This is the author's debut publication, and although the idea of a
prophecy is anything but original in fantasy, the combination of
telepathic Gryffin, and magic-wielding shy human-like Orryn is an
unusual one. And the prophecy is a Gryffin one, but relates to someone
human, or in this case part-human, which is a nice touch.
The two
main characters are Anarion, raised as Orryn but mostly human, and the
subject of the prophecy, and Teryl, a young gryffin. Anarion is very
nicely drawn, a young man having trouble fitting into the polite,
restrained Orryn society because of his unafraid, curious human blood.
Teryl is of similar age (in Gryffin terms) and although the two are
initially at odds with each other, they inadvertantly become mentally
linked together (a sort of telepathic bonding). The affection they share
is charming, and the scene where the two realise they are bonded is one
of the most delightful in the book. The other characters are not quite
so well rounded, but they are mostly likeable (those who are meant to be
likeable, that is). I would have liked to see more of Sharra, who
interested me, but after the prologue she was very much in the
background. The humans in their village were a bit of a disappointment,
no more than stereotypical peasants, who never quite came alive for me.
I
always enjoy a book where the author has taken the trouble to create a
world which is believably different, and I very much liked the two
societies of the Gryffin and Orryn, living in an uneasy co-existence.
The Orryn are timid and terrified of the Gryffin, but their proximity
protects them from the humans living elsewhere who would otherwise drive
them to extinction because of their use of magic. Unlike humans, who
have to use stones to power their magery, the Orryn have natural talents
and are also inherently responsive by instinct to any creature in need.
The telepathic and arrogant Gryffin also feel nicely 'other'; these are
not just giant talking beasties! The societies depicted are rather
simplistic. The Orryn are a little too idealised: the gentle, vegetarian
way of life seems a bit implausible, but makes a nice contrast with the
meat-eating Gryffin. I'm not sure that the political machinations of
the Gryffin were quite convincing, but it's difficult to portray a
society which determines leadership by brute force, while also
displaying the intelligence and subtlety to plot against each other, and
the author made a reasonable attempt at it.
Then there are the
humans living on the plains as farmers, and the Lord Defender who keeps
the population in check by ruthless cruelty, poverty-by-taxation and
magic. I'm not a big fan of a villain who has no redeeming features, as
seems to be the case here, but he's a very shadowy presence in this book
and I'm hoping that in the later books the Lord Defender will turn out
to be a little more complex and therefore interesting, and perhaps there
will be a necessary reason for keeping the farmers in terror and abject
poverty..
And as if there weren't enough races in the mix,
there are also the Grovale, the little creatures who help out the
Gryffin by doing all the difficult tasks that paws and beaks just aren't
designed for, and who occasionally get eaten for their trouble. It
interested me greatly that they were very drawn to the Orryn, and I
would like to know the reason for that (if there is one, other than -
the plot needed it).
The biggest problem I had with the book is
the writing style. It's not a high-action book, but what action there is
creates all the right levels of drama, which is fine. In between,
however, the writing is very dry, with long passages of overly detailed
and often repetitive exposition. Sometimes there is exposition followed
by a dialogue making much the same points. And lots of exclamation
marks! Everywhere! On the other hand, there are a few sudden lurches in
time or key moments where a little more description would have been
welcome. Here's a quote from the Prologue:
"Channelling
red-spectrum energy through the ruby Stone he carried, he used it to
create a Translocation portal. It snapped open in front of him, glowing
red to his Stone-sight. He extended his hand to her. “Come and find
out,” he invited. Sharra looked at him uncertainly for a moment and he
held his breath, hoping she would agree. Finally she smiled and took his
hand, and he sighed in relief. Sometime later he gazed down at her
beauty shining in the sunlight and returned her smile. Sharra’s eyes
sought his, her expression bemused. “As enjoyable as your company has
been this afternoon, you still have not told me what it is that you need
me to do,” she noted."
I have two issues with this. Firstly -
Translocation portal? That's neat, but what is it like, how does it
work, what does it feel like to go through... and a million more
questions. And then - sometime later??? So where did they go? What
happened? Actually, we do know some of what happened, because it turns
out that Sharra is now pregnant, but a bit more information would be
nice. Was it romantic or did he use magic to seduce her or (since it's
part of the prophecy) did she feel inexplicably drawn to him? It feels
like there's a chapter missing. [Edit: I was too impatient; many of these questions are answered in book 2.]
Now, a reader's response to
writing styles is very much a matter of personal taste. Most of the
time, I found it no more than a minor irritant, because I was drawn into
the story, particularly the whole business of the prophecy and how it
relates to Anarion, and I liked the characters too, but I can imagine
that others would find it too dry and wordy. And I have to admit, there
were times when things got very bogged down. A little less of the
hard-to-read exposition, and a little more dialogue would have lightened
a number of chapters. On the plus side, there are virtually no typos
and only an occasional phrase that felt a little clunky to me. I liked,
too, that the different races had their own ways of talking. The very
polite and formal Orryn say 'It would please me to know...' instead of
asking a question directly, while the Gryffin are much more forceful,
and the humans have yet another manner of speech, like this: “Well ya
talk like a lord,” she noted, examining him critically, “And ya sure
don’t look like nobody ‘round here. In fact ya don’t look like nobody I
ever saw b’fore. If ya don’t want ta be called ‘Lord’, then what should
we call ya?” This is rather nice attention to detail, which many authors
forget.
The plot builds nicely, and the author does a good job
of making all the decisions the characters make perfectly believable, in
line with their racial characteristics, their personalities and ages,
as well as the needs of the story. Much of the drama centres on the need
to keep Anarion in the dark about his history, but there are perfectly
sensible reasons for this for all those involved so it never comes
across as a contrivance for plot purposes. Anarion, in particular, is a
perfect blend of mostly human and a little bit Orryn, and that affects
everything he does. This aspect of the book was excellently done.
The
climax, when it came, was nicely dramatic and worked beautifully both
to resolve the issues for this book, and to set up the story for the
next book. I loved the friendship between Anarion and Teryl, a most
unusual pairing, and the prophecy and magic system intrigue me (and
those Translocation portals...). However, the rather heavy writing style
and the (so far) one dimensional villain keep this to three stars.
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