Customer Reviews

The Captain's Witch

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

 

 

I first encountered the spell-binding writing of Rosemary Hawley Jarman at the age of sixteen when I stumbled upon her masterpiece, "We Speak No Treason", a lavish historical saga about the much-maligned Richard III. I have sought out each successive work for the past 27 years -- Jarman skillfully transports her readers into a world that, though often beautiful, is rarely safe or comfortable.
Never has this been more true than in "The Captain's Witch", Jarman's first foray into fantasy. From the very first scene the reader is swept along in a maelstrom of magic, danger and treachery. The Pearl Realm of Karenia, steeped in corruption reminiscent of Caligula's court, is dominated by one of fiction's most repellant anti-heroines, the ancient and malevolent witch, Malkar.
Across the border in the Opal Kingdom of Taratamia, the very air is sweeter. Order and honor prevail and are embodied in the book's protagonist, the dutiful, solitary Captain Tallis, marked by old wounds and secrets. As these two opposing kingdoms drift inexorably toward war, it is painfully evident that there is far more at stake than the usual heartbreaking casualties of battle.
Warning: this is not a comfortable read. Looking for a little escapist light reading? Keep looking. "The Captain's Witch" is extremely challenging, at times shocking, with unexpected twists and an urgency which leaves the reader breathless at times. Jarman weaves a dark and twisted web -- yet the fundamental strength of love and goodness is here, too, and keeps one hanging on (by mere fingernails at times!). The passion and danger can be tasted and clutched, smelled and heard; it is visceral. We are there.
Jarman has created a richly vivid world and peopled it with powerful, memorable characters. With "The Captain's Witch", Jarman is certain to expand her ardent following, and her readers are already looking forward to a sequel. Me? I need to catch my breath!

Times are troubled in the lands of Taratamia and Karenia (the Opal Kingdom and the Pearl Realm). Old enmities surface and mighty battles are in the offing. Brave Captain Tallis escorts a royal bride to her wedding,but will the groom be present? Will he,too,find undying love along the way? And what of the feisty
tomboy Barbel,who will stop at nothing to join the army and follow her Captain? All the while lustful young men meet their fates at the hands of the evil,power-hungry Queen Malkar,their life and youth stoking the very soul of evil....something dark,shape-shifting and drawn from the depths...
Welcome to the world of "The Captain's Witch",brilliant novelist Rosemary Hawley Jarman's stunning contribution to fantasy literature. One truly remarkable aspect of this densely plotted tale is how soon we forget,after perusing the map in the preface and diving into the prose,that it is set in a land of the imagination drawn from her vividly active psyche,and not some tract on a past time (in)glorious,so real do the events feel,it's as if we are reading an alternate history that never was,but should have been. Via descriptive writing of victory or violence,desires and dreams,devilry and dark deeds,even flower and fauna,landscape and light,we never question the truth. Her characters live,breathe,act true to their natures,follow their hearts,sometimes perilously,meet savage ends or work for a better
future (well,most of them...) The first half sets the scene and canters gloriously,the latter hits a galloping stride and never looks back for two hundred pages,drawing us into a pure maelstrom of activity,battles and oft-shocking revelations; there are a couple of carefully guarded secrets that,when detonated,feel like a bomb resonating through the text,and brace yourselves for the climax,as exciting and skilful as any novel in recent memory! Lyrical moments of love and grace,punctuated by scenes of unbearable cruelty (take a bow,Senor Zairopo),including one sequence of mass midnight-deflowering that appears to have tumbled from the pages of De Sade's "Salo",
or Pasolini's film of same!
Truly,this exquisite tome cannot be recommended highly enough. Malkar sitting in her court of illusions,terrifying,
ethereal...the beautiful Lilene,on trial and her life in danger (she speaks no treason).Sample Ms Jarman's great,earlier,
"earthbound" historical novels,and then see her move into this
realm,imagination as detailed and rampant as the Lion of War.
As novelist Tanith Lee describes this,"one of the greatest dark fantasies ever written in any genre",and who am I to argue?
A sequel beckons,and not before time,please....

Written in compelling, imaginative prose, this book is a treasure. The writer introduces a new universe into which the reader is immediately plunged and experiences the terror of battle, the passion of love, and a dark occult wickedness.
This book would appeal to readers in a number of genres - fantasy, suspense, AND romance. I haven't enjoyed a book like this in years. I even passed my train stop more than once. The signs of a great book, of course, are becoming one with the characters and not being able to put the book down--all the while not wanting it to end. And as I said above, this book has it all!

Rosemary takes you on a marvelous fantasy ride through a primal yet mystic land of paradoxes - love and hate, sorcery and spirituality, war and peace, good and evil. She adeptly creates entire domains, personalities, and life events so masterfully characterized you believe it's non-fiction.

