ISBN: 0-425-09561-4 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com
The continuation of the saga continues with a whirlwind plot and excellent characters in a fascinating world; not quite as tight as the first novel due to shifting viewpoints.
Reviewed by David on July 04, 1998
Genre: Fantasy (High Fantasy)
Synopsis: Jame, a young woman of an ancient clan travels across a world full of wonders and dangers to rejoin her people. In the meantime, her people are torn by internal power struggles, distrust, as well as new and old enemies.
Full Review: Hodgell has started the story of Jame in the superb God Stalk. In that novel, Jame, a young woman of the Kencyrath, slowly regains her memories, strength and resources in the fascinating, god-haunted city of Tai-tastigon.
Now, with her companion Mark, she travels across the perilous and magical world of Rathillien, the latest battlefield in the Kencyrath's ancient war with Perimal Darkling, the enemy of their God and all creation.
As she travels, she is hunted by her enemies, some of them her own treacherous cousins. She is also haunted by the very real ghosts of her own dead, as well as the world where the Kencyrs are only interlopers.
At the same time, Tori, her brother, is struggling to unify the remains of the Kencyr clans to struggle against enemies both ancient and new, magical and military.
On the way, the political struggles clash with the almost suffocating laws, and Jame's compassion and honor barely balance her almost supernatural talent for calamity and destruction.
This excellent novel once again shows the author's skill in creating some of the best characters in modern fantasy. The world is fascinating, and the ancient history of wars, betrayals, blood-ties and redeeming honor make for a deep and convincing background. The plot and background does not overwhelm the characters: their motives are (mostly) common-sense and human, and they live and breathe, even while wincing at the load of the millennia of history.
One flaw with this book is the alternating viewpoint between Jame and her brother Tori. While it allows a more detailed look at the current state of the Kencyrath, the plot loses something in suspense and focus by constant switching. The background over which Jame is traveling is interesting, but not quite as fascinating as the almost overwhelming Tai-tastigon of God Stalk.
This book is followed by Seeker's Mask, the whole series is highly recommended.
It's now included in the omnibus Dark of the Gods.
Back Blurb: When the holy city of Tai-Tastigon went up in flames, Jame the Kencyrath hit the road. No longer apprenticed to the Master Thief, she is on her own on a dread and dangerous journey. Pursued by monsters, compromised by the treacheries of enemies, and tormented by her own powers raging nearly out of control, she searches desperately for her lost twin brother Torisen.
But Torisen has problems of his own. Now the Highlord of the Kencyrath, his rule is beseiged from within by intrigue, and there are armies at his borders. Only Jame holds the secret that can protect his kingdom's warriors from slaughter and the rest of the troubled world from doom ...
Overall: 7; Plot: 7; Characters: 7; Style: 7; World-building: 7; Originality: 7;
Copyright date 1985, Berkley Publishing Group (Berkley), February 1987, Mass-market, 351 pages
ISBN: 0-425-09561-4 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com