Customer Reviews

Daughter of the Lion (Cheysuli)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book was one of the best of the Chronicles of the Cheysuli. It's plot took unexpected twists and turns, and there was never a dull moment. All through the book Keely was faced with numerous challenges, but she over came them all. She would not let her self be held back by her gender, and she showed fearless courage in the face of danger.

This book was the first that caught my attention to the series. I bought it because I am an artist and liked the cover. The book turns out to be just as good. The main character is a headstrong young woman who wants to be a mans equal in all things, even in warriorism. She doesn't want to marry the man she is betrothed to , but if she doesn't it will stop the fulfilment of the prophesy of the firstborn. Entertaining and enjoyable for avid fantasy readers, or first time fantasy readers.

Before I begin, please let me state: I am a huge fan of Jennifer Roberson, and I've made a mental note to leave adoring reviews for other, beloved books in order to pay penance for what I'm about to write.

Because I'm really gonna lay into her in this one.

Continuing the Cheysuli Chronicles, we now have the story of Keely, the stereotypical pseudo-feminist (in this case) tomboy princess who would rather practice swordplay than embroider linens. And what do we have here? An arranged marriage! How not at all unorginal and cliche in terms of convenient plot twists -- because, of course, she wants to be a warrior, not a wife. Cue hijinks.

TERRIBLE book. Absolutely terrible. Poorly structured, uncentered, and Roberson tried to deal with serious issues that just shouldn't be dealt with in a magical context. (I'm sorry, but they shouldn't. I'm all for discussion of whether or not one should abort a child of rape, but not when said child is actually the product of months of magical torture and imprisonment by a sadistic archenemy, and its prophesized birth would bring about the downfall of your family and thus THE ENTIRE WORLD. Put that way, it's a no-brainer.) And "Daughter" earns the dubious honor of the worst cop-out ending in the world. I can't stress how much this book upset me with its sheer awfulness.

The thing is, this is an early novel of a very good, very intellegent author -- so it's allowed to be awful. Every writer writes several bad books before they hit jackpot. And the seeds of Roberson's later greatness are there to see -- the fact that she attempts to deal with issues of gender identity and a woman's sexual status foreshadow some of the really wonderful insights she provides in later books, like "Lady of the Forest" or any of the Sword books. But in this one she just botches it. As I tried to show in the example above, Roberson chooses the wrong issues to tackle and in the wrong context. To top it all off, I found Keely wildly unsympathetic. She whined, she moaned, she muttered, she made very stupid and obvious mistakes that made me want to throw the book across the room. If you're looking for strong, rebellious heroines -- and I often do -- there are so many better choices out there. Check out the Song of the Lioness Quartet, "The Lion and the Sword," or "The Deed of Paksenarrion" for much more mature, realistic, and engaging accounts of fantasy female fighters.

This book might appeal to a younger reader whose idea of rebellion includes impetuously running away from home, but if you're looking for a book that REALLY challenges conventional norms, look elsewhere. (Possibly a different Roberson book.)

It was awhile after I was given this book that I read it, but after I did I came to relize.... I love this book!!! I can very much relate to Keely's personality and I love fantasy stories so it was a perfect mix ^_^
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

_Daughter of the Lion_ is a stand-alone novel in Jennifer Roberson's Cheysuli chronicles(although it would help to read the previous books to more fully understand the background and minor story threads). Keely, a head-strong and defiant princess with shape-changing powers, struggles between wanting to fulfill the prophecy of the Lion and not wanting to marry the man she is betrothed to. Keely is a powerful heroine in her own right, and Rory and Sean are memorable heroes.

what happened?! This book started off strong; even if a little unoriginal (warrior princess being forced into marriage, prince disguises himself to gain her interest. seriously.). The first part, to me, was great. a strong female lead, if a little overbearing on her femnist beliefs, made for an interesting character. but the book is completely LOST; what's the author trying to say here? she (Keeley) rails against pregnancy and ends up getting raped? what was the point of this book? its like the book is saying its not okay to be a strong woman with interests outside 'normal' feminine interests. what does this lead do? where she would make a strong leader for her people, instead she gets raped (because she is willful and goes against societies expectations of womenhood?), expresses hatred for the innocent life that is formed and does her best to murder her unborn child. what's with the ending, what's with this book? it totally lost direction, nothing was accomplished by the end; she still hates and fears motherhood and to an extent, men. what kind of message does this send to people?
i'm very frustrated with what should have been an awesome book about strong women who go against the grain but instead becomes a choppy, sort-of fantasy that falls into the 'women cannot be powerful therefore i must knock her down a notch' genre often seen in fantasy literature and its really disappointing.

