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The Two of Swords by K. J. Parker (#1-15)
Requirements: ePUB or MOBI Reader | 6.70 MB
Overview: K. J. Parker's stories take place in alternate universes with invented geographies and histories, some of the typical features of fantasy fiction such as explicit use of magic are not present. The stories tend to have tragic themes with characters whose actions are unintentionally, ultimately self-destructive. Other major themes in the books are politics, technology (especially disruptive innovation), and either or both of the former as a means to power.
Genre: Fantasy
#1 - Part One:
"Why are we fighting this war? Because evil must be resisted, and sooner or later there comes a time when men of principle have to make a stand. Because war is good for business and it's better to die on our feet than live on our knees. Because they started it. But at this stage in the proceedings," he added, with a slightly lop-sided grin, "mostly from force of habit." A soldier with a gift for archery. A woman who kills without care. Two brothers, both unbeatable generals, now fighting for opposing armies. No-one in the vast and once glorious United Empire remains untouched by the rift between East and West, and the war has been fought for as long as anyone can remember. Some still survive who know how it was started, but no-one knows how it will end.
#2 - Part Two: The second part of K.J. Parker’s Two of Swords starts where the first ended; however, it mixes things up a little bit by switching the viewpoint on the reader. We move from a focus on a farmboy-turned-archer to another member of his village militia – this one a tad more suspicious, a smidge more unreliable, and infinitely more unlikable. Where the first section was a journey novel, this chapter is more static – we’re shown a protagonist looking to survive and establish themselves in a society which doesn’t care much about them, and trying to survive by any means necessary.
#3 - Part Three: The third part of Parker’s serialised novel shifts the scope a little. We’re moved away from the broad sweeps of warfare, the stumbling confusion of conscripts and lower echelon troops – instead, our perspective settles in higher society. There’s discussion of politics, of the reasons that the central conflict exists. Away from the sharp end shown in the first two parts, there’s a sense of shifting currents in a largely static event, a cold war with hot edges. On the other hand, whilst there’s less interest in large scale battles, this section has a keener focus on small scale murder.
#4 - Part Four: Much like the preceding section, this fourth part of Parker’s serialised novel changes the viewpoint on the reader. This time we’re dragged up into the higher echelons of politics, there to follow an aide to an Empress, as they – alongside everyone else – go to war. The character is portrayed with Parker’s typical flourishes. We see self doubt, seeds of misgiving, a core of unshakeable loyalty. There’s less of the trademark Parker cynicism, as such, but a great deal of self-awareness in the character, which shines through in contemplation, and the prose indicates a more reflective temperament than the protagonists that we’ve followed before.
#5 - Part Five: This fifth section of Two of Swords takes the reader somewhere new. We’ve been at the ground level of the ongoing war in the first two parts, introduced to politics in the third, and given a broader perspective in the fourth. Across the whole conflict, however – social, military, political – there has been a sense of balance. East and West, similar enough to tear each other apart over minor differences, each side looking for a way to tip the balance their way. The balance, in this case, being held by the Belot brothers. We’ve heard of them before, in preceding parts of the text – both fearsome generals, able to turn certain defeat into glorious victory, and each fighting for one side because their brother fights for the other.
#6 - Part Six: The sixth part of Two of Swords continues the tradition of changing perspective on us. In the last section, we got insight into the mind of one of the Belot brothers, the fearsome leaders of the military on both sides of the civil war. In this section, the reader is given the other brother as their protagonist. On that basis, there’s some good stuff here. The second Belot brother has a tone a lot like the first, something which feels like a deliberate choice from Parker. There’s a focused intelligence and a certain dry wit.
