Customer Reviews

Avaryan Rising: The Hall of the Mountain King, The Lady of Han-Gilen, A Fall of Princes

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Avaryan Rising combines the first three novels of Judith Tarr's series (The Hall of the Mountain King, The Lady of Han-Gilen, and A Fall of Princes). Having had no previous experience with the author, I picked up this book on an impulse in the book store. I'm glad to say that I was pleasantly surprised.

In my opinion, Tarr's strongest point by far is her skill in character creation and development. Anyone who reads a lot of fantasy at some point tends to become a little bored with the same cookie-cutter characters that appear to dominate much of this genre. Tarr offers a refreshing alternative. Her characters are unique, fascinating, and extremely well developed. Already on the first page of "The Hall of the Mountain King", I was drawn to the powerful (if somewhat tragic) figure of the old king, who stands on the top of his battlements day after day, in sun, wind, rain, and snow, keeping watch for his beloved daughter. The characters that follow are similarly fascinating, haunting, tragic, powerful, and seemingly real. Examples: Mirain, the young son of a mortal and a God, who sets out to conquer what he claims is by right his Kingdom and Empire. At the beginning of the book, Mirain is only 15 years old, but his description as someone who commands the love and respect of his people seems very believable to me, as Tarr immediately sets him apart from other young men his age, due to his heritage (which is gift and burden at the same time ... something that Tarr explores in much detail and very well). Vadin, his squire, who is initially so overcome with his hate for Mirain that he proposes a wager that would forfeit his soul, should he ever feel any friendship for his new master. The list goes on, and each new character is as unique as the first.

The plot is overall very character-driven (as opposed to action-driven). If you read this expecting fast-paced chapters with lots of action sequences, you will probably wind up being disappointed. Although there is certainly a good amount of action in this book, Tarr seems more interested in showing the inner turmoil of her characters as well as the developing relationships between them. She does it exceedingly well!

Probably the only 'problem' I have with this book lies in Tarr's writing style. Overall her prose is beautiful and a pleasure to read. Every now and then, however, the writing becomes "experimental" (for lack of a better word), with sentence fragments and unexpected shifts between subjects. I found myself having to re-read sentences at times in order to keep up with the plot. I do get the feeling that these sequences are very much intended, but they did not quite work for me. Having said that, I don't think it takes away from the overall experience of the book.

In conclusion, I would certainly recommend this book as a refreshing alternative for any compulsive fantasy reader, although it is not up there with my personal favorites. That, however, is a matter of personal preference above anything else, so don't lend too much weight to it.

Best,

Anika Leithner

Before this, I've never read any of Judith Tarr's work, but after reading this trilogy, you can be sure that I will be searching for everything she's ever written! At certain points in the story, I found myself breathless. The characters were very well developed and believable. The tapestry of magic, romance, power and sacrifice that Ms. Tarr weaves is complex and beautiful. This is a definite "must read."

This was a mastery of writing, without a doubt. Tarr's style is so clear, yet very descriptive at the same time. And the story is absolutely enthralling. I read this entire volume in 3 days! The stories are nicely connected, and she focues more on the interrelationships of the characters than on just plain old magery and fighting. I thought the series was over when I finished this book, but thankfully there are 2 more to go! I'm just starting Spear of heaven now :-) If you love fantasy, you'll love this book - without a doubt.

One thing that really sets these books apart from other high fantasy I've read is the prevalence of melanin in the main characters' skins. Most of the major players, particularly in this first omnibus, are dark, ranging from black to bronze to gold in skin color. I've also realized that I really don't know anything about northern African and Mediterranean geography and culture. I'm fairly sure that's the basis of the fantasy setting--the characters' coloring and the unexpected appearance of a distinctly Minoan form of dress helps--but I don't know where reality ends and the fantasy begins in relation to the world building here.

