Elizabeth A. Lynn

I was interested to come across this, as I had previously read the author's Chronicles of Tornor and a SF novel. The book started out promisingly, though written in an omniscient narrator voice, which is less usual these days. However, a few chapters in, I discovered that it has a prologue dealing with the birth of the twin brothers. I had accidentally started reading from Chapter 1, but that had made no difference - everything in the prologue is soon explained as back story anyway. This turned out to be an indication of some serious structural issues.

When the main story starts, the brothers are twenty-three years old, their father has died, and elder brother Karadur rules Dragon Keep. They are descended from a rare line of dragon shapeshifters, known as changelings - a word that in traditional folklore actually means fairy children exchanged for human children - but only the elder brother has this ability. Tenjiro, the younger twin, has magical abilities and has been away to study magical knowledge. He tells his brother's lover, Azil, that he is concerned Karadur will become cold and inhuman like their father when he starts to take dragon form. Changelings can only change form after creating a talisman in the shape of their totem animal. Karadur has not yet married and fathered an heir which Tenjiro claims is his great concern. He learns from Azil that Karadur is in the process of creating his talisman and tricks him into making a box in which to hold it, then he steals it and escapes with Anzil, whom he has enslaved.

Some time later, another changeling, Wolf, comes to the area and finds work as a carpenter. We see his courtship of a local weaver, Thea, and his building of a house for her and their son, Shem. Meanwhile, troubling rumours have begun of the sacking of villages in the north and a dark citadel where monsters live. The weather starts to become a mini ice age and gradually the monsters - wargs, reminiscent of the giant wolves of the same name in Tolkien's The Hobbit, except these are scaled rather than furry - begin raiding into the land ruled by Dragon Keep. The last of the true mages regains her memory and starts to investigate the truth about what is happening in the north and how Tenjiro has ignorantly revived an old evil. And other changelings, friends of Wolf, are drawn in to events.

I enjoyed the book initially, but began to be disquieted as the story wore on. Firstly, there is a major spoiler when the mage is introduced and scries in a mirror, witnessing the future murders of two characters the reader is invested in. From then on, every time those characters appeared, I wondered whether this was about to happen and when it did, what would have been a shocking and upsetting scene fell flat. Secondly, the story then deals with the preparations Karadur makes to invade the north and destroy the threat to his people, followed by the actual invasion. The climax - or at least what should be the climax - is over far too quickly and lacks impact. This concludes the fourth section of the book. Thirdly, there is a fifth section dealing with problems caused by a bandit in which Karadur meets a woman who, judging by the Epilogue, will become the mother of the heir he lacks, but all of this is just tacked on. It should have been the focus of another book (and there is a sequel, I understand), so I don't understand why something that isn't anything to do with the main story in the rest of the book is just added on the end, especially as it raises serious questions about Karadur's ability to control his abilities - he caused several fatalities when he loses his temper. But the book then jumps to the Epilogue which is some years later, and it seems that everything that happened in section five has been glossed over, judging from what we learn in Shem's viewpoint about a couple of people still at the Keep.

The whole of those later stages come over as incredibly rushed. The story as a whole has too many minor characters, often not developed sufficiently to be told apart, and character motivation is poor for important ones such as Tenjiro. The female mage is only in the story to impart some information, including that devastating spoiler, and do one important action, helping Karadur get his amulet back, then she clears off in the anticlimactic resolution to the main conflict. I also wasn't convinced by some of the world building - if a changeling makes their own amulet, why can't they just make another - something that affects not just Karadur.

It's a real shame as the writing and the world building generally, with the stories told about legendary heroes etc, is lyrical and very visual. But due to these fundamental issues, a book that initially looked as if it would merit a very enjoyable 4-stars can only aspire to 3.… (altro)

Started this but couldn't get very far. Initially, I found it very boring and then realised that it is about a planet, Chadbad, where slavery is the basis of society and is enforced by keeping the slaves drugged. The 'justification' is that they are criminals. Dana is a space captain who is trying to make some illicit money by smuggling the drug used to dope the slaves: another space captain steals it and he goes to Chadbad, centre of the slave trade, to try to get it back but is caught and becomes the slave of the sadistic Zed Yago, head of a leading family and a man with a lot of power. His sister Rhani has a more humane attitude to slaves but sees nothing immoral in turning a blind eye to her brother's torture of slaves or trying to get the formula for the drug so that her family can control the supply. Basically everyone in the book is on a sliding scale of criminality and even the organisation that opposes slavery is, from a flick through the rest of the book, controlled by someone who has his own agenda rather than having any moral concerns about the welfare of slaves. Apparently Rhani eventually has a relationship with Dana and he does finally regain his freedom, but to do it has to save Zed despite what Zed has subjected him to. Couldn't face reading over 400 pages of this so gave up which is something I seldom do with books.… (altro)

Second in what would probably be marketed as a series if published now, as this book is set generations later than the events of 'Watchtower'. Kerris is a 17 year old boy who lost his arm when the caravan travelling North, escorting him and his mother, was attacked by Asech raiders. They were meant to be joining his soldier father, but his mother is killed and his father dies fighting elsewhere, so Kerris is raised by his uncle, the current lord of Tornor.

Due to his disability, he has few friends in the militaristic culture at Tornor Keep, and for the past four years he has been apprenticed to the scribe and record keeper. The story seemed to be setting up something that stemmed from all this, as his teacher was transcribing old histories, but very early on in the book, everything is overturned when Kerris' older brother, Kel, and his fellow chearis -dancer/fighters - turn up to take Kerris south to Elath, where he was born.

I had a problem with this for a number of reasons. Apart from veering off from the initial setup, Kel is in such a hurry to leave, they don't even stay for a meal, let alone perform for the Tornor inhabitants who would naturally have been disappointed at being deprived of rare entertainment. Kel comes over as a self centred child - he has been aware that Kerris has been mindlinking with him for the past four years, in a culture where such things are not understood and if they were, would probably not be tolerated - people met later have prejudice against 'witches' - but he also knew his brother was disabled and would likely be having a hard time.

In fact, Kerris has only had the old woman who saved him and brought him to Tornor, and his tutor, as friends, with others pitying or disdaining him. His mind linking episodes, which he cannot control, are viewed as fits and more evidence of his unattractiveness and uselessness in a warrior culture. For an unexplained reason, Kel suddenly decides to come and get him, and Kel's subsequent attitude is disturbing. Knowing that Kerris is initially unable to block out others' thoughts and feelings, he nevertheless plays on the younger boy's attraction and hero worship to groom him and turn him into a part time partner in an incestuous relationship. (Part time because Kel already has a lover, Sefer.) Towards the end of the story it appears that Kerris might be developing independence, helped by reliving his childhood trauma and finally getting control of his gift with Sefer's aid, and then having an offer of a home with his mother's family, but he then relapses into his dependency on Kel and follows him and the other chearis in an inconclusive ending.

Other aspects that I wasn't keen on is that most of the characters are very cardboard and can hardly be told apart. Several have similar names, all beginning with K. The story is extremely slow and a lot of it consists of people sitting around eating, or else bathing or doing domestic chores. I appreciate it is about a non aggressive society at Elath, who won't kill, though unarmed combat or knife fights seem OK, and that later in the book there is action when Asech 'witches' attack the village, demanding that the Elath people teach them. There is a lot of soul searching on the part of Kerris, who is trying to come to terms with his disability and what to do with the rest of his life. But ultimately the relationship with Kel, which I don't think the author means the reader to view as abusive, comes over as such for me, and as it colours the whole story, I'm afraid I can't give this the three stars I originally envisaged.… (altro)