My life in books

Kate Elliott, the Crown of Stars series:

Prince of Dogs
The Burning Stone
Child of Flame
The Gathering Storm
In the Ruins
Crown of Stars

A couple of years ago, I read the first volume of Kate Elliott’s Crown of Stars epic fantasy series, King’s Dragon. I enjoyed it immensely, but encountered some difficulties locating the remaining volumes of the series, and it was one of those series that I knew I would have to have all the volumes on hand before I continued reading. So it wasn’t until just recently that I was able to finish reading this, but it was worth the wait and every bit as satisfying as I’d expected.

As Constant Reader must surely know by know, I love complicated series with a cast of… well, not thousands, perhaps, but certainly enough to sustain a number of intricate plotlines, with a significant number of strong women characters, complex world-building, and a healthy dose of politics and intrigue. This series delivers all that in spades, and I love for both the grand sweep and scope of the story and the fine detail of the chracters and their world.

Set against a civilization inspired by the late medieval period of Europe’s history, complete with religious ferment, internal power struggles, civil wars, sorceries and heresies, and invading “barbarian” forces, the multiple threads of narrative weave around the actions of three young people – Liath, a kinless orphan with a mysterious and magical heritage, Sanglant, the half-human bastard son of the king of Wender and Varre, and Alain, adopted son of a family of fisherfolk with strange gifts and an even strange path to follow.

And there’s a cataclysmic past event, dimly remembered by humans (and other people of the Earth), involving the almost mythical, feared and hated Ashoi, and barely understood prophecies that warn of an impending vast and dangerous threat.

What delighted me was that unlike our own medieval period, in this world, most cultures exhibit either gender equality, or give the primary political and/or religious power to women. There are female warlords and rulers and supreme heads of churches and clan elders and sorcerers all over the place. My one problem was that initially I found the character of Liath somewhat disappointing, and wanted to shake some sense and some backbone into her – but I was patient and eventually was rewarded by seeing her come into her power and become my favourite character.

Highly recommended to those who enjoy great multi-volume epic fantasy sagas.

Spirit Gate: Book I of Crossroads, Kate Elliott

This is the first book I’d read by Elliott, and I quite enjoyed it, even though it left me with many unanswered questions – although that’s to be expected from the first book in a projected seven-volume series. A great deal happens in this book, but I had a very strong sense, even as it reached its conclusion, that we’ve just finished with the prologue. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does make it difficult to wait for the rest of the series to be written so I can find out what’s going on.

The novel opens in a land called the Hundred, which for centuries has been protected by mystical guardians and patrolled by the Reeves, a kind of police force mounted on giant eagles. But there is a darkness spreading throughout the land. The Guardians have vanished, the Reeves are under a slow attack both from without and from within as their numbers dwindle and corruption enters in, and the future seems dire. Into the story comes the first of the key protagonists, Joss, a Reeve who is sent to investigate and restore order in the southern border area of the hundred, where bandits are threatening to cut off trade between the Hundred and the empire of Sirniaka.

Meanwhile, far to the southwest, we are introduced to Mai, a young woman whose people are living under an occupation force from the eastwardly-expanding Qin empire, and her husband Captain Anji, soldier and member of the imperial family, who are forced, by political unrest in which Anji could become an unwilling and endangered pawn, to flee east, beyond the lands controlled by the Qin – toward the southern borders of the Hundred.

The worldbuilding is very detailed and rich in cultural and political complexities. Anji, Mai and Joss are all well-developed and sympathetic protagonists, with very different perspectives, and are supported by a wide and varied cast of multidimensional secondary characters. The pace is somewhat slow for most of the book, but, as I said, this is just the first volume, and there is a great deal of foundation to be laid before the plot can advance. I am curious to see what Elliott is building on this deep and broad foundation.