Robin Hardy (1) (1955–)

As with all that came before in this series In Extremis groans under the burden of various historical inaccuracies, anachronisms and out of place modern terms and phrases, Americanisms and colloquialisms. This may seem pedantic, but I for one find it hard to take characters seriously as medieval people when they are speaking like modern Texans.
It takes a lot more than people using swords and riding horses and a peppering of a few period terms and phrases (or indeed an impressive sounding Latin title) to constitute historical authenticity and realism, something this series seems to be sadly lacking.

The novel recycles a number of scenarios and plot devices (perhaps coming to be a little over-used) from previous novels which make it seem all the more with yet more cunningly disguised secret tunnels which another character gets stuck in and sliding panels. The good ol’ slave traders are back again, the assorted bunch of nasties (‘cos everyone knows slavery is evil, right?) who have provided the characters with plenty of opportunities to catch and kill them.
Apparently, Lystrans aren't too keen on the common medieval pastime of hunting cute animals for sport. They do however have another of their favourite activities to keep them occupied- humiliating their guests.

This involves ‘scaring off’ an unwanted suitor for the ruler’s daughter with the usual tactics of subjecting him and his fellows to a round of insults and public humiliation. However, when behaving like this towards someone they don’t like (which seems to happen rather often), the stock of Lystrans royals and nobles show themselves to be entirely lacking in the most basic social graces and common courtesy, for their victims are their guests, partaking of their hospitality, and the incident in question as usual takes place at the dinner table.

Even today, insulting and humiliating one’s guests in such a way could be considered bad manners. However, for Medieval royals treat their guests who also happened to be Royal with such flagrant contempt and disrespect would appear entirely unacceptable for the period. Never mind that their behaviour is infantile, childish and quite simply pathetic.



Their guest (and the father of the suitor in question) called one of the Lystran royals names Renee a nasty name 17 years before, and instead of getting over it and moving on, the Lystrans take it upon themselves to punish him by calling him the same nasty name to make everyone laugh at him.



They seem to like making men out to be fools in this way, and particularly enjoy making fun of others an belittling those they don’t like for their own amusement.
It is not only men who fall foul of the Lystrans sadistic tendencies however, as Renee takes it upon herself to punish another character guilty of the heinous crime of having called her an ‘Old woman’ (Old witch old tart would be more fitting) several years before in much the same way.
Lystrans it seems cannot tolerate the same treatment as they dish out to others.

Men seem to get something of a raw deal in this novel and series. The male characters whom Renee, Nicole and her daughter Bonnie choose to pick on seem to be depicted lacking the wit, intelligence and backbone to stand up to or rebuff the onslaught of their apparently smarter female counterparts.




There also is one passage towards the end in which the main female protagonist Nicole, the wife of the ruler complains because the traditional betrothal vows her daughter takes require women to be virgins on their marriage but not men.
Like a modern day liberal whining about ancient customs which are not politically correct, Nicole wants to have them changed because she finds such a notion ‘inconsistent’ and unfair.
Like most other Lystrans, she believes in gender equality- because men are allowed to sleep around before they get married women should be allowed to as well.

Altogether, In Extremis proves to be another disagreeable seventh instalment in the rather sorry excuse for a ‘medieval fantasy’ saga that is the Latter Annals of Lystra.
… (altro)

Two years after the end of the last book 'Road of Vanishing' and as usual there is a lot going on.
The Lystrans are preparing for the annual fair, and little Sophie has discovered a secret tunnel in which she believes to be haunted by a ghost. The 'ghost' then proceeds to use the tunnel to perform a kidnapping.
Things go on much the same way until the climax when the protagonists run into some characters from the older books, both of whom cause them a great deal of trouble.

This book I believe marked something of a transition in the series from the more original plotlines of the early books to the more repetitive and formulaic pattern of the later ones. Repetitive indeed , as the characters spend most of their time going to and fro through tunnels, and chasing after baddies and similar events keep happening over and over again.



The author seems to rely mostly on events from older stories to prop up this one with the dependence on a 'complex' series of interwoven plots and subplots none of which are really 'fleshed out' makes the whole novel rather weak. Even the element of mystery which ties up with the 'ghost' idea and the plot of a former book remains unsolved.

The characters display yet more absurdity and hypocrisy in their attitude towards a character called Renee, the promiscuous militant feminist who is the daughter of a former ruler.
In this novel she is 'courting' the latest in a long list if potential suitors, named Fanscali. Well 'courting' might not be the right word, as Ares suggests that the mere suggestion a husband might make her stay at home and have children will be enough to scare her off.



