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The Elven The Saga of the Elven Book 1 eBook Bernhard Hennen James A Sullivan Edwin Miles

Download As PDF : The Elven The Saga of the Elven Book 1 eBook Bernhard Hennen James A Sullivan Edwin Miles

The Elven The Saga of the Elven Book 1 eBook Bernhard Hennen James A Sullivan Edwin Miles

I've been wracking my brain for the past day or so, struggling to find the best way to articulate my thoughts on "The Elven." I've found little success: "The Elven" somehow manages to tell a story both both familiar and refreshing. It can often be difficult to fully express the quality of a novel--the adjectives that come most easily seldom confer nearly so much meaning as they ought to.

I first discovered "The Elven" entirely by happenstance. I was aching for a good book to read, and the discounted price on Amazon--along with the discounted price of the eBook--convinced me to give Hennen's story a shot, even though it had only one user review on Amazon.com. Cursory research revealed the Bernhard Hennen is a fairly prolific Fantasy author in German, whose works have been translated into many different languages. This unfortunately-titled novel, "The Elven," is (more unfortunately) the first of his stories to be translated in English. Hennen has approximately 17 books available on Kindle on Amazon.de, all of which are rated very highly--the majority scoring a 4.5/5 review average (including "The Elven," which has reviews from more than 400 users). The reviews for the "Elven" series were particularly glowing. I took the liberty of translating a bit from the two most helpful German reviews:

The most helpful positive review, by "Martin H." (5/5) declares the book to be harmonious, fascinating, thrilling, sad and vivid. The first three novels form a trilogy of sorts, but each stands alone as a complete story. He states, "The world and characters are vividly and lovingly described so that the reader is immediately immersed into the world of the Elfs. Everything is written with a great deal of detail that never feels too wordy or fails to hold the readers attention." He also states that the story manages at times to be dramatic or melancholy without ever feeling contrived or cheesy.

Conversely, the most helpful critical review, by "Media-Mania" (3/5) declares the book to be a very good read, but "brutally" short. This first novel is a complex book that tells a "marvelously intense story," with a great deal of suspense, action, mystery and magic, as well as a great deal of humor. He/she/they declare it to be "A true adventure story and a master work." The review has nothing but praise for the novel itself, but instead criticizes the (German) audiobook adaptation, which apparently lost much of the content from the novel.

If you're out to sample more reviews than appear here, check out the German page on Amazon.de:
http://www.amazon.de/Die-Elfen-Roman-Elfen-Romane-Band/dp/3453315669/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

You may also want to check out the listing on Amazon.co.uk, whose reviews (for whatever reason) don't appear on Amazon.com at all:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Elven-Bernhard-Hennen/dp/147782751X

So: now that I've read the book myself, what do I think?

It's fantastic. Possibly even a little sublime. The Elven is very much written directly in the mold of the old Norse sagas. At first glance, that may seem to be a mark against the novel. After all, is there any setting more cliched in fantasy than the Norse-inspired mythic realm? Elves, Dwarves, Trolls and lots of hearty men with stout Scandinavian names, epic beards, and double-headed axes?

But where most Fantasy authors conjure their settings through the lens of Tolkien (whose own work was a lens through which to view the old Sagas), Hennen ignores Tolkien and emulates the source itself. So, despite the many similiarities to Tolkien's masterpiece, "The Elven" feels more like a parallel work than a derivative one.

I guess my "review" is getting pretty long, huh? I'm sorry about that. I really want to "sell" this book to everyone out there, but at the same time I don't want to rob any enjoyment of the story by spoiling anything, no matter how minor. The story of "The Elven" has humor, but treats its plot and characters seriously--with respect. The central conceit of the novel is lifted directly from some of my favorite myths and fairytales. To get from one point or another, the characters travel by means of magical portals--portals which are not altogether reliable, and have a bad habit of dumping our heroes out at their destination far later than they'd expect. This allows the story to be focused and personal, while still managing to fill out a truly epic, historical scale spanning centuries.

And, covering entire generations as it does, the novel is able to constantly provide each scene--each moment--with genuine tension. Because people do die, and the world does change, and if there's one clear and obvious theme to Hennen's story, it's that everyone is at Time's mercy. In other words, it's impossible to be certain in the safety or success of any one character, because their trials and triumphs are presented at a historic scale. This transforms the "draw" of the story from seeing what the characters do to, instead, seeing why and how they do the things they do.

What makes the story of "The Elven" truly memorable is the pacing. The "time travel" conceit allows the tale to be neatly divided into small chunks--each like a self-contained story that is connected to both the preceding and succeeding tales, but also enthralling in its own right. Rather than a single novel, "The Elven" feels like a collection of heroic stories tied together more by the characters involved than the machinations of the overreaching plot. None of the scenes feel wasted, and nothing at all feels superfluous (which, I now realize, is praise I can confer upon preceious few books, fiction or otherwise). The prose itself is--and I cannot stress this enough--magnificent.

