Take the workshop to the workshop
Debuts can be difficult, often the first books of the authors are an experiment, and their release is the culmination moment when they are left to the prey of (often merciless) reviewers. Masłowski’s greatest asset is his incredible ambition, which he tries to fit into quite a narrow framework. Various threads in the first part fell on the shoulders of the reader without any warning. A moment of inattention, a moment of carefree reflection was enough, and it turned out that the following sentences did not make sense and it was necessary to look back at the very beginning of the page. And it was not about Masłowski writing hard and incomprehensible; the problem was rather in the amount of what he wanted to convey, while having a rather amateur workshop. So we have things like changing threads too chaotic, sometimes completely unnecessary descriptions or adding a lot of unnecessary characters, whose one-off “performances” only add to the confusion. The second part shows a definite improvement, and reading it is no longer occupied with so much effort to follow the events. It can be seen that the author is much more conscious about his ambitious plans to run a story in the huge and complicated world he has imposed on himself.
Tales continued
I really like the fact that the second part is a smooth continuation and does not remind us of what happened in the first part at every step, like the serial “reminders” before each episode. There is no impression that the book is artificially crammed with such references to its predecessor. Of course, this may turn out to be a problem for those people who started their adventure with Masłowski’s work from this position, but hey, is it nice to read it from the inside? Four Fingers are indeed demanding and tiring reading in many respects, but I cannot imagine reaching for the Oracle of the Middle without first reading the first volume and I recommend the same to everyone.
What awaits us in the second volume?
Oczywiście kontynuacja wątków z części pierwszej, a więc znów przyjdzie nam czytać o Ragnarok, boskiej armii, Hrothgarze, Mistrzach (i całym tym zamieszaniu związanym z drogocennym melotem oraz Czteropalczastymi), nie mogło też zabraknąć Akatjonu wraz z dziejącym się w nim intrygami… Spotkamy mniej i bardziej lubianych bohaterów części pierwszej, takich jak Xavian, Blossi i Cabron. Jest też wesoła gromadka chłopców sierot, a wśród nich ten o „Czystej Krwi”, którego za wszelką cenę chcą odnaleźć Mistrzowie.
Jeśli pierwsza część i jej świat łączący rasowe fantasy z delikatnym sci-fi oraz dziejące się w nim historie przypadły Wam do gustu, to Wyrocznia środka zdecydowanie podbije Wasze serca, gdyż Masłowski mocno postawił na rozwinięcie tempa akcji, której Czteropalczaści byli jedynie przedsmakiem, nieśmiałym i zdecydowanie zbyt chaotycznym wstępem do serii, która w kolejnych częściach ma szansę nabrać jeszcze większych rumieńców.