During the 'courtship itself, despite Renee's reputation for promiscuity and debauchery, Ares insists that Renee has a chaperone to protect her 'honour' (a figment of the collective imagination of the royal family) in case Fanscali tries to 'take advantage' of her, yet she is the one who demands that Ares puts him up in a room near to hers and tries to go to him room to have sex with him. Make sense?

Yet whilst her shameless and indecent public (mis)conduct that would never have been socially acceptable at this time is ignored and overlooked by the other characters, but at the same time they are vociferous in their condemnation of Fanscali for what they regard as 'dishonourable' behaviour on his part towards Renee for having deceiving her.
It apparently did not occur to the Lysrans that the medieval concept of 'honour' was meant to be a two-way thing in which both men and women were supposed to conduct themselves in a way that would have been deemed proper and acceptable in their society.
Such is typical of this series to present a one-sided view of morality and virtue in which one party is condemned for being 'nasty' to Renee, yet she is never censured, even when her behaviour was worse than that of the other person.

Renee's inevitable revenge provides one of the most dubious incidents of the whole novel (she always has to get revenge for any slight, real or perceived, and utterly disproportionate to what was done to her). Needless to say, it as usual involves harming innocent people who have never harmed or even met her in process- but its all perfectly okay because she 'prayed about it' first. Yup, apparently we're meant Renee whose only object of worship is herself and perhaps an assortment Greco-Roman deities related to her foremost object of reverence- being sex-prayed to the Christian one.



Subsequently he 'inspired' her to take revenge. Apparently, he's not only subject to her vindictive whims, but tacitly condones them- his favour depicted in the most cheesy manner of a light shining of her face. Could hardly be more corny if she sprouted a halo....
It's certainly a yarn which Nicole, the female Christian protagonist is caught on hook, line and sinker. As pretty much usual for her who is supposed to be intelligent.

So once again this novel, for all the superficial 'period' details does not reflect beliefs, attitudes, values and ideas common to the medieval period. It is basically historically inaccurate, poorly written garbage.… (altro)

As ever this instalment was riddled with anachronisms, and modern terms and phrases which do not fit in with the setting, in common with the entire series. Strictly speaking very little really seemed to happen at least little that was different from what took place before.

This I believe is one of the foremost weaknesses of this series, it has simply dragged on for too long, and so storyline and plot devices get `recycled' and re-used and the stories become ever more repetitive as the series progresses. Again there are secret tunnels, and sliding panels, and much romancing between Sophie and Henry, or Bonnie and Ben, again Ares falls ill from poison, Renee has is tormenting and abusing those around her freely and with impunity, not much change there then.

In this novel, the identity of the poisoner is revealed. Trying to poison the ruler no fewer than three times would seem to be an act arising extreme hatred and malice- yet the person responsible is a minor character who has never been introduced before, and one could be left questioning why on earth he wanted to kill Ares and Henry- a question left unanswered as his motives are never revealed.
Really the whole thing just seems to be something of a cop out, and rather unsatisfactory and implausible.

The most unlikely and unrealistic aspect of this novel, however, was Ares faked 'death'.
Not only did half the prominent figures in the palace know Ares was alive (though this was out of necessity), but they frequently visited and consulted with him in his room.
Nicole insisted in her conjugal rights, and they both simply carried on as before.
The idea that nobody would hear or notice the regular consultations between Ares and palace officials, or Ares and Nicole's activities, or become suspicious at the several sightings of him in the corridors and outside the palace makes the novel all the more implausible. Are people in Westford really so gullible and witless as to believe everything they are told, especially some nonsensical story about Ares 'ghost' from Renee, and not suspect the Ares was not dead with all the happenings above?

Henry, who takes on the title of Surchatian (equivalent of the King) in this story is supposed to be learning how to rule the country and assert himself- yet he lacks the courage and backbone to even do so much as stand up to his sister Renee who does not even have a royal title, yet Lords over him. He is so afraid of incurring her wrath (really, what is the worst that she can do- shout at him, throw a tantrum?) that he has to creep around performing important business in secret for fear of being caught, and even has to marry his betrothed in secret.



Methinks a King or ruler who was terrified of upsetting and offending his jumped up tart of a sister who has no real power is hardly worthy to be a ruler at all, especially in relation to matters that could be of great import to the entire kingdom. What is so wrong with the ruler just asserting himself and refusing to let Renee order him around? Do some people simply think this would be sexist or tyrannical?

