ISBN: 0-312-87427-8 Order from: Amazon.com
A pleasant fantasy adventire with a likable and plausible protagonist, this book is too long for its straightforward plot.
Reviewed by David on April 06, 2002
Genre: Fantasy (War, Magic, Intrigue, Coming of Age)
Synopsis: Prince Barden, a stubborn younger son of an equally stubborn King Tedric, once gathered his family, servants and friends and escaped into the unexplored great Western Forests to found his own colony away from his domineering father. In outrage, King Tedric, full of strength, and with other heirs, disowned the prince.
Now, ten years later, tragic accidents left the King without close heirs, and, over seventy now, the King is weakening. Suddenly, the disowned Prince becomes a potentially valuable commodity. A small expedition, sent to find Prince Barden and to bring him or his children back, finds the evidence of a deadly fire, and the remains of most of the hopeful colonists. The only survivor is a feral, teenage girl, unable to speek. She is the right age to be Lady Blysse, Prince Barden's daughter. Or perhaps the daughter of some other colonists—there were several children in the expedition.
Dubbed Blysse by the hopeful search party, the feral girl is brought back to the capital. Here she will learn, with difficulty, human speech and customs. But she is not prepared for the complex and sometimes deadly intrigue that surrounds all potential claimants to the old king's throne.
The only advantages young, uneducated Blysse possesses are her companions from the great forests—the wolf Blind Seer and the falcon Elation.
Full Review: Blysse is an interesting protagonist. More than a bit resembling Kipling's Mowgli, Blysse has been raised by the great wolves and can communicate with them. Dubbed Firekeeper by the wolves, the girl is physically strong, fast and perceptive. While relearning the human language, Blysse plays a role in the increasingly dangerous politics surrounding the succession, without becoming a superwoman.
Her language skills are still limited, she is attaractive but not beautiful, and her physical skills, while impressive, are no match for trained, and equippped soldiers in real battle. Thus limited, Blysse is more believable and attractive. Despite several romantic developments surrounding her, Blysse remains unattached and mostly indifferent to the men around her.
The major flaw in the book is its length, in view of the relative simplicity of the plots. Relatively little sophistication is introduced in the world or the characters despite the large number of pages. The plot, while pleasant, is straightforward, resembling juvenile books, and the characters' motivation is generally quite straightoforward and obvious as well. While full of ambition, few characters are properly villainous, and the one that is clearly a bad guy seems both simplistic and unimpressive.
In all, this is an enjoyable book, in the same way as many enjoyable fantasies written for the yonger audience. While enojoying a likable and unusual protagonist, the novel would have been improved by a shorter length.
Overall: 5.5; Plot: 5.5; Characters: 5.5; Style: 5; World-building: 5.5; Originality: 6.5;
Copyright date 2001, Tor, August 2001, Cloth, 590 pages
ISBN: 0-312-87427-8 Order from: Amazon.com