I read the Chesuli books before starting on the Sword-Dancer series of Ms. Roberson's. This seems to be a good thing, because for the life of me I cannot tell where the other series ended up. This one, however, is great. If you know from the Del and Tiger books, then saying Keely is like Del should make sence. If you are not familiar with them, then think of Keely as a girl who was rased on swords, knives, and brothers instead of dolls, kitchens and gentleness. She tries to mix everything about her into one person neither man nor woman, but cannot find peace until she settles for letter herself decide who she is. In this book, unlike in the others, there is a hidden snatch that explains the entire basis of the series. Keely is explaining to Rory what it is to shift shapes. She inadvertadly tells him more about her spirit in that exchange than most people ever tell another about themselves. This is a great book, and if you enjoyed the others then this one will be a treat. it is one of the ones written in first-person point of view, seen from Keely's eyes. Her view of the world is truely unique and special to share.

This book is a great read, and definitly one of my favorite in the Cheysuli series. Daughter of the Lion focuses on Keely, Niall's daughter. Keely is a greatr heroine, a lot like Alix in many aspects. In a Pride of Princes (book 5), Keely's 3 brothers had to accept their destinies as well as fight off the Ihlini. In this book, Keely finally faces the challenges the of the Ihlini and learns to accept that she is a woman, even though she was raised on weapons. Sean and Rory are great characters, too, and theirs an interesting plot twist at the end. Also, more of Taliesin, the Ihlini harper, whom I love, the a'saii (cheysuli purists), and Maeve, Keely's older half sister, although she does not play a crucial role in the story.
This book gave me another loveable heroine, who will not be forced to do what she decides not too, and who can fight for herself. If you liked book 1 (Shapechangers), my other favorite, and Alix's character, then your bound to like Daughter of the Lion, too (or vice versa). Also, in reading this book it does hgelp if you have some background with the Cheysuli books, although you dont have to have read the other books; it can stand alone. In all events, this is a great read, and I heartily reccomend it, especially to cheysuli readers.

. . . she's a warrior, a princess, a shapechanger who, unlike her fellow Cheysuli, can take any shape whatsoever and talk with any lir (totem animal) while being bound by none (again, unlike any other Cheysuli). But she's lonely. Her brother Corin has gone off to rule Atvia, her other brothers Hart and Brennan are doing their own things too (ruling other kingdoms, or helping to rule), and in any event, she's miserable.

Topping everything off, she's about to be married off, which she hates. She's trained, mostly in secret, to become the best warrior possible. She fights with knife, bow, and in lir-shape; she does not want to be told she's weak in any way, shape or form. And she most certainly doesn't want to marry, as the only marriages and long term relationships she's ever seen have been predicated on the women being weaker than the men -- and them liking it that way.

And that's definitely not for her. What's to do?

Keely's betrothed, Prince Sean, looks on from afar, and is impressed. He likes her spirit and wants her for herself, yet he knows she won't believe him. Why would she, when she's been told so many inaccurate things about how to behave "like a woman," when she's never been any of them (meek, mild, eager to please, inoffensive)? He pretty much figures, "Why would she believe me, anyway? Even though I do want her as is." So he devises an ingenious plan . . . .

I don't want to give away too much more of the plot than that. Suffice it to say that Keely is a very engaging character; she's smart, tough, nobody's fool, and extremely impetuous. She's also gifted, a good warrior, a loyal friend and companion -- and manages to get taken running away from her betrothed, right into the arms of Strahan the Ihlini.

One problematic point. There is an extremely long series of rapes in this book; some younger readers might miss it, but just in case, it'd be better not to have them read it until they're older and can understand. It is consistent with how Strahan has been shown in earlier Cheysuli books; the man is evil, and doesn't care who he hurts so long as he does right by his own lights -- which are deeply and horribly skewed due to early influences by his father.

I respected Keely all the more after she'd been raped, because she didn't give up. As she swelled in pregnancy, she refused to give in, despite believing her child would be the worst tainted imaginable (due to her mother's mental illness and Strahan's evilness). The child dies, thankfully unborn; that spared a whole lot of angst on that side.

However, just because the child ends up dying before birth doesn't mean the moral implications are shirked; Ms. Roberson explores 'em all, with great virtuosity and depth of feeling. Anyone reading of Keely's plight will share her pain in the horrible circumstances, while sighing in relief after her unborn child (born of the rape) dies unborn, unless they are totally callous and have no heart whatsoever.

What Keely fights in the latter half of the book is not only societal strictures against the "appropriate" roles for women, but also her own beliefs. She never wanted this to happen, and loses most of her self-esteem, sense of worthiness, and becomes deeply depressed, yet hides her condition from others. This, too, is very plausible; it's how victims of rape act, especially if they've become pregnant from the act of violence.

It's because of Keely's heroism, internal and external, that I'd recommend this book not only to fantasy and romance readers, but to others who need to know there is a way to survive and go on. Keely managed it; others can too, by reading how she manages to survive. Even though Keely is a fictional character, she's true to life, moving, honest, and seems more real than many people you might meet on the streets of the world's cities today.

Better yet, Keely rebuilds her life, if painfully, and finds not only life again, but love eternal, all without sacrificing one iota of her beliefs. This is an extremely powerful, uplifting message, one worth sharing with just about everyone you know in my opinion.

Highly recommended for anyone over the age of about fourteen or fifteen. Five stars plus.

What a show of female power! Nobody's going to put this princess in her place. Wonderful story that flowed from beginning to end.