The Eye of Strife

By Dave Duncan

Sword fights and romance, miracles and mystery, treachery and sly humour....
A god summons a curious assortment of witnesses to his temple to testify on what they know about a jewel that was lost a thousand years ago. At least one of them is guilty. Others are lying.... Dave Duncan at his devious best.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Five Rivers Publishing
• Release date: Apr 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781927400807

Dave Duncan

Originally from Scotland, Dave Duncan has lived all his adult life in Western Canada, having enjoyed a long career as a petroleum geologist before taking up writing. Since discovering that imaginary worlds are more satisfying than the real one, he has published more than forty-five novels, mostly in the fantasy genre, but also young adult, science fiction, and historical. He has at times been Sarah B. Franklin (but only for literary purposes) and Ken Hood (which is short for “D’ye Ken Whodunit?”) His most successful works have been fantasy series: The Seventh Sword, A Man of His Word and its sequel, A Handful of Men, and six books about The King’s Blades. He and Janet were married in 1959. They have one son and two daughters, who in turn are responsible for a spinoff series of four grandchildren. Dave now lives in Victoria, BC.

Reviews for The Eye of Strife

[landwaster_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Eye of Strife is a well-constructed secondary world fantasy story in a world with no human magic but some very active gods. A group of people each tell their own story, and the stories slowly interweave to join together into a cohesive whole. The overall story isn't epic or even particularly exciting, but it's interesting and engaging - an enjoyable mystery slowly coming together. Since each segment of the story is told by a different (unreliable) narrator, the pace never slows and the story never feels dull. Duncan's long experience as a storyteller really shows - exposition is practically invisible and yet does a great job of fleshing out the world, and the characters are unique and interesting. It could stand another round of proofreading, but I definitely recommend the book as an enjoyable read.

[nhlsecord · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Dave Duncan is one of my favourite authors. His characters are entertaining, his stories are surprising and imaginative. His specialty is bringing together a number of disparate characters seemingly by accident, but then the story reveals the history that binds them and the Gods who led them to this point. His wry sense of humour and his ability to drop his characters into ridiculous situations that can keep my interest is what I like best about his writing.The Eye of Strife is such a story but unfortunately it is thinly rendered without Mr. Duncan's usual depth and charm. Still, it reminded me how much I have missed his books and it has encouraged me to read them again.

[gkarlives · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was my first book by Dave Duncan and, for the most part I enjoyed the characters; however, I found the plot forced and weak. The entire plot revolves around who actually has the Eye of Strife, which becomes clear is not the main protagonist or most of the heroes. The reveal and conclusion, for me, were anti-climatic.

[reading_fox · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sword and Sorcery without much in the way of Sorcery, but active gods interfere in the lives of mortals. Back in the ages of Empire, it is recorded that the Emporer established his rule through the aegis of The Father who granted him His Eye to aid the ruler see the future and win his battles. The Eye was subsequently lost to the mists of time, but the latest king of the diminished territories is no such ruler. However his wife deeply wishes for his happiness and concocts a scheme to aid his abilities. Sometime later a motley crew gather in His Father's temple under the supervision of the High Priest to relate their histories and confound rumours of a second and false eye that had been threatening to besmirch His honour. This is their tales - the dowager Empress, a couple of swordsmen one much battle-worn and scarred, two priestesses of The Mother, a merchant and a beggar.The tales allinterlink thand the Dowager keeps interrupting. Quick easy reading and in that light easy enough to keep the somewhat high suspension of disbelief necessary for the story to make sense. I did like hte cynical explanation offered by one of the swordsmen at the end! Frequently contrived coincidences help the plot along and there's little to no effort made to engender any compassion for the various characters, although some are naturally more appealing than others. Brief and passes the time entertainingly but there's nothing particularly special about it, although refreshing to read a fantasy that isn't part of a series.

[guide2_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable novella with lots of interesting characters.

[dabofdarkness · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I’ve been mulling over how best to review this book. I read some Dave Duncan when I was a kid and really enjoyed his work. This story is epic fantasy, one of my favorite genres. And yet this book didn’t do it for me.A group of seemingly unconnected people have been summoned to give testimony as to what they know about the Eye of Strife, a fantastical & powerful object that has been lost in history. So, we have to leap all the way back to the beginning as to how the Eye of Strife came into human hands. Rape and murder and war. That was pretty much the history of the Eye throughout the various stories.The characters were one-dimensional so I never felt connected to any of them. The ladies in general were romantic interests or victims. Even the few ladies with some power were cliches. I was left wanting more swords and sorcery, personal goals obtained through personal strife. Instead, it was much more of a grander, impersonal scale. War and rape were repeated themes.I had a hard time finishing this book. Nothing about it grabbed me. I had to to work at finishing it. I wasn’t in awe of the Eye. I didn’t love or hate any of the characters. The epic scale of things didn’t wow me. However, it is a complete story. It’s not my cup of tea, but it might be your cup of tea. 3/5 stars.The Narration: Anthony Lee has a bit of an accent and it took me a little while to get used to it. His pacing is a little slow but I could tell he was enjoying the story. He had distinct voices for some of the characters, but others were muddled together. There were no technical issues with the recording. 3.5/5 stars.I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Audiobookworm Promotions on behalf of various authors, narrators, and publishers. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.