting with Tawl, whose own redemption arc is beginning thanks to Nabber, mixes sex and politics with her eventual—very short—marriage to the Duke of Bren upending the plans of several individuals it was Jack’s personal journey of misguided vengeance—tricked in believing the worst of Melli’s fate—and eventual magical rage that sets him up at the end of the book to learn to control his magically “curse”. The political machinations of Baralis and Maybor while in Bren are thrown all over the place with Kylock’s actions and the Duke of Bren’s countermoves, but Baralis’ alliance with the duke’s daughter seems him on the verge of his decades-long ambition. Unlike the previous installment there were no questionable issues that distracted me even though it was obviously that Jack was being set up by the those he was around after his split with Melli that he was going to be betrayed, however it and the consequences were well written.
A Man Betrayed is a good middle of a trilogy installment as J.V. Jones develops her characters and moves the pieces of the narrative into a situation in which the ultimate climax appears to be something special.
Rating: really liked it
Almost everybody and their brother came to the city of Bren. This seems to create an explosive combination, but to my great surprise did not. Nothing significant happened in the book (think middle books of the Wheel of Time). Maybor and Baralis seems to lost their edge in behind-the-scenes manipulations and their attempts to kill each other; what they do seems practically like a routine which bored them out of the sculls, and not the way of life it was in the first book.
Both Jack and Melli suddenly became little brats - and this is after they matured a lot in the first book. Speaking of Jack, his plot line was the most boring in the book as he spent most of his time being manipulated and not using his head. In case of both of them it is safe to say instead of character development they have character degeneration.
Tawl is on non-stop guilt trip, but his friend/sidekick Nabber is the only really bright spot in the whole book; his economic justification of pickpocketing is hilarious, as well as his outlook on life. I forgot to mention that one person has a huge bullseye painted on his/her (I do not want to give big spoilers here) back which makes it fairly easy to guess his/her fate.
Having said all of this I have to state that this is a good book on its own, but it does not quite rise to the standards of the first one. I still want to see how the tale is going to end, and it is still not clear what kind of end there will be. I am off to read last book.
Rating: really liked it
Wow what a cliffhanger ending. Can't wait to read the third book in the trilogy to find out how the whole trilogy/plot ends and gets resolved.
Rating: really liked it
Series really moves on at this point. A good example of a middle book that leaves you wanting more. DO NOT START THIS BOOK UNLESS YOU HAVE "Master and Fool" IN HAND!
Rating: really liked it
Yes! This is the second book of three, following "The Baker's Boy", which was also great. This story moves, and is full of great characters. Especially the villians. It would be tough to imagine someone nastier than Lord Baralis or the Archbishop. And even the heroes are dark and moved to whatever action is necessary, (or realistic- depends how you look at it.) For some reason I am a big fan of Lord Maybor, the vain, opportunistic, and clever boss of the Eastlands. I find his unsaid background thoughts hilarious and insightful. Hopefully he is able to have Baralis killed in the third book. Finishing the third now. These are going on the "classic" shelf of stories that I will probably read again someday. I found the first one randomly at the library a couple of years ago, and had always meant to buy the other two.
Rating: really liked it
Another good read in this really enjoyable series.
Rating: really liked it
More wonderful scheming vile aristocratic characters as the plot for power thickens. This one was in every way as good as it’s predecessor. The disillusioned former knight Tawl and his thieving friend Nabber won the day for me. Such incredible chapters. Am so excited to begin the final book. Just plain fantastic so far.
Rating: really liked it
I love these books!! The plot and subplots are amazing!
I <3 Tawl :p
In this book basically Melli is seperated by Jack, and taken to be sold, but gets sold to the duke of Bren. Meanwhile Tawl has lost his ways and is becoming dodge in the city of Bren while Nabber tries to help him. Kylock is envading countries causing war, while Baralis is overseeing that the mariage will come through. Then Jack is taken to a family that decieves him and at teh very end he is being taught by a real man who can teach him how to control the socerey.
Rating: really liked it
One of the exclusive club of books I haven't finished. I threw it across the room not for the astonishingly poor characterisation and world-building, but for the bit that read like nothing more than the author's own rape fantasies.
Rating: really liked it
Damn it! I want to know what is in Crope's box.... >.<'
Rating: really liked it
Similar issues to the first book but better.
We start off pretty much where we left off in the last book. Jack and Melli are on the run again, Maybor and Baralis are heading off to Bren, and so are Tawl and Nabber. Most of the action in this book centers on Bren, except for Jack who gets involved with a mysterious family. Tavalisk is still in Rorn sensually eating food and tormenting his aide.
I still don't know what to make of these books! I am definitely interested in them but they are so slow paced. That is not a problem in and of itself but there is not much growth of characters and it really doesn't seem like much happens. Nearly all the action happens off screen except for a few moments. Maybe it's because they are billed as epic fantasy whereas they are probably more low or political fantasy. Like if the much vaunted prophecy actually comes to pass it will create a new empire in one small part of the world, yes it would be bad for the people living there but it is definitely not the end of the world type of event.
Jack is one of the most annoying main characters I have ever come across, though Melli is not far behind. He is constantly being helped out by people, given things but learns absolutely nothing and just bungles his way from one dire situation to another. Melli is practically the same but I have some more sympathy for her, though that evaporated towards the end of the book. The villains are best, and some of the other random POV's we get. Yes they are pretty caricaturesque but I still enjoy reading about them, Maybor is actually growing on me. They have almost a tongue in cheek villainous to them which actually makes them interesting to read about. Nabber is probably the only actual nice person in the book and he is a thief!