One of the most objectionable aspects of this series is the way that the characters appear to condone immoral and sinful behaviour, and this particular novel is no exception. In one passage, Nicole sees Renee’s latest lover leaving her bedroom at night, and it is obvious what she has been up to. Nicole’s response is to smile and feel happy for Renee. Apparently, she sees no problem with casual fornication.

One might think such behaviour on the part of an unmarried noblewoman might be regarded as entirely inappropriate if not taboo in the medieval period, but none of the characters seem to regard it as such, and really the novels in this series rarely accurately represent the standards and values common at the time.
The man in question however is far from a willing victim (at least at first) as Renee lures him into her bedroom where she proceeds basically rape him, for lack of a better word, all the while talking about 'honour'.

Altogether another less than satisfying instalment, all of which seem to be getting rather similar in a rather tired series that has perhaps simply gone on for too long. Thankfully there is only one left.

… (altro)

A lot of fans have raved about the deep moral and spiritual messages in this story, but, as far as I can see there is little of either. It has been some time since I read this book, so I hope readers will forgive me if I make a mistake, or remember something incorrectly.

The story itself and its resolution is simply corny, cliched and generally implausible. Basically, it concerns Ares and Nicole being invited on a diplomatic visit to another country by a neighbouring ruler- who proceeds to hold them hostage- for little or no apparent reason.



There is plenty of formulaic Political Intrigue, which is apparently essential to the story. The characters behavior, however, considering that they are supposed to be mature sophisticated adults is simply ridiculous.
The Heroine gets upset when the wife of a Rival King criticizes her Fashion sense and dressing style, and her Husband uses the Slutty Princess Renee to get Revenge on her, with some petty insults which are supposed to be funny, but are really just Childish. Such immature behaviour towards social equals and even superiors running contrary to all forms of courtesy and politeness is sadly all too typical of the supposedly 'sophisticated' Lysrans.

Every one of the enemies or rivals of the Lystran Protagonists is depicted as utterly stupid, foolish or Gullible, who can be duped by people donning disguises and assumed identities.
Most of them don't have counsellors or advisers who are able to see through the ploys of the Lystrans, or react to them in any way, or indeed seem to have met or know anything about the royal families and important officials of the neighbouring states. The resolution, without giving too much away is so convenient and clichéd that its hard to suspend one's disbelief and that 'yeah, like that just happens all the time.....'

On another subject, the attitude to, and uses of Religion by the characters Imply nothing more than a Petty and capricious deity who can be relied upon to get his people He likes out of difficult situations, and helps his favourites.
It appears that the author was using some form of politically correct newspeak or self-censorship by terms that may have had specific Christian connotations, opting instead for more broad, vague and neutral terms like 'religious experience' instead of conversion or salvation, and 'malevolent spiritual activity' or 'supernatural evil' instead of demonic.
Fans of this series have tried to excuse this by claiming that Medieval people only had a limited understanding of theology, but any serious examination of Medieval Religion reveals that many people at this time believed in Satan and demons, and that such powers could influence aspects of the Material world. So the avoidance of these specifically Christian terms cannot be justified according to the 'historical' setting.

The Vision scene in the last few chapters of the story is bizarre, obscure and often plain absurd. There are female angels, and others who go around exacting summary vengeance against Adulterous Men (women are apparently exempt), who are the only ones to he held guilty in acts of Marital infidelity, and watching over 'faithful' people who pray. The implications of this? Your 'guardian angel' will take care of people who 'sin against' or even offend you perhaps?

On a Moral level, the behaviour and responses of the characters are don't seem consistent with the common social mores or attitudes of the period.
Princess Renee makes sexual advances towards every man she sees, including openly doing so in front of her husband, and nobody regards her behaviour and chosen representative of the Province and a prominent member of the ruling family as scandalous, shameful, or in any way unacceptable.





Her husband does not become Jealous or her Promiscuity and Infidelity, as would not uncommonly happen in the Real world, or the Medieval times, and none of the other characters become resentful or bitter at the Ruler's favourable Treatment of his friends.
Again in the Medieval world, such behaviour on the part of a ruler would almost certainly cause resentment and be perceived as unjust.
I seriously question whether this author has any real depth of Knowledge of the Medieval era, aside from Clothes and food.

Altogether this gives the stories a cheap, poorly written, unoriginal and unimaginative feel, with each as more of the same. A poor fantasy novel, and a poor Christian story, the same can be said for all of the series thus far one to avoid..… (altro)