THE DANCERS OF ARUN

by Elizabeth A. Lynn ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 26, 1979

The second volume in the fantasy-trilogy introduced by the intriguing Watchtower (1978); an art akin to aikido or t'ai ch'i, practiced by troops of ""chearis,"" plays a central thematic role in both books, but there is no actual plot-link. Seventeen-year-old Kerris, endowed with the gift of mind-to-mind ""inspeech,"" is brought back by his older brother, the cheari Kel, to the village he left as an orphaned three-year-old. Kerris' exploration of his gift and growing relationship with Kel and the other chearis are interrupted after an incursion by the harsh nomad Asech. Lynn is to be admired for attempting serious things in the fantasy genre, but here nothing quite works: the settings remain faceless despite any amount of description; the love story awkwardly combines homosexual incest and drenching sentimentality; and Lynn's prose style is laconic to the point of numbness. A gifted writer, gone much astray.

Pub Date: July 26, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1979

Categories: FICTION