Nathalie and I both like science-fiction and fantasy but somehow manage to almost never read the same books. After reading The Lions of Al-Rassan and the latest issue of Solaris, I decided to let her pick the book I was going to read next. She picked The Pillars of the World by Anne Bishop.

I must admit I started reading the book with a bad feeling. There was something about those books that reminded me the Rhapsody trilogy which I didn't liked that much. Then I read a few negative reviews off Amazon.com. I hadn't even opened the book and I was already hesitating.

There are three story lines in The Pillars of the World. The main story line is about Ari, a young witch, and the love triangle between her and two lovers. In the second one, we follow a few Fae (think Elves) as they try to understand why portions of their realm disapear. The third story line tells the story of Adolfo, an inquisitor set on a quest to free the land of all the witches. The book itself is written in a good language, no problem there. The problem seems to reside in the structure of the story Anne Bishop is telling. Let me explain.

What seems to be the main problem with The Pillars of the World is tension... or the lack of tension I should say. The first two thirds of the book are a long setup for the drama that take place in the last hundred pages. There is not much tension until late in the book and the only thing that gets you from page 1 to page 200 is Ari's love triangle. If you are into romance, good for you. Personally, I was expecting more.

The beginning of the book seems promising. The Fae world dissolving into void, an inquisitor known as the Witch Hammer, etc. But those two story lines are disapointing. One would think that those story lines are filled with tension but no. The Fae don't seem to really do anything about their world disappearing, and the inquisitor gets no oposition whatsoever. Things start to get interesting when a few Fae learn why their world is being destroyed. The inquisitors eventually become a target for the Fae and, at about the same time, a threat for Ari.

Some of the minor elements that were distracting during the book were the blurry geographic, politic and historic contexts. The land seems to be ruled by a few men but you barely learn anything about them. There are a few gentry famillies but you don't know anything about why they have a special status. You could imagine there is a king and some sort of religious leader, but you never hear from them. The historic context is not well defined. Is this a Midieval-like fantasy story or is it located in a time more like Renaissance. It could be anything. Some small details feel like anachronisms like, for example, the use of paper as wrapping material.

The Pillars of the World is the first book of a trilogy but by the way it ends, there is no hints about what story the next two books will tell. All story lines have been tied together and if you would not know this is a trilogy, you would not be expecting any follow-up.

In conclusion, The Pillars of the World is not a bad book if you want fantasy and romance. But if you are looking for action, tension and strugles, pick another book. I would fit in the second category so I was a bit disapointed by this book.

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