The Chernagor Pirates (Scepter of Mercy, Book 2) [Paperback]

Dan Chernenko (Author)

Book Description

Series: Scepter of Mercy | Publication Date: April 6, 2004

In the second book of The Scepter of Mercy, the troubled, dual reign of Kings Lanius and Grus is threatened by civil war in the north and the half-mindless thralldom of the Menteshe to the south. The kings must reclaim the all-powerful Scepter before the Banished One's advantage becomes insurmountable-and their people discover just how formidable an enemy he truly is...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Intelligence and wry humor refresh stale material in the middle volume of Chernenko's sword and sorcery trilogy that began with 2003's The Bastard King. Scholarly young King Lanius is the rightful ruler of the city-state Avornis, but he's largely a figurehead for grizzled warrior Grus, who also calls himself king. They don't have time to indulge in magical plotting to seize absolute power, though, because Avornis is not just surrounded by hostile neighbors but is a special target of the Banished One, a deity whom the other gods cast out and who now wants to dominate the human world before he launches an attack to reconquer the heavens. The kings of Avornis must cope with a host of worries, especially their obligation to return a heroic elderly king to the throne of one of the Chernagor city-states. Fortunately, the author knows how shopworn these plot elements have become, and he takes time to work out the details. As they are forced to work together, Lanius and Grus discover that their abilities complement each other and that they even can respect each other. The deposed Chernagor king may look like a stalwart, sword-swinging hero, but he's also a boorish monomaniac. If the emphasis on step-by-step preparations sometimes feels tedious because readers don't see how it ultimately will pay off, the sense of complicated people struggling through difficult times is unusually convincing.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The sequel to The Bastard King [BKL Mr 1 03] focuses on usurping King Grus, who is trying to impose some sort of order on the city-states of Chernagor without getting bogged down in a war of unpredictable costs and length (sounds familiar). At the same time, he is trying to wrest the Sceptre of Mercy from the hands of the nomadic Menteshe in the south, who could use it as a potent weapon against his army. The Sceptre is also the vital weapon to use against the fallen god, the Banished One, whose ambitions for rule on Earth threaten ruin for everybody. Both Grus and the figurehead king he opposes, Lanius, want at least to prevent that. The two kings are in an ethical as well as a political-military conflict, which, along with exceptional world building, do very nicely for keeping readers of The Bastard King absorbed in its sequel. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Roc Trade (April 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451459563
• ISBN-13: 978-0451459565
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,539,256 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Needs A Good Editor, May 1, 2005

By 

Pierce Amory "Amory" (Wainscott, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Chernagor Pirates (Scepter of Mercy, Book 2) (Paperback)

I really wanted to like this book. I expected something like Robert Silverberg's "Majipoor Chronicles", but "Chernagor Pirates" didn't measure up. One of Chernenko's plot devices - cutting back and forth between story lines every two or three pages - could have been very clever, but in this execution it sabotages the book. Instead of building narrative tension it breaks the momentum altogether. Perhaps this is because one of the story lines focuses on King Lanius who doesn't really do much except go to the archives, play with his "moncats" and fool around a bit. But in the other story line even King Grus's battles seem to lack dramatic tension, except for the first one.
Another problem is that the book contains several plot threads that never go anywhere. The repetitive escapes of a "moncat" named Pouncer and Lanius's several hunting trips, for example, present multiple opportunities for surprise developments related to the main story line but in fact yield none. These digressions, therefore, contribute nothing to plot or character development.
The way the author voices his main characters' endless ruminations is especially annoying. And each time one of the characters serves up an ironic remark the author explains to the reader that the remark was ironic, sometimes using several sentences where one would do. As a result banter becomes wooden.
After a while I found myself skipping great chunks of dialogue to get to page 456 (the end). I conclude that what this book needs is a ruthless copy editor to discard much of the gratuitous digression and reintegrate the narrative lines. In short, this would make a much better 200 page book.

4.0 out of 5 stars Second in an interesting Turtledove fantasy trilogy, November 16, 2008

By 

Marshall Lord (Whitehaven, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Chernagor Pirates: Book Two of the Scepter of Mercy (Paperback)

This is the second of the three "Scepter of Mercy" books, which are

1) The Bastard King
2) The Chernagor Pirates
3) The Scepter's Return

Although he used the pen-name Dan Chernenko, these books were actually written by Harry Turtledove. Apparently he felt the books were different from his usual subject matter and wanted to see the reaction they would get without his name. The most recent printings actually do have his name on the cover, followed by "writing as Dan Chernenko".

In the first volume, unusual political manouvers resulted in the unusual situation where the Kingdom of Avornis had two kings at the same time: King Lanius, descended from a long line of kings, and King Grus, son of a guardsman.

The Kingdom of Avornis is beset by enemies on all sides, particularly by barbarians to the south, in territory ruled by the immortal "Banished one" who used to be a God before the other Gods expelled him from heaven. Though this information was deliberately forgotten centuries ago, King Lanius has discovered that the Banished one was previously worshipped as Milvano, the principal god.

While there is strong rivalry between Lanius and Grus, neither wants to tear the country apart in civil war when they have so many dangerous enemies: both would like to get the Scepter of Mercy back from the Banished one. But first they have to deal with the pirates who are attacking the northern borders of Avornis.

Strongly recommended. This series does have both the strengths and weaknesses of many of Harry Turtledove's books. For example, there is a strong storyline, well crafted and believable characters - but he does tend to repeat things an awful lot. If you can put up with that minor flaw you will greatly enjoy this trilogy.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining mixture of realism and adventure, August 18, 2005

By 

David Brukman (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Chernagor Pirates (Scepter of Mercy, Book 2) (Paperback)

This second book of a trilogy about an uneasy partnership and rivalry of two kings in Avornis, complete with gritty battles, personal strengths and weaknesses, and low-key but overarching mystical struggle works very well. The characters are engaging, and the book provides a satisfying ending while building up excitement for the next volume.
--inotherworlds.com