
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.