Captain Tallis leads his detachment of Household guard on a mission to escort the young Duchess of Mayt from the House of Brides to the capital of Taratamia to be married to the Crown Prince. The House of Brides is far to the south, a lone outpost of friendly territory in the midst of the Karenia, a kingdom in an uneasy peace with Taratemia. He hopes to bring her back as quickly as possible, but he's waylaid by another request--to also escort the princess Lilene of Karenia back to her capital along the way. Tallis doesn't want his men anywhere near Karlinkis--where the Queen of Karenia rules over her weak husband, brutal religious orders and a cowering populace, with rumors of dark sorcery and death, but he cannot refuse at the risk of causing an incident that will topple the fragile peace accord.

What was a simple mission begins a tale of high adventure pitting the honorable Tallis against evil plots and magic intent on destroying his beloved kingdom and all he holds dear. Tallis is an old school hero, not a saint, but one who aspires to uphold certain values at the risk of losing his soul. Certain aspects have the feel of melodrama, or perhaps just some old-fashioned high romance, which may add to the pleasure of the read, or may distance some readers. Regardless, it is still a good read that should appeal to anyone who like their heroes and villains larger than life and their adventures grand with a touch of comedy of manners.

Here's the problem with this book... I didn't know what I was getting into. I really liked the author's historical novel about Richard the third. From the cover of this I thought it was another historical at first. It isn't. It's a fantasy, but that is okay. I like fantasy and as a historical writer, I expected RHJ to do a good job of it. In some ways she did. She is an excellent writer and I have nothing but compliments for her wordcrafting.

But more than history or fantasy this is a dark book filled with grotesque sex. Admittedly, I didn't read the entire thing, but as far as I got, the only female character whose value was not sexual was a nun.

The basic premise is standard fantasy fare: Two kingdoms on a peninsula (which is a huge phallic symbol next to a large oval of an island) are at peace after a long war. A witch has infiltrated the royal family of one of them and is intent on returning to war and ruling the world herself. However, the witch's scenes are about how she gets her power by seeking out virginal men and stealing their souls with her womb (gross!). Her power-getting scenes are shown one-by-one. This isn't a spoiler - it starts up right away. The other characters are better until the orgies start and the hero (who was quite likeable otherwise) goes into long explanations on how he lost his virginity. This would be the point where I chucked the book at the wall.

I should have realized right away that this book was too much for me, but I kept thinking that there would be some kind of indicator on the cover or description if it was really all about twisted sex.

There isn't. And that is really my objection. If RHJ wants to write dark - that's fine. But let me know on the cover or a description (the book had no back blurb- just quotes by people who loved it. Not helpful!) otherwise she gets what I'm doing here - a low review because I'm annoyed at wasting my time and reading about such ick

The Captain's Witch is my first introduction to this author. I was immediately drawn in to her story, which is mesmerizing and darkly erotic from the prologue. The writing is so skilled that it is one of those books that makes the reader read with the wonder of childhood before critical thinking inevitably becomes a part of the reading experience. For that alone Jarman gets 5 stars as it is a rare occurence as we get older. I also liked it enough to buy her famous historical We Speak No Treason II (We Speak No Treason S.) and plan to read it immediately, so clearly the author has hooked me.

But that critical thinking won't let go. The plot centers around two warring kingdoms, one good, one evil, the evil one secretly ruled by a demoness who gains her power by stealing the souls of men through the act of sexual congress. She prefers virgins who wish to remain virgins. There are a lot of young men chaste by choice running around Karenia, which I just realized strains credulity a bit. Their soul struggles as they whirl into the orgasmic void to be damned forever are repeatedly and viscerally described. It doesn't take Dr. Freud to see that those vaginas are all just waiting to eat you and your soul into the bargain.

The demoness, Malkar, has a daughter, Lilene and Lilene is the inheritor of her power. Lilene doesn't know this yet, but will discover it when she first sleeps with a man. She and the main character, Tallis are of course hopelessly and obsessivly in love with each other. But, Lilene has been influenced by the good religion of the story and is secretly leading a rebellion of the downtrodden underclass in Karenia. Will Tallis's soul be forfeit once sexual congress with Lilene is achieved? Will the demoness/witch Malkar rule the entire world? The story is good and moves along quickly and the descriptions are lush and the characters compelling, but there is that niggle of bother about the purity of men besmirched by the ravening maw of women. It felt at the very least like a very large fear of the power of female sexuality an obsession of both sides of the gender aisle since time began. And at the very most, it is outright misogyny.

By all means, read and enjoy the Captain's Witch; its a great read, but keep in mind its underlying themes. And if sexual detail offends you, this is not the book for you. I plan on reading We Speak no Treason very soon and will be alert to Jarman's portrayals of women and sexuality in that work and will revise this review should it merit it.