I wish I could discuss the quality of the translation, and maybe someday in the future I will. What I can say, having learned German myself solely to read Herman Hesse's stories in their original tongue, is that translating German to English is a very difficult task. And while I cannot yet comment on the accuracy of Edwin Miles' translation, I CAN comment on its overall quality. The prose... is simply fantastic. The writing conveys action, humor and beauty quite deftly. So deftly that, if I did not know better, I would never have suspected this to be a translation at all. Miles clearly put sufficent effort into his translation to make it appear effortless. If more of Hennen's books are to be translated into English (and I very much hope they are), I hope they are translated even half so well.


Tags : The Elven (The Saga of the Elven Book 1) - Kindle edition by Bernhard Hennen, James A. Sullivan, Edwin Miles. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Elven (The Saga of the Elven Book 1).,ebook,Bernhard Hennen, James A. Sullivan, Edwin Miles,The Elven (The Saga of the Elven Book 1),AmazonCrossing,Action & Adventure,Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology,Fantasy,Fantasy - Epic,Fiction,Fiction - Fantasy

The Elven The Saga of the Elven Book 1 eBook Bernhard Hennen James A Sullivan Edwin Miles Reviews

I'm not sure if it's just the transfer from reading relatively emotionless reads such as Sherlock Holmes, but The Elven is without question my new favorite book! It is a fantastic example of the fantasy genre and reads beautifully, despite being translated from German (something I was very concerned with before purchasing the book). If I didn't know better, I would have never be able to tell that it wasn't originally written in English!

Be aware that this is definitely not a book for youngsters though! Many of the nouns I could see being quite difficult to tackle (some were difficult for me even) and there is a fair amount of violence throughout (not to mention one scene relatively early on that would definitely be viewed as inappropriate for younger readers).

Nevertheless, the story kept me on my toes and had several twists and turns throughout. I bought the edition just for portability, but after I finished it I also bought the paperback as a trophy. A definite MUST READ for anyone who loves the fantasy genre! It has the elements we're familiar with in the fantasy realm but yet achieves a complete uniqueness that, in my opinion, outmatches many of its more famous cousins! Kudos Bernhard Hennen! You truly went above and beyond!
This novel starts off wonderfully. There's a monster, a chase, a rescue, a hunt and tragedy, comradeship, swords, axes and bows.

And then, a story of fellowship, truth, growth and, adventure begins. While most would see this as almost a separate book, I found it to be an ingenious tale of consequences. Our three heroes focus solely on their goal to the exclusion of seeing the threads being weaved into a tapestry of chaos and destruction as a result of their, and another's, actions.

Mr. Hennen has weaved an intricate epic of love, loss, and the evolution of a world and war. More importantly, in a time where most authors are writing series novels with cliffhanger endings, Mr. Hennen gives us a finished tale with hope for future adventures.
I wasn't sure what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised. There is a lot of story in this book - it really is a saga. The author makes good use of the format in which he chooses to tell the story, and what could have seemed like a choppy or cheap artifice actually is quite smooth and keeps the reader tied in. I'm rather picky about the writing of the books that I enjoy, as well as the worlds and characters, and I have to say the writing in this is better than I expected, and though I did have criticisms at times, the fact that this is a translation into English really kind of negates that, in fact, this is something that one forgets almost immediately while reading. It really is quite well done.

The story, and the world, is really very engaging, and while familiar to fantasy enthusiasts, especially those of the Celtic and/or Norse, it is an original and well developed take which really draws you in in a new way. That being said, I hated the ending - in the way that you only can if you've fallen for the story.

Definitely recommended.
I would have preferred to have given this a 5 star, but I was so let down by the ending, I just could not do it. The whole book had me mesmerized, so involved. This book was truly a piece of literary art, I couldn't put it down to do anything so mundane such as cleaning or making meals!!! And after all the work that was so obviously, so heartfelt put into it, it finished like a rush job to get rid if it and be done....I wanted to yell to Mr. Hennen=HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME???!!!!
This book tries to span too much time. It's very disjointed. You form very little attachment to the characters at all.

I really don't understand all the positive reviews for this one. I'm about 400 or so pages into the 800 kindle pages. If you enjoy things like taking 2 pages to describe going up a tree to someone's house (boring, wasted words), then you'll love this book. These types of things are all over.
I've been wracking my brain for the past day or so, struggling to find the best way to articulate my thoughts on "The Elven." I've found little success "The Elven" somehow manages to tell a story both both familiar and refreshing. It can often be difficult to fully express the quality of a novel--the adjectives that come most easily seldom confer nearly so much meaning as they ought to.