If this book wasn't written by a woman I would also wonder if the author was slightly misogynistic. Pretty much all the women in the book are tavern wenches or maids who are willing to sleep with anybody for a bit of money. All the men have no problem with hitting women, Jack raises his hand to a girl because she angers him and Tawl our white knight actually slaps one. We won't talk about the villains. Now it could be the author trying to show a very chauvinist world but it could be off putting for some people.
Like the previous book even though I have quite a few issues with it I am enjoying the series overall, it could be the author's writing even though nothing has stood out for me but I do tend to miss such things. Looking forward to the final volume and hopefully things might start happening.
Please see this and other reviews at https://barrysbloodybooks.home.blog/
Rating: really liked it
Part 2 of J.V. Jones’ Book of Words trilogy is pretty much on a par with the first one. That is to say, I read it and basically enjoyed it, but still wish I hadn’t read her later stand alone, The Barbed Coil, first. To be fair, this trilogy were Ms. Jones first published works, and it is good to see that she got better with later stories.
The storyline continues from The Baker’s Boy, with Jack and Melli still on the run from their respective troubles at Castle Harvell, the evil Prince Kylock still maneuvering to take control of the kingdom, and various other nobles and clergy adding to the political machinations.
It is the political intrigue that keeps this book interesting. There is a lot of backstage intrigue, alliances made and betrayed, and no one is completely who they seem to be. Unfortunately, the characters are still a bit flat and clichéd- Jack is the innocent youth with potential he doesn’t quite grasp, Melli is the spoiled young noblewoman who discovers a strength and resolve no one gave her credit for, and Prince Kylock is the cold and ambitious heir who kills the ill and bedridden king in order to take over the throne. There is some growth in a few characters, but nothing too far outside the expected. I still find the interspersed fill-in-the-blanks scenes with Bodger and Grift a bit on the annoying side, despite the humor in their exchanges. The one character I do enjoy is the boy, Nabber. He is fun and interesting, with a bit more personality than some others, even though his is not a main plot line.
There is not a lot of in-depth world building in the book, as well. The world is made up of the usual rival kingdoms, each vying for dominance. It’s a decent setting and serves the story well.
All that aside, A Man Betrayed is still not a bad read, even with its shortcomings. The plotlines around the various major characters, as well as some minor ones, are drawn rather nicely together, pulling the story to its climax. It reads fairly quickly with good pacing. I would recommend the two I have read so far (and I will go on to the third to see how the whole picture plays out) for those looking for a decent, but not extremely deep, fantasy series.
Rating: really liked it
I always worry about the middle book of a trilogy, especially a traditional high fantasy trilogy. While the first book can be used for introducing characters, developing plot, world building, etc. and the third book contains the final build-up to the hopefully awesome climax, the middle book is often left with the task of bridging the two. Movie trilogies are sometimes successful (Empire Strikes Back and Godfather II come to mind) but it seems rare that a trilogy of novels can pull it off.
JV Jones has done it. While I enjoyed the first novel in this trilogy, The Baker's Boy, I thought this one was quite a bit better. It's also the second published by the author and her progress as a writer is a delight to behold. It certainly promises great things for the third book of the series. As for the book itself, I was pleased to see that this was not merely a bridge to a final book but rather had a nicely developed structure and plot as well as further character development. Several sub plots are hatched and completed within this volume, all serving to move the larger story along. We get to learn much more about the main characters from the first book and are introduced to new characters as well. Especially noteworthy are the introduction of the two guards, Grift and Bodger. They have minor roles (but one critical role) and really serve as a sort of comic relief between chapters. Guards are usually relegated to the background color in fantasy novels so it's nice to see what a couple of bored guardsmen talk about to pass the time.
I was also pleasantly surprised to see how far Ms. Jones has deviated from the traditional and predictable "assistant pig-keeper" plot that the first book suffered from. Lots of palace intrigue here, political maneuvering, romantic maneuvering, all in the name of power. The stakes are getting higher and the end of this book definitely sets us up for a rousing climax in the third book. I was very close to a 5-star rating for this one and expect the third book might just do it.
Rating: really liked it
After having read both
The Baker's Boy and
A Man Betrayed, I can say this with certainty: J.V. Jones in an author I'd love to have coffee with.
A Man Betrayed picks up where
The Baker's Boy left off. Jack and Melli are travelling together; Tawl is disgraced after his murder of Bevlin; Tavalisk, Barallis, and Maybor are all very confident that they have the upper hand over one another; and Nabber is looking for his lost friend Tawl. When Jack and Melli take shelter in the wrong place, they are both captured for wildly different reasons: Jack is to play assassin for a slimy merchant, whilst Melli is to be sold to a flesh-trader.
The way Jones writes is nothing short of brilliant. Cleverness and warmth radiate off the page even during passages that have no right to be anything but boring. Nevertheless, Jones manages to make such unimportant characters as the guards Bodger and Griff, Moth and Clem, and Tavalisk and his assistant, all fun to read about. That's not to say that her principal characters are uninteresting, of course. Jack, Melli, and Nabber are all particularly invigorating to read from the point of view of, and there are some strong passages from characters like Maybor and Baralis, as scheming and manipulative as they may be. In fact, I would argue that much of the puppeteering and blunders from all sides are what make
A Man Betrayed such a delight to read.
While the Book of Words trilogy is certainly rife with very common sword-and-sorcery tropes, it's Jones's writing that truly elevates her story. I look forward quite eagerly to book three,
Master and Fool.
