Insubstantial far-future adult fantasy, and first of a series, from well-known YA author Yolen. In the distant future, groups of women have banded together in self-sufficient, fort-like "hames" whose populations are maintained by adoption. Here, girls train to be farmers, cooks, medics, warriors, etc., and, under the guidance of the White Goddess ("Mother Alta"), practice moon-magic: chiefly, the conjuring of dark sister-twins from special mirrors (the dark twins materialize only in moonlight or torchlight). A certain ancient prophecy concerns the Anna, a sort of avatar who is destined to destroy the existing society and usher in a new. Young Jenna, who—unusually—has long white hair, shows signs of being the one prophesied, but the harsh old priestess of Selden Hame will have none of it. Jenna and her friend Pynt journey to another hame as part of their coming-of-age rituals; on the way they rescue Carum (a prince, as it later turns out) from vile death at the hands of Barnoo the Hound, one of ambitious Lord Karas' monstrous bruisers. They seek refuge at Nill's Hame, but soon, as Jenna and Carum flee, the hame is attacked and destroyed. The dark twin idea is unusual, yet Yolen does nothing with it. As for the rest: thin and creaky as an old wagon wheel, it just about rolls along.
Pub Date: Oct. 18, 1988
ISBN: 0765367564
Page Count: 260
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: May 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1988
Threads of history, legend, and dream interweave to craft an evocative myth of personal and national healing. Gabriel, eldest son of a wealthy merchant, is shamed by his father’s coldness and haunted by guilt from witnessing the murder of a Shinali woman, one of the peaceful natives his Navoran forebears had dispossessed of their tribal lands. He defies family pressure and trains as a healer, earning initiation into the mystical arts taught at the Citadel. While learning to treat sicknesses of body and soul, Gabriel becomes embroiled in the political intrigues of the ailing Navoran Empire. After he reluctantly reveals his gift of dream interpretation, he gains the favor of the empress and the enmity of her ambitious advisor, Jaganath. Failing to corrupt or murder Gabriel, Jaganath tricks him into apparent treason, forcing Gabriel to seek refuge with the Shinali. There, he finds acceptance, purpose, and love, but also danger, brutality, and tragedy; and he must choose whether to embrace his ultimate healing vocation and redeem the prophecy that Shinali and Navoran will eventually flourish as one. Complex and richly symbolic, this deeply spiritual fable rewards thoughtful reading. Using vivid sensory images to subtly reinforce the healing metaphor, Jordan (The Raging Quiet, 1999, etc.) draws heavily upon the ugly history of European colonization, but avoids simplistically pitting evil invaders against noble aborigines. Even the villains act out of comprehensible motives, and minor characters unfold unexpected depths. And Gabriel, who at first appears impossibly saintly, matures into his destiny with an understandable resistance and fear that graces his final sacrifice with almost unbearable dignity and triumph. Heartrending and transcendent. (YA)
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2001
ISBN: 0-06-028904-X
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2000
A well-crafted fantasy grapples with the ambiguities of violence. Princess Torina of militaristic Archeld meets Prince Landen of peaceful Bellandra when her father Kareed presents her the boy as a slave, having slaughtered his father, conquered his homeland, and captured their greatest treasure, a magical Sword that supposedly renders the wielder invincible. Torina frees Landen and sends him to the Archeldan barracks. Bullied for his presumed weakness, Landen vows to wreak revenge on Archeld by surpassing their martial prowess. While mastering his military training, he secretly befriends Torina, whose prophetic gifts are revealed by a Bellandran crystal. When the traitor Vesputo murders Kareed, framing Landen and plotting to marry Torina, they escape, hiding under assumed identities. Believing each other to be dead, they separately become invaluable to the High King—Torina as a Seer and Landen as a mercenary captain—as he seeks to bind his warring neighbors into alliance. They foil assassination plots, rescue the Sword, repulse invading barbarians, and yet never cross paths until the climactic confrontation with Vesputo. Hanley pulls off the cleverly constructed plot of her first novel with cinematic panache, piling on hairsbreadth escapes, near misses, and nailbiting cliffhangers. While intelligent, passionate Torina rarely rises above the “feisty redheaded princess” stereotype, Landen is a genuinely intriguing hero: a pacifist warrior who continually struggles with the tragic consequences of failing to oppose evil with force. Unfortunately, Hanley never really resolves this conflict, opting for a deus ex machina to eliminate the despicable Vesputo and leaving her principals guardians of a paradoxical Sword of Peace. Nonetheless, an impressive debut. (Fiction. 11+)
Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2000
ISBN: 0-8234-1532-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2000
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