Well I haven't really made any mention of some of the books I have been entertaining lately (cause most of them have not been entertaining me). I am defintely a fan of Fantasy/Adventure as well as a slew of other genres, but I find myself returning to Fantasy a good deal.

Well some time back I made a trip to Barnes & Noble to check for anything that might sucker me into yet another purchase for the bookshelf. Not to get away from the subject but there is this amazing library on bobbypinsboardwalk you can find that project here http://wwwbobbypinsboardwalk.blogspot.com/2009/10/living-turned-library.html . Anyway I found what appeared to be a pretty interesting read. I had never read anything from K.J. Parker before so I was doubly excited. I love reading new authors, it's almost like Christmas. You just never know what you are gonna get, and just like Christmas sometimes it's really really cool, and sometimes it's that tired old sweater that you already have a dresser full of.

The story revolves around an engineer from The Republic. He breaks the guild law by making something not to specifications. Sounds a little blah, but the whole premise of the book is based around this society that is built around order. Everything has a place and everybody has a job. They are the only culture with technical knowledge so advanced. They basically make everything that the outlying cities and towns purchase. If somebody goes "rogue" it is imperative to recover them or remove them.
Nobody else has the technical knowledge to build the war machines that keep this republic so strong. Nor does anybody have the skills or abilities to make these knick knacks and every other creature comfort available in the same way or with the same precision as the republic.

This engineer is sentenced to die, because he broke the rules and made something he wasn't supposed to. He escapes and offers his services to the Duchy of Eremia. The very city that just suffered a devasting battle to the Republic. The Duchy is a bit unsure and assume that he is a spy or some such agent, sent to ensure the total destruction of their city.

The whole story revolves around the engineer and the leaders of two other cities. It's basically a story about a man starting a war to be able to reunite with his own family. There is a lot of "technical" jargon in this book. So if you are into that type of thing this will be great for you. My biggest problem with this story was I found myself not really agreeing with the "hero". I like my heroes to have a similar take on the world that I do. Silly I know, but that's just me. The other thing that gives me pause is this is book one of the trilogy. By the way the trilogy is The Engineer Trilogy. Not exactly the most catchy of titles I admit.

If you can look past some of that, this is a really intriguing story. It gives you a little vision into what someone MIGHT do to be with their family. It's about more than just one man, it's about a mindset, and that's the part of the story I can relate to. I'll reserve judgement until I have read through all three books, for now the jury is out, but all in all it was able to keep me coming back to see what would happen next. If you are a patient reader it's not bad, this book runs about 600 pages and if you have no understanding of measurements it could be a bit confusing. Other than that it reads fairly easily.

I will start book 2 this weekend so we'll see how that goes. Hopefuly #2 leads me down the road I want it to :)