On the edge of the galaxy, the "rogue" planet Worlorn has drifted within warming distance of a star system for just long enough to attract a decade-long "Festival" created by terraformers, biologists, and architects from every neighboring world. As Worlorn passes once more toward interstellar darkness, few residents remain except a handful of Kavalars, representatives of a fierce and xenophobic civilization with a unique marital system. Marriage as such is unknown in this world of warrior brotherhoods and ritualized honor, but a fortunate woman may graduate from the status of communal to that of private property, as the protected possession (betheyn) of a man and his teyn (male bondmate). Among the last sojourners on Worlorn is an enlightened Kavalar historian, Jaan Vikary, who maintains a tempestuous menage a trois with his more traditionally minded teyn and his non-Kavalar betheyn Gwen Delvano. The protagonist is Gwen's former lover, who comes to Worlorn at what he believes to be her command, is appalled by the harshness of her situation, and ignorantly touches off a disastrous confrontation between Vikary and the more reactionary Kavalar elements on Worlorn. Martin's evocation of the strange planet and the intricate Kavalar ethos is wonderfully ingenious. As in the novella A Song for Lya, he navigates a complex love story with some conviction. Yet the writing itself is effortful; Martin does not seem to have enough stylistic resource up his sleeve to do justice to his own marvelous materials. Labored, inflated, intermittently arresting.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1977
ISBN: 0553383086
Page Count: 219
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1977
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Another series set in Midkemia (The Serpentwar Saga, etc.) begins. And for the many fans already familiar with previous volumes, this one fits chronologically between A Darkness at Sethanon and Prince of the Blood—or so the publishers assure us. Feist also created the computer games “Betrayal at Krondor” and “Return to Krondor,” which presumably are not unconnected with the present volume. Prominently featured in the story are the Riftwar veterans Squire Locklear and Squire James, along with Pug the magician, Prince Arutha, and the usual villains, evil magic, adroit plot twists, and so forth. Good, bad, or indifferent, Feist’s huge saga simply is, and the fans will lap it up.
Pub Date: Oct. 7, 1998
ISBN: 0-380-97715-X
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Eos/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1998
A new adventure for Jim Eckert, once a college math professor, and now Baron James of Malencontri in an alternate14th- century England where magic works and Jim has a not-so-secret identity as a powerful but rather dim-witted dragon. There’ll be double trouble for Jim this time out, although both problems will eventually merge: the Earl of Cumberland intends to march against Jim with a huge army; and in Lyonesse, a land now lying under the sea where three powers-—Old Magic, trees, and beasts—-reign supreme, King Arthur and his knights (and foes like Morgan le Fay and Modred) are threatened by Dark Powers. So Jim, with his acquired knowledge of magic and his shape-shifting ability, his loyal sidekick Sir Brian Neville-Smythe, Hob the hobgoblin, and a magical questing beast, once again must somehow prevail against the forces of darkness. Another satisfying entry in this well-established, colorful, and entertaining series
Pub Date: Oct. 12, 1998
ISBN: 0-312-86159-1
Page Count: 354
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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