The Painter Knight

ISBN: 0-88677-780-1 Order from: Amazon.com

A skillfully told tale of intrigue, usurpation and civil war, with original variations; lacking excitement in the plot or characters.

Reviewed by David on June 28, 1998

Genre: Fantasy (High Fantasy)

Synopsis: When her royal father is assassinated and an uncle declares himself regent, the 5-year old princess flees with her father's best friend. Their struggles to find supporters, and to avoid the regent's troops culminate in a struggle of swords and magic.

Full Review: The novel takes place in a world remarkably like Britain around the War of the Roses. The ruler, Marsellus III, is a self-centered and impulsive monarch who spends much of the time drinking since the death of his beloved wife. The court painter, Simon, is the king's best friend and the only one who can moderate his rages. Marsellus's intelligent and ambitious cousin decides to seize power by having the ruler assassinated, and becoming a regent for the young princess Kassandra, until he can get rid of her without suspicion. His scheme is going well, and he is well on his way on blaming a minority religious sect for the assassination, when a key piece, Kassandra, turns out missing.

The subsequent flight of the painter Simon, the young princess, amid the confusion of the looming civil war, when both parties accuse the other of treachery, is told from the prospective of Simon's recollections decades later, as he works on his crowning artistic masterpiece.

Patton reuses many of the elements of English history. There are analogues of many European countries, the politico-religious struggles with the Catholic Church, the reluctant and frequently bloody relationship with the Scottish clans. This allows her to construct a very solid world, while concentrating on the unique attributes. There is magic and prophecy in the world, and the gods are real and take interest in the struggle. However, the biggest difference is that the inhabitants are not quite human. First, except for child-bearing, there is no differences between men and women. The women are socially and physically equivalent to men: while never explicitly stated, compared to our world they are presumably larger, have more upper-body strength, and smaller breasts except when lactating.

In addition, while bisexuality is common, most relationships are homosexual. Marriages are less important, and in fact were outlawed for a period in the past.

The plot is, on the whole, pretty standard. The framework of the old painter's recollections removes some suspense from the outcome. More significantly, the characters, while well developed, lack dramatic interest. The magic, while original, is mostly used for divination, reminding me a bit of Dune. Kassandra, the precocious, imperious, but childishly shrewd Elizabeth-analogue is the Vessel of the Living Flame, but the Living Flame never amounts to much in the many struggles of the novel. The ghost of the murdered King is too much of a narrative device: there are no other ghosts in the book, and he seems to be a somewhat frivolous element to alternatively help and hinder the characters.

There is little sexual or romantic tension, which leaves the author to concentrate on other motivations. Unfortunately, the motivations are never sufficiently intense to engage the reader's sympathy very deeply.

For once, I found the cover art of a fantasy remarkably apt: Jody Lee's excellent illustration is skillful, but looks like a static, posed painting of a historical episode. This novel, which is first in internal chronology, but second in publication to The Stone Prince, reads like a fill-in of historical background in Patton's universe.

Universe: Branion Realm

Overall: 6; Plot: 5; Characters: 5; Style: 6; World-building: 6.6; Originality: 5.5;

ISBN: 0-88677-780-1 Order from: Amazon.com