16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A master storyteller and myth-maker in full flower, June 22, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Books of Great Alta: Comprising 'Sister Light, Sister Dark' and 'White Jenna' (Paperback)
The Books of Great Alta, a compliation volume consisting of 'Sister Light, Sister Dark' and 'White Jenna', has just kept me up until 5:30 in the morning. I last read these books when they first came out, but have been reminded of them since and was delighted to find that both are still readily available. They are examples of Jane Yolen's brilliance as a storyteller and her profound skill as a maker of myths to rival any writer you care to name.
Part of Yolen's genius lies in her skillful weaving of reality and fantasy, the melding of myth and pseudo-history (with some quiet digs at modern historians along the way - but that's just an added extra) to form a convincing whole. The book is full of strong, memorable characters, most especially her central heroine, Jenna. Jenna is human enough both to want to be the Anna, the chosen one, and at the same time to want to reject that destiny. Fantasy and reality, blended and woven, but not like a piece of cloth, flat and two-dimensional - Jane's work is more like a fine basket, with height, width and depth, filled with brilliant writing and replete with original ideas that for all their newness still resonate at a deep level. Her concept of the dark sisters has introduced a new archetype to modern myth, and it is so powerful and rings so true that from this time forth we will wonder how we did not know it before.
These books belong on your shelf if the old songs are in your heart (and she provides the songs as well!) and if you have ever seen your dark sister in the mirror, only waiting to be called into being. Jane Yolen is a master of her art, and this is one of her many master-works. May you enjoy it as much as I have.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great "Alta", August 1, 2004
This review is from: The Books of Great Alta: Comprising 'Sister Light, Sister Dark' and 'White Jenna' (Paperback)
Jane Yolen breathed new life into the tired old Amazon stories with "The Book of Great Alta," the first two books of the unique Alta trilogy. Including "Sister Light Sister Dark" and "White Jenna," this is a mythic-hero/coming-of-age tale with a twist -- the mythic hero is a strong girl.
"Sister Light Sister Dark" introduces Jenn, a baby girl orphaned three times: Her mother died in childbirth, the midwife died while taking her away, and the warrior woman who adopted her was also killed. She's taken in collectively by the followers of Great Alta, a benevolent goddess. But when the hame is threatened by war and death, Jenna learns of the prophecy of a white-haired child who will be their savior.
"White Jenna" picks up where "Sister Light Sister Dark" left off: Jenna is reluctantly accepting her fate as the legendary Anna. Now she and her two pals are trying to warn the other hames about evil Lord Kalas's attacks, and along the way they run into Carum, the prince whose life Jenna saved in the previous book. (Naturally, they have fallen in love) Now they are trying to raise followers to overthrow usurper, but will they be killed when they try?
Most stories of independent, amazonian tribes of women are unrealistic and dedicate their plots to tubthumping. Jane Yolen never falls into that trap. Her tale is both delicate and strong, with plenty of pseudo-medieval history nuggets, enticing fantasy and slam-bang battle scenes.
Yolen's writing is detailed and evocative, especially when she writes battle scenes. She also creates the whole religion and civilization around Great Alta very well. It seems like a medieval civilization that could actually have existed -- women who are farmers, hunters, warriors, priestesses, cooks, and anything else they need to be.
Most intriguingly, Yolen paints this fictional civilization in the Dales as real; she litters the text with scholarly reports, analysis of old legends about the Anna, and old folksongs from the Dales. At the same time, she injects some extra fantasy with the "dark sisters," a sort of shadowy alter ego that Jenna and the other women have.
Jenna herself is a likable heroine. She doesn't seem to do quite as much as a chosen-one role might suggest. But Yolen's portrayal of a reluctant teen who doesn't see her own potential is excellent. Carum is a good love interest, never becoming too gooey and possessing strength and personality of his own. Most of the supporting characters are given their own quirks to make them interesting.
Want to read about a strong, intelligent mythic hero who happens to be a woman? Jane Yolen creates just one such character in Jenna of the "Books of Great Alta." A rich and original fantasy story.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book belongs in your library, July 31, 2000
This review is from: The Books of Great Alta: Comprising 'Sister Light, Sister Dark' and 'White Jenna' (Paperback)
This is a simply amazing novel. Even if you don't like the fantasy genre, it's a good read. Particularly interesting are the ways the Myths, the Legends, the Histories, and the Story all merge together and all differentiate. Something to ponder while you read this is: "what is true?" Is "the story" correct? Is "the History" correct? And who wrote "The Story"? I'm still puzzling those over, and it makes for quite a good read.
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