I first discovered "The Elven" entirely by happenstance. I was aching for a good book to read, and the discounted price on --along with the discounted price of the eBook--convinced me to give Hennen's story a shot, even though it had only one user review on . Cursory research revealed the Bernhard Hennen is a fairly prolific Fantasy author in German, whose works have been translated into many different languages. This unfortunately-titled novel, "The Elven," is (more unfortunately) the first of his stories to be translated in English. Hennen has approximately 17 books available on on .de, all of which are rated very highly--the majority scoring a 4.5/5 review average (including "The Elven," which has reviews from more than 400 users). The reviews for the "Elven" series were particularly glowing. I took the liberty of translating a bit from the two most helpful German reviews

The most helpful positive review, by "Martin H." (5/5) declares the book to be harmonious, fascinating, thrilling, sad and vivid. The first three novels form a trilogy of sorts, but each stands alone as a complete story. He states, "The world and characters are vividly and lovingly described so that the reader is immediately immersed into the world of the Elfs. Everything is written with a great deal of detail that never feels too wordy or fails to hold the readers attention." He also states that the story manages at times to be dramatic or melancholy without ever feeling contrived or cheesy.

Conversely, the most helpful critical review, by "Media-Mania" (3/5) declares the book to be a very good read, but "brutally" short. This first novel is a complex book that tells a "marvelously intense story," with a great deal of suspense, action, mystery and magic, as well as a great deal of humor. He/she/they declare it to be "A true adventure story and a master work." The review has nothing but praise for the novel itself, but instead criticizes the (German) audiobook adaptation, which apparently lost much of the content from the novel.

If you're out to sample more reviews than appear here, check out the German page on .de
http//www..de/Die-Elfen-Roman-Elfen-Romane-Band/dp/3453315669/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

You may also want to check out the listing on .co.uk, whose reviews (for whatever reason) don't appear on at all
http//www..co.uk/The-Elven-Bernhard-Hennen/dp/147782751X

So now that I've read the book myself, what do I think?

It's fantastic. Possibly even a little sublime. The Elven is very much written directly in the mold of the old Norse sagas. At first glance, that may seem to be a mark against the novel. After all, is there any setting more cliched in fantasy than the Norse-inspired mythic realm? Elves, Dwarves, Trolls and lots of hearty men with stout Scandinavian names, epic beards, and double-headed axes?

But where most Fantasy authors conjure their settings through the lens of Tolkien (whose own work was a lens through which to view the old Sagas), Hennen ignores Tolkien and emulates the source itself. So, despite the many similiarities to Tolkien's masterpiece, "The Elven" feels more like a parallel work than a derivative one.

I guess my "review" is getting pretty long, huh? I'm sorry about that. I really want to "sell" this book to everyone out there, but at the same time I don't want to rob any enjoyment of the story by spoiling anything, no matter how minor. The story of "The Elven" has humor, but treats its plot and characters seriously--with respect. The central conceit of the novel is lifted directly from some of my favorite myths and fairytales. To get from one point or another, the characters travel by means of magical portals--portals which are not altogether reliable, and have a bad habit of dumping our heroes out at their destination far later than they'd expect. This allows the story to be focused and personal, while still managing to fill out a truly epic, historical scale spanning centuries.

And, covering entire generations as it does, the novel is able to constantly provide each scene--each moment--with genuine tension. Because people do die, and the world does change, and if there's one clear and obvious theme to Hennen's story, it's that everyone is at Time's mercy. In other words, it's impossible to be certain in the safety or success of any one character, because their trials and triumphs are presented at a historic scale. This transforms the "draw" of the story from seeing what the characters do to, instead, seeing why and how they do the things they do.

What makes the story of "The Elven" truly memorable is the pacing. The "time travel" conceit allows the tale to be neatly divided into small chunks--each like a self-contained story that is connected to both the preceding and succeeding tales, but also enthralling in its own right. Rather than a single novel, "The Elven" feels like a collection of heroic stories tied together more by the characters involved than the machinations of the overreaching plot. None of the scenes feel wasted, and nothing at all feels superfluous (which, I now realize, is praise I can confer upon preceious few books, fiction or otherwise). The prose itself is--and I cannot stress this enough--magnificent.

I wish I could discuss the quality of the translation, and maybe someday in the future I will. What I can say, having learned German myself solely to read Herman Hesse's stories in their original tongue, is that translating German to English is a very difficult task. And while I cannot yet comment on the accuracy of Edwin Miles' translation, I CAN comment on its overall quality. The prose... is simply fantastic. The writing conveys action, humor and beauty quite deftly. So deftly that, if I did not know better, I would never have suspected this to be a translation at all. Miles clearly put sufficent effort into his translation to make it appear effortless. If more of Hennen's books are to be translated into English (and I very much hope they are), I hope they are translated even half so well.