#7 - Part Seven:
#8 - Part Eight:
#9 - Part Nine:
#10 - Part Ten:
#11 - Part Eleven:
#12 - Part Twelve:
#13 - Part Thirteen:
#14 - Part Fourteen:
#15 - Part Fifteen:
Download Instructions:
Full set - http://www48.zippyshare.com/v/XAAMxRTU/file.html
Part 15 - http://www75.zippyshare.com/v/0b96NnYV/file.html
Requirements: ePUB or MOBI Reader | 6.70 MB
Overview: K. J. Parker's stories take place in alternate universes with invented geographies and histories, some of the typical features of fantasy fiction such as explicit use of magic are not present. The stories tend to have tragic themes with characters whose actions are unintentionally, ultimately self-destructive. Other major themes in the books are politics, technology (especially disruptive innovation), and either or both of the former as a means to power.
Genre: Fantasy
#1 - Part One:
"Why are we fighting this war? Because evil must be resisted, and sooner or later there comes a time when men of principle have to make a stand. Because war is good for business and it's better to die on our feet than live on our knees. Because they started it. But at this stage in the proceedings," he added, with a slightly lop-sided grin, "mostly from force of habit." A soldier with a gift for archery. A woman who kills without care. Two brothers, both unbeatable generals, now fighting for opposing armies. No-one in the vast and once glorious United Empire remains untouched by the rift between East and West, and the war has been fought for as long as anyone can remember. Some still survive who know how it was started, but no-one knows how it will end.
#2 - Part Two: The second part of K.J. Parker’s Two of Swords starts where the first ended; however, it mixes things up a little bit by switching the viewpoint on the reader. We move from a focus on a farmboy-turned-archer to another member of his village militia – this one a tad more suspicious, a smidge more unreliable, and infinitely more unlikable. Where the first section was a journey novel, this chapter is more static – we’re shown a protagonist looking to survive and establish themselves in a society which doesn’t care much about them, and trying to survive by any means necessary.
#3 - Part Three: The third part of Parker’s serialised novel shifts the scope a little. We’re moved away from the broad sweeps of warfare, the stumbling confusion of conscripts and lower echelon troops – instead, our perspective settles in higher society. There’s discussion of politics, of the reasons that the central conflict exists. Away from the sharp end shown in the first two parts, there’s a sense of shifting currents in a largely static event, a cold war with hot edges. On the other hand, whilst there’s less interest in large scale battles, this section has a keener focus on small scale murder.
#4 - Part Four: Much like the preceding section, this fourth part of Parker’s serialised novel changes the viewpoint on the reader. This time we’re dragged up into the higher echelons of politics, there to follow an aide to an Empress, as they – alongside everyone else – go to war. The character is portrayed with Parker’s typical flourishes. We see self doubt, seeds of misgiving, a core of unshakeable loyalty. There’s less of the trademark Parker cynicism, as such, but a great deal of self-awareness in the character, which shines through in contemplation, and the prose indicates a more reflective temperament than the protagonists that we’ve followed before.
#5 - Part Five: This fifth section of Two of Swords takes the reader somewhere new. We’ve been at the ground level of the ongoing war in the first two parts, introduced to politics in the third, and given a broader perspective in the fourth. Across the whole conflict, however – social, military, political – there has been a sense of balance. East and West, similar enough to tear each other apart over minor differences, each side looking for a way to tip the balance their way. The balance, in this case, being held by the Belot brothers. We’ve heard of them before, in preceding parts of the text – both fearsome generals, able to turn certain defeat into glorious victory, and each fighting for one side because their brother fights for the other.
#6 - Part Six: The sixth part of Two of Swords continues the tradition of changing perspective on us. In the last section, we got insight into the mind of one of the Belot brothers, the fearsome leaders of the military on both sides of the civil war. In this section, the reader is given the other brother as their protagonist. On that basis, there’s some good stuff here. The second Belot brother has a tone a lot like the first, something which feels like a deliberate choice from Parker. There’s a focused intelligence and a certain dry wit.
#7 - Part Seven:
#8 - Part Eight:
#9 - Part Nine:
#10 - Part Ten:
#11 - Part Eleven:
#12 - Part Twelve:
#13 - Part Thirteen:
#14 - Part Fourteen:
#15 - Part Fifteen:
Download Instructions:
Full set - http://www48.zippyshare.com/v/XAAMxRTU/file.html
Part 15 - http://www75.zippyshare.com/v/0b96NnYV/file.html