1) The Hall of the Mountain King
This book introduces the world of the series and the son of the sun god as he reclaims his birthright in his human grandfather's court, stealing the position from his less favored uncle. Mirain, despite some pretty spectacular powers and fighting ability, is a clean-shaven teenage priest so he spends a significant portion of the book with the other characters underestimating him... to their detriment. We primarily view him through the eyes of his unwilling squire/new best friend who's pretty sure Mirain's insane. The book sets up the idea of the dichotomy and conflict between a god of light and a goddess of darkness, one good and life sustaining, the other evil and bringer of death.

2) The Lady of Han-Gilen
This is the story of how Mirain gets married. In it we are introduced to the polygamous culture of this world (not that the harem women are addressed at all, grrr) in the form of the opposing suitor for the titular lady's hand. Despite the opposing suitor being more clearly portrayed as totally head over heels for her, she chooses her childhood crush. Of course. The logic behind the marriage choice seems to be based more on stubbornness and a childhood promise than actual chemistry. Characters being at odds and then falling into a bed is a popular and often fun trope, but here I found the romance pretty underdeveloped and was more interested in the politics, which usually aren't my thing. (I'm more of a fluff person when it comes to my entertainment.) And a major pet peeve: Mirain, the singer, dang it! Did you just forget her from the first book to this one? Why do you not ever mention or honor her?

3) A Fall of Princes
This is the book that made me sit back and demand "What the heck?!" It's also pretty much the only reason I continued on to the second omnibus. I had to see if Tarr could top this. There's some copious crack to be found here, featuring the kids of book two's main characters. We've got improbable physical descriptions, arrogant little snots in difficult circumstances, arrogant older snots who are good at everything, underage sex (Seriously, the book should not leave me sputtering, "But the physical description made it sound like he hadn't finished puberty yet and now he has some great sexual prowess?? Excuse me, wait a minute here!"), antagonism followed by buddy bonding and then boys love, sons disagreeing with the beliefs of their fathers, gender switching, mpreg, complete and utter chaos, little addressing of psychological repercussions resulting from complete and utter chaos, and an unexpected appearance by Rip Van Winkle. The ending isn't quite "rocks fall; everyone dies" but close enough.

One of the best fantay novels I've read in a long time. Engrossing, original, and at times fun. It slighted toward a historical romance with the sexual unnuendoes but the roundness of the characters and the high magical elements makes this a trilogy not to be missed. i hope to read works as original and refreshing as this in the future.

Judith Tarr is indeed a master of prose, fans of Feist, Reichert, Tolkien will eat this book up. The one thing keeping it from getting a rating of 10 is the way it ends. It has the same flaw that Feintuch's The Still has. A flaw that will be noticed by most readers. I recommend this book, it is extremely hard to put down after you start.

I really loved this book. A three part story that leads you on a wild ride of adventure and intrigue. The characters are dynaminc and likable, the story flows well and best of all, it ends with a nice sense of closure while still leaving the door open for more books

Though not entirely unflawed, these books come so close as to make no difference. I read them one by one as they came out; my suggestion to readers is to set aside some time and read them all at once! Tarr's amazing characterization, sense of place, and her unerring dialogue sweep the reader into another world. You won't want to come back!

I could rave but it'd be pointless, my opinion of this book could not be expressed in less than several pages; Tarr has unsurpassed talent in this area, READ IT.

I read The Hall of the Mountain King back in 1988, and I jotted down my impressions of the novel at that time. The male characters in this novel were very effeminate, and I don't think that's what the author intended. Rather, I got the impression that the author just wasn't skilled in showing how males express deep friendships toward each other.

The plot concerns a youth who's the scion of a sun god. He comes to accept his inheritance of his grandfather's kingdom, but first he has to defeat his uncle. The boy has mind control powers and is a quick swordsman, so he kicks butt through most of the book. However, halfway through the book we find out he's only 15 years old! Suspension of disbelief is shattered at that point.

Save your money. This isn't worth reading.